1' 31.] Spanish Highways and Byways. H9 



accompanied my friend Thomas to inspect an estate to which he had 

 given the name of North and South Baghott. This estate had been 

 conveyed to me, on the condition, that I should introduce my new sys- 

 tem of washing wool in this district, which is notoriously behind-hand in 

 this particular to the rest of Spain. I found the estate consist of a con- 

 siderable tract of grass land, comprising a great number of acres. It 

 was divided by a ravine through which flowed a copious stream of 

 water. Thomas proposed to dam up this rivulet by throwing a head 

 across the ravine, which would enable the proprietor to flood the 

 meadows, and supply the washhouse, besides working a mill to grind coin. 

 The speculation, however, did not please me, for reasons which it is 

 hardly necessary to relate here, and my place was supplied by a gentle- 

 man of a more enterprising spirit than myself; which, unfortunately for 

 him, ended as I predicted. 



Azuaga is a neat, pretty town, containing about 3,000 inhabitants. 

 There is a fine ruin of an ancient castle at its northern extremity, beau- 

 tifully situated, so as to command a view over the whole adjacent coun- 

 try, clothed with vines, olive trees, corn, and sheep pasture. Game is 

 likewise very plentiful, consisting of the wild boar, deer, hare, bustard, 

 partridge, and birds of the grouse species, which 1 had not seen before. 

 Thomas had procured a young wolf, which he brought up as tame as a 

 dog ; and he had a hen then sitting on bustards' eggs, intending to try 

 whether these naturally timid birds could be domesticated. An English 

 lady, to whom I had been introduced in JMadrid, resided in Azuaga 

 with her husband, and had fitted up her house with a true sense of 

 English comforts ; not amongst the least of which were glass windows. 

 They arrived during my stay there, and as the people of the country 

 had never beheld any thing like them before, their curiosity was excited 

 in a proportionate degree. One fellow, after gazing on the ti-ansparent 

 substance for some time with vague astonishment, at last fancied he had 

 discovered the secret, and supposing it to be nothing more than an im- 

 provement in the manufacture of oiled paper, which he had seen before, 

 to convince himself, thrust his huge fingers against the pane. The brittle 

 material was not proof against so rude an assault, and was shivered in a 

 moment ; on which the lout, seeing his maimed fingers, and hearing the 

 crash of the glass, believed himself mortally wounded, and set up such 

 an astounding cry, that the whole crowd, magnifying their danger, took 

 to their heels, and proved that the imaginary demoniacal effect of the 

 glass was its best protection. 



Our horses being fresh, I hoped to reach Villa Franca, a distance of 

 eleven leagues, in a day, and leaving Azuaga early in the morning, we 

 passed through jMaquilla, Lerea, and Hinojosa, obscure villages of no 

 note, and having entered a plain of considerable extent, which we tra- 

 versed for some hours without seeming to approach any great thorough- 

 fare, 1 began to fear a repetition of my old misfortune. Night overtook 

 us in this predicament, and foreseeing in the darkness only an increase 

 of our perplexity, I determined to bivouac for this night in the plain. 

 We drew off the road about the distance of a hundred yards; and my 

 servant stripped the horses, tied them together, and turned tliem up to 

 graze. Our saddles served as usual for pillows, our horse blankets for 

 covering ; and having the advantage of a good stock of provisions, we 

 made ourselves amforlahlv for the night. The only drawback on our 

 rural enjoyment, was the danger of a visit from the wolves of the neigh- 



