CHARACTERS. 



807 



tend beyond thenarrowcircle of their 

 duties, as their sight extends no fur- 

 ther than the inclosure of their 

 mountains ; they are perhaps right 

 in not attempting to pa^s either the 

 one or the other. 



The Biscayans are not reputed to 

 have the sobriety of the Spaniards 

 in general ; it is said of them, that 

 they consume the produce of their 

 wine in buying foreign wines ; they 

 eat and drink a great deal, but are 

 seldom intoxicated. The idea of a 

 nobility descending toall thenatives 

 of Biscay, hasastriking influenceon 

 the character of the people of the 

 three cantons; it preserves in their 

 houses a principleof dignity, which, 

 even in the lowest offices gives them 

 a noble mien and an elevation of 

 soul. 



The wives of the ancient Cantabri 

 were as courageous as their hus- 

 bands ; they did not carry arms, or 

 fight, but they attended on them in 

 battle, supported their courage, and 

 provoked their vengeance. Ani- 

 mated by an heroic pride, they re- 

 solved to be free, and spurned every 

 idea to the contrary, preferring 

 death to servitude. They sacrificed 

 all that was dear to them to their 

 independence. Carrying always a 

 dagger about them, they were often 

 seen, during the wars of the Romans 

 against the Cantabri, to plunge it in 

 the breasts of the children whom 

 they suckled, at the moment they 

 were about to fall into the power 

 of their enemies, preferring the grief 

 of losing them, to that of seeing 

 them in slavery. 



The Biscayan women are still 

 high-minded, courageous, and de- 

 termined, and would perhaps dis- 

 play the same energy, if there were 

 occasion for it. Their features are 



in general regular, and their com- 

 plexion fresh, brown, yet ruddy, 

 bespeaks vigour and health; a bold 

 countenance, a lively eye, a confi- 

 dent look, and a certain haughty 

 air, mark in them the sentiment of 

 independence which has reigned in 

 this province. 



The Cantabrian women used 

 to carry the heaviest burthens ; 

 they cultivated the lands, plough- 

 ed the fields, and did every kind 

 of work ; they got up soon after 

 their lying-in, and nursed their 

 husbands, who went to bed in 

 their stead, a custom which was 

 likewise common among the inha- 

 bitants of Navarre, and for which 

 it is impossible to give any rea- 

 son. 



The Biscayan females of the 

 present day have not degenerated. 

 They work in the field as well as 

 the men, and more diligently ; at 

 the sea-ports they are moreemploy- 

 ed than the men ; they manage the 

 boats, and likewise act as porters. 

 Bilbao particularly is the place to 

 judge of them. Without shoes or 

 stockings, with a short petticoat, 

 their arms naked to the shoulders, 

 and displaying vigorous muscles, 

 they are not dismayed with the 

 heaviest burthens ; it often requires 

 the assistance of two stout men to 

 help up the load, and while the 

 stranger is terrified to look on, 

 they run off with it as if it were 

 nothing. After working in this 

 manner all day, they show no signs 

 of fatigue at night; they often re- 

 turn home several of them toge- 

 ther, holding hands, dancing to a 

 tambourine. They are sometimes 

 seen working on the sides of moun- 

 tains, climbing rapidly over steep 

 rocks, running along them, and 



coming 



