During our short stay we
had every day some fresh proof of his Excellency's esteem and attention,
and had the honour of dining with him, in a style of equal elegance and
splendor. At this entertainment the profusion of ices which appeared in
the desert was surprising, considering that we were enjoying them under
a sun nearly vertical. But it seems the caverns of the Peak, very far
below its summit, afford, at all seasons, ice in abundance.
The restless importunity of the beggars, and the immodesty of the lowest
class of women, are highly disgusting. From the number of his countrymen
to be found, an Englishman is at no loss for society. In the mercantile
houses established here, it is from gentlemen of this description that
any information is derived, for the taciturnity of the Spaniards is not
to be overcome in a short acquaintance, especially by Englishmen, whose
reserve falls little short of their own. The inland country is described
as fertile, and highly romantic; and the environs of the small town of
Laguza mentioned as particularly pleasant. Some of our officers who made
an excursion to it confirmed the account amply.
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