the conflict; each only hoped that the objects of his own affection were safe, and in that hope found some resource against the anticipated disgrace of the country. The storm that succeeded the battle fended only to keep alive, through the night, the horrors of the day, and to prepare them for the melancholy spectacle of the ensuing morning, when the wrecks of their floating bulwarks were seen on shore, and some, that had escaped the battle and the storm, entering the bay to shelter themselves from the pursuit of their victorious enemy. The feelings of strong sensibility, which had so agitated the minds of the people during the conflict, were now diFected to the tender offices of humanity towards their wounded countrymen; the softer sex attended on the wharfs to assist them in landing, to convey them to the convents and the hospitals, while the priests were administering the last offices of religion to those whose departing spirits took their flight before they could reach the asylums appointed for their recep tion. When the first emotions had subsided, the people of Cadiz strongly mapifested their contempt of the French, whom they accused of having deserted them in the hour of battle; and the attention of Lord Collingwood to the wounded Spanish prisoners, induced them to contrast the conduct of their geherous enemies with that of their treacherous allies. SPANISH CHARACTERISTIC. There is, in the national character of Spain, one trait, which equally pervades all classes of society; originating, I conceive, in the indolence which a warm climate, and the consequently luxurious habits, produce: this trait is the want of combination; the absence of arrangement. The Spaniards are brave, acute, patient, and faithful; but all their chafacteristics are insulated; all their exertions are individual. They have no idea of combining, either publicly or privately, in a manner to call forth their respective talents, and render every one useful to the common cause. The Germans may be said to combine too much, and the Spaniards not at all. In my judgment the English have attained the proper medium; but certainly the Spaniards are deficient in this respect, and to this deficiency their reverses may all be ascribed. If a commander should embark on an expedition, like that to Algiers a few years ago, it is not impro bable that the powder would be conveyed in one ship and the balls in another; so that if one were lost or delayed the other would prove useless; nor would it be und likely to happen in their artny, that ballcartridges might be delivered to the sol diers for a review, and blank-cartridges for actual service; for I have seen errors committed equally egregious. Nothing is more certain than that the Spanish nation, generally, is roused to madness against France: few are to be found who would not willingly plunge a dagger into the breast of a Frenchman whenever the occasion might offer, but there is no government, no ruling mind, to concentrate this universal feeling: whatever is done by Spaniards is indivi dual effort, not combined exertion; and when they have attempted military ope rations on a great scale, they have been uniformly unsuccessful: they have only chosen the wrong means of warfare; and even should their armies be dispersed, and their strong towns taken (events which I anticipate) the invaders will be so far from conquest, that a warfare will commence of the most destructive species for France, and the most secure for Spain: then will those conflicts begin in which individual exertion is every thing, and combination unnecessary. From the defiles and mountains, where they will remain sheltered and concealed ull opportunities offer, the Spaniards will harass and massacre the French in detail; they will prevent all intercourse between the different towns; they will stop cul. tivation in the plains; and perhaps, after years of onfusion and bloodshed, drive the French, as they formerly did the Moors, from their soil. GIBRALTAR. This place is so well known, and has been so often described, that I have few observations to make which have any pretensions to novelty: the principal batteries are casemated, and traverses are constructed within them to prevent the mischief which might arise from the explosions of shells. The principal strength of the place depends on the shortness of the line of defence, and the prodigious flanking fires which may ans noy an enemy from the projecting parts of the rock on the north-east. The most extraordinary works are the galleries, excavated from the solid rock, in which loop holes are formed for the reception of cannon of large caliber; these guns are pointed to the narrow causeway, which alone gives a passage to the town; town; but the most striking part of the gallaries is that called St. George's Chapel, which is scooped out of the solid rock about four hundred feet above the level of the sea, and is filled with cannon. Over this, Willis's battery is situated, having its artillery pointed in the same direction. On a level with the entrance is placed another battery called the Devil's Tongue, which flanks the entrance, and on which, I think I was told that, six hundred pieces of artillery might be brought to bear on any attacking enemy. Our friend Lieutenant Mitchell of the artillery has been my Ciceroni at Gibraltar, and I have prevailed on him to accompany Mr. Ridout and myself in our intended tour to Malaga, Granada, and Ronda. We have ascended together to the top of the rock in the highest part, and went on horseback as far as the horses could ascend; the servants then conducted them to the other side, where we were to meet them. The object most worthy of notice is St. Michael's cave, about half way up the rock, the road to which is good, though it is bounded upon one side by a tremendous precipice. The entrance to this cave is by a natural excavation, about thirty feet in breadth and twenty-five in height. It is full of stalactites of a large size, which, descending from the roof and resting on the floor, have the appearance of pillars constructed for its support. As we were not provided with torches we could not descend, but Mr. Mitchel, who had explored it before, had penetrated four hundred feet by a gradual descent through apartments of natural arches in various directions, supported by similar columns of stalactites. From St. Michael's Cave we ascended to the top, and had a view from the cliff, which is perpendicular, towards the Mediterranean, about one thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. A tower has been built at the highest point, with the intention of viewing from it the motions of the ships in the bay of Cadiz; but from its height it has been frequently struck by lightning, and is now a heap of ruins. We descended the rock on the eastern side by steps, hewn with much labour out of the stone, till we reached a small battery, whence a path wound to the south end of the rock, where the horses were waiting for us. The upper part of the rock of Gibral tar consists of excellent lime-stone, resting on a base of granite; the crevices of the rock was the resort of apes of a large size, in which they conceal themselve when the east wind blows, but at other times they make their appearance in con❤ siderable numbers, and sometimes greatly incommode passengers, by rolling down broken fragments of the rock. No one is permitted to shoot them; indeed the strictest orders are issued that no gun shall be fired on the rock, which, as the place abounds with game, proves to sportsmen a great mortification. The view from the summit is very extensive; we discerned Apes-hill and the contigu ous mountains in Africa, and the Spanish mountains of Ronda and Granada, with the towns of Algeziras, Ximenes, Sr, Roque, Estepona, and Marvella, but the country was not diversified with trees, nor adorned with verdant fields. I was much pleased with the houses built, for some of the officers of the gar. rison, towards the south; the naval com missioner especially has a charming resis dence, and a good garden, stocked with every species of tropical fruit. The first rate society in Gibraltar is very good, and a taste for elegance, united with economy, generally prevails. A public library, instituted by the late Mr. Pitt, and furnished with a vas loable collection of books, to which all the military have access, forms a great acquisition to the garrison. This instis tution, together with the sensible and polite conversation of the engineer and artillery officers, most of whom are men of education and liberal minds, gives a tone to the society and manners which is highly agreeable. Nothing, however, can be more miserable than the appear ance of the civil inhabitants of the tower, whether Moors, Jews, or Christians. They live crouded together, in habitations resembling barracks rather than houses, which are as filthy as their per sons. The commerce of Gibraltar has been very considerable since the communica tion with Spain has been free; but, like other markets in similar circumstances, it is now so overloaded, that there is scarcely room for the various commodi ties collected, and serious fears are en tertained, that, if a siege were to come mence, a great quantity of property must be sacrificed for military accom modation, as there are neither store houses sufficient to contain it, nor ship ping enough to convey it to places of safety. The markets of this place are well supplied from Spain with every kind of provision provision, at moderate prices; and a considerable number of live bullocks are brought from the coast of Africa, which contribute to the supply of the garrison; but, though wheat is abundant in that Country, their religion allows none to be exported for the use of Christians. VICINITY OF MALAGA. Like all Spanish towns, Malaga is a most beautiful object at a distance, but will not bear a near inspection. The Alameyda is the only part of the town which is handsome, and that is truly magnificent. It consists of a foot-walk the middle, about eighty feet wide, with orange and oleander trees planted on each side: without these are good carriage roads, and on both sides a row of sumptuous and elegant houses. It is not the edifices constructed by human labour that render Malaga an interesting spot, but the benign climate and, fruitful soil with which Providence bas blessed it, and which the industry of the people has been exerted to improve. The rivers Guadalmedina and Guadaforce, which empty themselves at this place into the ocean, wind round the mountains, and pass through valleys the richest and most fertile in the world, and it is upon the banks of these rivers that the prodigious quantity of figs, alinonds, oranges, lemons, olives, sumach, juniper berries, wax, and honey, are produced, which, with the dried raisins and wines from the mountains, and the cork of the hills, form the foundation of the natural external commerce of Malaga. The productions with which Europe is supplied from the western world, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, indigo, and pimento, had been all cultivated in this part of Spain for many ages before Ame rica was discovered; and though it has only been of late years that any great increase in their cultivation has taken place, yet, from the productiveness of the soil, from the specimens that have been produced, and the political prospects of the world, the hope is entertained, that this part of Spain may, in time, be rendered capable of superseding the necessity of cultivating the West India Islands by the labour of slaves. The present commerce of Malaga is gery flourishing. The peace with Eng and has opened a vent for its commodities, which has been improved with great assiduity. The exports of wines aud fruits during the last year, amounted bearly to three times as much as, in any preceding years and, as.the.commercial laws of Spain are less strictly obeyed here than at Cadiz, where the, aueation of the Junta is more immediately called to them, they have had their commerce less restricted. We left Malaga at noon. The first part of the road, which runs along the sea side, was good and well constructed, and was adorned on the left hand with the neat cottages of the peasantry, who were comfortably eating their frugal meals at the door, " every man under his own vine, and under his own figtree." The hills to the top were covered with vines, and the chasms between them with fig, almond, plum, orange, lemon, and apricot, trees. On the coast between the clifts some fine levels, called Playas, open with a front generally towards the sea, of from one to two miles in extent, and terminate at the foot of the hills, so as to form a triangular plain. The soil of these playas is formed by the washing of the rains from the mountains, and, without any manure, is very productive in wheat and barley; which two species of grain are usually sown in alternate years, without allowing the lands to lie fallow. The richness of the soil, and the heat of the sun, cause the earth to yield almost spontaneously those productions which, in other situa tions, are the result of much labour. After riding about four hours, we left the shore to visit a sugar plantation at Torre del Mar. For three miles, as we approached it, our road passed through fields of cotton and sugar canes. The sugars made on this coast resemble those of Cuba more than those produced in our West India island; they are not so white as those of the first quality from Cuba, but more so than the inferior kind; and, as sugars of equal quality from tlie British Islands would, with the addi tion of freight and insurance, cost more money in Europe than those raised in this vicinity, nothing is wanted to increase these establishments, to a considerable extent, but a sufficient capital. It is not generally known, that sugar has been one of the productions of Spain for at least seven hundred years, and that the process of planting the canes, grinding them, and granulating the juice, bas been very little, if at all, improved within that time. desses' require considerable disbursements before any profits can be derived from the crops. In a country, therefore, where capital is so limited as in Spain, there can be but little progress made in the increase of this branch of agriculture; and hence, the plantations are in exact proportion to that surplus of capital which the merchants of Malaga can spare, for this purpose, from their other con cerns. The ancient and more extensive system of agriculture is in a state equally languishing, from the same cause. The growers of wine, raisins, and figs, are mostly small proprietors of lands, or petty tenants, paying their rents monthly, when in money, and, when in produce, at the season of harvest, and who, being unable to subsist and pay their laboucers, are under the necessity of being supplied by the merchants to whom they mortgage their expected produce, long before it is fit for market; the consequence is, that the cultivators are kept in a state of poverty and depression, from which there is no prospect of their emerging. On the hills that surround Malaga, there are upwards of seven thousand vineyards, which produce annually eighty thousand arobas of wine, of which more than one half is exported. The first harvest of grapes commences in the month of June, which is solely for those dried by the sun, the heat of which, by extracting the saccharine juice, preserves them without any other process; and this species is known through Europe under the denomination of Malaga raisins. In the month of September the second crop is gathered, which is made into a dry wine, resembling sherry, and called by that name, but, to my taste, much inferior. Of late years the cultivation of the grape for this kind of wine has much increased, and the merchants are not without hope, that in a few years they shall rival the vineyards of Xeres, both in quantity and quality. The last vintage of the year is in October and November, and produces those wines called in Spain and other colonies Malaga, and in England Mountain; the natives of Spain prefer these to the dry wines of Xeres, or even of Madeira. There are several species of wine made in this district of great celebrity, one in particular, called Pedro Ximenes, is very rich, and is said to be made from the Rhenish grape transplanted to these mountains, where it has lost its tartness, and acquired a rich and delicious flavour. MONTHLY Mac. No. 215. Another kind called Guinda, is merely the common sweet wine of the moun tains, with a mixture of the juice of cherries, and is not much valued here, but highly esteemed in other countries: and the Lagrima de Malaga, a sweet wine, resembling Constantia, though highly valued by Spaniards, is not agreeable to an English palate. These wines are rather cultivated by the curious than made an object of commerce, and the quantity produced of each is very small. Next to wine, the most important ar ticle is oil, for the making of which there are more than seven hundred mills in the district through which I have lately passed. In general, the oil partakes of the bad qualities I noticed at Seville, but in Velez more attention is paid to cleanliness than any where else, and the oil is by far the best I have tasted in Spain. The quantity of raisins exported hence is very great, indeed this is the principal market for that article. Besides what is sent over the mountains to Granada, and other places farther north, there is annually exported fifty thousand quintals by small vessels, which anchor near Torre del Mar, or by ships from the port of Malaga. The quantity of figs dried in this neighbourhood is very considerable, but is of less importance, as an object of foreign trade, than the raisins; they are mostly sent into the mountains, or to the city of Granada, whence wheat and barley are brought in exchange; for, though some of the playas are capable of produ cing these grains in the greatest abundance, the quantity raised is not sufficient for the consumption of the inhabitants. Oranges, lemons, citrons, and almonds, are much cultivated, and the more rare fruits, such as the pine apple and chirimoya of Peru, are produced without difficulty; the banana and plantain, though not plentiful, are yet sufficiently grown to shew that every vegetable production of the West Indies may be cultivated here with success. PALACES OF THE MOORISH KINGS. I have several times visited the Alhambra, the ancient fortress and palace of the Moorish kings: it is situated on the top of a hill overlooking the city, and is surrounded with a wall of great height and thickness. The road to it is by a winding path through a wood of lofty elms, mixed with poplars and oleanders; and some orange and lemon trees. By the side of the load, or rather path (for it it is not designed for wheel carriages), are beautiful marble fountains, from which transparent streams are constantly rushing down. The entrance is through an archway, over which is carved a key, the symbol of the Mahomedan monarchs. called the Gate of Judgment, country are extremely fine. The inscrip tious, which are in Arabic, are worked in porcelain, with exquisite skill, so as to unite with the stucco ornaments, which every where abound; they gene rally consist of those expressions of piety customary with the Mahomedans. The This to Eastern forms, was the cieling is very beautifully inlaid with according place where the kings administered jus ice. The horse-shoe arches are supported by marble pillars, ornamented, in the Arabian style, with bandeaus and inscriptions, one of which, in the ancient Cutic character, has been translated by Some of the literati," Praise be to God. There is no God but one, and Mahomed is his prophet; and there is no power but from God." After leaving the Gate of Judgment, we passed through another, which is now converted into a chapel, and with much fatigue arrived at the Plaza de los Algibes, or the square of the cisterns, under which water is brought from another hill at the distance of a league: these reservoirs are so large, and contain so much of that necessary article, that they provided an ample supply for all the numerous inhabitants who formerly dwelt in the Alhambra. From this prospect of the surrounding country was very fine, and the majestic Sierra Nevada seemed impending over us. The Moors certainly paid less attention to the outside of their buildings, and infinitely more to internal beauty, than their Christian successors. The most striking object which presents itself upon entering the first court is a marble fountain, in the middle, with apartments at each end, which are supported by pillars of the same substance, in a very peculiar style of architecture. From these I passed, with much delight and wonder, through various apartments of exquisite beauty. The most remarkable parts of the build ing are the hall of ambassadors, the court of lions, the hall of the two sisters, that of the Abencerraxes, the royal baths, and the queen's dressing-room, all of which are paved with marble, and have pillars of the same substance, supporting arches of the pure Arabic form, adorned with stucco, and a species of porcelain, the colouring and gilding of which, after a period of five hundred years, have a freshess and brilliancy equal to the best English or French China. The hall of Ambassadors is a square of forty feet, eighty feet in height, with nine windows, opening upon balconies, from which the views of the surrounding wood of various colours, and is adorned with a number of gold and silver ornaments, in the form of circles, crowns, and stars. The court of the lions is the most striking part of this edifice; for nothing can excel the effect produced by the corridor which surrounds it: one hundred and twenty-eight marble pillars are arranged for the support of the arches on which the upper apartments of the palace rest, in a manner at once pleasing and magnificent. In the centre of the court a large marble fountain is placed, which is supported by twelve lions, by no means corresponding to the splendour of the architecture. Upon many parts of the building there are numerous inscriptions, partly in Cufic and partly in Arabic characters; and, in addition to the usual pious sentences, others are mingled in praise of the founder of the edifice. On the fountain one was pointed out, the translation of which is," Blessed be he who gave to the prince Mahomed a habitation, which by its beauty may serve as a model for all dwellings." On one side of the court is the hall of the two sisters, the ornaments of which are similar to that of the ambassador's. It is remarkable only for two marble slabs, which form part of the floor, and measure fourteen feet in length, and seven in breadth, surrounded with Cutic and Arabic inscriptions. The hall of the Abencerraxes, which is on the opposite side, is so called from a vulgar tradition, that thirty-two members of that distinguished family were murdered by the King Abu Abdallah in this apart ment; a tradition so firmly believed by our guide, that he shewed us the marks of their blood in the marble fountain, and assured us, most solemnly, that no endea our had ever been able to remove the stains. The hall of the Abencerrases partakes of the same species of beauty which is so conspicuous iu the other apart ments. The baths are most beautifully finished, are lighted from the top, and possess every convenience and luxury which characterises the peculiar taste of the Arala. These baths, on account of the frequent ablutions |