"As in one column the army of Moore reached a height between Betanzos and Corunna, a view of the sea suddenly burst upon our sight, and the sea! the sea!' was vociferated by the soldiers in front of the column, and repeated to the rere. I heard that Sir John Moore said to his aid-de-camp-'Now for the first time, in this retreat, I think myself unlucky; for I see no ships, and I may be obliged to fight a battle.' He regretted the being forced to sacrifice his troops in a battle fought to secure his embarkation, and which promised no other important result but that of adding another proof of the courage possessed by British soldiers. His object had been to draw the French army under Napoleon, to the north of Spain, and thus give the Spaniards an opportunity to rise and form their armies in the south. This masterly manœuvre was ably and successfully executed. His next object was to embark his small army without a battle-this was not possible -he fought, conquered, and fell, leaving his character recorded in the annals of his country, as one of her most consummate warriors, and greatest men."

The field of battle and the general face of the country is poor and barren, composed mostly of granite rock, with scarcely any soil, but what little exists is clothed with that beautiful heath the erica ciliaris; and small scattered clumps of pine, like fox-covers, crown the summits of all the surrounding hills.

It was a lovely day, the heat marked by the thermometer was 708 in the shade, but which the light sea breeze prevented being oppressive. This is the harvest of Indian corn, the principal food of the lower classes, and all are engaged in bearing it home. We hear nothing around but the screeching of the bullock-carts, which, though so insupportable in one's immediate vicinity, loses much of its discordance by distance. On our way home, we passed through some delightful valleys, crowded with vineyards, fig, orange, and chesnut trees, the latter of which, hung over with ears of Indian corn spread out to dry, looked as if loaded with their own golden fruit; but the houses, and the peasantry themselves, were wretchedly dirty, and many of the wine-presses "contrive a double debt to pay," and were converted into pig-troughs.

There is a tolerable fish-market at Corunna, but it is uncertain, owing to the severe gales which rush in here from the Bay of Biscay. The grey mullet are very plentiful in this harbour, and,

on a calm day, are easily shot by throwing a bit of bread on the water, at which several will jump together ;-I have frequently killed five at one shot. That most delicate of all sea-fish, the red mullet, is got here in great abundance, as is also the saury and sea pike, several varieties of sea bream, dories, red gurnet, and eels; but the principal fish, from its numbers and its commercial importance, is the sardinha (clupea sardina). The mode of taking these is peculiar ;-a large flat-bottomed boat, holding upwards of thirty people, is anchored where the shoal is expected, and a net of great length and excessively small meshes is shot out by a small boat, which, having enclosed the fish, is hauled into the large one, by an upright windlass, or capstan; the net is nearly half a mile long, and the multitude captured at a single haul is almost incredible. Immediately on being taken, they are cleansed and the heads cut off, they are then packed dry in tubs or baskets, with salt and bay leaves for exportation. The most accurate attention is paid to the packing and curing of these little fishes, which has insured for them a ready market in every port of the Mediterranean, whither they are sent in vast quantities as well as into the interior of Europe. Our extensive sprat and herring fisheries on the Irish and British coasts might derive a profitable lesson from the Spaniards, both in their mode of catching and preserving. At the mouth of the Rio Burgo a few sea trout and salmon are occasionally caught in the season, but not in sufficient numbers to warrant the statement, that they frequent that river; it may be supposed, that a few stray down the coast, after the great migratory mass have ascended the British rivers. Turbot is a rarity, and of inferior quality, but there are several species of Wrasse taken in the bay.

This part of Galicia is considered a good vine country; but though the grape is large and well flavoured, the wine is wretched stuff. The fruit-market is generally cheap and good, the peaches particularly so, and the onions are the finest I ever saw-they are of a beautiful crimson hue, and these, with pumpkins of immense size, gourds and peppers, form the principal food of the lower classes. The town being a fort, no gardens are allowed round it. Chesnuts are in great quantities, and eaten by every body: you meet with the stoves where they are roasted at every corner, and the incessant, though not inharmonious cry of "castanas ricas," salutes you every where.

22

CHARACTER OF THE PEOPLE.

The only wild fowl I saw was the red-legged partridge, which, though larger and whiter, is not nearly so well-flavoured as the common English species, and is in taste little removed from a barn-door fowl. Our shooting excursions afforded an opportunity of seeing the country around, which is very uninteresting, being a succession of barren hills, similar to the battle-field. This repulsive aspect is, however, enlivened by the occasional fertility of the valleys, which makes the contrast the greater. Here the farms are surrounded by groves of magnificent chesnuts, and contain vineyards, fields of Indian corn, and several neat enclosures. The science of agriculture is but little known in this part of Spain, and proper cultivation could do much; the primitive plough, formed of a simple beam, with a cross-stick at the end, to which the share is fastened, shows their lamentable state of ignorance in this all-important branch of knowledge. The mattock is the principal implement of husbandry. The sheep are wretched in the extreme, being not larger than a three-months' lamb in England; the wool is mostly black, short, coarse, and mixed with hair, and the mutton consequently very bad. The beef is good, though small, probably from working the oxen so young.

Altogether Corunna would be a cheap place to live in, and the climate, just now, is very pleasant and healthy. The dews, though heavy, do not commence till late in the evening, but the winter months are often excessively severe, as those who suffered in 1809 but too well know-the cold of that winter, however, was far beyond the average; at present the heat during the day is generally about 70° Fahr.

Civil war, with all its desolating train, has not yet reached this part of the country; the land is cultivated as usual, and the people appear fully as happy, and affairs go on as smoothly as if no such thing existed in the kingdom. In fact, the poorer classes seem to know and care little about it; their condition will be but little benefitted, whoever conquers; and with the exception of the evening's discussion, which takes place on the Prado, amongst some of the officers or the politicians, on the arrival of the last report, or the dark glances of a few suspected Carlists, grouped in little coteries around a padre, or lurking behind a crumbling bastion, to take a furtive look at the castle of St. Antonio, which holds so many of their friends and comrades

within its dark, damp, and wave-washed dungeons, none seem to trouble themselves about the subject.

The rocky shores in the neighbourhood afford interesting walks to the naturalist; the water is beautifully clear, and the rocks, as far as they are washed by the tide, completely covered with small pinkish madrapores, and the most splendid actiniæ of every colour, besides different varieties of star-fish, medusæ, and other molluscous animals. Two species of cuttle fish (sepiæ octopus and officinalis) are exposed in great plenty for sale in the market, and considered excellent food. In my wanderings along the shores, I occasionally found the slender green locust, (locusta viredissima,) and always remarked that, on pinning it in my hat or case, it immediately commenced depositing its eggs, as if fearful of its destructive race becoming extinct.

The English mails now go to Vigo, and those to Madrid are, owing to the present state of the country round the capital, very uncertain-they are carried on horseback by couriers, who are frequently robbed. A circumstance occurred in connection with one of these robberies, a few years ago, so characteristic of Spanish law and injustice, that I cannot help recording it, as related to me by a friend there resident at the time.

Towards the latter end of October, 1835, the insurgents of Galicia posted a notice, that all persons found conveying the mail of her majesty the Queen of Spain should be shot. The government courier proceeding from Corunna to Madrid, soon after this notice, was murdered, the bags cut open, and the letters destroyed, it was supposed by a Carlist named Lopez.

Count Pablo Morillo, then captain-general of that province, enraged at such conduct, declared, that if they shot another courier he would execute the brother of Lopez. These brothers had been previously tried for an offence in no way connected with political affairs; were both acquitted; but the unhappy victim to injustice was detained in prison on suspicion, while his brother joined the insurgents as their chief.

The captain-general would not listen to the advice offered him by many-and amongst these several of the consuls of the place— to issue a proclamation of his intention to shoot the brother of Lopez, if they committed a similar act. In a few nights after, on a Saturday, a courier, with both his horses, was shot two leagues from Corunna.

24

TOBACCO MANUFACTORY.

The count, a most violent man, would hear no remonstrance, and instantly ordering this unfortunate man for execution, hurried him off, desiring the confessor to prepare him for the other world on his way to the spot where the courier was shot the night previous.

At two o'clock on a Sunday, this man was led out, accompanied by a prisoner named Ramos-the one to be shot, the other to witness the fate he next was to suffer, should another courier fall by rebel hands. When they arrived at the place of execution, and Lopez was told by the provost-marshal his excellency's order, he replied-"What do I know of all this?—I have been in prison a year, and know nothing of my brother's crimes; why should I suffer for him?-but I have long thought I should-I am ready”—and sat down on the chair.

The company of Urbanos returned, after this sad scene, with Ramos riding on an ass, sunk and unmanned. Both prisoners were in the queen's uniform as officers.

It were but to be expected that the brigand Lopez would commence a fearful retaliation. He still haunts the mountain passes in this neighbourhood-the terror of those who have wealth to lose the Rob Roy of Galicia; but although the thirsty soil may have drunk up the stream of life that flowed from the wounds of this innocent man-the hot vapour rising from that purple tide has ascended on high, an evidence against this guilty land.

The only trade of any extent carried on in Corunna is the Fabrica Tobacos, or cigar manufactory-a government monopoly, none of the soothing weed being permitted to be used except what is made into cigars, and bad enough they are. All smoke; "the naked beauties" of the mild cigar are not, however, preferred by the people, who cut it up into small pieces, rolling it in little square bits of maize (rice paper), and puff away with great satisfaction. There are no pipes. The manufactory is worked, solely, by females, and when in full operation, gives employment to 3500 hands, besides the officers and overseers of the establishment. The workers are of all ages from eight years upwards; and in one of the rooms we entered, there were 800 at work! They sit at tables, with a smooth thick board placed before them, of about a foot square. The leaf is first damped, and then a certain quantity weighed out to each individual, and for which