this place being considered unfavorable for disorders of the chest. There are none of the fine, bracing, roaring, lionlike breezes of an English March, but gloomy and very changeable weather, and unpleasant damp during the prevalence of the cast wind. I find in my journal a notice of the continuance of this kind of weather up to the 19th of June. Then it set in fiery hot, the thermometer at and above 90 repeatedly, on the coolest part of the rock; so that the rains in September were most welcome and refreshing.

With the warm weather come the Mosquitoes. These little tormentors, whose first dwelling is a pool of water, emerge at the critical moment when the case in which they have been enfolded is ready to burst, and fly off, gay as a butterfly just released from prison. I have seen water that had been accidentally left for some time in the open air, literally alive with the larvæ, countless numbers flying off each moment to sport through the air. Their greatest victims are the newly arrived, whose blotched faces often bear witness of their sufferings, for the sting is intolerably itchy, and consequently, does not easily disappear. The chief precaution taken against them is to use thin curtains that leave no loophole of entrance; but this is not always effectual, and if they get within those protecting draperics, adieu to the favors of the drowsy god: better a tiger on the mountain than a mosquito within your curtains; you pass the night boxing your own ears in the vain hope of killing them, and you arise in the morning feverish and unrested.

Very early in the morning or late in the evening is now the only time for exercise, and yet it is necessary to limit one's wanderings to the military rule of returning before the firing of a certain gun whose sound is most de spiteful to a frec-born islander: but here every thing is military: the laws are military, the roads are military; on the wildest part of the mountain you find a military guard when you least expect it, who demands to see your permit as if you were a cask of mountain dew attempting to escape the Argus eyes of the revenue. If you go to church, even there you cannot escape the military; there is a military chaplain and a military congregation, two or three regiments in full uniform, a soldier hands you to a seat, and a

soldier, still in full dress, takes his place ready to act as clerk: while the dim religious light caused by the dark grey of the beautiful Moorish arches of the very tasteful building, is disturbed by the flashings of scarlet and gold, and the quiet of the echoing aisles invaded by the music of each successive band, until confused by the brazen din, you begin to imagine it must resemble the awful trumpet of the last great day, and that the endless stream of heads you see pouring in at the entrance must be those who arise to await the final doom. In the words of a great poet, this is "A little military hothouse," and if an invalid traveller can be supposed a judge, the military duty must be sufficiently severe.

If a stranger of distinction should arrive he is welcomed with a military spectacle, and very splendid it is to sec six regiments drawn out in the beautiful gravelled square of the Alameyda, with their gaily dressed bands forming a single body, playing in perfect unison the magnificent marches of the garrison. The stranger approaches, surrounded by the Governor and his staff in full array with prancing horses and waving plumes; and certainly there is no finer sight than the general salute of so fine a body of men, while the bands play the national anthem, and the honored guest gracefully returns the courtesy. Several visitors arrived during my sojourn, for Gibralter is a kind of gang-way for all the world. The prince de Joinville, fourth son of the French king, and his brother the duc de Nemours, with the laurels from the seige of Constantina fresh upon his brow; the young Arch-duke of Austria, nephew and heir of the Emperor ; and most distinguished of all, the good Queen Dowager of England. The landing of the latter deserves more particular notice. The roads leading to the landing-place, which is at a little distance from the town, were lined on each side with troops. As her Majesty left the 74 line-of-battle ship in a barge, the yards were manned and the band played "God Save the Queen;" the same honours awaited her on landing; she was received by the Governor and a brilliant suite, among whom was Prince George of Cambridge then attached to the 33d Regiment. She was handed ceremoniously to a carriage, and as her Majesty passed, with a lovely peeress by

her side, the soldiers presented arms and their officers saluted; each band playing "God Save the Queen," until the whole of the splendid train had passed. Her Majesty rode to visit the Cork woods, about ten miles distance, and ascended the rock mounted on a borico or donkey, visiting the caves and excavations. She was escorted to the Spanish lines, which are separated from the British lines by a neutral ground, by nearly all the officers of the garrison; there she was met by the governor of Algeziras, a small town in Spain, with a shewy troop of Spanish cavalry to serve as a guard of honor during the day. The same forms at

tended her departure.

There are few buildings in the town worthy of remark: the residence of the Governor, formerly a convent, is heavy and unsightly: the Spanish church is not remarkable: the library, supported by the military, is a handsome building, and contains a very splendid collection of books. There is an ancient Moorish tower or castle, once the chief strength of the fortress, but sorely battered by modern artillery (which fame reports to have been first used at Algeziras on the opposite side of the bay) but there is little to interest about it.

The excavations are most interesting even to a person not versed in the science of defence; they have been cut in galleries one above another to a great height in the solid rock, with embrazures for cannon which command, to defiance, the narrow sandy isthmus which alone connects Gibraltar with the main land. The Spaniards have named the most formidable of these openings "The Mouth of Fire." To the highest you ascend by a spiral wooden staircase, and find yourself in a circular chamber, called St. George's where parties sometimes assemble, to dine, after exploring the wonders of the place. This was once the scene of a very remarkable adventure. Two gentleman left the town one evening together and took the way that leads to the excavations; they had dined together, and together had been suitors for the fair hand of a young lady resident in the garrison. The unsuccessful suitor was seen to return alone that eveuing; and the accepted was missing on the following day. Suspicion instantly fell upon the rejected lover, who was arrested, though he

constantly declared he was unable in any way to account for the disappear. ance of his friend. He was tried and even condemned, still declaring his innocence, but confessing that circum. stances in his former life had deserved the punishment he was now unjustly to suffer. In the mean time a friend of the missing bridegroom, who felt an unaccountable impression on his mind that he was still alive, walked | out, on the third day after the myste rious disappearance, to the excavations, resolved to scrutinize every nook; and at last he had the happiness of seeing him resting on a ledge of the rock where he had slipped down on some loose earth while in the act of pulling a flower, to present to his lady love: he was easily extricated from his peril ous situation though much exhausted by sufferings both bodily and mental; he had parted from his companion at the entrance and wandered on alone indulging happy musings; when he arrived at the opening and looked out upon the rock he was irresistably tempted by some beautiful Narcissus, which grows in great abundance, and was the lady's favorite flower, to try the perilous descent, but venturing too far! he lost his footing and was only prevented by the ledge upon which he had remained, from being cast at least nine hundred feet to the sands below. Nothing but imagination can depict his various sufferings until the fortunate arrival of his friend to his rescue: with what bitter feelings must he have seen from his narrow prison the rising of the day he had looked forward to for so much happiness; how despairingly thought of the grief of the lady and the distress of her family, while he the object of so much love and commiseration was confined to a few inches of barren rock with no hope but to await a dreadful and lingering death, while his friends were making vain searches for his discovery. To make bis situ- » ation more tantalizing, the opening of the rock above was but a little beyond his reach. On the second day a small boat passed below, and he exerted and exhausted himself in vain endeavoursto attract the attention of the boatmen; they passed, and left him more hope less than before. He was not destined however to such a fate: he returned and was married, and is I believe alive and happy to this hour.

After the rainy season, many beau

i

tiful flowers spring up all over the rock, but the shrubs are more beautiful and more lasting. All the cherished pets of the green-house in England are to be seen here in a beauty and luxuriance that we have no idea of at home. First, in beauty as in fragrance, with leaves of the deep glossy green of the myrtle, fruit of gold, and flowers of bridal white, is the Orange tree, almost a tree: the laundress hangs out her clothes to dry on hedges of geranium. The cactus, of the kind called prickly pear, grows to a great size, each thick flat leaf, looking like a huge battledore: it bears a pleasant and refreshing fruit, without much flavour; but lauded for being of a cooling and wholesome nature. The aloe is in great profusion and perfection: this far sought and valued production disappointed my high raised expectations. In its third or fourth year, it throws up an enormous central shoot, like nothing more dignified than an immense shoot of asparagus: this throws out lateral branches, which bear the blossom, if that can be so called, which is quite without a flower, or what botanists call the corolla at a distance, it has a slight golden shade from the anthers, but it possesses no beauty as a flower; it reaches fifteen or twenty feet, and great numbers are to be seen everywhere about the rock. The nightblowing Ceres is produced in great perfection. This magnificent flower is like a gigantic water-lily, its marble enp enclosing a countless assemblage of delicate golden anthers. Perhaps the finest of all the natives of this genial climate is the glowing Oleander; covered with a profusion of rosecoloured flowers, it is almost dazzling to look at: but to describe all the vegetable beauties would be impossible; many of them are to be seen in our own gardens, and many that are common with us are not to be found here; the moss rose, for example, I never saw in Gibraltar. The fruits are fine; and in the fruit season, the market is considered one of the sights of the place but I think many of our homely fruits ill replaced, even by the beautiful grapes, the luscious figs and dates, like concentrated sugar. Beautiful looking peaches are there, but they

are so hard as not to be eatable, until produced in the form of a tart: plums, and all of that class, are inferior; even melons are not always good; and apples and pears positively bad. Insects have been so often described, that it would be superfluous to mention them, although a great field is to be found here for the naturalist, from the hideous tarantula to the tormenting mosquito, and the disgusting inhabitants of the crevices of the walls of the bed-room, and even the bedstead, which no care or cleanliness will entirely guard against. The ants are of great size, and are a study in themselves. They seem to have imbibed the military spirit of the place, for they will turn out in double files, with the greatest order, if a crumb of bread be thrown near their den, and if any should be slaughtered in action, they deliberately carry off their dead and wounded. The neutral ground is covered with locusts, which are often caught in a sheet, and when dead, used as manure: they are like a very large grasshopper, without wings, and are a pretty and harmless insect. But these creatures would require a volume for themselves, and a scientific classification, which I must leave unattempted. The brilliant fire-fly is also an inhabitant of these latitudes, but there are few seen here, the parched and rocky ground affording them little support: the humbler glow-worm, however, appears frequently to add a charm to the evening saunter. This which the Spaniards call the paseo, is one of their great enjoyments; they take their sleep or siesta during the burning hours of mid-day, even an army will suspend its operations for this indulgence; but as the sun declines bright eyes unclose, and after sunset, the squares begin to fill with woers of the refreshing breeze of evening. Then begin the tinkling of guitars, and serenading of manly voices. The music of Spain has been less celebrated than I think it deserves: the people seem passionately fond of it, and their language susceptible of nearly as much melody as the Italian, which it resembles closely. One of the most characteristic of their songs is" El Calesero," which is so national that I cannot forbear a slight description of it.

The calesero is the driver of one of their absurd stage carriages, His "cattle" are a team of mules, each of which has a standing name, the leader being always capitana. The calesero goes singing along, he and his carriage nodding in concert, interrupting himself now and then to encourage or reprove, according to the behaviour of his subjects. The song is an address to him from his belle, who is supposed to lament that her calesero is exposed to the dust of the roads, which she thinks will shorten the growth of his hair. Here the beau or majo breaks off with a guttural Arré addressed to his steeds, but he soon continues his song which is all in his own praise, the maja (or rustic belle), calling him vida mia, my life, and declaring he is infinitely superior to any caballero in truth and worth. The interruption is an ad libitum, or recitative, according to the taste of the performer. I have

heard and admired it sung by a lady, and think it worthy the attention of my fair countrywomen; the words may be pronounced nearly like Italian, the Spanish yo being exactly the same sound as the Italian Io. I have given a version on the opposite page. The Spaniards scem as much attached to dancing as to singing the clatter of the castanet is to be heard every evening till a late hour, and they have justly the reputation of being the finest dancers in the world. The very children are graceful in Andalusia. With the redundant black hair, dressed exactly as a fullgrown woman, the figure well thrown back, as they go through their pretty attitudes with unconscious grace, reminding one of the dancing figures of Malaga, so much esteemed, with the addition of the sparkling black eye of African origin, they are sometimes very beautiful and striking to an English stranger.

:

THERE is not, perhaps, a finer panoramic view in the world than that from the top of this renowned rock, or more properly mountain. It is slightly divided into three elevations on the central and highest is placed the signal station, and on the extreme end, "O'Hara's folly," a circular tower, said to have been struck down by lightning. It still bears the name of Governor O'Hara who erected it: from this end the view is magnificent: at your feet lie Europa flats, the very spot where the divine bull rested from his flight with Europa, to whom the continent owes its name: beyond the sea to the south, the beautiful chains of the African mountains on the east, the Mediterranean recedes to the horizon like a mighty river, its shores on each side, dying away in beautiful perspective; and three steps carry you to the western side of the ridge, where you look down on the bay of Gibraltar, bounded by Spanish mountains, and crowded with shipping from every part of the world. To make the scene complete, and characteristic of the place, one must be so fortunate as to have arrived just at the moment when a foreign man of war has swept into the bay, and is in the act of saluting the British flag; the thundering and blazing through a shroud of smoke give

a very vivid idea of the splendid terrors of an engagement. At this height the limits of the cultivated ground seem to have shrunk into a narrow space there are many beautiful villas, but in the parching season of summer those with grounds laid out in the English taste look arid and desolate; the Moorish is the only style for this climate; it is very peculiar and luxurious, and deserves description, but let me borrow that of a graphic and beautiful writer, Florian, in his valuable history of the Moors of Spain. In describing that most romantic and beautiful building, the Alhambra, he says, "Nothing with which we are acquainted in architecture can give us an idea of that of the Moors. They heaped together buildings without order, without symmetry, without any regard to the aspect which they of fered outwardly all their care was given to the interior. There they exhausted the resources of taste and magnificence, to combine in their apartments the enjoyments of luxury with the charms of rural nature there, in saloons lined with marble, paved with a composition of great brilliancy, and spread with couches covered with tis sue of gold and silver, fountains threw up their waters towards the dome; precious vases exhaled odours; and