804 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



vlte, and it is very difficult to re- 

 sist them. 



Andalusia was formerly the re- 

 fuge of the Gitanos, that dangerous 

 and perfidious race, irreligious and 

 dishonest vagabonds, withouteitlier 

 faith or law, who were the curse 

 of Spain, the disgrace of the nation 

 which suffered them, the terror of 

 the roads and of the country, and 

 whom the government of Spain 

 have at last proscribed b)' severe 

 aws. They were countenanced 

 by the Andalusian nobility, who 

 were in their turn protected by 

 them ; these noblemen furnished 

 them with asylums, where they 

 could secret themselves with their 

 booty from the pursuit of justice ; 

 but, in turn, they spared in their 

 incursions their estates, property, 

 persons, servants, and farmers ; 

 they were the agents of their ven- 

 geance, and afforded them as 

 many satellites as there were Gi- 

 tanos. 



The Andalusians were formerly 

 celebrated among the Romans for 

 their dexterity ; they have often 

 shone upon the theatres of Rome ; 

 the young female Andalusians have 

 very frequently attracted there the 

 applause of the multitude by their 

 wanton dances, have captivated the 

 hearts of consuls, tribunes, praetors, 

 senators, over whom they exercised 

 the most absolute dominion. The 

 modern Andalusian women are not 

 degenerated ; thej- are now the 

 most agreeable and attractive 

 dancers in Spain. They are in ge- 

 neral well made, their complexion 

 is delicate, their figure slender, 

 their turn of countenance arch, 

 their eyes black, lively, and full 

 of fire; they are affected but grace- 

 ful. Those of the kingdom of 

 Granada are the best made; and 



of those, the women of Malaga 

 have the superiority. 



They smoke more in Andalusia 

 than in any country in Spain : the 

 men have a strong passion for it, 

 and many of the women indulge 

 in it sometimes. 



In the kingdom of Granada the 

 men think little of their excellent 

 wines, they prefer the misteln and 

 the rosolis, of which they drink to 

 excess; yet it does not appear 

 that they ever suffer any inconve- 

 nience from it. 



In Andalusia there are three 

 maeslrnnzas, or associations of 

 the nobility, the principal end of 

 which appears to be, that of keep- 

 ing up the ancient spirit of chival- 

 ry, but the true motive of which is 

 a combination of pride and the 

 love of pleasure. There is one of 

 them at Granada, one at Seville, 

 and one at Ronda, in the kingdom 

 of Seville. 



Andalusia has no language pe- 

 culiar to itself. The people speak 

 Castilian, but it is altered, cor- 

 rupted, and very much disfigured 

 by a prodigious mixture of Ara- 

 bian words : it is still more so by a 

 vicious pronunciation, which ren- 

 ders the language difficult to be 

 understood ; it is more gutteral 

 than in the other parts of Spain. 

 It is also more full and thick; a 

 Castilian often finds it difficult to 

 understand an Andalusian, though 

 he speaks the same language as 

 himself. 



Character, Manners, Customs, Sfc, 

 of the Murcians. [^From the 

 same,'] 



The Murcian scarcely ever goes 

 out of the town which gave hina 



birth ; 



