34 TENERIFFE. 
the quay. So large a town, with a population so apparently 
scanty, is apt to impress a stranger with an idea of some 
dreadful calamity having swept away a great proportion of the 
inhabitants. The fact is, the Spaniards seldom stir abroad 
except to attend matins and vespers ; and the British mer- 
chants, who here as well as at Madeira may be said to mono- 
polize the wine trade, are few in number ; and those few 
reside chiefly at the port of Oratava, from whence the greater 
part of the wines are shipped. 
The many little conveniences and comforts to which an 
Englishman is accustomed at home but ill prepare him for 
the awkward shifts he is obliged to make, the bad accommo- 
dations he is sure to meet with, and the endless difficulties 
he must necessarily encounter, in every country where Eng- 
lishmen do not form a considerable portion of the inhabit- 
ants. We were told, however, that in Santa Cruz there was 
an excellent inn ; but the expectations we had formed, from 
our experience in Madeira, suffered little disappointment on 
fmding it just the reverse of what it had been represented. 
The bare w^alls, scarcely covered with lime, the miserable 
furniture and, above all, the dirty appearance of every thing 
^ritliin, if not a criterion of absolute poverty, were at least 
sufficient indications of the indolence of the owners and the 
little sense they entertained of the comforts arisino- from clean- 
liness. It afforded nothing but a few grapes and brown 
bread, and wine that was scarcely drinkable. Ha\ing se- 
cured, as we thought, a sufficient number of horses and mules 
for an expedition to the Peak the following morning, and 
taken a view of the town, w^e were glad to return to dinner 
7 
