Chap, IV. through Port tTGAL and SRAlM* 
at that time two fach Parties in the Mountains of forty 
‘on a Side each, and I was credibly inform’d, that not 
long ago two fuch-like Fellows were executed at Valen- 
tia^ who confefs’d that one of them had murthered 
thirty three Perfons, and the other no lefs than feventy 
feven. The Government of the Kingdom of Valentia 
is adminiftred by a Viceroy^ but the Town of Alicant 
has its peculiar Governor^ who commands alfo the Gar- 
rifon when they have any, all their ftanding Forces 
thereabouts confiding in a few Troops of Horfe, and 
fome Foot Militia, for the Defence of the Coaft. 
The City contains betwixt thirty and forty thoufand 
Communicants ; their Civil Adminiftration is by a Juf- 
tice, like our Mayors, and fome Aldermen ; it has fix 
Convents of religious Men, viz. the Jefuites, Domini- 
cans., Auflin Friers, Carmelites, Francifcans, and Capu- 
chins ; two Nunneries, the Manges de la Sangue and Ca- 
puchins ; and as many Parifh Churches, S. Nicholas and 
S. Mary*?>. For the reft, Spain is at prefent in a very 
low Condition, through the weak Adminiftration of the 
Queen-Mother, the King’s Want of Education, and 
the Feuds among the Grandees, which has depriv’d them 
of all their former Strength both by Sea and Land, for 
Want of Money, Provifions, and all other Things re- 
quifite for the Maintenance of a Fleet and Army ; and 
what is worfe, without any future Profpedt of having 
thefe Things redrefs’d. It is true, the King’s Revenues 
are very great, but being anticipated, little of them 
comes into the King’s Coffers ; for the Spanijh Indies 
are computed to amount to ten Millions a Year in their 
Revenues to the Crown, and their Seaport Towns muft 
needs bring in confiderable Cuftoms, were it not 
that the Officers are both remifs and corrupted in 
their Places. 
20. About half a League from Alicant is a famous 
Convent of Nuns, whither there is a great Rdort of 
Pilgrims, to pay their Devotions to the Sandia Faz or 
Holy Face kept in this Nunnery ; among thefe are tfpe- 
cally many Seamen, who when they leave Alicant, Le- 
quently make a Vow of performing their Devotions 
here after their fafe Return, which thev per orni bare- 
footed after a profperous Voyage. T;. Story of rhis 
holy Face runs thus : 
Our Saviour going t© his Crucifixio;; ;; certain Wo- 
man call’d Veronica, who was juft then monidi- g Dough, 
and had a Napkin girt about her, coming out of her 
Houle at the Node of the I coplc, and feeing our Sa- 
viour’s Face all dropping wit'^ Blood and Sweat, took 
the folded Napkin and lb w/ipcd nis Face, the Impref- 
fion whereof remained upon die three Folds •, thefe the 
Church preferv’d as holy Relicks, one whereof 
(they fay) is at St.PeteVi, at Rome, the other in a Con- 
vent near Malaga, and the third here, which (they 
fay) came hither over Sea, and landing in Valentia, 
upon the Confines of two Parifhes, a great Conteft 
arofe which of them it belong’d to ; to decide this Dif- 
ference it was agreed to blind a certain Perfon, who 
Ihould walk for fome time with the Sandia Faz there- 
abouts, and that thofe fhould be Mafters of it in whofe 
Precind he happened to drop it ; which was done ac- 
cordingly, and it happening to fall in this Place, a Con- 
vent and Church was founded for its Prefervation. Its 
Virtue was the firft: time experienced in a great Drought, 
when being carry’d in Proceffion, it rain’d immediately, 
and that in great Abundance. By Permiffion of one 
of the Fathers I had Liberty given me to look upon 
it a fecond time, as near as the Glafs in which it is en- 
clos’d would allow of, and found it rather to refemble 
the Face of a Child, than a Man of that Age, as our 
blefled Saviour, at the Time of his Suffering, which 
made me look upon the whole as fabulous and I re- 
member, a certain Italian Painter feeing it, did not 
flick to fay. It was the worji Daubing he ever faw. Once 
a Year, viz. the lyth of March, there is a great Feaft 
celebrated at Alicant in Memory of this Holy Face, 
when ’tis brought into the City, upon which Occafion 
great Rejoycings are to be feen every where, and the 
Night generally concludes with Bonfires and a fine Fire- 
work. During my Stay at Alicant, I had the Oppor- 
VOL. II. N?CXVIII. ' 
tunity of feeing divers of their Proceffions, and ariiong 
the reft, that on Corpus Chrifii Day, one of the moft 
celebrated in thofe Parts : The firft Pageant reprefented 
the Hiftory of Adam and Eve, how the Serpent entic’d 
her, how they eat the forbidden Fruit, and were threat- 
ned by the Angel with a naked Sword t The next^ 
Abraham^ % Sacrifice of his Son Ifaac, a 6 ted by living 
Perfons, who (as we were told) were Fifhermens Chil- 
dren, and had their Leffons taught by the Priefls, and 
their Pay from the Town for their ading. Thefe Pa- 
geants are made upon Waggons, with Boards laid up- 
on them, both the Stages and Adors being thus drawn 
by Men along the Streets *, thefe were followed by cer- 
tain Giants, to perfonate the Gentiles, after whom came 
a Serpent reprefenting Temptation, and after this a 
Dragon with his Mouth wide open, to reprefent Hun- 
ger : Next to thefe came the feverai Companies of 
Tradefmen with their Banners ; then the Capuchins, 
Carmelites, Aujlm Friars, and Francifcans, each carrying 
the Image of the Founder of their Order, and that 
of the Virgin Mary, fplendidly attir’d ; then followed 
fome Morris-dancers, and after them fome Church- 
men of Note, and a few little Children drefs’d up like 
Angels, ftrewing Flowers before the Biffiop, who walk’d 
under a Canopy, carrying the Hoft. 
21. We have in thisSedion a very good Supplement 
to the laft, for the Author, who travelled only for his 
Pleafure, and by Way of Diverfion from the Fatigues of 
Bufinefs, enters into no deep political Speculations, but 
keeps pretty much to the Surface of Things, and tells 
us in what Light they appeared to him, at the Time of 
his Paffage. What he fays of Portugal is certainly 
very juft, and we have good Reafon to believe that 
Things are not much mended there at this Day. Yet 
this Country is juftly efteemed the fineft Part of Spain, 
if it be confidered as having belonged to it, both in 
earlier Times, and little more than one hundred Years 
ago. It lies very conveniently for Healthy for Pleafure 
and Commerce, along the Sea-fide, feverai large navi- 
gable Rivers running through, and emptying themfelves 
into the Ocean in its feverai Provinces, and thereby 
making many, and fome of them excellent Ports, at the 
fame Time that the Trade through the Country is by 
the fame Means much facilitated. 
The Kingdom of Portugal may boaft of as fine a 
Climate, as almoft any Country in Europe, for though 
from its Southern Situation it is very hot, yet this is lb 
tempered by Breezes from the Sea, as not only to 
become very tolerable, but alfo very pleafant. It may 
alfo boaft of as much Variety as almoft any Country, 
for the Northern Provinces are mountainous, and this 
renders them cool and wholfome, though lefs fruitful 
than the plain and flat Country about Lisbon -, and here, 
as well as in Spam, it has been remarked that thefe Pro- 
vinces are more populous and better cultivated than 
where the Soil is more indulgent, which renders the 
People vicious and lazy, confequently indigent, and 
in a wretched Condition. In the former Part of this 
Volume we have treated fo largely of Brazil, and in 
our firft Volume faid fo much of the Rife and Progrefs 
of the Naval Power of Portugal, the Empire fhe once 
had in the Eaft-Indies, the Manner in which it declined, 
and the very low State to which it is at prefent redu- 
ced, that there is no Neceflity of adding any Thing 
on thofe Subjeds here. But it may not be amifs to ob- 
ferve, that, how paradoxical foever it may feem, yet there 
is good Reafon to doubt, whether the Diamond and 
Gold Mines that have been difeovered of late Years in 
Brazil, have been fo very advantageous to this Country 
as is generally fuppofed. 
To explain this Notion it will be fufficlent to hint to 
the Reader, that, independent of its Plantations, Por- 
tugal is very far from being a poor Country, or defti- 
tute of the Means of carrying on a very extenfive 
Commerce, The Proportion in Extent between the 
Kingdoms of Spain and Portugal is, upon a fair Com- 
putation, thought to be as fix to one, and yet it is be- 
lieved that the Commodities and Manufa 6 lures are very 
nearly equal, that is to fay, though Portugal is but a 
8 T fixth 
