ACCOUNT OF BOOKS. 



961 



behold 80 many individuals torn 

 from their homes and peaceful oc- 

 cupations, and to reflect how many 

 mothers, wives, and sisters, were 

 at that moment plunged in sorrow 

 for the departure of those so dear 

 to them, whom they might never 

 see again, without cursing from the 

 bottom of my soul, the ambition 

 and perfidy of that man who was 

 the sole cause of all this mischief 

 and distress ! 



" By degrees we left the plain 

 and these interesting groups, and 

 began to ascend the hills, among 

 which, Baena, three leagues from 

 Castro, is seated. The approach 

 to this town is highly pleasing, the 

 hill round it being covered with 

 plantations of olive-trees, while 

 the opposite sides are full of vine- 

 yards, which yeld a wine of great 

 repute, even as far as Cordova. 

 The town itself stands upon the 

 side, and towards the summit of a 

 steep hill, and appears to have 

 been formerly a place of much 

 importance. The great square, 

 or market-place, is larger, and 

 more elegant, than any in Cordo- 

 va, or even in Seville, and the pre- 

 sent population may be calculated 

 at about seven or eight thousand 

 souls. Instead of repairing to a 

 posada, I accepted the invitation of 

 the poor family at the post-house to 

 partake of their supper; and, wliile 

 it was preparing, I took a moonlight 

 walk with one of the inhabitants 

 through the streets of Baena. I 

 every where observed a profound 

 silence prevailing, unusual in a 

 Spanish town, on so fine a moon- 

 light Sunday evening ; but the 

 groups which I had met on the 

 road, and the information of my 

 companion, sufficiently accounted 

 for it. ' Could you behold the in- 



Vol, LI. 



terior of these houses,' said he, 

 • you would find scarcely one fa- 

 mily of which the women are not in 

 tears. * At supper 1 could by no 

 means prevail upon the good peo- 

 ple to eat until I had finished ; and 

 although no meat was to be pro- 

 cured, yet what with bread, eggs, 

 oil, garlic, and sailad, they made 

 up for me a tolerable mess. My 

 bed, as usual, was a pallet of straw, 

 stretched in the corner of a large 

 hay-loft, and I was again indebted 

 to my trusty cloak for a covering. " 



The plates that embellish this 

 little volume, are exact representa- 

 tions of the Spanish costume in 

 different provinces, and are in ge- 

 neral strikingly characteristic, not 

 only of the dress, but also of the 

 features, of the various peasantry 

 of Spain. 



Mr. Semple is of opinion (or 

 rather, we should say, was at the 

 time he wrote), that Spain might 

 yet be saved from the grasp of 

 Buonaparte, though he has con- 

 quered or intimidated all the rest 

 of Europe ; provided that the re- 

 sources of Spain and her aliy 

 Great Britain, were effectually 

 brought forth, and wisely direct- 

 ed. And he offers some hints 

 for effecting this purpose, not cer- 

 tainly unworthy of consideration. 

 In opposition to the reports of mi- 

 litary officers, he maintains that 

 the Spanish nation is sincerely 

 and cordially attached to the Eng- 

 lish. 



An Account of the Empire of Ma- 

 rocco, and the District of Siise : 

 ' compiled from Miscellaneous Ob- 

 senmtions, made during a long 

 Residence in, and various Jour- 

 neys through, these countries. To 

 3 Q xvhich 



