204 
procured from South America, resem- 
bling cotton; and in default of this, fire- 
is always at hand in the streets, as num- 
bers of boys are always running about, 
crving out, Fire! which they carry with 
them on a piece of match-rope, and ac- 
commodate you with for a trifle of cep- 
per money; some shopkeepers are so 
obliging as to suspend at their doors a 
piece of this rope, for the same purpose: 
you may judge, therefore, how prevalent 
Is smoking, and_it is as common a com- 
pliment to offer a segar, as it is with usa. 
pinch of snuff. . 
In almost every street are images of 
the Virgin Mary, or of some saint, secu- 
ted in a glass.case, gilded and otherwise 
decorated, and generally with a light 
burning before it; a cross presents itself 
in almost every direction: the walls of 
the convents are surrounded with them, 
the posts at the corners of streets are 
formed into this shape, and scarcely 
any thing ornamental is without the 
crucifix. - ; 
~The space of ground on which Cadiz 
stands is so limited, that there are but 
two or three gardens here, and no house 
has the convenience of a court-yard; the 
walk round the ramparts is about three 
miles; the inhabitants are now compu- 
ted at about sixty thousand, but previous 
to the two dreadful visitations of the 
fever, in the years 1800 and 1804, they 
reckoned seventy thousand. 
In the first of these afflictions there 
died about twelve thousand, and in the 
second about four thousand persons. At 
each of these periods the intercourse be- 
tween families was, as you may suppose, 
suspended as much as possible; few per- 
sons appeared in the streets but from 
real necessity; those who performed the 
last sad offices to the dead were the 
porters, who in general escaped the 
effect of the contagion: they were em-_ 
ployed day and night in removing the 
bodies in carts to the place of interment, 
where they were often left uncovered in 
pits and in heaps; some of the sick were 
actually carried to this cemetery under 
the idea of their being dead, and after 
‘an exposure to the air, returned from the 
horrid scene to their homes, and are 
now living in the recollection of the dis- 
mal event. 
Previous to this period, the practice of 
burying in the churches had been always 
adopted ; but there is now a large spot of 
ground allotted for this purpose, at about 
a mile from the city; it was with diffi- 
- eulty that the inhabitants in general 
Journal of a recent 
“salutary a regulation. 
Voyage to Cadiz, 
could be prevailed on to acquiesce in $e 
The effuvia im 
the churches, I am told, used to be sa 
offensive, that the constant fumigation 
by herbs and perfumes, would not to- 
tally overcome the unwholesome and 
noxious air arising from the putrefaction 
_ of the dead; 
The ume of interment is within twen< 
ty-four hours after the decease; and ix 
Oct. I, 
the mean while the corpse is exposed at 
the street door, decorated with flowers 
and lighted tapers; but the funeral cere- 
‘mony takes place, at times, some days 
after the interment of the body ; indeed, 
according to Catholic custom, there is no © 
end to the masses that may be’ said for _ 
the preservation of the soul of the de- 
parted: but this depends on: the liberal 
donations to the clergy for that purpose. 
There is an entry in the Court Calen- 
dar of Spain, for the Jast year, enumeras 
ting the masses celebrated for the souls. 
in purgatory, which amount to one hun- 
dred and forty-one thousand nine hun 
dred and fifty-seven; and in the year 
1807, to the month of November, one 
thousand two hundred and thirty ; ma- 
king 143,187; at one particular insti- 
tution of charity, called the ‘* Piedad de ~ 
los Montes,” and which cost one*rial, or 
about three-pence for each mass, ta 
which, it is added, were ‘¢ appropriated 
the voluntary gifts of the faithful for 
those pious purposes.” fies Sig) 
To increase the calamity of 
bitants during the first rage of the fever, 
the British fleet, with the army which af= — 
terward landed in Egypt, appeared off 
the place, and were inclined to take 
advantage of its distress, by summoning. 
it to a surrender ; thinking that a defence 
could not be made against our forces. 
You may recollect the event; the Spa- 
niards do; and notwithstanding their gra- 
titude to our nation at this moment, their 
feelings will not permit them to withhold 
the mention of the circumstance with 
astonishment at the conduct of the com- 
manders. ‘They do not however think 
that the British cabinet suggested this’ 
step; but they talk of the memorahle 
reply of their goverror, signifying, “That 
if the attack were made, our commane 
ders inust have expected to see the dead 
rise from their graves, to be avenged of 
their cause.” Such was the inclination of 
the inhabitants,. that the convalescent 
the inhas 
crawled from their abodes, rather wish= 
ing to perish in the defence of their city, 
than to submit to the cruel advantage 
_ endeavoured to be taken of their mae 
The 
