Puerto del Comar 



to be expected with such clumsy, straw-stufFed saddles ; 

 especially as I have ridden all the way, since our first disaster 

 close to Seville, without stirrups, which of course works the 

 saddle more about on his back than if there were a support 

 to balance one's self by. I cut the pad open, and pulled a 

 good deal of the stuffing out in the obnoxious place ; and 

 led him, determining to walk as much as I could, till we 

 got to Granada. 



Acting on this intention with vigour, I walked the 

 first two leagues, Harry entertaining me on the way 

 with a treatise on sore backs, of which so many of his 

 party's horses died in the desert. He says, if we were 

 obliged to press on without stopping, as they had to do, the 

 Moor's term of life would be about a month ; and then, 

 after passing through a state when at every staggering 

 step the spurs forced a groan out of his wasted body, he 

 would drop at last, and be eaten by wolves and vultures. 

 But we should have a chance of curing him at Granada, 

 staying there ten days or so. 



We discussed many of the sovereignest things for a sore 

 back, but I have declared myself for treating the Moor like 

 a Christian, that is, at least, as I should treat myself. I 

 shall poultice at first to get out the inflammation, and then 

 wash the place with a solution of lunar caustic. At Vifiuela, 

 where we breakfasted, I washed his back with hot water, 

 and left a wet rag on to cool the place. Soon after Vifiuela 

 the road begins to steepen. 



At Velez we had turned inland to go up over the moun- 

 tain-ridge which runs paralled with the coast. High above 

 us appeared a deep round-bottomed nick between two flat- 

 topped mountains, across which gap lay a great white 

 bolster of cloud. I am aware it would be more in the 

 acknowledged style of descriptive scenery to call it a "giant 



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