190 VEGETATION OF THE 



were as plentiful here as in other parts of the south of 

 Spain. 



An old convent, celebrated for the miracles which 

 its patron saint has worked in former ages, is situa- 

 ted in a district of the Corkwood called Almorama ; 

 its only inmates at present are an aged priest and a 

 few half-starved attendants, supported more by the 

 generosity of British visitants than by the pious offer- 

 ings of pilgrims. The long galleries surrounding the 

 time-worn cloisters frequently shake with the merri- 

 ment of the pic-nic parties from Gibraltar, who, 

 attracted by the seclusiveness of the spot, and the 

 beauty of the surrounding scenery, resort here fre- 

 quently during the spring and early part of summer, 

 to shake off the ennui consequent on a residence in so 

 dull a place as the rock. A little beyond the con- 

 vent of Almorama is a dilapidated pile of buildings, 

 called the Long Stables, and here the botanist will 

 find a path leading to the rocky eminence on which 

 stands Castellar, famed in Spanish history for the 

 remarkable sieges it sustained during the Moorish 

 wars. The castle is now almost a heap of ruins, and 

 the houses within are mouldering to dust, with the 

 exception of the one occasionally occupied by the lord 

 of this extensive district. Curiosity once led me into 

 the interior of this building, and among other antiques 

 there is in the drawing-room one of Broadwood's 

 oldest Pianos, which was considered a great acquisi- 

 tion by the inhabitants of this old-fashioned place, 

 although scarcely a note could be extracted from it. 



