1831.3 Spanish Highivays and Byways. 503 



to produce instant strangulation. There was no struggle, and the hands 

 even in death, still retained their hold of the picture of the virgin. A 

 •white handkerchief was thrown over the face, and the body remained 

 till the afternoon, exposed to the public gaze. I never before saw a man 

 in whom the awfulness of such a situation produced less concern. The 

 fear of death appeared entirely absorbed in the greatness and glory of 

 his crime. He had played a desperate game, and was content with the 

 award ; if he had a single thought of bitterness it seemed to be that the 

 object for which he had staked his life was snatched for ever from his 

 grasp. I took the opportunity of my stay in IMadrid to visit the royal 

 manufactory at Britigua, sixteen leagues from the capital. The country 

 through which I travelled was beautiful and well cultivated, passing 

 through the towns of Guadalaxara and Torico. The town of Britigua 

 is situated at the foot of a mountain, and contains about 3000 inhabi- 

 tants. It is but little frequented by strangers ; and the reason may be 

 pretty evident to whosoever may unluckily find himself an inmate of its 

 solitary Posada, the " Cross of Malta." Never was the insignia of that 

 noble order emblazoned for a more unworthy purpose than in lending 

 its dignity to the vilest of Posadas. Nothing could I obtain to eat, no 

 bed to lie upon : the only accommodation the place afforded was a 

 little straw, not the cleanest, on which I slept in my clothes. 



The royal manufactory is built on the side of the mountain along 

 which canals are dug, to supply the reservoirs and furnaces with water. 

 The establishment consists of a governor's house and a chapel, extensive 

 rooms in which are erected looms for the weaving of cloth, shear-shops, 

 picking-loft, press-shops, dye-houses, and immense store-rooms, where 

 every thing is kept necessaiy for a manufactory on so grand a scale. No 

 expense has been spared to render it complete : it is supposed to have 

 cost upwards of one hundred thousand pounds. This manufactory was 

 confined to coarse woollens, and at one period its productions were highly 

 estimated. The inhabitants of this part of Spain are by no means pre- 

 possessing in their appearance, neither is the immediate neighbourhood 

 of the town interesting. There appeared to me an unpleasant expres- 

 sion of countenance, almost approaching to ferocity, peculiar to the peo- 

 ple, Avhich in addition to the inhospitable fare at the " Cross of JMalta," 

 rendered my stay as short as the most expeditious tourist could desire. 

 On my return to Guadalaxara, I had the satisfaction of learning from 

 my friends there, that the place I had just quitted was singidarly noto- 

 rious for robberies and murders, and that my escape was almost a miracle. 

 A lady, with whose family I was on terms of intimacy at Guadalaxara, 

 took me to the convent of Santa Claro, to introduce me to her sister, 

 who was a nun of that sisterhood, and had expressed a desire to see me. 

 Her father was a native of Birley, in Gloucestershire, in which parish 

 I held considerable property, and was lord of the manor ; and it was 

 there that the nun had passed her childhood. We were shewn into an 

 anti-room, adjoining the parlour, and she presently appeared on the other 

 side of a grating, which separated us from it. She wore the habit of 

 her order, wliich was of grey clotli, and a large crucifix was suspended 

 from her neck. I was struck with her beauty ; but more so with its 

 placid, though melancholy, expression. She asked me a great many 

 questions concerning her home, as she called it, and of the different 

 ])ranches of her father's family, in which she appeared to take great 

 interest. An excellent breakfast was prepared for us of chocolate, prune- 



