1811.] 
men would rather dispense with than 
adopt, if I may speak for myself and for 
mavy who are just come here. An 
occasional disgust arises when | see two 
men clasping each other in. their arms, 
/ whether it be in the street or in the draw- 
ing room; and the very porters adopt 
this custom, addressing each other, as do 
the highest ranks, by the tile of Setior. 
The great commerce of Cadiz em- 
ploys, or rather did employ, several hun- 
-dred. of these porters; their life reaily 
seems tobea “ purgatory.” If they work 
they are like slaves, if they are unem- 
ployed they are so poor as to be nearly 
starved. We now see them stretched in 
the streets all day long basking in the 
sun, or sleeping amid rags and filth. [ 
think that [ have told you in a former let- 
ter, that they are called Gallegues: they 
aie generally very civil, and as they are 
chiefly born on the mountains of Gallicia, 
from whence they take their name, they 
are a robust and hardy race; one may 
judge of their strength by seeing haifa 
dozen of them with a butt of wine sus- 
pended on poles resting on their shoul- 
ders, trotting barefooted in apparent 
€ase over the stones. 
I understand that it is not the disposi- 
tion of the Spaniards to travel much, even 
in their own country. This probably 
arises in a great measure from the want 
of accommodatians on the roads, and 
nothing but urgent necessity, or extreme 
curiosity in individuals, would lead them 
from hence to Madrid. The merchants 
and: families of fashion have, however, 
their country residence at Chiclana, 
which is about twenty miles from hence; 
“it is a small cown pleasantly situated in 
the midst of a fine part of the country, 
and the prospect opens into a delighttul 
-plain adorned with verdure, woods, and 
fluwers: this spot gives one an idea of the 
healthy climate of Spain and of its fertile 
soil; here they have their bella vistas 
and their promenades, and partake of 
the comforts of life, removed from the 
noise and bustle of commerce and the 
inseparable inconveniences attached to a 
‘trading city. 
The first seven miles is on the Penin- 
sula, already mentioned, which leads to 
‘the town of St. Isla de Leon, where isa 
beautiful bridge, called Puerto Zuaco, 
- eounecting it with the continent, and 
defended by strong fortifications; the 
tide flows high enough to adinit a seventy- 
four gun ship, to lie at anchor close to 
it. A great dependance for the safety 
of Cadiz, is on the resistance to be made 
Journal of a recent Voyage to Cadiz. 
337 
at this bridge, and at the Isla, against the 
approach of an enemy; but the Spaniards 
are so much attached to this bridge, on 
account of its beauty aud antiquity, as 
it is supposed to have been erected by 
the Romans, that it is become very ques 
tionable whether, in case of extremity, 
this measure should be resorted to. From 
hence, an excellent road commences, 
and extends two or three miles across a 
marsh, which the tide covers at high 
water, and it communicates with Zuaco, 
by means of a flying bridge. This road 
was formed by the Marquis de Solano, 
and shews, among other instances at 
Cadiz, that it was his inclination to in- 
troduce improvements into his country 5 
this is a much esteemed one, as it pre- 
vents passing throush upwards of six 
miles of wood and thickets, where there 
is'no regular road. 
There was found on the coast, about 
two leagues from Cadiz, a few yeurs agoy 
a considerable part of a bronze statue, 
supposed to be the remains of the statue 
of Hercules. ft is now in the possession 
of Mr. C———-, a merchant of tins 
place, and represents Envy, and a torch, 
with a wolf about two feet in length, 
lying at her feet; there are also two 
prints, or marks, where it 1s conjectured 
the figure of Hercules was fixed. This 
curiosity was dragged ashore by a fiske 
eriman, whose anchor hed fastened on ft, 
The pillars of Hercules, you know, 
were supposed to have stood somewhere 
in this‘ neighbourhood ; its situation has 
been assigned also to Gibraltar and 
Tariffa, each of those spots having been 
considered as the ‘ Ne plus Ultra’ of the 
conunent; but from this discovery it 
would appear that it is erroneous, 
In Cadiz, is a modern piece of fine 
sculpture in marble, erected at the end 
of one of the public walks, representing 
Hercules between two lions, from whose 
mouths used to flow a stream of water, 
supplied from a reservoir, which is now 
in decay. 
At a short distance from this, towards 
the hospital, is an elegant marble co- 
lumn, about thirty feet in heiwht, sure 
mounted with the Virgin Mary, and 
erected to commemorate the dreadful 
earthquake that produced the melan- 
choly distresses at Lisbon, in November, 
1755; and which was felt so severely 
here, as to threaten the overwhelming of 
the city by the sea. The column is 
placed on the spot, so far as which the 
water had swept all before it; and it was 
expected at the time, that if the rocks 
running 
