PREFACE. THE author would not do himself, or the country which he has attempted to describe in part, the injustice of publishing this volume, without desiring its humble pretensions to be distinctly understood. The subject was not unfamiliar to him, before his visit to Spain; and his opportunities for observation and information, while there, were, perhaps, better than those which strangers commonly enjoy. The period and limits of his intended tour were, however, so materially abridged, that, if the results of his observation had been unfavorable to the country, he would have deemed it hardly fair to give them currency. The contrary being the case, he is persuaded that his conclusions are, on that account, the more likely to be just, so far as they go; and he is willing to incur the risk of their being deemed superficial and imperfect, under the conviction that they can do no harm, and may, perhaps, throw light upon a picture, which has been often, he believes, unduly darkened by prejudice and misinformation. For the frequent appearance of the personal pronoun in the narrative, the author has no apology but the impossibility of avoiding it without assuming a graver tone than accorded with his plan. Should a lack of that "stirring incident" be noted, which is looked for in such books, he begs it may be attributed to his ill fortune, in having met with nothing of the sort, except what he describes. A few banditti would have made a livelier story, and could have been readily improvised; but it is a melancholy fact that there is, now, small risk of life or limb in Spain, comparatively speaking; and the author did not feel that he would be justified, under such circumstances, in confirming the present popular impression, that life in the Peninsula is still a mixture of the adventures of Gil Blas and the exploits of Don Quixote. BALTIMORE, October, 1849. CONTENTS. Departure from Marseilles-La Ciotat-Fellow-travelers-En- glish Tourists-Arrival at Barcelona, and Tribulations at the Custom-house-The Rambla and the People on Promenade- Easter Eggs-La Mona-High Mass on Easter Sunday—A ride to Gracia-Montjuich-Nôtre Dame de la Garde-The Plaza de Toros, and Yankee Company-Opening of the Great The Catalans—English Philanthropy and the Cotton-question— Education in Catalonia-The Press-The Gaye Science-De- parture for Valencia-The Coast-Spanish Travelers and Politics-The Tartana-Valencia-The Vega-The Market- place-Costume and Cleanliness of the People-Table-lux- Cartagena-The Arsenal and Harbor― Gipsies — Appearance and Habits of the People-Almeria-Ballad of Count Arnaldos -Spanish Boatmen-Heat of the Weather-Cathedral-Dis- mantled Convent-Beggars-Morals of Almeria-The Bride Malaga-Its Appearance from the Water-The Citadels-The Alameda-Defacing Public Monuments-Westminster Abbey Commerce of Malaga-Manufactures-Heredia's Works-Iron Foundry-Spanish Iron and Coal-Clay Figures--The Fonda de la Alameda-American and European Hotels-Travelers to Granada-Fellow-lodgers-The Irish Parson-English and Continental Manners-Spanish Cookery-Rides about the Hills The Cathedral-Ford and Widdrington-Society in Malaga―The Malagueñas-Slanders of Tourists-Female Travelers-Span- ish Hospitality-Letters of Introduction-Dinners-Courtship |