172 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



the Moorish arches being still there in decay, but the fort 

 is now very strong. About four or five hundred fine- 

 looking dragoons were looking after their horses, waiting 

 for a lull to enable them to embark for France. One of 

 their officers was wandering in a very solitary fashion over 

 the fort. "We had some conversation with him. He had 

 been at Sedan, had been taken prisoner, but had effected 

 his escape. He shook his head when we spoke of the ter- 

 mination of the war, and predicted its long continuance. 

 There was bitterness in his tone as he spoke of the charges 

 of treason so lightly levelled against French commanders. 

 The green waves raved round the promontory on which 

 the fort stands, smiting the rocks, breaking into foam, and 

 jumping, after impact, to a height of a hundred feet and 

 more into the air. As we returned our vehicle broke 

 down through the loss of a wheel. The Admiral went on 

 board, while I remained long watching the agitated sea. 

 The little horses of Oran well merit a passing word. Their 

 speed and endurance, both of which are heavily drawn 

 upon by their drivers, are extraordinary. 



The wind sinking, we lifted anchor on the 24th. For 

 some hours we went pleasantly along; but during the 

 afternoon the storm revived, and it blew heavily against 

 us all the night. When we came opposite the Bay of 

 Almeria, on the 25th, the captain, turned the ship, and 

 steered into the bay, where, under the shadow of the 

 Sierra Nevada, we passed Christmas night in peace. Next 

 morning "a rose of dawn" rested on the snows of the ad- 

 jacent mountains, while a purple haze was spread over the 

 lower hills. I had no notion that Spain possessed so fine 

 a range of mountains as the Sierra Nevada. The height 

 is considerable, but the form also is such as to get the 



