1810.]J 
The withdrawing of the armament, ac- 
quired afterward that portion of glory to 
the British arms in Egypt, which they 
would have heaped on themselves of de- 
testation in the eyes of the world, had 
they fired a gun against Cadiz. 
_ Beside the ramparts that surround the 
city, and protect the outer harbour, 
where merchant-ships anchor, there are 
considerable forts which protect the in- 
ner harbour, called the Caraccas; here 
the men-of-war and galleons lie defended 
by the forts of Matagorda, of St. Louis, 
and of the castle of Puntales; the former 
of which is on the northern side of the 
bay, and is distant from the city about 
three ruiles; this fort, and the Satter 
{Punatles,) so effectually command the 
entrance to the dock-yard at the Carac- 
cas, that no vessel can pass either of 
them. without being exposed to destruc- 
tion by their guns. — 
The navigation to the harbours is dif- 
ficult, and often dangerous; the approach 
is known at sea by the lofty mountains of. 
Medina Sidonia, usually called, from 
their round appearance, the * Turk’s 
Cap.” At night, an’ excellent —light- 
house is the guide at the extremity of a 
ledge ofirregular small rocks, running at 
a considerable distance into the sea, 
where is a Strong castle, called St. Se- 
bastian’s. The principal ledge is called 
the Porpoises, and avery dangerous rock 
is known by the name of the Diamond 
Rock, which do not leave but about a 
mile free navigation to the harbour; so 
that ships are often liable to the fire of 
fort St. Catharine, near Port St. 
Mary’s, and of the bastions and the 
ramparts of Cadiz. 
The light-house was newly erected, 
-and finished in the course of this year ; 
it shews a brilliant revolving light every 
minute ; and_our pilot, on pointing to it, 
significantly shrugged his shoulders, say- 
ing, that ‘¢ an Englishman built it.” 
Tn this castle are confined the French 
officers of the ships of war that surren- 
dered here in the summer; they are 
almost insulated, and have no comimuni- 
cation with any one but their guards and 
attendants; no person being permitted 
to converse with them out of curiosity. 
They were lately unusually outrageous, 
in consequence of seeing two English 
frigates enter the harbour with treasures 
fromthe American colonies; and they 
confidently talked of Buonaparte’s ulti- 
mately subduing Spain, and of his sub- 
sequent invasion of England in twelve 
months! ! 
i 
Journal of a recent Voyage to Cadiz. 
265 
Cadiz, Dec. §, 1809. - 
You are n4w shivering by your fire- 
side, while I am enjoying the warmth 
of our month of May. The thermo- 
meter is at 62° in my room at noon, 
mornings’ “and evenings, at 43°. In the 
middle of the day it has been only once 
so low as this, and then hail and snow 
fell on the mountains, At night the 
dews, and in the morning the fogs, occas 
sion a chilliness in the air; the former 
begin to fall soon after sun-set, like a 
musty rain, and continue until about ten 
o’clock in the morning. The ramparts 
are in pools of water, and the harbour is 
so enveloped that a ship is scarcely to be 
seen. The sea air is very salubrious ; and 
this being the most southern province, 
the summer is very hot the thermometer 
often’ being at 96°. from ten o'clock 
until noon; in June, July, and August, it 
is intensely hot; the sea breeze then Sets 
in, and circulates through the city with 
a refreshing coolness. Itis hottest when 
the wind is in the east, though it does 
not continue long at a time in this quar- 
ter; but changes to the south and north 
west. When the Levanter biows for 
any considerable time, great damage is 
done to the shipping, and wrecks often 
happen. In the winter the south wind 
is equally dangerous; but from these 
points, at other seasons of the year, it is 
not so. The rainy season is from Octo= 
ber until May, but then it is with much 
intermission of fine dry weather; and 
during the other four months, scarcely a 
drop of rain falls. Thunder and tight- 
ning is frequent in the winter, and is 
very often dangerous; snow seldom falls 
in Cadiz; while the neighbouring moun- 
tains tower to the clouds, exhibiting their 
snow-clad summits throughout the year. 
Most of the summer flowers of Eng- 
land are now~in bloom: the myrtle, 
rose, carnation, jonquil-jessamine, geras 
nium, &c. &c. are “ wasting their sweet= 
ness” in an almost uncultivated state. 
The aloe grows to a great size, some o} 
its leaves being from six to nine feet in 
length; and the nopal, or prickly pear, 
rears its defensive leaves to the same 
height. These plants, which you culti- 
vate with so much care in your greens 
house, are regarded here only as we do 
common thorns, chiefly for fences; the 
broom, the heath, and the asphodil, are 
also in flower, and are equally disre- 
garded. The only two gardens in the 
place belong to convents; there are no 
plants ia them worth notice; and the 
spare ground around Cadiz, withoutside 
the 
