“You have not many more cathedrals to see,” replied the doctor. “There is one here; but, as this is Saturday, we will visit it to-morrow. Suppose we take a walk on the Alameda, as this handsome square is called.”
It is a beautiful bit of a park, with a fountain at each end; but it was so haunted with beggars that the tourists could not enjoy it. It was fresh and green, and bright with the flowers of early spring.
“What an abomination these beggars are!” exclaimed Sheridan, as a pair of them, one with his eyes apparently eaten out with sores, leaning on the shoulder of another seemingly well enough, saluted them with the usual petition. “It makes me sick to look at them.”
Murray gave the speaker two reales; but they would not go till the others had contributed. A little farther along they came to a blind man, who had stationed himself by a bridge, and held out his hand in silence.
“That man deserves to be encouraged for holding his tongue,” said the captain, as he dropped a peseta into the extended hand. “Most of them yell and tease so that one don’t feel like giving.”
The blind beggar called down the blessing of the Virgin upon the donor, in a gentle and devout tone. But he seemed to be an exception to all the other mendicants in Malaga. As the captain said, many of them were most disgusting sights; and they pointed out their ailments as though they were proud of them.
“This is a commercial city, and there is not much to see in it,” said the doctor, as they returned to the hotel. “Its history is but a repetition of that of nearly all the cities of Spain. It was a place of great trade in the time of the Moors: it is the fifth city of Spain, ranking next to Valencia. You saw the United States flag on quite a number of vessels in the port; and it has a large trade with our country. Wine, raisins, oranges, lemons, and grapes are the principal exports.”
The next day most of the students visited the cathedral, where they heard mass, which was attended by a battalion of soldiers, with a band which took part in the service. Early on Monday morning the tourists started for Granada, taking the train at quarter past six o’clock. The ride was exceedingly interesting; for the country between Malaga and Cordova is very fertile, though a small portion of it is a region abounding in the wildest scenery. The first part of the journey was in the midst of orange-orchards and vineyards.
“What is that sort of an inclined plane?” asked Sheridan, pointing to a stone structure like one side of the roof of a small house. “I have noticed a great many of them here and near Alicante.”