SEVILLE. 



Seville, in Spanifti Sevilla, and in Latin Hifpulis, 

 the capital of the above kingdom, is a large haiidiome 

 city, one of the firft in Spain, and fo ancient, that it is 

 mentioned by Strabo, Pomponius Mela, Pliny, and Pto- 

 lemy, as being ancient even in their time. Fable afcribes 

 its origin to Hercules, Bacchus, to the Hebrews, to the 

 Chaldians, and to the Phcenicians ; but its real founder is 

 unknown. From the Romans it obtained the privilege of 

 a Roman colony, and it was called " Julia Romula," or 

 Little Rome. This town has often changed its fovereign 

 and its form of government. It was formerly fubjetl to 

 the Gothic kings, who made it the place of their refidencc ; 

 and in 582 it took part in the rebellion of Ermenegild, fon 

 of king Leudivigild. In 711, it opened its gates to the 

 Moors; and in 1027 it fupported the rebellion of the 

 Moor, who was its governor, in favour of the king of 

 Cordova, whom it proclaimed king of Seville. Reltored 

 to the empire of the fovereigns of Cordova, it agam raifed 

 the ilandard of rebellion in 1 144, and chofe itfelf a king, 

 whofe defcendants united Cordova to their new dominions. 

 Aben-hut, the lall of tliofe kings, being aliaffinated at Al- 

 meria, and Ferdinand II., king of Callile and Leon, hav- 

 ing feized upon Cordova and Jaen in 1236, it threw off all 

 authority, formed ilfelf into a republic, and was governed 

 by its own laws. In its turn, however, it experienced the 

 power of a conqueror. Ferdinand II. ailembled his forces 

 before Seville in 1247, and compelled it, after a year's re- 

 finance, to furrender 23d of Nov. 1248. From the period 

 of this memorable fiege Seville has always made a part of 

 the dominions of the kings of Caitiie. 



Seville is fituated on a beautiful and extenfive plain, on 

 the banks of the Guadalquivir. Its fliape is circular, and 

 its circumference, as it was left by the Romans, is fur- 

 rounded by a wall more than a league in circuit, flanked 

 by 176 towers: the number of gates is 12, that of Triana 

 being of Doric architecture, and ornamented with columns 

 and ttatues. Over one of the gates is the following in- 

 fcription : 



" Condidit Alcides, renovavit Julius Urbem, 

 Reltituit Cl;riilo Fernandus Tertius, Heros." 



The town is badly planned, the ftreets being narrow, crook- 

 ed, and ill-paved : the houfes, however, are tolerably well 

 built, and, including thofe of the fuburbs, amount to 

 11,820 in number. The number of inhabitants is itated 

 by Mr. Townfend at 80,268, contained in 30 parifhes, 

 84 convents, and 24 hoipitals. Laborde ellimaCes the 

 prefent population, fince the decline of its commerce, at 

 96,000. Many of the houfes have large courts, furrounded 

 by galleries or columns, with foimtains in the middle. In 

 fummcr the families live in the galleries, or courts, where 

 they fprcad tents. In Seville there are many fquares, the 

 bed of which are La Lonja, or the Exchange ; the Hotel 

 de Ville ; the Arfenal, at the entrance of the harbour, with 

 the Cullom-houfe and the Gold-houfe, in which the gold 

 and filver brought from the Indies are depofited : here are 

 alfo fcveral fine (uburbs, and a handfome promenade, called 

 Alameda, having three walks planted with trees, and orna- 

 mented with feats and fountains. This city is the fee of 

 an archbirtiop ; and of the public ecclefiaflical edifices, the 

 firll that demands attention is the cathedral, chiefly ad- 

 mired for its tower, conltrudted by Gtiever the Moor ; 

 originally, vit.. A.D. 1568, 250 feet high, and afterwards 

 raited loo feet. It is fo eafy of afcont, and at the fame 

 time fo fpacious, that two horfemen may ride up abreall ; 

 and on the top is the Giraldai or brazen image, whichi with 



its palm-brauch, weighs near i\ ton, and yet turns with 

 the flighteil variation of the wind. 



The dimenfions of the cathedral are 420 feet, by 263 ; 

 and the height is 126 feet. It was built A.D. 1401. It re- 

 ceives light by fourfcorewnidows with painted glafs, the work 

 of Arnao of Flanders, each of which coll 1000 ducats. 



The treafures of this church are ineftimable : one altar 

 is wholly filver, with all its ornaments, as are the images, 

 large as life, of S. Ifidore and S. Leander, and a cuftodia 

 or tabernacle for the hod more than four yards high, 

 adorned with forty-eight columns ; yet thefe are trifling in 

 value, when compared with the gold and precious ftones 

 depofited by the piety and zeal of Catholics, during the 

 period in which all the wealth of a newly. difcovered world 

 flowed into this city. The profufion of gold, of filver, 

 and of gems, would be more llriking, were not the atten- 

 tion occupied and loll in admiration of innumerable pic- 

 tures, the works of thofe Spanifli mafters who flouriihed 

 immediately after the revival of tlie art in Seville. Every 

 chapel preferves fome monuments of tlieir fnperior fkill. 

 Of thefe, the moil confpicuous are of Luis de Vargas, 

 and of Fr. Zurbaran, but chiefly of Murillo. By the lall 

 is a Nativity in the chapel of the Conception, and, near 

 the baptifmal tont, S. Anthony of Padua, with the Bap- 

 tifm of Chriil. In the principal iacrilty, are his much 

 admired piflures of S. Ifidore with his brother S. Lean- 

 der ; and in another iacrifty his Holy Family, and an Ecce 

 Homo by Morales. The chapter-houfe is wholly devoted 

 to Murillo, and the chapel of S. Peter is given up to Zur- 

 baran. The works of Luis de Vargas are difperfed in 

 various places ; but his famous pifture called de la Gamba, 

 is in a chapel near the gate of S. Chrillopher, and merits 

 particular attention. 



To the cathedral belongs a library of 20,000 volumes, 

 coUefted by Hernando, fon to Chrillobal Colon, the firft 

 difcoverer of America, a man of talte, and much admired 

 \\\ his day for learning. It is to be lamented, that modern 

 publications have not been added to complete what was 

 fo well begun by him. 



The condrudtion of the organ is peculiar ; it contains 

 5300 pipes, with iio ilops, being, as it is faid, 50 more 

 than thofe of the famous ore at Haerlem, yet, fo ample 

 arc the bellows, that when ftretched they fupply the full 

 organ fifteen minutes. The mode of lilling them with air 

 is lingular ; for inllead of working witii his hands, a man 

 walks backwards and forwards along an inclined plane of 

 about fifteen feet in length, whicli ia balanced in the middle 

 on its axis ; under each end is a pair of bellows of about 

 fix feet by three and a half. Tlieie communicate with five 

 other pair united by a bar ; and the latter are fo contrived, 

 that when they are in danger of being overllraincd, a valve 

 is lifted up, and gives them relief. Pafling ten times along 

 the inclined plane lilis all thele veflels. 



In the cathedral are eighty-two altars, at which are faid 

 daily '!\.se hundred nialles. The annual conlumption is 

 fifteen hundred arrohas of wine, eiglit hundred of oil, and 

 of wax about one tlioufand. 



The wealth belonging to this chapter may be ellimatcd 

 by tlie numbers that are fupported by it. 



The archbifhop, with a revenue of three hundred tliou- 

 fand ducats ; or, in llcrling, nearly thirty-three tlioufand 

 pounds a-year. 



Eleven dignitaries, who wear the mitre on high fellivals, 

 amply, but not equally, provided for. 



Forty canons, of forty tlioufand reals, or about four 

 hundred pounds each ptr annum. 



Twenty 



