78 



MALAGA. 



We left Seville for Malaga on October 23rd. In the early stages of the 

 journey one passes in review a never-ending procession of olive trees. The 

 visible horizon is crowded with them ; in the plains and on hill-slopes, in poor- 

 looking country quite as much as in fertile-looking tracts. These trees, 

 however, begin to thin out and finally disappear altogether as we ascend 

 into higher regions. The approach to Malaga itself is as picturesque as it 

 is unexpected ; from precipitous recesses we glide down on easy gradients 

 to the sea-beach. First we penetrate the wild gorge of Hoyo de Chorro, 

 and are soon threading an endless labyrinth of tunnels, whilst in the intervals 

 of daylight we are vouchsafed glimpses of desolate mountain scenery, gigantic 

 boulders and sheer cliff faces overhanging chasms and far distant torrents ; 

 and then suddenly, as by enchantment, bursts to view the tropical luxuriance 

 of the Hoyo de Malaga. Well down to the sandy beach the railway line is 

 now bordered by an entangled growth of oranges, palms, pomegranates, 

 figs, vines : a wonderful sight after the bleak grimness of the mountain 

 passes. 



In Malaga we did not tarry long, for neither general accommodation nor 

 the town itself are altogether in keeping with the wild beauty of the sur- 

 roundings. Malaga appears to be both a thriving seaport and an important 

 industrial centre, in which neither the gospel of cleanliness nor general sanitary 

 science appear to have made much headway, and the condition of streets 

 and highways at this time of the year is the reverse of pleasant after the 

 fall of the merest shower of rain. The general climate, however, is said to 

 be ideal over the greater portion of the year ; and I can well imagine that 

 such should be the case, although the fact that sugar-cane thrives in the 

 vicinity would appear to suggest a certain degree of atmospheric oppressive- 

 ness at certain periods of the year. 



Malaga has long been celebrated for the quality of its sweet wines, which 

 the lapse of centuries has in no way impaired, albeit they are of the type 

 that appeals more to the Latin than to the Anglo-Saxon palate. Within 

 recent years, unfortunately, the unchecked ravages of the phylloxera have 

 done much towards curtailing a once extensive vineyard area, and the wine 

 output of Malaga is no more what it was some 20 or 30 years ago. Equally 

 celebrated, and with good reason, are the Malaga table raisins ; I do not 

 recollect seeing anything finer of their kind. The getting-up of these raisins 

 for sale, so as to show them off to best advantage, is no neglected art here, 

 nor did I meet with any attempts at the deliberate concealment of second- 

 class and inferior fruit beneath surface layers of choicer description. What- 

 ever was described as first-class I found to be first-class from top to bottom ; 

 experience shows that such is not always the case elsewhere. 



The gardens of Malaga appear to revel in luxuriance ; at the time, how- 

 ever, they presented a somewhat unkempt appearance which, on the whole, 



