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SEVILLE 
 
 AND ITS VICINITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 FRANK HALL STANDISH, ESQ. 
 
 AUTHOR OF " THE SHORES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN," " THE NORTHERN CAPITALS 
 OF EUROPE," ETC. ETC. ETC. 
 
 LONDON : 
 BLACK AND ARMSTRONG, 
 .^foreign ISoofcsellers to p?er íBajestg antr tí)e <©u«n ©otoaget, 
 
 8, WELLINGTON STREET NORTH. 
 
 MDCCCXL. 
 
7 
 
TO 
 
 JULIAN BENJAMIN WILLIAMS, ESQ. 
 Cfjíá Wov& te ííetítcatetí, 
 
 IN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE AID HE HAS AFFORDED 
 TO HIS COUNTRYMEN IN THE CULTIVATION OF 
 THE FINE ARTS, 
 
 r 
 
 BY HIS FAITHFUL SERVANT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
I 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 In this wicked world and " valley of tears/' 
 where the thermometer of our hopes and 
 fears now rises to summer heat, and pre- 
 sently falls below the freezing point, our 
 knowledge, like our money, is generally 
 amassed for the benefit of others. We often 
 either do not want, or cannot enjoy, the 
 fruits of labour when they are within our 
 grasp. Thus the historian and the antiqua- 
 rian become the property of others ; their 
 course is generally run ere their fame is 
 earned ; and though they may enjoy a life of 
 glory in the estimation of posterity, their 
 years have already passed amidst obscurity, 
 labour, and indigence. Artists are subject 
 
viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 to the same fate ; and a duty of gratitude is 
 performed in endeavouring to secure for them 
 that reputation after death, which has fre- 
 quently been denied them during life ; — for 
 while the injurers and destroyers of mankind, 
 the fraud and violence of kings and generals, 
 are duly chronicled, the men who have con- 
 tributed to extend knowledge by represent- 
 ing historical scenes, and touch the affec- 
 tions of humanity by tender ones, are too 
 frequently wholly neglected. 
 
 The register of Sevillan worthies is very 
 extensive ; but the abodes of some, and the 
 works of others, have disappeared, and are 
 daily perishing ; so that the present work 
 even now almost belongs to the narrative of 
 another age, and the next generation will 
 soon probably see what little yet remains, 
 dispersed or destroyed by politics and war. 
 Spain has been long enslaved by aristocratic 
 and religious despotism ; from the latter she 
 has emancipated herself, devastating the 
 
temples, and dispersing their inmates. With 
 military coercion she will probably now be- 
 come familiar. Such a nation, poor, and in 
 arrear of the march of intellect all over the 
 rest of Europe, is incapable of understand- 
 ing or enjoying liberty, — a blessing indeed, 
 when properly administered by an enlight- 
 ened government, but applied rashly or igno- 
 rantly, ruinous to a state. Ignorant masses 
 must of necessity be kept in subjection, until 
 education has rendered them capable of rea- 
 soning with judgment. The ignorant and 
 "profane vulgar" are rank weeds every- 
 where ; a devouring cancer in society ; 
 equally ready to go the greatest lengths at 
 the call either of unprincipled Agitators, or 
 of corrupt Princes. The only moment when 
 they can be regarded with pleasure is, when 
 with a blind but generous devotion they are 
 rushing upon the bayonets of foreign ene- 
 mies. 
 
 The work now presented to the public 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 contains an enumeration of almost all the 
 Convents and Public Buildings which existed 
 in Seville during the last century, with their 
 most remarkable contents in the present; 
 some notice being taken of the troglodyte 
 habitations of the Arabs. The miracles of 
 Catholic images are recorded, to show the 
 gross superstition of the faithful in former 
 times ; indeed, not long since, the hands of 
 Saint Anthony were filled with letters to the 
 Americas, which were answered on the 
 following morning by the priests ; his Holi- 
 ness was the great courier of the Havannah, 
 and the parent or the lover blessed his mira- 
 culous power of conveying speedy and secret 
 intelligence. Dates have been carefully ob- 
 served ; so that, on referring to more de- 
 tailed historical accounts, more minute par- 
 ticulars may be obtained on most parts of 
 the work. No concise account of Seville 
 has yet been written, and those who desire 
 information concerning the town are obliged 
 to seek it among rambling, diffuse, and some- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 xi 
 
 times contradictory authorities. It was easy 
 to have expanded the details of the work to 
 thrice its present bulk ; but diffuseness has 
 been purposely avoided, where nothing par- 
 ticularly interesting occurred for narration. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Ancient History of Seville, to the Death of Julius 
 
 Cesar 1 
 
 CHAPTER IÍ. 
 
 History of Seville —continued 19 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 History of Seville — continued 27 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 History of Seville — continued 10 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 General Description of Seville 52 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Parishes of Seville 62 
 
 Saint Andrew ib. 
 
 Saint Bartholomew 64 
 
 Saint Bernard Extramuros 66 
 
 Saint Catharine 72 
 
 Santa Cruz, or Holy Cross 75 
 
 Saint Gil 77 
 
 Saint Ildefonso 82 
 
 Saint Isidorus ib. 
 
 Saint James 85 
 
 Saint John of Acre 87 
 
 Saint Julian 89 
 
 i 
 
xiv 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Parishes of Seville — continued. . . . , 92 
 
 Saint John de la Palma ib. 
 
 Saint Lawrence 98 
 
 Saint Lucia 107 
 
 Saint Mark 110 
 
 Saint Martin 113 
 
 Santa Marina 116 
 
 Saint Mary la Blanca, or De las Nieves 118 
 
 Saint Mary Magdalen 121 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Parishes of Seville — continued 125 
 
 Saint Mary the Mayor, or Sagrario ib. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Description of the Cathedral and its principal Paint- 
 ings 167 
 
 Capilla de la Señora Santa Ana 207 
 
 Capilla del Bautismo ib. 
 
 Capilla de San José 208 
 
 Capilla de la Señora de Santa Ana 209 
 
 Puerta Grande 210 
 
 Capilla de la Scala ib. 
 
 Sacristía de los Cálices 211 
 
 Capilla del Bautismo ib. 
 
 Puerta de los Naranjos ib. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Notices of the principal Artists who worked in the 
 
 Cathedral of Seville 223 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Parishes of Seville — continued. 
 
 Saint Michael 240 
 
 Saint Nicholas Bari 243 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Parishes of Seville — continued. 
 
 Saint Peter 246 
 
 Saint Roman 251 
 
 Saint Roque 253 
 
 All Saints 255 
 
 Saint Salvador 267 
 
 Saint Stephen 276 
 
 Saint Vincent 292 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Gates of Seville 301 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 General Remarks on Seville 311 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Vicinity of Seville. 
 
 Alcalá de Guadaira 328 
 
 Cantillana 348 
 
 Carmona 349 
 
 Carula 351 
 
 Hipa 352 
 
 Itálica 354 
 
 Saint John de Alfarache 362 
 
 Marchena 366 
 
 Parroquia Santa Maria de las Cuevas. — The Car- 
 thuja 367 
 
 Osset 382 
 
 Triana 383 
 
 Utrera 397 
 
 Vergentum 407 
 
SEVILLE AND ITS VICINITY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, TO THE DEATH OF 
 JULIUS CESAR. 
 
 The ancient Carthaginian name of Seville was 
 " Spela/' which signifies a plain ; at a later period 
 it was called " Hispalis." Columns have been 
 found marked with the words " Coloniae Hispa- 
 lensis/' and " Scapharii Hispalenses." Stephanus 
 Byzantius calls it Ibylla, as does Seneca in his 
 tragedies : Silius Italicus, Hispal ; Pomponius 
 Mela and Tolomseus, Ispalis. Under the Romans 
 it passed by the name of Romula. Hercules, who 
 was a shepherd as well as a conqueror, brought 
 the flocks of Geryon to Spain, and, the Sevillans 
 say, built their town and founded a temple there. 
 Pomponius Mela, a native of Cadiz, claims the 
 distinction for his city, writing as follows (lib. iii. 
 cap. 6): " Gadis fretum attingit; fert in altero 
 cornu ejusdem nominis urbem opulentam; in al- 
 tero templum iEgyptii Herculis conditoribus, reli- 
 gione, vetustate, opibus illustre Tyrii considere ; 
 
 B 
 
2 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 cur sanctum sit, ossa ejus ibi sita efficiunt, an- 
 il o rum queis manetnumerus ab Iliaca tempestate 
 principia sunt ; opus tempus aluit." He hints 
 plainly that Hercules was buried there. 
 
 Further remark on these matters is useless, 
 when the purpose is only to fix a name for a place 
 of which the ancient buildings do not now exist ; 
 even of the Scapharii Hispalenses and Csesar 
 little more remains than a few remnants of doubt- 
 ful architecture. Of the antient heathen divini- 
 ties, Venus appears to have been the most popular 
 in Seville, and was called " Salambona," a name 
 imported with the worship of the goddess from 
 Syria. This ceremony was celebrated once a 
 year by a mob of women, who went about groan- 
 ing, in imitation of the laments of their goddess 
 for Adonis, and at the same time begging charity 
 from the bystanders. These profanities were, of 
 course, abhorrent to the professors of Christianity, 
 and Santa Justa and Rufina were put to death for 
 refusing to attend them, and for having, with the 
 vivacity and imprudence of female enthusiasm, 
 broken the idols of the Pagan worship. Salam- 
 bona was the Syrian Astarte, the divinity to whom 
 Solomon offered incense, and for whom he risked 
 his salvation. The women who celebrated these 
 feasts were called Ambubaiae, of whom Horace 
 speaks, — " Ambubaiarum collegia, Pharmaco- 
 polse." Another heathen god much reverenced, 
 and fabled to have ruled Spain in very early times, 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CESAR. 
 
 3 
 
 was Bacchus. The Sevillans likewise adored 
 Mars, Apollo, and Hercules ; but their principal 
 adoration, as has been already observed, was ad- 
 dressed to the goddess of vanity and beauty. 
 Longevity was with the ancients an attribute of 
 the climate of Andalusia, Tartessus being the ex- 
 treme point of the peninsula, where the sun was 
 supposed to unharness his horses. Anacreon says, 
 
 " Non cornu Amalthese mi, 
 Non poseo quinquaginta 
 Centumque regnare annos, 
 Tartessiis beatis." 
 
 Some antiquarians have imagined that Homer 
 travelled to Spain, and that he describes the 
 country in his Elysian Fields, as does also Solo- 
 mon, in the Book of Kings, when he speaks of 
 joining his fleet with that of Hiram, king of Phoe- 
 nicia, and making a triennial expedition to Tarsis, 
 having intended to signify thereby that he visited 
 Tartessus. The royal poet of the Psalms says 
 the same in the verses — 
 
 " Reges Tarsis et insulae muñera ofFerent ; 
 Reges Arabum et Sabse dona adducent." 
 
 Even to this day, in the rugged parts of the 
 Sierra Morena, a hamlet exists called Salamea, 
 with an old fortress, which the rustic inhabitants 
 by tradition call the Castle of Salomon ; a stream 
 contiguous to it is named Odiel, and a neighbour- 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 ing village Abiud, both names of Hebrew extrac- 
 tion. The shafts of mines and remains of fur- 
 naces are also to be traced, but whether these 
 were Jewish or Phoenician is undetermined. Silius 
 Italicus, in the following quotation, speaks of two 
 Andalusians serving in Hannibal's army, — 
 
 " Spiciferisque gravis Bellator Aranticus oris 
 iEquales aevi, genuit quos ubere ripá 
 Paliadio Betes umbratus cornua ramo" — 
 
 The Libyphaenices, the Massieni, the Selbisini, 
 and the Tartessi, were all tribes who lived in 
 Andalusia, probably of African origin ; but the 
 respective districts occupied by them have not 
 been ascertained. 
 
 When we arrive at the age of Julius Caesar , 
 Spanish history becomes a little more certain and 
 clear, but it is cloudy and uncertain again in that 
 of the Goths and Arabs. At the Roman period, 
 what were called " Conventa " by the Romans, 
 namely, assemblies held for dispatch of business 
 interesting to the commonwealth, existed in Spain; 
 a praetor, accompanied by a quaestor, generally 
 visited Andalusia once a year. Julius Caesar 
 came to the country with a commission from the 
 Romans, as appears from Suetonius : " Qusestori 
 ulterior Hispania obvenit, ubi cum mandato po- 
 puli Romani juri dicendo conventus circumiret, 
 Gadeisque venisset." Under the Roman govern- 
 ment two colonies existed, one composed of Latin 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS C^SAR. 
 
 5 
 
 and the other of Roman citizens ; the latter had 
 privileges which were not extended to the former. 
 We find that Seville was regarded in Italy as a 
 colony appertaining to the mother country, but at 
 what period is unknown. 
 
 Sixty years before Christ, when Julius Caesar 
 visited Andalusia, the town took the name of 
 Julia Romula ; indeed, San Isidorus uses the fol- 
 lowing words: — " Hispalim Julius Csesar condidit, 
 quam ex suo nomine, et Romas urbis vocabulo, 
 Juliam Romulam nuncupavit;" by which he 
 means that Caesar either built or founded the 
 city, giving it his name. 
 
 In the " Historia general" of Alonzo the Learned, 
 occurs this passage : " Después que Julio Caesar 
 hubo tomado todas las Españas so el su Señorio, 
 y de Roma vino á la provincia de Guadalquibir, 
 y mudó á Sevilla el nombre, y mandó llamarla 
 Julia Romula." Of the Roman magistrates who 
 presided here we learn little or nothing, but it is 
 reasonable to conclude that there were amongst 
 them chiefs of Flamens, or high priests ; for as 
 the primitive Christians were enjoined to follow 
 the order of the Gentiles in their foundations of 
 religious communities, it was never customary to 
 make archbishops in places where a chief Flamen 
 had not officiated ; and as there was a Metropoli- 
 tan church at Seville in the earliest Christian 
 times, a chief Flamen had doubtless exercised his 
 profession in the town. The magistrates appear 
 
6 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 to have been the same as at Rome, for there ex- 
 isted a senate, consuls, and senators, but from 
 respect to the mother country, all Roman colonies 
 used the words "ordo" for senate, "duumviri'' 
 for consuls, and " decuriones" for senators. Usu- 
 ally the duumviri were annually elected, but in 
 some cases they remained in office for five years, 
 and were then called "Duumviri quinquennales." 
 
 In the " Calle de las Armas, " Caro found the 
 following inscription relative to these magistrates : 
 
 " L . HORATIO . L . F GAL . VICTORI . 
 II VIRO . BIS . OB . PLINISSIMAM . 
 MVNIFICENTIAM . ERG . PATRIAM . 
 ET . POPVLVM . MERITISSIMO . 
 CIVI . POPVLVS . 
 
 This related to Lucius Horatius, of the tribe of 
 Galeria, who twice enjoyed the quinquennial 
 dignity of duumvir. The censors, whose office it 
 was to collect taxes, and who were borne in a car 
 of ivory, preceded by lictors, have also been 
 traced in another legend, dedicated to Ceesius 
 Pollio, and quoted by Janus Gruterus, — 
 
 L . C^GIO . L . F . 
 AED . II VIR . POLLIONI . 
 CENS . ET . DVOMVIRATV . 
 BENE . ET . E . R . P . ACTO . 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CAESAR. 7 
 
 It appears that the Romans were not so negli- 
 gent as the Spaniards in taking care of the roads 
 and highways, although they used no post 
 coaches; for the administration of persons who 
 had been consuls and pro-consuls, was employed 
 to keep the public paths clean and neat. In the 
 garden of the Duke of Medina was found a pe- 
 destal of white marble, with flowered borders, on 
 which a statue had once stood, with letters in- 
 scribed as follows :— 
 
 D . CVRTIO . BALBINO . 
 M . CORNELIO POTITO . 
 L . ATTIO . IVLIANO . ROMVLO . 
 IIII VIR . VIAR . CVRANDAR . 
 PIISSVMO . FILIO . 
 BALBINVS . PATER . PRISCA . MATER . 
 
 Hence it seems that Curtius Balbinus was one 
 of the four commissioners of roads at that time. 
 The other civil officers appear to have been the 
 same as at Rome. Inscriptions are cited by Caro, 
 to " curatores," who had charge of the public 
 rents, of valuing property, and were commissaries 
 to the army ; to " procuratores." who overlooked 
 the working of mines, and were in this province 
 chosen from the "decuriones" — these last an- 
 swered to the modern " regidores," or city ma- 
 gistrates ; they took precedence from the number 
 of children they had, and a fourth part of the 
 
8 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 property of those who died childless passed to the 
 chapter or confraternity of which they had been 
 members. 
 
 The remains of ancient Roman baths are few, 
 bat Caro traces them in the parishes of Saint 
 Ildefonso and Saint Juan de la Palma. In the 
 convent of the "Recogidas del Nombre de Jesus," 
 and near the old chapter house of the city, now 
 serving for a consistory of the tribunal of the 
 church, there are remains also, but whether of 
 baths or an amphitheatre is uncertain. As the 
 Romans, like modern Oriental nations, generally 
 wore woollen stuffs, and changed them seldom, 
 ablutions were more needful to keep the skin 
 healthy than with our European mode of dress ; 
 bathing was then a daily practice, it is now only 
 periodical. 
 
 It was not usual to call a place a town among 
 the Greeks and Romans, unless it had a praeto- 
 rium, or captain-general's residence, a gymnasium 
 or public school, a theatre, a forum, which may 
 be at once a market-place or debating-house, and 
 a perennial river. No mention is made of walls, 
 but Seville was walled in the time of Julius 
 Caesar, when he conquered it; and King John 
 the Second, in his history, affirms that in his day 
 they remained the same, untouched and unbroken. 
 It is certain that the remnants consist of extremely 
 hard mortar, altogether resembling Roman ce- 
 ment, while those of the Alcazar, or Moorish pa- 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CESAR. 
 
 9 
 
 lace, are of stone. An antiquarian discussion has 
 been raised about the names which the ancient 
 gates bore ; their number is said to have been the 
 same as at present, but no certainty exists as to 
 the names. The bye-gates, or postigos, some 
 think were dedicated to the divinities Jupiter, 
 Juno, and Minerva, for in antiquity it was com- 
 mon to have three sacred gates for those deities 
 to every large town. Caro imagines that the 
 " Puerta de Goles" was a votive gate to Lybian 
 Hercules, and that of " Macarena" to his daughter 
 Macaria. The last word is plainly Greek, from 
 " '/¿axapo?." There is indeed a street in Seville 
 called the " Calle Matasta," and a Greek colony 
 probably at some time or other was settled in , 
 Andalusia, perhaps in the same way as one is now 
 found near to Palermo in Sicily. In the time of 
 Caro a stone existed with the following inscrip- 
 tion : — 
 
 m p 
 
 : ATVAM . IN CAPIT . 
 ..... F . C . LOCO . 
 
 IV TITV 
 
 .C.C.R D . . . . 
 
 which he considers as proving that Seville had 
 under the Romans a Capitol, and that this stone 
 was placed by the decuriones in the Capitol of the 
 illustrious Romulian colony. He places the site 
 of it where the cathedral now stands, from the 
 
10 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 circumstance of two old arches of Roman cement 
 being seen, one at the entrance of the Arch- 
 bishop's palace, and the other contiguous to the 
 one forming the entry of the place of Elm-trees, 
 which latter has now entirely disappeared. Dark 
 and doubtful, however, are all these conjectures ; 
 for though temples and churches last longer gene- 
 rally than fortified places, they likewise change 
 with new dynasties and religions, sharing the fate 
 of all human things. Indeed, Jacob Almanzor, 
 Emperor of Morocco, according to Morgado, when 
 he made himself master of the town, took away 
 the gates of the Christian Church at Seville, the 
 knockers of which were worked in the "Azequife 
 Viejo," and sent them to serve his own mosque at 
 Morocco, as well as two metal bells, which served 
 him when reversed as lamps, and on the hammers 
 of which was an ancient inscription in Latin. 
 
 After the Carthaginians were conquered in 
 Italy, the same fate awaited them in Spain : Han- 
 nibal in his passage having left the towns garri- 
 soned with Carthaginian soldiers. But the abili- 
 ties of a Portuguese shepherd effected a revolu- 
 tion against the Roman authority ; Pompey was 
 defeated by the raw recruits of Viriatus, who en- 
 joyed for fourteen years the title of Defender of 
 Spain and Liberty. Treason effected what force 
 could not, and Caepio, a Roman general, bribed 
 the Iberian senate to assassinate their master. 
 The Roman general Sertorius had the same sue- 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CESAR. 
 
 II 
 
 cess, and shared a similar fate, about the same 
 period. These circumstances, however, demon- 
 strate that, when aided by good generals, the 
 Spanish nation at that time was entitled to the 
 respect it afterwards gained throughout Europe 
 for valour. At last, however, when Pompey pre- 
 vailed, the Sevillans were so severely taxed, that 
 the Roman senate interfered, and alleviated their 
 sufferings. 
 
 Julius Caesar visited Seville sixty-three years 
 before Christ ; he came first as quaestor, and ap- 
 pears, according to his own words in his book on 
 the Spanish war, to have conferred considerable 
 benefits on the city. — " Caesar, quum á Gadibus ad 
 Hispalim se recepisset, insequenti die, concione 
 advocatá, commemorat : initio quaesturae suae earn 
 provinciam ex omnibus provinciis peculiarem sibi 
 constituisse, et, quae potuisset, eo tempore benefi- 
 cia largitum esse." A second time he came as 
 praetor, and was instrumental in relieving the 
 citizens from the impositions of Metellus; and 
 when consul he continued his good offices towards 
 the town. " Insequenti praeturá ampliato ho- 
 nore, vectigalia, quae Metellus imposuisset, a 
 senatu petisse, et eis pecuniis provinciam libe- 
 rasse : simulque patrocinio suscepto, multis legi- 
 bus ab se in senatum inductis, simul publicas 
 privatasque causas, multorum inimicitiis suscep- 
 tis, defendisse : suo item in consulatu absentem, 
 quae potuisset, commoda provincias tribuisse." 
 
12 
 
 ANCIENT HfSTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 When the civil war began between Pompey and 
 Caesar, the latter secured for himself Spain, 
 abandoning Greece to Pompey. He was obliged, 
 however, to fight for the country, and after 
 defeating Afranius and Petreius, lieutenants of 
 Pompey, found that Andalusia had been revolu- 
 tionized by Varro, who had exacted money and 
 wheat from the inhabitants, and engaged the 
 Gaditans to build ten vessels to act against Caesar: 
 — " Frumenti magnum numerum coegit, quod 
 Massiliensibus, item quod Afranio Petreioque, 
 mitteret; naves longas decern Gaditanis ut facerent 
 imperavit ; complures praeterea Hispali faciendas 
 curavit.' 5 When orders, however, came that the 
 principal persons of the Andalusian towns were to 
 meet Caesar at Cordova, the aspect of affairs 
 changed, and Varro was unable to prevent the 
 defection of a legion, who abandoned him in sight 
 of Seville, and entering the town, mixed in 
 friendly intercourse with the citizens, and declared 
 for Caesar. 
 
 " His cognitis rebus, altera ex n. legionibus, 
 quae Vernácula appellabatur, ex castris Varronis, 
 adstante et inspectante ipso, signa sustulit, sese- 
 que in Hispalim recepit, atque in foro et porti- 
 cibus sine maleficio consedit ; quod factum adeó 
 ejus conventus cives Romani comprobaverunt, ut 
 domum ad se quisque hospitio cupidissimé reci- 
 peret." 
 
 Varro hoped that this untoward event might be 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CESAR. 13 
 
 remedied by a march to Itálica ; but on the way- 
 he learnt that the gates of the town had been 
 closed to prevent his entrance, and that the troops 
 had revolted. Caesar proceeded to the south, con- 
 ferred favours on the towns, and at Cadiz embarked 
 for Rome in the same ships which Varro had caused 
 to be built for the use of Pompey. He left Lon- 
 ginus in charge of the province of Northern 
 Andalusia, as propraetor, with four legions. This 
 commander abused his trust, acted tyranically, 
 and so exasperated the Spaniards, that a party 
 endeavoured to assassinate him in Cordova; he 
 was rescued, however, by his soldiers, after re- 
 ceiving many wounds, and instantly put to death 
 and confiscated the property of the conspirators. 
 This took place 45 years before Christ. The vic- 
 tory of Caesar in Thessaly over Pompey gave 
 Longinus more uneasiness than pleasure, for he 
 could no longer continue his system of plunder 
 with safety; he therefore, on recovering from his 
 wounds, ordered the various tributes to be paid 
 over to him, and exacted fresh contributions, 
 under pretence of supplies for his journey to 
 Africa, whither Caesar had ordered him to pro- 
 ceed. Having sent two legions forward, he pro- 
 ceeded to Seville to see his ships, of which he had 
 ordered previously one hundred to be built there. 
 Lucius Titius, however, brought him intelligence 
 that one legion had revolted at a place called 
 Leptis, and after putting to death some centurions, 
 
14 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 had proceeded to join the other legion, which had 
 taken a different road towards Gibraltar. Longi- 
 nus, therefore, collected his forces, which consisted 
 of nine companies, or cohorts, six hundred men 
 forming a cohort, three legions, and all the ca- 
 valry. He was also informed that the two re- 
 volted legions had attacked and ill treated some 
 other troops, and proclaimed Titus Thorius, of 
 Itálica, their general. Fearing, therefore, fresh 
 disturbances, the propraetor sent his quaestor, 
 Marcus Marcellus, to Cordova, to retain the pro- 
 vince in favour of Caesar ; but after a short time 
 dissensions arose between the two generals, and 
 Marcus Lepidus, who was then in command of 
 the southern part of the country, was obliged 
 to interpose in order to compose their quarrels. 
 Longinus, with his usual avarice, collected all 
 his wealth, and embarking with it for Rome, met 
 the fate his misconduct deserved ; he was ship- 
 wrecked, and perished near to Tortosa, a part of 
 Spain to the south of Barcelona, which has been 
 subsequently celebrated for the courage of its 
 women, who, during the wars between the Spa- 
 niards and the Moors, so distinguished themselves 
 as to gain the honour of bearing the order of the 
 "Hacha," or Torch, a dignity conferred upon them 
 by their Christian countrymen. 
 
 After the fall of Pompey, his sons Cneius and 
 Sextus were not idle ; they proceeded to Spain, 
 excited a fresh revolution, and brought over the 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CiESAR. 
 
 15 
 
 whole of Andalusia in their favour, with the 
 exception of Ulia in the province of Cordova, 
 which stood firm to Caesar. The latter, though 
 occupied with affairs of importance in Rome, flew 
 to Spain, and suddenly appeared before his ene- 
 mies, who were not even aware that he had left 
 the Capitol. Such celerity of movement is nothing 
 compared with the military operations of modern 
 days, but at that time it was considered little less 
 than miraculous to have performed so long a 
 journey in less than a month. He threw himself 
 in front of Ulia, and forced the Pompeys to retire, 
 following them towards Seville ; the two armies 
 met between two towns called Ventisponte and 
 Carruca; the former surrendered to Csesar, and 
 the latter refusing to admit Pompey's troops, was 
 fired by their general. Aulus Hirtius, who is sup- 
 posed to have written the Spanish and Alexan- 
 drian wars of Csesar, relates the circumstance in 
 these words : — " Eo die Pompeius castra movit, 
 et circa Hispalim in oliveto constitit. Csesar pri- 
 usquam eodem profectus est, luna circiter hora 
 vi. visa est. Ita castris motis, Ucubim prgesidium, 
 quod Pompeius reliquit, jussit ut incenderent, et 
 deusto oppido, in castra majora se reciperent. 
 Insequenti tempore Ventisponte, oppidum cum 
 oppugnare ccepisset, deditione facta, iter fecit in 
 Carrucam : contra Pompeium castra posuit. 
 Pompeius oppidum, quod contra sua praesidia 
 portas clausisset, incendit." 
 
16 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 I 
 
 Carruca is by some supposed to be the present 
 small hamlet of Gandul, near to Alcalá de Gua- 
 daira. At length the hostile armies met at the 
 town of Munda, where was given the fatal blow 
 to the Roman republic. This place is now called 
 Monda ; it lies near the sea, in the province of 
 Granada;* the battle took place on the 17th of 
 March, forty-four years before Christ ; Pompey 
 and his colleague Labienus commanded, and lost 
 an army of 30,000 men, while the whole loss 
 sustained by his opponent amounted to no more 
 than 1000 killed and 500 wounded. This victory 
 left Caesar without a rival, and master of the 
 world. He proceeded thence to Cordova, and 
 destroyed his enemies in that town, to the same 
 number nearly as those who fell at Monda. From 
 Cordova the victorious general proceeded to Se- 
 ville, where a deputation from the city waited 
 upon him, imploring his mercy and clemency, 
 which he promised them, and sent Caninius, one 
 of his officers, with a party of troops, into the 
 
 * In what has been said concerning the site of this battle, the 
 authorities of the old chronicles have been followed ; but Mayer, 
 one of the Commentators on Maziana, is of opinion that writers 
 are in error on the subject, and that the town where the battle 
 took place must have been considerably nearer Granada than is 
 generally supposed. 1 refer, therefore, those readers who are 
 curious on the subject, to the latest edition of the History of 
 Spain by Mariana, where they will find the matter fully dis- 
 cussed. 
 
TO THE DEATH OF JULIUS CESAR. 
 
 17 
 
 town to retain it for him. Opinions, however, 
 were divided within the city, and Philon, a native 
 of Estremad ura, and a warm friend of the Pom- 
 peys, left the place secretly for his native pro- 
 vince, and conferred with Coecilius Niger, another 
 leader of the same faction, who had united a con- 
 siderable body of troops, whence returning se- 
 cretly and entering the town, he raised a revolt, 
 and put to death the guards. Caesar, who was 
 encamped without the walls, had the talent, how- 
 ever, to draw his enemies into an ambuscade, and, 
 while apparently negligent, induced them to 
 sally, hoping to succeed in firing the ships in the 
 river. The troops of Philon immediately advanced 
 for this purpose, whereupon Caesar suddenly fell 
 upon them in the rear with cavalry, and slew them 
 all. The city surrendered, and in the month of 
 August, in the forty-third year before Christ, 
 Caesar entered it. This battle may be supposed 
 to have taken place opposite the present tobacco 
 manufactory, between the " Puerta de Xerez " 
 and the small stream of the Guadiana, about a 
 mile distant, the fleet of Caesar being placed near 
 the " Torre del Oro," where the marine college 
 of Saint Elmo now stands. 
 
 The next mention we have of Caesar is that he 
 some time afterwards exhibited the head of Cneius 
 Pompeius at Cordova, but history does not say at 
 what interval previous to the occupation of Se- 
 ville : — " Cum Caesar gradiebatur Hispalim, pridie 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 ANCIENT HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 idus Aprilis, caput Cneii Pompeii allatum, et 
 populo datum est in conspectum." 
 
 This son of the great Pompey was slain at 
 Carteia, a place supposed to be the same with 
 Calpe, at the extremity of Spain, near the sea of 
 Gades, where he was detected concealed in a 
 cave. This was the last victory of Caesar, for on 
 returning to Rome he was assassinated by Brutus 
 and Cassius. 
 
 The medals of Carteia represent a female head 
 crowned with towers. 
 
( 19 ) 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE CONTINUED. 
 
 After the death of Caesar, Asimius Pol lio was 
 praetor in Andalusia, having for his quaestor Corne- 
 lius Balbus, a native of Cadiz. This latter official 
 was eminently cruel and avaricious ; he exacted 
 contributions in every direction, caused a soldier 
 to be burned alive because he would not fight 
 amongst the gladiators, and exposed several Ro- 
 man citizens to wild beasts, — amongst others a 
 money broker, merely because he had an ugly 
 face: Cicero, in his 32nd epistle, says, " Bestiis 
 vero cives Romanos, in his circulatorem quendam 
 auction um, notissimum hominem, Hispali, quia 
 deformis erat, objecit." Sextus Pompe i us, how- 
 ever, dispossessed Pollio of the province, and re- 
 tained it for himself, until the establishment of 
 the triumvirate of Mark Antony, Lepidus, and 
 Octavius Caesar. On the fall of the two former, 
 the latter became sole master of the world, and 
 altars were raised to him, as Caro says, under 
 the name of Pantheus Augustus. One was found 
 in Seville with the following inscription : — 
 
 c2 
 
20 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 PANTHEO . AVG . 
 
 SACRVM 
 L . LICINIVS . ADAMAS . 
 LIB . FAVST . IIVIR . AVG . 
 
 In Greece the master of the world was adored 
 under the names of Jupiter Olympicus, Genius, 
 and Apollo. Seville was at that time opulent, 
 and the Emperor granted to it a licence to have 
 money coined in the town, which, under the do- 
 minion of the Caesars, was never done in the pro- 
 vinces without special permission from themselves. 
 Coins of Augustus and Tiberius have come down 
 to us ; and some were struck under Nero, in ce- 
 lebration of his victories at the Olympic games. 
 We find the Roman Sevillans subsequently spoken 
 of under the Antonines ; two cohorts levied 
 there, one of horse and the other of foot, served in 
 Isauria, near Mount Tauris in Asia. Under Otho, 
 when the Roman empire was in much confusion, 
 Seville and Andalusia gained an augmentation of 
 territory, and the right of citizenship of Rome 
 was extended to the Lingones, or inhabitants of 
 that part of France which is now called Langres. 
 Of the times of Trajan and Adrian no memorials 
 are left us here ; in that of the Antonines a statue 
 and an epigraph exist, dedicated by the boatmen, 
 or " Scapharii," of Romula, as the town was then 
 called, to Marcus Aurelius Verus Antoninus, in 
 his second consulate. On one side of the base a 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 21 
 
 trident was engraved, and on the reverse a bark. 
 This was the same Antoninus who, had he lived a 
 Christian, would probably have been canonized. 
 The eulogies passed on his character, by those 
 even of the adverse religion, are examples of the 
 respect which public virtue compels even from 
 those of the most opposite principles and in- 
 terests. He was indeed, perhaps, the only Roman 
 Emperor who preferred saving the life of a citizen 
 to destroying a hundred enemies ; the steady ob- 
 ject of his reign, which lasted for the unusual 
 period, in that distracted time, of twenty-three 
 years, being to maintain peace at home and 
 abroad, in which he was happily successful. He 
 repaired all the towns which had suffered from 
 war. 
 
 Another long inscription is quoted by Caro to 
 one Sextus Julius, which however is obscure and 
 unintelligible. The company of Seville boatmen 
 seem to have been a body of consideration, as we 
 meet several times with their names in the few 
 Roman inscriptions which remain. 
 
 In the time of Caracalla, we find another in- 
 scription on the pedestal of a statue, which being 
 somewhat more interesting, is here transcribed 
 for the curious. 
 
 IMP . CiESARI . L . SEPTIMI . SEVERI . PII . 
 PERTINACIS . AVG . ARABICI . ADIABENICI . 
 PARTHICI . MAXIMI . FILIO . DIVI . 
 
22 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 M . ANTONINI . PII . GERMANICI . SARMATICI . 
 
 NEPOTI . DIVI . HADRIANI . ADNEPOTI 
 
 DIVI . ANTONI . PRONEPOTI . DIVI . TRAIANI . 
 
 PARTHICI . ET . DIVI . NERViE . 
 
 ADNEPOTI . M . AVRELIO . ANTONINO. 
 
 AVG . TRIB . POT . VIII . COS . II . 
 
 PROCOS ANVS . LYCOMEDES 
 
 PROCVRATOR . AVGVSTORVM . POSVIT . 
 DEDICAVITQ. 
 
 Thus translated in Spanish : " Al emperador 
 Caesar Marco Aurelio Antonino Augusto, hijo 
 de Lucio Séptimo severo pió Pertinaz, Augusto 
 vencedor de los Adiabenos, y de los Parthos, hijo 
 del divino Marco Antonio Pió Germánico Sar- 
 matico, nieto del divino Hadriano, biz nieto del 
 divino Trajano Parthico, y del divino Nerva re- 
 biznieto, puso, y dedicó esta estatua Juliano 
 Lycomedes procurador de los Emperadores, te- 
 niendo la tribunicia potestad el octavo año, y 
 siendo consul segunda vez." This inscription 
 existed in the house of the Counts of Castellar in 
 Seville, when Caro saw it. The same writer men- 
 tions sixteen ancient Latin inscriptions to private 
 persons, but the only one of interest is the fol- 
 lowing, which was found near the church of Saint 
 Bernard, whilst workmen were removing the roots 
 of an old walnut-tree, blown down by the wind 
 in 1570. The Spaniards suppose it to be coeval 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 23 
 
 with the poet Ennius. The inscription is as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " Nome . vixit . anno . et mensibus vni . 
 Diebus . xii . H . S . E . S. T . T . L . 
 Nome . fuit . nomen . Haesit . nascenti . Cussucia . 
 Utraque . hoc . titolo . nomina . significo . 
 Vixi parom . dulcisq . fui . dum . vixi parenti . 
 Hoc . titolo . tegeor . debita . persolvi . 
 Quiq . legis . titolom . sentis . quam . vixerim . parom 
 Hoc . peto . nunc . dicas S . T . T . L *" 
 
 Caro translates the Latin verses into Spanish, 
 thus : — 
 
 " Nome mi nombre fué, y cuando nacia 
 Se me quedo Cusuccia casualmente, 
 
 Y la una, y la otra nombradia 
 Este titulo mostra claramente 
 Aunque poco gozé la compania 
 
 De mi padre, fui amado ducemente : 
 
 Y pagadas las deudas á Natura 
 Cubre mis huesos esta sepultura. 
 Pasagero, cualquiera, que leyeres 
 El breve tiempo de mi corta vida, 
 
 Y mi dolor con lagrimas sintieres 
 Solo esto pediré por despedida ; 
 Que no me dé la tierra pesadumbre 
 Como á todos los muertos es costumbre." 
 
 Another inscription, in the anadiplosis style of 
 the Greeks (quoted by Gruterus, p. 680), exists 
 in the cloister of San Salvador, the collegiate 
 church of Seville. 
 
24 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 DIDIA . T . F. FABIA. . MATER . 
 IN . MEO . DOLORE . 
 IN . HOC . SEPVLCRO . 
 
 NOMEN . IN . HIS . ADSCRIPSI . MEVM . 
 HIC . EST . DOMVS . MEA . 
 CVM . MEIS . 
 
 Thus fondly translated by Caro, — who seems 
 delighted with the repetition of the " mine " into 
 Spanish verse : — 
 
 " Didia Mater desdichada 
 Fabia, de Tito soy hija ; 
 Aqui estoy en mi dolor 
 En la sepultura mia 
 Escrito tengo mi nombre 
 En mi difunta familia 
 Esta es mi casa, en que hago 
 A' los mios compañía.'' 
 
 We may now turn to the Hebrew and Arabic 
 inscriptions. Of the former only one of impor- 
 tance has come down to us ; it stands on the side 
 of the cathedral which faces the Alcazar, and is 
 engraved on a large piece of white marble. The 
 interpretation is as follows :— " The testimony of 
 this mound and of this stone thou seest here writ- 
 ten for a memory and a sign. Here was interred 
 the treasure of all the cups of wealth, by the law 
 and testament, and with wisdom of the name of 
 God he there spoke wonders, and with him was 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 25 
 
 treasured the book of medicines, tree of true wis- 
 dom. O master, merciful, just, constant, and 
 faithful, Rabi Solomon, son of Rabi Abraham, 
 son of Gais, son of Baruc, he was gathered to 
 his people. He passed into his perfection in the 
 month of Sivam, year of 5105." The month of 
 Sivam agrees with our June ; the date with the 
 year of Christ 1335, under the reign of Don 
 Alfonso the Eleventh. 
 
 The Arab inscriptions are uninteresting, save 
 in two places ; one in the collegiate church of 
 Saint Salvador, a part of which says, " This is 
 the study of Maruam : God grant us his favour : 
 who enters here and prays forty-seven times, God 
 will forgive him his sins ; and may all pray for 
 him who made this, and may God hold out his 
 hand to him." The other, in Saint Juan de la 
 Palma, in these terms : " This is the great temple 
 of Saint Juan, which Artaxaf, king of Seville, re- 
 built by order of the great Miramamolin, which 
 was endowed with its first property by Muley 
 Almanzor, King of Ecija ; and this passed in the 
 year 1020, when there prevailed a great pestilence 
 in all Spain." In a more voluminous translation, 
 however, which Caro obtained from Juan Bap- 
 tista, an Arab by nation and sworn interpreter of 
 the Inquisition, the words are as follows: — " After 
 that Mahommed had preached his laws 200 years, 
 and after the reign of Muley Jacob Almanzon 
 Emir Elmuminin Enasar Edin, — (is this the Arab 
 
26 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Nusreddin, Glory of the Faith?) — lieutenant of 
 God, the Count Julian passed to Spain, and he 
 lost Spain ; and so the Alcalde Tarif passed over 
 to it, with Muza the Jailor, and conquered all 
 the Christians of Spain. After 1025 years had 
 passed, and after the Moors had occupied it, they 
 governed there many years, and found in Seville a 
 mosque called San Juan de la Palma. The King 
 Muley Jacob Almanzor directed its re-edification, 
 and ordered also the Alcalde of Seville, whose 
 name was Alcalde Ahmed Balhapsa, to place a 
 marble slab in its tower, and to engrave on it 
 these words ; and he formed it better than all 
 the other churches of Seville, more indeed than 
 the great church ; and Muley Jacob Almanzor 
 endowed it with the tenth fruits for all it needed, 
 and houses and tributes for ever. Also such 
 houses as stand on the banks of the river, which 
 belong to the Moors, pay tribute to this church. 
 God give victory to him who performed this work 
 of mercy to this church in the land of Moors. 
 The author of this writing is Hamed Xarif, son of 
 Hadalguad : God give him freedom." 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE — CONTINUED. 
 
 The learned antiquary Juan Pablo Martyr Rizo, 
 in his history of Cuenca, observes, that it was 
 customary among those of the olden time to name 
 kingdoms from the principal rivers which bathed 
 them, and that Andalusia was first called Betica 
 from the Betis, which flowed through it. The 
 extent of the ancient province has been under 
 dispute. Masdeu considers that Lusitania, or 
 Portugal, was never called Betica, but that a 
 large portion of the province of Granada, extend- 
 ing from Gibraltar to Vera, a town now famous 
 for its tunny fisheries, was added to Andalusia 
 by the successors of Augustus. The word " An- 
 dalusia" is a corruption of " Vandal isia," or Land 
 of the Vandals, who succeeded the Romans, and 
 were in turn expelled by the Moors. The modern 
 inhabitants of Andalusia or Vandalisia do not, 
 however, by any means consider themselves as 
 Vandals, being more ready to call all else barba- 
 rians, than to reflect on themselves or their own 
 origin. The present country comprises the pro- 
 vinces of Cordova, Jaen, and Seville, properly 
 speaking ; but Granada is sometimes included in 
 Andalusia, particularly in speech, for Spaniards 
 
28 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 talk of "the four Andalusias." The three first 
 provinces occupy a space of land 100 leagues in 
 length by 60 in breadth, bounded to the south 
 by Granada and the straits of Gibraltar, on the 
 west by the Portuguese province of Algarve and 
 the ocean, on the north by Estremadura and the 
 mountains of the Sierra Morena, and on the,east 
 by the kingdom of Murcia. The population of 
 this country exceeds a million, and Seville is the 
 present capital of the whole, although the dignity 
 is disputed by Cordova, at least in point of anti- 
 quity, for that city was the capital of Betica in 
 the time of the Romans, and during the Moorish 
 occupation the capital of a separate kingdom. 
 Abdoram the Third, one of its Moorish kings, who 
 reigned in the second century of their occupation, 
 used the following remarkable words in a paper 
 found after his death : — " I have been monarch 
 nearly fifty years, and always victorious in war 
 or enjoying myself in peace; all my worldly 
 wishes have been satisfied, yet, on counting the 
 days I consider as really happy in that long pe- 
 riod, their number amounts only to fourteen." 
 
 Some antiquarians are of opinion that under 
 Constantine the Great Seville was the capital of 
 all Spain, and Cordova only that of a province, 
 and that the seat of government for the whole 
 Spanish nation existed in the former city. The 
 emperors Trajan and Adrian were both born in 
 Andalusia, and Theodosius the First also sprung 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 29 
 
 from parents of the province. At the death of 
 Alaric, to whom Honorius ceded Spain and 
 France, his generals divided their conquest, and 
 Seville was first of all the seat of government; 
 afterwards, under Athanagildas, the town of To- 
 ledo. The entrance of Vamba into the town, 
 after conquering the Bishop of Narbonne and 
 Duke Paul, was rendered imposing by the march 
 of the vanquished, clad in camel-hair shirts, with 
 their heads and chins shaved, Duke Paul himself 
 preceding the rest, crowned with thorns ; after- 
 wards appeared the Gothic prince with all his 
 court, dressed out in the extreme of barbaric 
 splendour. The history, however, of the Gothic 
 kings is confused and uncertain : their reign in 
 Spain may be computed to have begun about the 
 year 479 of our era ; the establishment of their 
 court in Seville from 511, and in Toledo from 
 554 to 711, when they were expelled by the 
 Arabs. Previously to the irruption of the Goths, 
 another northern nation, the Suabians, had occu- 
 pied Spain for near a century, and were not 
 wholly subdued until the beginning of the ninth 
 century, when they retired to the mountains and 
 copses of Galicia. The Moors, who succeeded 
 the Goths, have left monuments all over Spain, 
 but particularly in the South, with a great ad- 
 mixture also of their blood. It may not be unin- 
 teresting to say a few words respecting the family 
 of Lara, one of the most noble and illustrious of 
 
30 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 these, not indeed originally of Andalusia, but 
 Castile, although its blood became at length com- 
 mingled with that of the Moorish offspring of the 
 former kingdom. The pedigree of this ancient 
 house, and the collateral family branches, fill 
 four large folio volumes, and the adventures of 
 the seven children of Lara are the burthen of 
 much indifferent poetry. Some extracts from the 
 Romancero General, relating to the latter, are 
 introduced in the following story: — 
 
 In the year 970 flourished the Count of Castile, 
 by name Garcia Fernandez ; and in the year 995 
 he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Moors, 
 in a battle near the river Duero, between Alcocer 
 and Langa. Five days afterwards death relieved 
 him of his sufferings, and although his enemies 
 would not at first give up his body, it at length 
 found sepulture in the monastery of Saint Peter 
 de Cárdena. Contemporary with this Count Fer- 
 nandez, and connected with him in blood, were 
 the seven children of Lara. While attending at 
 the marriage, in Burgos, of their maternal uncle, 
 the Lord of Villaren, with Doña Lambra, one of 
 the principal ladies of Briviesca, the youngest of 
 them, Don Gonzalo, quarrelled with Alvaro San- 
 chez, her relation — 
 
 " Las bodas se hacen en Burgos, 
 Las tornabodas en Salas ; 
 Las bodas y tornabodas 
 Duraron sieto semanas. 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 31 
 
 Las bodas fueron muy buenas, 
 Las tornabodas muy malas." 
 
 Doña Lambra, enraged at this occurrence, or- 
 dered one of her slaves to throw with contempt a 
 piece of cucumber, dirty and stained with blood, 
 at the youngest Lara, who held a goshawk in his 
 hand : 
 
 " Toma ahora tu un cohombro 
 Hínchelo de sangre viva, 
 
 Y arrójaselo á Gonzalo 
 Vente luego para mi 
 Que yo te mampararia, 
 
 El hombre tomó un cohombro, 
 
 Y de sangre lo tenia 
 
 Dio con él á Don Gonzalo 
 En sangre untado lo habia." 
 
 The slave immediately flew to shelter himself 
 under the flowing train of his mistress, but the 
 brothers, furious at what was then considered the 
 greatest insult that could be offered to a knight, 
 slew the offender in spite of the opposition of 
 Doña Lambra: 
 
 " El hombre cuando los vio 
 
 Acojióse á Doña Lambra, 
 
 So su bridal se metía : 
 
 Los infantes que lo vieron 
 
 A' Doña Lambra decían ; 
 
 Cuñada quitaos afuera 
 
 No amparéis quien mal hacia. 
 
 Mi vasallo es este hombre 
 
 Doña Lambra respondía." 
 
 The bride, burning with indignation, demanded, 
 
32 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 in atonement of the murder, the death, not 
 merely of the offender, but of all the family. 
 Her husband, Ruy Velasquez, proposed in the 
 first instance to collect six of his friends, and 
 defy the Laras to combat ; but his lady deeming 
 this a mode of vengeance too uncertain in its re- 
 sults to satisfy her enmity, persuaded him to 
 secure by treachery what was unattainable by 
 fair means : he therefore waited his opportunity, 
 and aided by some Moors, destroyed the whole 
 family in an ambuscade, together with their tutor 
 Nuno Salido, who happened to be in company 
 with them : 
 
 " Los Cristianos eran pocos, 
 Veinte Moros á uno había, 
 Mataron á los Cristianos 
 Que á vida ninguna finca." 
 
 Before this consummation of vengeance, he had 
 also delivered their father, Gonzalo Gustios, to 
 the King of Cordova, in quality of an ambassador, 
 in order that he might be put to death by him. 
 The Mussulman was more humane, however, than 
 the Spaniard; for although subjected to a rigorous 
 confinement, Gustios contrived to hold an inter- 
 course with the sister of the emperor, who had 
 formed an attachment to him, and by whom he 
 had a son named Mudarra : 
 
 " Una hermana de Almanzor 
 Rey de Cordova llamado 
 Del bueno Gonzalo Gustios 
 Preñada se habia quedado." 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 33 
 
 The Moor was driven to madness at the news 
 of his sisters infidelity, the discovery of which 
 took place at the time of his victory over the 
 family of Lara. She was immediately put to 
 death, but he reserved for her paramour a punish- 
 ment still more dreadful. A grand banquet was 
 ordered, Gonzalo was invited to attend it, and by 
 way of rendering it more gratifying to him, All 
 manzor declared his captivity at an end. The 
 table shone with gold and silver plate, and cups 
 loaded with precious stones dazzled the eyes of 
 the guests: but at a preconcerted signal, some 
 dishes in the middle of the table were uncovered, 
 and disclosed to sight the heads of the seven 
 children of Lara, and in the midst that of their 
 luckless tutor Nuno Salido. The wretched father 
 burst into a paroxysm of grief, and his reason 
 sunk under the horrible infliction : 
 
 " Llorando atiende Gonzalo 
 Las ocho amadas cabezas 
 De sus hijos y del Ayo 
 Que yacen sobre una meza." 
 
 He was confined for some time longer in prison, 
 but as his malady was found to be incurable, the 
 Mahommedan relented, and at last allowed him 
 to roam at liberty about the palace, accompanied 
 by his son, to whom, in some lucid intervals of 
 reason, he recounted the treachery of Ruy Ve- 
 lasquez, and inspired him with invincible hatred 
 to the treacherous assassin of his father's family. 
 
 D 
 
34 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 When Mudarra had reached the age of twenty, 
 Gonzalo died, and two years afterwards, the youth, 
 who was of a courageous disposition, proceeded, 
 eager for vengeance, to Castile, where being spee- 
 dily joined by some partisans, and aided with 
 money by Doña Sancha, the wife of Gonzalo, he 
 defied Ruy Velasquez to single combat, the Count 
 of Castile having promised not to interfere in the 
 quarrel. Ruy Velasquez disdained to enter the 
 lists against a Moorish bastard, and although 
 counselled by Doña Lambra not to despise his 
 antagonist, but to get rid of him by fair means 
 or foul, he neglected her advice, and went about 
 as usual ; when at last, on occasion of returning 
 from hunting, and at a distance from his attend- 
 ants, he was assailed by his mortal enemy, whom 
 he did not at first recognize. As, however, Mu- 
 darra approached nearer, Ruy Velasquez ex- 
 claimed — " Get thee gone, vile bastard, and insult 
 me not by thy presence." " Cowardly assassin, 
 defend thy life," replied the Moor. In a few 
 minutes Velasquez fell mortally wounded, and 
 his conqueror, over her husband's body, took a 
 solemn oath of vengeance on Doña Lambra. 
 Mudarra returned to his partisans, and the ques- 
 tion now arose how she should be punished. 
 Various tortures were suggested, red hot pincers, 
 crucifixion, a bath of burning oil, interment alive, 
 or stoning, and then burning her body, and cast- 
 ing the ashes to the winds. This last sentence 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 35 
 
 was approved, and twelve of Mudarra's followers 
 placed their troops in a direction to stop the ap- 
 proach of Doña Lambra's friends, when finding 
 every thing favourable to their wishes, they en- 
 tered her palace, tore her forth in her night dress, 
 and put her to death in the manner which had 
 been determined on. Thus perished, like a se- 
 cond Jezebel, this wretched and sanguinary wo- 
 man. 
 
 Towards the middle of the eleventh century, a 
 revolution in Cordova detached Seville from its 
 empire, and it became a separate seat of govern- 
 ment. Mahomad Allacamita, the first Sevillan 
 and twenty-third Spanish Arab king, reigned 
 there seven years, when, loaded with years and 
 infirmities, he abdicated in favour of his son Al- 
 motadedo Billah. Coins of Mahomad exist to 
 this day. The son was a brave warrior, but ap- 
 pears to have achieved the most notoriety from a 
 prowess of a different kind; he kept fifty concu- 
 bines, and is said to have deflowered the immo- 
 derate number of eight hundred maids. His 
 peculiar delight was to sit in a room decorated 
 with the heads of those slain by his own sword. 
 Grief for the loss of a favourite daughter, Arthira, 
 caused his death in 1079, after a reign of seven- 
 teen years. Before this period, the Moors had 
 been disturbed in their possession of empire by 
 the Christians, and sixteen years previous to the 
 death of the King of Seville, Ferdinand the First 
 
 d 2 
 
36 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 had rescued some relics of saints from the hands 
 of the infidels, and amongst the rest the body of 
 Saint Isidorus, which was delivered up in great 
 state by the Mahommedan prince, and taken to 
 Leon, for interment in the cathedral of that town, 
 in 1053. Two years afterwards Ferdinand died 
 in Leon, having previously received the commu- 
 nion in the cathedral church, now dedicated to 
 Saint Isidorus. Despoiled of his kingly robes, 
 he appeared in the habit of a penitent, and the 
 following day, on the 27th of December, he 
 breathed his last. The devout Morgado, in his 
 history of Seville, observes that a doubt exists 
 whether Saint Isidorus did not convert the Moorish 
 King of Seville to Chiistianity, by an apparition 
 in his dreams ; but of this the pious Catholic 
 allows that he had no credible proof. 
 
 To pursue the Arab history of Spain would be 
 unprofitable, were it even possible, for Conde and 
 Masdeu do not agree even in names in their ac- 
 counts of these dynasties: it is therefore only ne- 
 cessary to point out the leading facts in the history 
 of Seville. We may now, then, turn to Alfonso 
 the Sixth, of Leon, who conquered Toledo — for 
 each province almost in Spain at this period 
 formed a kingdom, and the barons were often 
 more powerful than their prince. Alfonso mar- 
 ried the daughter of the Moorish King of Seville, 
 who was second son to Almotadedo Billah, so 
 called by Masdeu, although Morgado names him 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 37 
 
 Almucamur Benhamet. This lady was his se- 
 venth wife: Flores, indeed, in his lives of the 
 Catholic Queens, calls her a concubine, and re- 
 lates that she became a convert to Christianity, 
 but when about to be baptized, the king forbade 
 her to be christened Maria, since, the name be- 
 longing to the Holy Virgin, he considered it im- 
 pious for a mortal to have intercourse with one 
 / who bore even so distant a relation to the mother 
 of the Saviour. The lady, however, was pleased 
 with the appellation, and refused to change it, 
 saying that after marriage the king might call 
 her what he liked, but that she would have her 
 own way before. Thus she was baptized Maria for 
 the public, but with her husband always went by 
 the name of Isabel. With this Cayda, or Zaida, as 
 Rizzo calls her, Alfonso obtained many towns as 
 a marriage portion, and amongst others Cuenca, 
 where the prince Don Sancho Alfonso, this queen's 
 son, was slain in a combat with the Moors. This 
 so exasperated the father, that he besieged Cor- 
 dova, and having possessed himself of the person 
 of the Moor Abdallah, the slayer of his son, he 
 cut his body in pieces, and burnt them in sight 
 of the Mahommedan army, treating in the same 
 way several others who were taken with Abdallah. 
 These Moors were of the Almorávides tribe, and 
 had before this slain Alfonso's father-in-law, the 
 Moorish King of Seville. The fortune of the 
 Moorish princess, which consisted, besides Cu- 
 
38 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 enca, of many other towns, namely Caracuel, 
 Alarcon, Consuegra, Mora, Ocaña, Oreja, Ucles, 
 Huete, Cotyra, Amasatrigo — like many other 
 apparently profitable marriage portions, was a 
 cause of constant disquiet to the husband, for 
 Cuenca was retaken by the Mussulmen, and the 
 others were exposed to and perpetually disturbed 
 by their invasions. Zaida died- early in life, and 
 was buried in the monastery of Sahagun. This 
 monarch united the kingdoms of Castile and 
 Leon, succeeding to the portion of his brother 
 Sancho, who died at the age of twenty. It 
 was at this period the Count de Vela caused 
 Salamanca, which was deserted, to be repeo- 
 pled. Alfonso gained Toledo from the Moors, 
 according to Silva, in 1085, and first used his im- 
 perial title from the possession of the empire of 
 Toledo. The famous Cid, who had won seventy- 
 nine battles on his horse Babieza, flourished during 
 this reign. Bathing was prohibited by Alfonso, 
 as being judged injurious to energy in combat. 
 With the aid of his bishop, Bernard, he converted 
 the large mosque of Toledo into a Catholic ca- 
 thedral, and changed the Mozarabic service to 
 that of Rome. The Mozárabes were Christians 
 subject to the Moors, but had the privilege of 
 professing their own faith. At this period, in pro- 
 secution of the crusades for recovery of the Holy 
 Land, religious orders of combatants were formed 
 in Spain, that of Santiago being the highest, the 
 
 1 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 39 
 
 brief of which was given by the Pope in 1175. 
 They wore a white gown, with a red cross shaped 
 upon it like a sword. The hospital of Saint Mark 
 of Leon was the principal house of the order, but it 
 gradually acquired castles and fortresses in other 
 parts of the province, and also of Castile. The 
 orders of Calatrava and Alcantara are of later 
 origin, but became almost equally powerful. The 
 former wore red crosses on a white robe, the latter 
 the same dress, with a red cap, until 1411, when 
 Pope Benedict gave them a green cross in ad- 
 dition. 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE CONTINUED. 
 
 A monarch has, amongst others, this advantage 
 over his subjects, that all his good actions are 
 faithfully chronicled, and many of his evil deeds 
 excused. It was not until very recent times that 
 historians were to be found who dared, openly 
 and contemporaneously, to censure the misdeeds 
 of royalty in a manner calculated to work any 
 amendment of the morals of a court. Although 
 Tacitus, Juvenal, and Persius, railed against the 
 vices and follies of the Roman emperors, and pas- 
 quinades were directed against the Pope, their sa- 
 tires and reprobation had no effect, and then only 
 were valued by the curious, or pointed out for 
 moral instruction to others, when all their power 
 of doing good or harm to those against whom they 
 were levelled had long ceased. That Alfonso 
 was a worthy king, history leaves little doubt; 
 but the hero of his reign, his faithful servant till 
 death, and the friend and support of his prede- 
 cessor and himself, was Dias de Vivar Rodrigo, 
 sirnamed by the Arabs the " Cid," or lord. It 
 may not be deemed uninteresting to glance over 
 the life of one greater even than his master, but 
 which is to be found in no royal chronicle. 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 41 
 
 Scarcely arrived at manhood, Don Rodrigo 
 slew the Count de Gormas, who had insulted 
 him, and though beloved by his daughter, the 
 laws of honour at that period required her to 
 prosecute her lower. The Cid slew her cham- 
 pion, and gained her hand, which had been pre- 
 destined to the victor in the combat. The prin- 
 cipality of Gormas, which he inherited in her 
 right, rendered him rich and powerful, and plac- 
 ing himself at the head of a chosen band, he 
 defeated five petty Moorish princes, from whom 
 he exacted tribute, and who accorded to him the 
 title of Cid, by which he was afterwards best 
 known. The Spanish name of the " Campeador," 
 which he also obtained, was only the title of a 
 Guerilla chief, the leader of small bands of rovers. 
 At a later period, when Ferdinand was threatened 
 by the Emperor of the Germans, the resolution 
 of the Cid impeded his progress, and a decree 
 from the Pope freed Spain from all subjection to 
 the Empire. The gallant Spaniard afterwards 
 successfully combated for Sancho, the eldest son 
 of Ferdinand, and enabled him to retake from his 
 brothers the possessions which had been divided 
 at the death of their father. The assassination of 
 Sancho opened the road of advancement to Al- 
 fonso, and the Cid had the courage to compel him 
 to perform the condition which the nobles de- 
 sired to exact from him before he entered upon 
 the sovereignty, but which they were too timid to 
 
42 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 insist upon, namely, the oath that he was neither 
 principal in nor accessory to the murder of his 
 brother. But however glorious human life may 
 be, there are always some dark shadows which 
 cross the sunshine of prosperity. Private enemies 
 estranged from his heroic subject the affections of 
 the king, who already perhaps considered the Cid 
 too powerful for a subject. On two occasions he 
 had successfully warred against the Moors, and 
 exacted tributes and presents, with which he re- 
 turned loaded to Castile. An order was issued 
 that he should leave the kingdom of Castile in 
 nine days. The answer to this on the part of the 
 Cid was a fresh present of thirty sabres, thirty 
 horses loaded with the richest spoils, and thirty 
 of the handsomest slaves, taken from the Moors 
 in an excursion near Toledo. A civil war with 
 the Moors of Andalusia rendering the services "of 
 the Cid again necessary, he was recalled from his 
 exile, and Alfonso profited by his abilities to im- 
 pose conditions advantageous to the Christians. 
 The King Almofala was brought in triumph to 
 the Christian court. The capture of Valencia 
 under the conduct of this brave soldier, and the 
 transmission of 200 horses laden with booty, and 
 200 cutlasses richly worked, were fresh testi- 
 monies of his ability and enterprise. Jerome of 
 Toledo was appointed bishop of the town by him 
 after its conquest. Fortune now seemed to have 
 so entirely smiled upon the Cid, that nothing was 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 43 
 
 wanting to render him completely happy, when a 
 source of misery arose in the bosom of his family. 
 His daughters, on the recommendation of Alfonso, 
 had married the two sons of the family of Carrion ; 
 but the young men were cowardly and vicious, 
 and speedily left Valencia to return to Castile. 
 On the road they tied their wives to trees, and 
 after severely scourging, abandoned them, and 
 departed on their road. This was done in re- 
 venge for the jeers they had suffered for the want 
 of courage shown by them in Valencia, where a 
 lion which had escaped from his cage entered the 
 room where the Cid lay sleeping after dinner, 
 and where his sons-in-law were playing with the 
 rest of the company at backgammon ; and they 
 being the first to run away, one of them, in pass- 
 ing, awoke the Cid, who with a stick in his hand, 
 took the animal by the collar, and led him back 
 to his cage, afterwards reproaching the husbands 
 of his daughters with their pusillanimity. The 
 gross outrage committed on their wives, however, 
 brought upon themselves a speedy ruin. Alfonso 
 yielded to the demand of the Cid, that the honour 
 of his family should be avenged in single combat. 
 The two offenders fled wounded from the lists : 
 they were publicly dishonoured, and their pro- 
 perty confiscated to the crown of Castile. The 
 champions of the Cid were Martin Antolinez and 
 Pedro Bermudez, who fought hand in hand with 
 Diego and Ferdinand Gonzalez. Having obtained 
 
44 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 a divorce, the daughters of the Cid married the 
 sons of the Kings of Aragón and Navarre, Don 
 Sancho, the heir of the former kingdom, uniting 
 himself with Doña Sol, and Don Ramiro, of the 
 latter, with Doña Elvira. The fame of their father 
 was now so widely diffused, that the Shah of Per- 
 sia sent an ambassador and presents to Valencia, 
 with the verbal compliment, that were the Cid 
 his guest, he would feast him with the head of a 
 horse, the most delicate dish at that time known 
 in Persia; but being so far separated by distance, 
 he had sent him one of the finest animals of that 
 breed in the country. The other presents con- 
 sisted of silver plate to the value of 10,000 marks, 
 10 golden cups, each worth 10 marks, cloths of 
 gold and silk, 100 pounds of myrrh and balsam 
 in a vase of gold, an ivory table garnished with 
 gold and precious stones, backgammon boards 
 and chess men of gold and silver, garnished also 
 with precious stones ; besides many sacks full of 
 gold and silver coin. In his last moments, the 
 Cid, ever faithful to the cause of his king, gave 
 directions for an attack on the Moors, who had 
 made a descent on the coast of Valencia ; which 
 terminated, after his death, in a complete victory. 
 His body was brought to Toledo, and deposited 
 in the cathedral, on the right hand side of the 
 altar, and, as the chronicles say, had not suffered 
 corruption when the coffin was opened after the 
 translation. It was left on a wooden tablet, and 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 45 
 
 covered with the silken cloths which had been 
 sent from Persia, where it lay in state : and it is 
 also related, that after ten years had elapsed, a 
 Jew, entering the church, approached near it, 
 saying, " Neither Christian nor Moor have ever 
 touched thy beard ; but I will now do so, and 
 see what thou shalt do." At that instant the Cid 
 rose, and drew his sword half-way from the sheath. 
 The Hebrew fell in a swoon with terror, was found 
 in that state, and brought to his senses by im- 
 mersion in cold water ; but the miracle had such 
 an effect upon him, that he forthwith turned 
 Christian. 
 
 Passing by the reigns of the Queen Urraca, 
 Alfonso the Seventh, Sancho the Third, Ferdi- 
 nand the Second, Alfonso the Ninth of Leon, 
 Alfonso the Eighth of Castile, and Henry the 
 First, which contain nothing very interesting con- 
 cerning Seville, we come to Saint Ferdinand, the 
 third conqueror of the town and province. This 
 prince, ruled by his mother, was affectionate and 
 prudent, and she governed at Toledo when he 
 went on expeditions against the Moors. She 
 died in 1246, and was buried at the monastery of 
 " Las Huelgas." The second wife of Ferdinand, 
 Doña Juana, who was grand-daughter of Louis 
 the Seventh of France, is worthy of commemora- 
 tion, as having ordered the Deacon of Tuy, Don 
 Lucas, to write the chronicle called Tudense. 
 We pass, however, to the deeds of arms achieved 
 
46 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 by her husband, as being more important to our 
 subject. Ferdinand had been warring with the 
 Moors ever since 1223 ; in the year 1246 he 
 attacked Andalusia with success, and from Jaen 
 proceeded to Seville, which then, though without 
 a sovereign, was defended by a fleet and a Moor- 
 ish general of repute, Axataf. An iron chain was 
 drawn across the river from where the " Torre del 
 Oro" now stands, and fastened to a wall, remains 
 of which are now seen, in Triana, on the opposite 
 side, and which have given the name of Arga- 
 masón to a street — Argamasón meaning in Spa- 
 nish a fragment of mortar. Carmona capitulated, 
 Cantillana was taken, and 700 Moors slain ; 
 Guillena surrendered, but Gerena, distant only 
 three leagues from the capital, resisted, and the 
 inhabitants fought with so much fury, that Fer- 
 dinand swore if he took the town not to leave a 
 soul in the place alive. At last, by persuasion of 
 their leaders, they capitulated. Ferdinand now 
 fell sick, and returned to Guillena, but sent for- 
 ward troops to take Alcalá del Rio, which is 
 contiguous to the Guadalquivir, and at only two 
 leagues distant higher up the river than Seville, 
 towards Cordova. Axataf threw himself into the 
 place, and, with 300 cavalry, attacked the Chris- 
 tians, whom he dispersed. Ferdinand ordered 
 the vineyards, gardens and orchards to be laid 
 waste, so as to cut off all supplies from the 
 enemy. Axataf, finding himself unable to main- 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 47 
 
 tain his position from want of provisions, retreated 
 to Seville, and the garrison made the best terms 
 they could with Ferdinand before surrendering 
 the place. At this period, the king learned that 
 Ramon Bonifax, his admiral, was proceeding to 
 enter the river of Seville, and that he required 
 assistance, being apprehensive of an attack, not 
 only from the Moorish ships of that place, but 
 from those of Tangiers and Ceuta. Succours 
 were sent accordingly, and the Moors did not 
 then make their appearance ; but when the 
 Christian troops left Bonifax to return to Alcalá, 
 they made an attack upon him, which, however, 
 as the historians of the time report, by the effi- 
 cacy of their prayers, he was enabled to repulse, 
 taking or destroying seven gallies in an unequal 
 encounter of thirteen Christian against twenty 
 Moorish ships. In the month of August, 1246, 
 Ferdinand again took the field, and proceeded to 
 his fleet, which he ordered to ascend the river, 
 and fixed his tents two leagues below Seville, at 
 the " Torre de Caño," afterwards called the 
 " Torre de los Erreros." The Moors incommoded 
 him in this position, and he was compelled to 
 move away to Tablada. The Master.of Santiago, 
 Don Pelago Perez Correa, with 270 adherents, 
 had passed a ford in the river below Hasan 
 Alfarach, now San Juan del Farache, (so called 
 from its pleasant position, " el farach" meaning 
 in Arabic, gaiety,) to join his master, in which he 
 
48 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 encountered much danger from exposure to the 
 attacks of the Moors. The stream Guadaira runs 
 through the Tablada to join the Guadalquivir, at 
 a distance of little more than half a league to the 
 south of Seville. Here Ferdinand entrenched 
 himself, and virtually blockaded the city. Per- 
 petual combats now took place for many months 
 between the Christians and their antagonists ; 
 the latter were aided by the Moors of Xerez and 
 the sea coast, and the fleet of the former was an- 
 noyed by rafts sent amongst them, filled with 
 pots of burning pitch and sulphur. The king 
 gave orders for Bonifax to break the bridge of 
 boats, which then united and even now unites 
 Seville and Triana. The admiral, taking advan- 
 tage of a strong breeze, directed two of his 
 strongest vessels to attempt it, and succeeded. 
 The war did not however for this reason cease, 
 but, on the contrary, raged with greater fury for 
 five months, from May to October ; nor were the 
 besiegers able to prevent communications be- 
 tween Seville and Triana from beinsr carried on. 
 Ferdinand therefore disembarked troops on the 
 arsenal, which extends from the gate of Alme- 
 nilla to the " Torre del Oro," cut off the Moorish 
 communications, and, after some difficulty, com- 
 pelled the besieged in Seville and Triana to come 
 to terms, after a siege of sixteen months. In this 
 war some Gallician troops, stationed near the 
 small river Tazarete, on an unwholesome swamp 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 49 
 
 and then filled with elder-trees, did some good 
 service. Axataf first proposed that he should 
 share with Ferdinand the rents of the Mirama- 
 molin tribe, an African party from whom he held 
 the city in fief, and deliver the Alcazar to the 
 king. This was refused; he then offered the 
 Alcazar, the rents above named, and a third of 
 the city. This offer also not being accepted, he 
 purposed to surrender half the city, the rents, 
 payment of the expenses of the siege, and to se- 
 parate the Christian and Moorish habitations by a 
 wall built at the expense of the latter. The 
 conquerors however required unconditional sub- 
 mission ; and the Moors, fortunately for the 
 lovers of architecture, were forbidden to pull 
 down their great mosque, the present Giralda, 
 which they were desirous of doing to avoid its 
 Christian profanation or occupation ; Don Al- 
 fonso, son of Ferdinand, saying that in such case 
 he would put the whole population to the sword. 
 Ferdinand allowed them, however, a month to re- 
 move with their effects : five ships, eight gallies, 
 and a transport, were appropriated for such of 
 the inhabitants as chose to embark for Barbary, 
 of which permission it is said 100,000 availed 
 themselves, and the rest, to the number of 300,000, 
 had safe conduct to Xerez. Axataf and his offi- 
 cers were allowed to remain in San Lucar, Hal- 
 mapharache, and Niebla. The latter is now a 
 small place, sixteen leagues west of Seville, with 
 
 E 
 
50 
 
 HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 ancient fortified walls : it was at that period the 
 head of a separate principality on the river Tinto. 
 On Monday, the 23d November, in the year 1248, 
 according to Zuniga, Ferdinand received the keys 
 of the town ; he entered it on the 22d of the fol- 
 lowing month. After divine service, he repaired 
 to the Alcazar, and scenes of festivity followed 
 for many days. This monarch was styled Saint 
 Ferdinand, his ancestor being sirnamed Ferdi- 
 nand the Great. The title which he had gained 
 of sanctity he valued more, and it was then 
 thought more worthy, than that of monarch. For 
 this distinction armies were led into the field by 
 princes : a prelate could raise a poor layman in 
 his cell to a higher station than that of emperor 
 at a word. 
 
 It does not fall within the limits of the present 
 work to treat of the history of the succeeding 
 Spanish kings. Observations on that of Pedro 
 the Cruel are introduced in an account of the 
 buildings he erected, the improvements he made, 
 and the tombs of the victims he sacrificed. Fer- 
 dinand the Fifth, by his marriage with Isabella, 
 united the whole of the north of Spain into one 
 empire, and the conquest of Granada from the 
 Moors secured the south. The king was active 
 and ambitious, his queen pious and parsimo- 
 nious; and having gained from the pope the 
 high title of " The Catholic Monarchs," as a 
 reward for their victories over the Moors, united 
 
HISTORY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 51 
 
 during life in glory, they sleep their long sleep 
 in the temple of Granada, the seat of their last 
 victory. Isabella died in Medina del Campo, at 
 the age of fifty-three, having reigned nearly 
 thirty years. When she felt death approaching, 
 she received the sacraments in the dress of Saint 
 Francis, and her body was taken to the Alhambra, 
 where it lay in state till the death of her hus- 
 band, which happened nearly twelve years after- 
 wards ; both were then deposited in the cathe- 
 dral of Granada. 
 
 e 2 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The Guadalquivir, or " Great River of the Arabs," 
 as its name signifies, which runs through Seville, 
 has not yet been described. Before the works of 
 nature dynasties fade away ; over their existence 
 the stream of time glides smoothly; they betray 
 no wrinkles ; — they are silent witnesses of all the 
 changing events of centuries. What mighty se- 
 crets, what mysteries of times gone by, could the 
 lands and waters disclose, if endowed with speech 
 and language ! 
 
 This river springs in the mountains of Segara, 
 a part of the province of Granada ; passes by An- 
 dujar, Cordova, and Seville, increasing in size 
 until it reaches the sea at Saint Lucar, where it 
 discharges itself into the bay of Cadiz. It is na- 
 vigable to Cordova; but the Spaniards, careless 
 and dilatory, have not used it farther than from 
 Saint Lucar to Seville for ships of any size ; and 
 even now, owing to floods, and want of attention 
 to the navigation of the river, it has deteriorated 
 so much, that vessels of not more than eighty 
 tons can reach Seville, and that even with diffi- 
 culty ; while all of larger dimensions remain at 
 the Cortadura, or "Cut," five leagues lower down. 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 53 
 
 In ancient times, historians relate that the stream 
 laved Cordova, and its mirrors reflected ships from 
 the sea to that town upon its banks. We are not 
 warranted, however, in paying any attention to 
 the Chronicles of Ocampo, nor the reveries of the 
 old historians ; for although certainly, in the case 
 of the Guadalete, which discharges itself at Port 
 St. Mary into the bay of Cadiz, the land has en- 
 croached upon the stream, and the sea even re- 
 tired from the walls of the town, in the present 
 instance we have no respectable testimony for 
 concluding that the Guadalquivir was ever much 
 larger above Seville than it is now. Naval com- 
 bats took place below and at Seville, but never 
 above the town ; and it is not likely that the 
 Moors would allow their enemies who came from 
 the north to proceed along the banks of the 
 river without opposing them in large boats at 
 least, were it even then easy of navigation. Caro 
 calls the Guadalquivir the "perennial spring of 
 Seville," and says that it had two branches, 
 which formerly ran through the town, one enter- 
 ing the northernmost part, where the walls are 
 turretted, and from thence following its course by 
 the old Alameda, the Calle del Puerco, the 
 Calle de la Sierpe, where the author of this 
 work is now writing, from thence to the Plaza 
 de San Francisco, and then to rejoin the other 
 stream by the Puerta del Arenal, leaving what 
 is now a principal part of the city entirely an 
 
54 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 island. This the intelligent author already quoted 
 considers certain, from sand and alluvial deposits 
 found on digging the ground. The supply of 
 water, however, by an ancient aqueduct, suffices 
 for the use of the city; in all the lower part of 
 the town there are one or more fountains in every 
 house. The favourite drinking - water is that 
 brought from the springs of the Alameda. I need 
 hardly say of what primary importance, in all 
 warm countries, where wine is apt to irritate the 
 system and impede digestion, is a supply of pure 
 water. The Moors required it for their ablutions; 
 the Romans, who were unused to fermented 
 liquors, paid also great attention to the quality 
 of what was found so essential to health, and they 
 probably were the authors of this aqueduct, which, 
 bearing the mountain stream from an eminence, 
 gave it fresher and purer than when procured 
 from the river. 
 
 From the square lights to the mine from whence 
 the water springs, which has been cut with great 
 labour in the solid rock, Caro fancies it may have 
 been laboured by some Phoenician or Carthagenian 
 miners employed in searching for metals. The 
 springs rise on the Carmona side of Alcalá de 
 Guadaira, which is seated on an eminence at 
 about two leagues from Seville, and thence it is 
 named the Aqueduct of Carmona. It runs some- 
 times above and sometimes below the ground, 
 till within a mile of Seville, where it is received 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 55 
 
 in arches, and conveyed by a gradual descent 
 into the town. It supplies the garden of the 
 Duke of Alcalá, the cathedral, the fountain of the 
 Plaza de San Francisco, its convent, and the 
 Alcazar, besides most of the other buildings in 
 the town. The arches are formed of Spanish 
 bricks, called "normanos ;" they are as durable as 
 the cement of the Romans, and perhaps were 
 used by the Spaniards before their occupation of 
 the country. The ancient name of Alcalá itself was 
 Hienipa, which Caro considers of Greek derivation, 
 and signifying "subterranean water;" — (is the 
 word a corruption of 7?, earth, and wVtw, to wash ? 
 for the Greeks in speaking scarcely pronounce the 
 gamma.) Besides this aqueduct, there is another 
 in Seville which was built by a bishop, and called 
 the Fuente del Arzobispo, which supplies the 
 northern side of Seville, and in particular fur- 
 nishes water to the three fountains of the old 
 Alameda, which is preferred by the inhabitants 
 of the town to any other. The well water is 
 good, but it follows the rise and fall of the Gua- 
 dalquivir. Pliny observes, " In ripá Boetis op- 
 pidum est, cujus putei crescente sestu minuun- 
 tur, augescunt decedente, mediis temporum im- 
 mobiles. Eadem natura in Hispali uni puteo, 
 caeteris vulgaris." 
 
 The climate of Andalusia in the low lands is 
 warm, but not unhealthy. In the mountains you 
 have every change of temperature : 
 
56 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 " Nulli imbres, spirat semper grata aura Favoni, 
 Missaque ab océano nimios demitigat sestus." 
 
 Seville, though hot in summer, is not subject to 
 sickness or infectious diseases, and the town is 
 more generally healthy when there is an extreme 
 of heat than with a moderate degree, in the sum- 
 mer season. The cholera made great ravages 
 when it visited the place, as was generally found 
 to be the case in cities through which rivers 
 flowed ; but the yellow fever was less destructive 
 than in Cadiz. The following is the panegyric 
 passed upon Seville by an ancient chronicler, 
 Morgado, in 1587. 
 
 " It is called by excellence the town of the 
 kingdoms of Spain, for its most ancient Christian 
 faith and glorious patrons, Justa and Rufina, 
 Laureanus, Saint Hermenegildus, martyrs in 
 Christ, and confessors in him, besides Leandrus 
 and Isidorus, who have sanctified this fortunate 
 country with their blood, their sepulchres, and 
 their ashes ; for its supreme felicity in possessing 
 the cathedral, and holy office of the holy Inqui- 
 sition ; for its most illustrious and just senate 
 and holy government, its ministers of justice, and 
 divine ordinances ; for its university and colleges 
 of polite letters ; for its agreeable position, its 
 most level streets, its fine houses and sumptuous 
 temples, and superb edifices of the Alcázares, 
 towers, and walls; for its distinguished persons 
 in all branches of polite literature ; for its many 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 57 
 
 principal and great lords and* generals, admirals, 
 captains, pilots, merchants, masters, and all 
 classes of soldiers and sailors ; for its ancient dis- 
 tinguished pedigrees of knights and wealthy men, 
 its infinite number of ladies, no less chaste and 
 modest than handsome and graceful ; for the great 
 abundance, dainty, and good flavour, of its fruits 
 and viands ; for the eternal spring which reigns, 
 the luxurious and fresh verdure of its trees and 
 green banks ; for the soft manner and natures of 
 its natives ; for its perpetual and constant loyalty, 
 fidelity, and attachment to its king ; for its com- 
 merce and intercourse with all the world — if the 
 expression be allowed ; for its pompous and con- 
 tinuous show of war, which threatens and alarms 
 the most powerful foe ; for its famous port, so 
 continually full of all sorts of ships, which go and 
 come to and from all regions in continual commerce 
 with its most valuable products, and which render 
 it populous, rich, and magnificent, — and this with- 
 out counting the ordinary -navigation of all the 
 Indies, whose fleets offer in its opulent and noble 
 port the immense wealth, which is notorious to all 
 the world ; for the tribute to its king of one mil- 
 lion and a half of dollars every year, being to him 
 in this way no less advantageous than honourable. 
 From hence with reason it has passed to a pro- 
 verb, that he cannot be called king, who is not 
 king of Seville." 
 
 The circumference of Seville, which is all 
 
58 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 walled with battlements, is from five to six En- 
 glish miles, being 80,750 Spanish yards. The 
 barbicans, or embrasures, are almost as strong as 
 the walls. It has twelve gates, and three " pos- 
 tigos," or bye-gates. The suburb of Triana, which 
 derives its name, some say from the three antique 
 arches of entrance which its gate once had, and 
 others from Trajan, and the bridge, which, shame 
 to the ayuntamiento, or civil authorities, is still 
 formed of boats, and rude as in the time of Fer- 
 dinand, are famous as the first seat of the Inqui- 
 sition, placed there by that king, and for the 
 tower which caused so much damage to his army 
 at the siege. 
 
 At the commencement of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury Seville and its suburbs contained in house 
 holders 100,000 persons, and in strangers as many 
 more ; but of both denominations there do not now 
 exist more than half the number. The commerce of 
 the Indies, which it then enjoyed, has been trans- 
 ferred to Cadiz, and though still opulent, it has 
 now to subsist almost entirely from its own re- 
 sources. 
 
 The public walks of Seville are extremely nu- 
 merous, for almost the whole of the town is sur- 
 rounded by alleys of trees ; but the most fashion- 
 able are those of the Plaza del Duque, the Chris- 
 tina, and the Delicias. The first is of small ex- 
 tent, in the middle of the town, but neatly laid 
 out, crowded with water-carriers with their clean 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 59 
 
 glasses and sugar loaves for those who choose to 
 drink ; and though it contains no flower beds, the 
 trees supply an agreeable shade, and it is thronged 
 on the summer evenings. The Christina is near 
 the river side, divided into many large beds de- 
 fended by trellis-work, in which odoriferous 
 shrubs and flowers, poplar, paradise, cypress, and 
 acacia-trees, are crowded together, and in the 
 middle is a raised parallelogram of stone, with 
 seats on each side, sufficiently large for a nume- 
 rous assembly to walk with ease and without 
 restraint. Four flights of steps descend to the 
 smaller and intricate walks amongst the shrubs, 
 and on the outside of all these are straight alleys, 
 into which the small ones open. This place of 
 recreation is usually frequented on the days of 
 great parade, when all appear in their holiday 
 garb. It fronts the naval college of Saint Elmo, 
 and is approached by the Puerta de Xerez, and 
 the arcade of trees which run from the Puerta de 
 Triana to the Torre del Oro. 
 
 Proceeding from hence down the river, you 
 reach the Delicias by a charming walk, having 
 the shade of trees above, and on one side the 
 river and view of Triana, with the garden of the 
 convent of the Remedios ; on the other, the 
 orange groves of the convent of Saint Diego, now 
 used as a tanning establishment, and what has 
 been formed of a botanic garden, under direction 
 of the intendant Arjona, who planned the three 
 
60 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 places I am attempting to describe, in the year 
 1828; — until you arrive at a large plantation which 
 has three centre drives, besides walks which skirt 
 the river, and intersect the others. The whole of 
 this ground was planted by Claudio Botelleu, an 
 able botanist; and his care has been well repaid 
 by the success and beauty of the plants. I have 
 sometimes in a warm spring day tarried beneath 
 the shade of these trees at noon, and could fancy 
 myself in a wilderness of some new world. The 
 venerable elms, which existed ages before this 
 ground was planned for its present use, rose 
 gnarled, knotted, and covered with dark green 
 foliage, over my head ; between them appeared 
 the tender pomegranates, over which the sun 
 threw its rays like the sparkling of the sea wave ; 
 gigantic heads of Spanish broom, with its yellow 
 flowers, spotted each opening, and the compact 
 orange here and there showed forth its fragrant 
 white flower. The citron trees, of almost a palish 
 yellow, afforded another contrast; and below 
 were violets, snap-dragons, and an endless variety 
 of wild plants, mingled with calmias, oleanders, 
 and beds of fragrant red poppies. The thrushes, 
 nightingales, blackbirds, and wrens were some- 
 times heard alternately, as if each waited for its 
 associates, and occasionally warbled and chirped 
 in chorus. The whole air seemed impregnated 
 with the insect tribe, and beetles, ladybirds, flies 
 of all sizes, buzzed about in the gleams of sun- 
 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SEVILLE. 
 
 61 
 
 shine between the branches of the trees. The 
 tongue of man alone was mute ; his form was not 
 seen, nor was his presence missed : for nature 
 was all instinct with life, and creation so busied 
 in its own projects, that I could not help con- 
 trasting the little world before me with the great 
 one in which we live. All were occupied in the 
 same cares as ourselves ; even the flowers and 
 the leaves of the trees seemed to have tongues, 
 and to say, w T e are all looking for and expecting 
 something — we all belong to, and are dependent 
 on, an overruling Power. The speculations of 
 man seemed to be transferred and to have de- 
 scended to these inferior beings. What, indeed, 
 are we more than these — bustling through their 
 little day of life and pleasure — only creatures of a 
 larger growth, and somewhat more prolonged and 
 more disturbed existence ! 
 
( 62 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 SAINT ANDREW. 
 
 In this parish church exists a very ancient chapel, 
 dedicated to Saint Luke, and frequented by the 
 brotherhood of painters. A fine carved Ascen- 
 sion of the Virgin, by Alonzo Cano, surrounded 
 by paintings of the same master, is in an altar to 
 the right of the principal entrance. Maldonado, 
 Bishop of Badajoz, was buried here in 1545, and 
 his vestments were preserved for exhibition after 
 his death. To the south of the parish a her- 
 mitage was dedicated to the Apostle Saint An- 
 drew, by the architects and artisans of Seville. 
 The hospital called " Amor de Dios," in this pa- 
 rish, was situated near the Alameda, and in 
 1587 the various other small hospitals of Seville 
 were united to it and to that of the Espiritu 
 Santo. It served principally for fever patients. 
 In front was a community of fifty-five monks of 
 the order of Saint Pedro de Alcantara, which 
 took its rise from the order of Saint Gabriel, to 
 which belonged the convent of Saint Diego, 
 now a tannery ; having divided into two sections, 
 of which the Saint Diego convent was the head, 
 the branch establishment at Seville being used 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 63 
 
 for prayers, and the care of the sick belonging to 
 the other. In 1666, however, it became inde- 
 pendent, from the union of more members to the 
 society. The Hospital of Santo Cristo de los 
 Dolores stood close to the Pozo Santo, or Holy 
 Well, and from it I procured a very fine picture 
 of the Nacimiento, or Birth of our Saviour, by 
 Murillo. This institution was for the reception 
 of infirm women, and was founded in 1670, but 
 not finished till 1780. A pious devotee, named 
 Martha, who possessed some fortune, and was 
 labouring under an incurable disorder, had a re- 
 velation of the existence of this hospital, and de- 
 sired that she might be carried to it, where she 
 in a few days breathed her last : after this her 
 friend Beatriz Jeronima de la Concepción, who 
 lived in the house of Juan Gutierrez Tello, which 
 Martha used to visit, and from whom she re- 
 ceived charity, uniting with others, prevailed on 
 Doña Ana Trujillo to give them a house, and by 
 degrees, with the help of charitable persons, and 
 amongst others Don Nicolas Bucareli, the build- 
 ing was completed. Prayers were read in the 
 church in 1682, and in 1796 the sacrament was 
 administered there. The patron was Saint Nico- 
 las of Bari, to whom it was dedicated. The hos- 
 pital " de la Misericordia" stood opposite the last 
 mentioned asylum, and was founded in 1476 by 
 Anton Ruiz, inspired, it is said, by Saint Isi- 
 dorus to institute a brotherhood for the marriage 
 
G4 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 of unprotected girls and orphans. This aspiration 
 he communicated to Juan Rodriguez de Torres, 
 chaplain of the parish of Omnium Sanctorum, to 
 whom he described the apparition of Saint Isido- 
 rus, and the admonition he had received to apply 
 himself immediately to this excellent undertaking. 
 A petition was sent by both to the Bishop of 
 Cadiz for permission to found the establishment, 
 which was obtained ; and a rule was found suit- 
 able for the government of the society, which had 
 been written years before for a similar establish- 
 ment by a Franciscan friar named Andrew. The 
 annual income of this hospital by degrees rose to 
 near forty thousand dollars. — The parish contains 
 157 houses. 
 
 SAINT BARTHOLOMEW. 
 This parish, with those of Santa Cruz and 
 Santa Maria la Blanca, formed the ancient Jewish 
 quarter. An old wall runs from the Alcazar 
 almost to the gate of Carmona, enclosing the 
 three. The parochial church of Saint Bartho- 
 lomew retains its ancient form, and Hebrew 
 letters may be traced on it. The gate from 
 which to visit the country, used by the Moors, 
 was that now called " de la Carne/' and they had 
 besides within their quarter two gates to the 
 city side, which were, one near to the Jewish inn, 
 or " Meson de los Moros," in the Borziguineria, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 65 
 
 and another in front of Saint Nicolas. Within 
 their department they had an exchange and other 
 public places, and enjoyed the privilege of exer- 
 cising their own laws. Two streets retained 
 their names after the expulsion of their nation in 
 1482 : that of the Levis, since called " Correo 
 mayor," from the post-house being placed there, 
 and another the " Xamardana." The present 
 Puerta de la Carne bore the several appella- 
 tions of " de la Juderia," and " Minjoar," from 
 the name of a rich Jew who lived in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; and the field or open ground contigu- 
 ous was that of the " Zebreros," where the Isra- 
 elites were buried. 
 
 In the year 1580, the poor people of Seville, 
 being much distressed from the barrenness of the 
 season, plundered the graves in this quarter of 
 the city, and unfortunately destroyed many in- 
 teresting specimens of Jewish ornamental archi- 
 tecture. They found bodies buried in the oriental 
 dresses, a portion of gold and silver coin, besides 
 some Hebrew books, which passed into the hands 
 of the Doctor Arias Montano, but have not since 
 seen the day, and we remain unacquainted with 
 their value or contents. It appears that this 
 Sevillan synagogue received tribute from foreign 
 Jews, which was also the case with that of To- 
 ledo, although the latter made a solemn protes- 
 tation against their own countrymen. Julian in 
 his chronicle writes — " Omnes totius orbis He- 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 braei ex occidentalibus synagogis solvebant tributi 
 nomine cerium quid synagogis Toletani et Hispa- 
 lensi." The Spaniards, however, after taking the 
 town from the Moors, exacted a tribute from 
 each Jew of thirty pieces of money, in memory of 
 what was paid by them to Judas for the betrayal 
 of our Saviour. In the square near at hand is a 
 convent of nuns, of the order of " Religiosas des- 
 calzas," which was begun in 1623, and finished 
 three years afterwards. The number of the com- 
 munity was thirty- two. — The parish of Saint 
 Bartholomew contains 188 houses. 
 
 SAINT BERNARD EXTRAMUROS. 
 
 This is a tributary parish of the " Sagrario." It 
 contains the cannon-foundry, the Matadero or 
 slaughter-house, and the parish church, which 
 are all interesting. 
 
 The cannon-foundry is a magnificent build- 
 ing, and its entrance is decorated with a beau- 
 tiful alley of planes. You turn from thence to 
 a court-yard planted round with the same trees, 
 to which creeping roses are attached, which 
 embellish their trunks. A fountain in the mid- 
 dle is encircled by paradise trees, bearing a 
 blue and odoriferous flower, like our lilac, 
 and presenting an almost impenetrable bower; 
 though planted within the last nine years, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 67 
 
 they have attained the size of northern trees at 
 twenty. The furnaces, the domes, the clang of 
 metal, would make this place a second forge of 
 Vulcan, were the work brisk ; but it languishes, 
 and within the last year only one hundred pieces 
 of cannon, of inferior calibre, have been cast. 
 The mould that receives the liquid brass (for none 
 are cast in iron) is made of a black argillaceous 
 clay, mixed with the hair of cattle. Mountain 
 artillery is now made here for the war in the 
 north ; a howitzer of twelve is a newly adopted 
 favourite weapon for mountain fighting ; it will 
 carry as far as a cannon of eight, and can be con- 
 veyed on horse-back. The top of the building 
 is a flat terrace, commanding a beautiful view of 
 the surrounding country. 
 
 In the parochial church is to be seen the 
 master-piece of Herrera : it represents the Final 
 Judgment; a Saint Michael, with the flaming 
 sword, appears separating the just from the 
 wicked. The saint stands facing the spectator 
 in the middle of the picture; above appears 
 our Saviour, surrounded by saints and doctors of 
 the church, with quires of angels, and throned 
 on heads of cherubim. This painting is cor- 
 rect in drawing, or at least more correct than 
 the general works of the master; some of the fi- 
 gures can fully vie with Velasquez ; for instance, 
 that of a young man dressed in the Spanish 
 fashion, advancing to the right of the saint. The 
 
 f 2 
 
68 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 light, however, is spattered about in small gleams, 
 so that, as is usual with Herrera, his figures lose 
 effect at no great distance. His merit consists in 
 boldness in grouping, and masterly management 
 of the pencil, with great sagacity and knowledge 
 of combining tints. Herrera was born in Seville, 
 and was pupil of Francisco Pacheco, and at once 
 a sculptor, architect, and painter. His life was 
 disorderly and his temper violent. Velasquez for a 
 short time studied under him, but owing to those 
 defects was obliged to renounce his attendance. 
 Being confined for forgery, Philip the Fourth, when 
 at Seville, happened to see his Martyrdom of Saint 
 Hermenegildus, in the church of that name, and 
 exclaimed, " A man who can use his brush in this 
 way, needs neither gold nor silver ; let him be 
 released if he promises never to offend again." 
 He went to Madrid in 1640, where he died in 
 1656. He left some paintings in the cloister of 
 the convent of " la Merced" in Madrid, and Lope 
 de Vega sings his praises, as opposed to Pacheco : 
 
 " Adonde Herrera es sol, Pacheco es estrella." 
 
 A fine Crucifixion, by Roldan, hangs in this 
 church, opposite to the picture of the Last Day. 
 Roldan's wood sculptures are not, however, equal 
 in softness to those of Montañés. 
 
 Roldan was born in 1622, at Seville, and, like 
 Herrera, was sculptor, architect, and painter. Of 
 his paintings none have survived to my know- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 69 
 
 ledge. As a sculptor, he was the first who ar- 
 ranged the hair of his infant Christs equally over 
 the head ; before him, it was done in a centre 
 and two side curls, which caused them to appear 
 formal and stiff. His works are scattered over 
 Jaen, Cordova, and Seville ; in the two former 
 towns are sculptures by him in stone of the life 
 of our Saviour. Palonimo says he worked in the 
 Sagrario of the Carthuja; this, however, we may 
 doubt to have been the case, when we look at 
 the work there. He planned the building for 
 the Inquisition, which was before the College 
 de las Becas. Roldan was virtuous and well- 
 conducted ; his daughter Louisa w T as also a good 
 sculptor ; and the father had the rare felicity of 
 possessing children at once eminent and virtuous. 
 He died in 1700. A Last Supper, by Várela, 
 pupil of Zurbaran, exists in the sacristy of this 
 church — hard, dull, and disagreeable. The build- 
 ing itself was erected in the last century by Zen- 
 tora, and is justly regarded as one of the most 
 beautiful temples of Seville. 
 
 The Matadero, or public slaughter-house, con- 
 tains a circus for the Tauromachia, which Ferdi- 
 nand the Seventh established, through Arjona 
 the Intendant, in 1830. Instead of benefiting 
 his people by a college for education, he endea- 
 voured to debase and make them all bull-fighters. 
 In this parish reside most of those who officiate in 
 the bull-fights. 
 
70 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 In passing from the cannon-foundry to the 
 Puerta de Xeres, a beautiful view of the cathe- 
 dral is presented as you come opposite the to- 
 bacco manufactory. The spectator has a side 
 prospect of the splendid mass, and although a 
 centre window remains unfinished, it does not 
 detract at all from the grand effect of the whole. 
 On the left is an open plain, bounded by the 
 stream of the Guadaira, at about a mile distance. 
 In former times this land was all planted with 
 the alerce, a kind of incorruptible cedar, the 
 wood of which to this day is met with sound and 
 good, in doors and furniture, but the trees them- 
 selves are extinct. A temple of Mars was also 
 erected near to where the convent of Saint Diego, 
 now a tanning establishment, stands. This spot 
 is famous for the victories of Csesar and Pompey 
 over the revolted Sevillans. The ancient paro- 
 chial church dates so far back as the time of Ferdi- 
 nand the Seventh, and was founded as a hermitage 
 on the day of laying siege to Seville, which was 
 the anniversary of Saint Bernard. Near this 
 place the Jews in former times had their burial 
 grounds, now turned into excellent gardens. 
 The chapel of the cannon-foundry is dedicated 
 to Santa Barbara, the protectress of engineers 
 and artillerymen. The orchard of the king, or 
 Huerta del Rey, stood near the cannon-foundry ; 
 it was called in Arabic, Be Ahoar. The ancient 
 pavilion was square, with four turrets, and had a 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 71 
 
 large reservoir of water in front, Alfonso the 
 Learned having allowed it to be supplied from 
 the ducts of Carmona. John the Second, on the 
 19th of July, 1454, the day before his death, 
 made a grant of this demesne (which had been 
 forfeited to the crown by Rui Lopez Davalos and 
 Alvaro de Luna) to Juan de Monsalve : a scan- 
 dalous chronicle says that the beauty of the mo- 
 ther of Monsalve acquired him the bequest. 
 The Moorish king of Niebla enjoyed it under 
 Alfonso the Learned, when he was conquered by 
 that king. Juan de Monsalve built a handsome 
 house fronting it, which he afterwards sold to 
 Catharine Ribera, mother of the Marquis of Ta- 
 rifa. It afterwards passed into the family of Me- 
 dina Celi. This possession was not under the 
 Sevillan jurisdiction, in consequence of immu- 
 nities it received from various kings. Between 
 this orchard and the aqueducts of Carmona, in 
 front of Saint Benito, was the convent of the Pre- 
 dicadores, under title of Santo Domingo de Porta 
 Celi, founded in 1450. It stood on the site of a 
 hermitage dedicated to Saint Domingo, and was 
 erected by Friar Rodrigo of Valencia, confessor of 
 Henry the Third, who was himself the prior, and 
 died in 1465. Juan de Monsalve, proprietor of 
 the Huerta del Rey, was also a benefactor to this 
 establishment. The Admiral Don Fadrique Ri- 
 bera obtained several privileges in its favour, but 
 after some changes, Diego Gonzalez de Mendoza 
 
72 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 became its patron, and had his chapel there. An 
 object of devotion in the church was a grinder or 
 back-tooth of Saint Domingo, whose statue, 
 placed here by Montañés, was considered one of 
 the masterpieces of that sculptor. A door of this 
 convent communicated with the printing-office, 
 from whence bulls of the Santa Cruzada were 
 sent to America, adorned with the arms of the 
 Pope, the King, the Santa Cruzada, and the mo- 
 nastery of the Escurial, or Saint Lawrence ; a 
 Geronomite monk of which last convent was the 
 superintendent of the printing-office. This esta- 
 blishment was independent of all control, save 
 the tribunal of the Santa Cruzada. It had twelve 
 presses for printing. A fine large garden con- 
 tiguous was that of the Cardinal, so called from 
 having been the property of Don Pedro Gonzalez 
 de Mendoza, Archbishop of Seville, and after- 
 wards, as in the case of the chapel in the church 
 of Santo Domingo Celi, it became the property 
 of Don Francisco de Mendoza, Marquis of 
 Sorles. 
 
 The parish of Saint Bernard contains 436 
 houses. 
 
 SAINT CATHARINE. 
 This parochial church was formerly a mosque, 
 and an Arab shaft remains entire, with a belfry 
 exactly as it existed in the time of the Moors. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 73 
 
 In this parish is the Puerta del Ossario, through 
 which on one occasion, during the time of the 
 plague, the dead bodies passed, whence it took 
 its name ; a Moor exacting a toll as each went 
 through to the burial place without. It appears 
 from the Arab accounts that the pestilence was 
 then so great, as to cause public business to be 
 suspended, and create complete confusion in their 
 city. The palace of the dukes of Ossuna, in this 
 parish, is worth visiting for the view of two an- 
 cient ceilings of corridors of inlaid wood, called in 
 Spanish Artesones, which are to be seen at its 
 entrance, faded and damaged somewhat by time, 
 but still very interesting from their complicated 
 structure. The tower of this church served as a 
 fortress to the Marquis of Cadiz in the time of 
 his feuds with the Duke of Medina Sidonia, in 
 1470. In the following year, two wolves entered 
 the town at day-break, and one of them attacked 
 the priest while saying mass in this church, and 
 tore his clothes, but did him no further damage ; 
 they then ran to the parish of Saint Peter, where 
 one was killed by arrows ; the other escaped to 
 that of Santa Lucia, and from thence to the 
 country. 
 
 The hospital of Saint Cosme and Damián, or 
 De los Bubos, was established in the middle 
 of the fourteenth century. In the years 135], 
 1363, and 1383, the town was afflicted with the 
 plague, which, producing tumours, called in Spa- 
 
74 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 nish Bubos, gave the name to the hospital, 
 though it afterwards received also patients suf- 
 fering from venereal complaints, and indeed in 
 1500 was annexed to the hospital called De las 
 siete Llagas, where it remained, in order that 
 there might be more room for the sick. Its first 
 locality was probably in the parish of Saint Sal- 
 vador. In 1506 the Alhondiga, or public gra- 
 nary, was established in this parish, to prevent 
 distress in bad years amongst the Sevillans, and 
 supply them with food ; in the same year a great 
 many other improvements took place, a consider- 
 able part of the town being at that time rebuilt 
 and embellished. The founder of the Alhondiga 
 was Don Francisco Henrique de Ribera, governor 
 of the province. The convent of the Franciscan 
 Terceros de Nuestra Señora de la Valle consisted 
 of ninety-nine members, but it was not incor- 
 porated until 1602, when a house was given to 
 the order belonging to the family of the Cés- 
 pedes, they having left the convent of Saint John 
 de Moranina, which had been allotted them by 
 the Archbishop Mena, in exchange for their pro- 
 perty of the Cuevas, when he founded the Car- 
 thuja there. The oratory of Saint Philip Neri is 
 of modern date, and is included in the parish of 
 Santa Catarina, because its principal entrance 
 touches on it, although the body of the building 
 belongs to that of Saint Roman. In 1698, a de- 
 vout Catholic, Francisco Navascuez, coming to 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 75 
 
 Seville, founded this place of worship to our Lady 
 de los Dolores. In the second year of the next 
 century he died, and in 1711 Juan Rodriguez de 
 los Rios, administrator in chief of the public 
 funds and salt works, left his property to Don 
 Juan Ledeño, who destroyed the small house 
 which belonged to the institution, and built the 
 large one now existing out of his inheritance. 
 In this church scourging and penitential exer- 
 cises were formerly performed. In 1571, the 
 establishment of the nuns of Nuestra Señora de 
 la Paz, who are subject to the rules of the Au- 
 gustins, was founded by Andres de Segura, in the 
 street of the Melgarejos, now called the Calle 
 Real, where existed in 1583 the small Hospital 
 de los Caballeros, which, four years afterwards, 
 was united to that of the Amor de Dios. 
 This parish contains 360 houses. 
 
 SANTA CRUZ, OR HOLY CROSS. 
 
 This parish was almost entirely destroyed by 
 the French, in order to form a square. The 
 church which now appertains to it is that of the 
 Venerabiles, in the parish of the Sagrario, or 
 Saint Mary Mayor, to which that of Santa Cruz 
 was an appurtenant, or Ayuda. The parish itself 
 was founded in 1391, on occasion of a movement 
 against the Jews, of whom the people slew forty, 
 and dispersed the rest, and occupied two of the 
 
76 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 three synagogues assigned to these people by 
 Alfonso the Learned, naming them Santa Cruz 
 and Santa Maria de las Nieves, or la Blanca, and 
 they were added as subordinate to that of the 
 cathedral or metropolitan church. The image of 
 our Lady of the Paz, or Peace, was reverenced 
 here, and in this building each Sevillan artist 
 presented a votive picture to the holy cross. The 
 famous one of the Descent, by Pedro Campana, 
 is now in the cathedral, and although private 
 property of the Vibiero family, was not given up 
 to them when the temple was razed, it being 
 claimed by government as an object of devotion 
 useful to the public, and only to be surrendered 
 to the owner in the event of his having a church 
 to put it in himself, but it was maintained he 
 had no right to alienate it. The convent of Saint 
 Josepha, called Santa Teresa, of Carmelite nuns, 
 Descalzas, stands in this parish, and contained a 
 sisterhood of twenty-one persons. It was founded 
 in 1575 by Santa Teresa herself, who came to 
 Seville, bringing with her eight sisters, and lived 
 in the street of the Armas, in houses which then 
 belonged to the Hospital de la Misericordia. The 
 authorities would not allow her to found a con- 
 vent until she had submitted for a year to impri- 
 sonment on trial in the Inquisition, as suspicions 
 were entertained of the purity as well of herself 
 as of her companions ; but in 1576, having un- 
 dergone the religious ordeal, she was allowed to 
 profess her order. At the same time Lorenzo de 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 77 
 
 Cepeda, brother of the saint, arrived from Ame- 
 rica, and bought a house for her use in the Pa- 
 jeria, which she occupied with permission from 
 the archbishop, and which stood in front of the 
 garden of Saint Francis. 
 
 This parish contained 128 houses. 
 
 SAINT GIL. 
 
 The Hospital de las Sangre is without the gate 
 of the Macarena, and was built in 1559, the esta- 
 blishment having been founded by Catalina de 
 Ribera and her son the Marquis of Tarifa, but 
 having existed till that date at the meeting-house 
 or " collación" of Santa Catalina. It is of immense 
 size, containing three patios, two of which have 
 gardens in the centre ; the principal entrance is 
 of marble, with Doric pillars below and Ionic 
 above, and the following inscription is placed 
 over the gateway — the name of the establishment 
 being the Siete Llagas, or seven wounds of 
 Christ :— 
 
 " Quinqué Christi Jesu Vulneribus, nosocomium 
 pauperibus curandis, D. Catherina de Ribera, et 
 Dominus Fredericus Henriquez de Ribera, Tha- 
 riphse Marcio, Beticae Antelantatus, non minore 
 sumptu quam pietate fieri jusserunt. D. P. S. 
 Tantorum Principum memoria perfeci, et portam 
 hanc fee. integ., R. R. R. patroni, et rei admi- 
 nistratores. M.DC.XVIII." 
 
78 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 It was originally intended for the reception of 
 poor sick women, but now serves as the central 
 and general hospital of Seville, having accommo- 
 dation for 3000 patients, although at the time of 
 my visit their number was only 150. A hand- 
 some church, unattached to the rest of the build- 
 ing, stands within the large court, the entrance 
 to which is of red Granada marble, and similar to 
 the exterior of the hospital. On the portico are 
 sculptured in white marble the three figures of 
 Hope, Charity, and Faith, which are attributed 
 to the hand of the great Torregiano. The inte- 
 rior is not completed. The grand altar is fur- 
 nished with pictures by Alonzo Vasquez, some of 
 which are signed; but they did not in general 
 please me. One, representing the Martyrdom of 
 Saint Sebastian, is very forced in drawing. The 
 architecture of this church is a mixture of Doric, 
 Ionic, and Corinthian. A collection of Apostles, 
 of little merit, to be seen here, was painted by 
 Stephen Márquez, and Ramirez, a pupil of Ro- 
 delas-, Don Remondo de Lezana, Bishop of Se- 
 govia, gave the name of Saint Gil to the church 
 and parish, from having been baptized in the 
 same parish of Saint Gil in Segovia. An ancient 
 picture of Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe, 
 found in 1332, existed in this church, which had 
 been presented before the time of the Moors to 
 Saint Leandro, by Gregory the Great, and had 
 been hidden during their occupation of Spain. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 79 
 
 Near to the gate of Macarena, and extending to 
 the Puerta del Sol, in the parish of Santa Lucia, 
 are to be found double ramparts, the remains 
 of an ancient ditch, probably Roman work ori- 
 ginally, with a superstructure of Arabic. At 
 the Puerta de Cordova, in the parish of Saint 
 Julian, which is a small bye-gate, you arrive at 
 the prison of Saint Hermenegildus, who, having 
 been converted to the true faith by his wife, 
 and in consequence disobedient to the injunctions 
 of his infidel father, Leovigildus, was put to 
 death by him, either here, or, according to some 
 accounts, at Tarragona. As, however, his portion 
 was the kingdom of Andalusia, no reasonable 
 doubt can be entertained of his having been con- 
 fined here ; the place of his imprisonment is a 
 small chamber in the solid wall of what per- 
 haps was once a fortress, but is now converted 
 into a church ; and to which the ascent is by a 
 crooked and dark staircase. It serves for an 
 oratory, and does not exceed six feet by eight in 
 size, the interior descending like the meanest 
 coal-hole at the end. The grand altar of the 
 church contained five paintings, attributed to 
 Herrera el Viejo, representing the incidents in 
 the life of the saint ; but they have been removed 
 to the museum, and are not of any great merit. 
 The other pictures of the Deposition of Christ, 
 an Ecce Homo, and our Saviour showing to the 
 Jews the tribute to Csesar and to God, are attri- 
 buted to Titian, but have been removed, as well 
 
80 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 as the rest, from the circumstance of mass being 
 no longer celebrated in the church. A very fine 
 statue of Saint Hermenegildus, by Montañés, 
 once existed in this church, but has lately dis- 
 appeared. In the year 1579, when mass was 
 first said in the prison of Hermenegildus, by Am- 
 brosio Morales, the historian, the following le- 
 gend was affixed to the wall : — 
 
 HERMENEGILDI ALMO 
 SACRUM 
 SANGUINE REGIS. 
 SUPPLEX QUI TRANSIS, 
 HUNC VENERARE LOCUM. 
 
 The date of the erection of the church is so 
 late as 1600, and it was finished in 1616 ; the 
 architect being a Sevillan priest, Christoval Su- 
 arez de Figueroa. Martin Gainza, who designed 
 and built part of the Hospital de la Sangre, was 
 born in Navarre, and succeeded to the post of 
 Diego Riaño in the works of the Sala Capitular, 
 the Sacristia Mayor, and the Cálices of the ca- 
 thedral, in 1535. He had been already working 
 in the building five years before. In 1541 he was 
 commissioned to make a plan for the Capilla 
 Real, those presented by Henrique de Egas, the 
 master architect of the cathedral of Toledo, and 
 Juan de Alava, of that of Placencia, not having 
 been approved, probably because they partook 
 too much of the Gothic style. This plan cost 
 him ten years of labour, for at that time he was 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 81 
 
 engaged upon the Hospital de la Sangre; but 
 it was at last approved, and he contracted for the 
 work, at the price of 21,800 ducats. In 1546 
 the hospital was commenced, but the death of 
 the artist in 1555 left it as well as his other 
 works incomplete. Ferdinand Ruiz succeeded 
 him, but, dying in 1583, also left it unfinished; 
 the principal part of his time having been en- 
 gaged upon the Cruzero and Capilla Mayor of 
 the cathedral of Cordova, which occupied the 
 very long interval from 1523 to 1599 for its com- 
 pletion, as well as upon the works in the cathe- 
 dral of Seville. Some imagine that the frontis- 
 piece of the church of the Hospital de la Sangre 
 was the work of Ferdinand Ruiz, as in 1560 he 
 was charged with its design. Neither the sepul- 
 ture, nor the date of the decease of this cele- 
 brated sculptor, is known:-— one amongst the 
 many proofs of worldly neglect and indifference 
 of a people towards those who have been em- 
 ployed in works the most creditable and benefi- 
 cial to their nation. The yearly stipend of all 
 these eminent architects did not exceed 150 
 dollars. 
 
 This parish contains 539 houses. 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 SAINT ILDEFONSO. 
 
 The parish of Saint Ildefonso claims one half 
 of the Casa de Pilatos, and its parochial church 
 was in the times of the Goths dedicated to Saint 
 Bartholomew. A sepulchral stone of Saturninus, 
 who was contemporary with Saint Isidorus, was 
 found in this church in the year 612. At 
 that time a monk, unacquainted with drawing, 
 but inspired by piety, made a figure of the Virgin 
 with the Child in her arms so excellently well, 
 that all repaired to see it, and it was worshipped 
 under the name of the Virgin of the Coral, being 
 imprinted upon a cloth with red bits of coral. 
 Some place the convent of the nuns of Saint 
 Leander in this district; others affirm that it 
 belongs to the parish of Saint Stephen. — The 
 parish of Saint Ildefonso contains 152 houses. 
 
 SAINT ISIDORUS. 
 
 The church of this parish contains the famous 
 picture by Rodelas, being sixteen feet in height, 
 with more than twenty figures the size of life, re- 
 presenting the death of the saint, who was found 
 kneeling, and in that position expired. This is 
 a remarkable work of the master, and he has 
 painted in a magnificent manner the heads and 
 hands of some old men gathered round the dying 
 saint. In the heavens are figured our Saviour 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 83 
 
 and the Virgin, seated opposite each other in a 
 glory ; angels below are singing and playing on 
 instruments, but the one who supports the music 
 score has thick gouty legs, which the painter bor- 
 rowed from Titian, sometimes erroneously called 
 his master, and which has been said betrays the 
 Venetian's style. Whether from the obscurity of its 
 position, being behind the great altar, or from its 
 real colour, the picture appeared less warm when 
 I last saw it, than those in the church of the uni- 
 versity. In a side chapel are two pretty Tobars, 
 of our Saviour dressed as a shepherd with his 
 flock, and Saint John also with sheep. The altar 
 of this chapel is crowded with ornaments in the 
 worst style of Chunguera ; but in an opening of 
 it is seen a Christ bearing the cross, which is sup- 
 ported behind by Simon Cyrenseus. The figure 
 of our Saviour in this picture is considered good, 
 although not by Montañés, who is the author of 
 the Simon. The transmission of light through a 
 red curtain gives the two figures a very striking 
 effect. 
 
 Montañés, Cano, and all the other Spanish 
 masters, were in the habit of colouring their 
 figures after the example of the ancient Greeks, 
 which is objected to by the academicians of Lon- 
 don. This to me certainly diminishes their beauty, 
 and I am told it is sufficient to hinder their ad- 
 mission to our galleries ; but it is to be remarked, 
 that in former times as much art was used to 
 
 g2 
 
84 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 colour a statue as a picture ; and the colours, per- 
 haps, displease us only from having faded with 
 time and ill-usage. Of Montañés, it may be well 
 to mention that he was born in Seville, and the 
 fame he has acquired was gained entirely in his 
 native town. Perhaps his sculptures are not so 
 soft as those of Alonzo Cano, but they possess 
 more vigour, and have extremely beautiful coun- 
 tenances. I should place him, with Roldan, at 
 the head of the Spanish carvers in wood. 
 
 In the baptising chapel there is a painting on 
 wood, by Pedro Campana, of the Virgin holding 
 the dead Christ in her arms ; and near to the 
 altar another, by the same master, of two hermits, 
 life size; but both are un pleasing works. This 
 church was built by the Moors, and served them 
 as a mosque ; it contains the tombs of the Bishop 
 of Laodicea, and Gonzalo de Herrera, the last a 
 Sevillan doctor in theology, who died in 1579. 
 Some fine sculptures executed by Cano were re- 
 moved in the time of the French occupation. 
 
 The three places of the Pescaderia, the Alfal- 
 far, and Saint Alberto, are in this parish. The 
 college of Saint Alberto, containing forty-four 
 friars of the "Carmelitas Calzados" order, was 
 founded in 1602 by the family of the Manuels of 
 Leon and Lando, but the sacrament was not ad- 
 ministered in it until twenty-five years later. 
 This building was dismantled by the French in 
 1810, and converted into a magazine for car- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 85 
 
 tridges. All the sculptures of the altar-piece by 
 Roldan were hewed to pieces by carpenters to 
 make doors and furniture ; but, fortunately, the 
 bust of a Mary Magdalen was saved, and through 
 the kindness of Mr. Williams is now in my pos- 
 session, 
 
 The site of the place where the head of Don 
 Pedro stands is in Saint Nicholas, but the statue 
 existed in this parish. It is conjectured by some, 
 that after Henry, the bastard brother of Don 
 Pedro, had slain the king, he brought his head to 
 Seville, and placed it for public view in the 
 Jewish quarter of the town ; and from this cir- 
 cumstance the place of its exposition was called 
 the Head of Don Pedro. Pedro was slain on the 
 22nd of March, 1369, and on the 1st of April 
 Henry made his entry into Seville. 
 
 The parish of Saint Isidorus contains 290 
 houses. 
 
 SAINT JAMES. 
 
 This parish church was a mosque, but is now 
 remarkable for nothing more than a large paint- 
 ing by Mateo Alesio over the great altar, which 
 represents in the second compartment the patron 
 saint slaying the Moors. In the first are broken 
 armour, and the various appurtenances of war. 
 A figure lying dead beneath the horse of the 
 
86 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 saint is beautifully draped. I have never met 
 with other pictures by Mateo Alesio ; but, judging 
 from this, he is by no means deficient in energy 
 and good drawing. This master was contem- 
 porary with, and his picture somewhat resembles 
 those of, Rodelas, of whom he was scholar. 
 
 The church has never been finished ; on the 
 upper part of the walls there is no plaster. The 
 family of Mexias and Mendoza have their sepul- 
 chral vaults here, as well as that of Barrera. 
 The writer Gonzalo Argote de Molina, who is 
 classed amongst the illustrious Sevillans, although 
 some have conjectured his birth-place to have 
 been Baeza, lies here. He was learned in the 
 ancient history of Spain, and published, amongst 
 other works, the " Nobleza de Andalusia," the 
 Life of " El Gran Tamerlan," a treatise on the 
 family of Argote, and an Essay on Hunting, com- 
 posed for Don Alfonso, king of Castile and Leon. 
 The imperial mantle of Charles the Fifth was 
 once shown in this church. 
 
 The principal other edifices in the parish, are — 
 First, the convent of Our Lady de los Reyes, 
 of Dominican nuns, which contained thirty-seven 
 members, and was founded in 1611 by a devout 
 lady, Maria Dorothea, whose life was published 
 in 1 674, with an account of the convent, by Juan 
 José Illaniz ; but this probably is now lost. Her 
 portrait was painted by Murillo, and exists in the 
 sacristy of the Capilla de los Cálices of the ca- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 87 
 
 thedral. The members were Descalzas, or of the 
 barefoot order. Secondly, the hospital of Saint 
 Hermenegildus, which was founded in 1453, ac- 
 cording to the will of the archbishop of Seville, 
 Don Juan de Cervantes, and in the same year in 
 which he died. The cabildo of the town, and 
 priors of the Carthuja, were patrons of this hos- 
 pital for the wounded ; but it is now no longer in 
 use, and indeed the priors of the Carthuja have 
 also disappeared. 
 
 The parish contains 198 houses. 
 
 SAINT JOHN OF ACRE. 
 
 One of the singularities of Seville is that it 
 holds, within and close up to its walls, enclosed 
 by the parish of Saint Lawrence, another parish 
 with an independent secular and ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction — the one I am now describing. Here 
 the three military orders of Santiago, Calatrava, 
 and Saint John of Acre, had each their division 
 of ground, but that of the last was much more 
 extensive than the others, it being a parish with 
 streets that enter to it, and which bound its juris- 
 diction. Of these, one is at the gate of Saint 
 John, another at the walls of the Varqueta, and a 
 third at the street of Santa Clara. The parish 
 church was rebuilt in 1525, at which period 
 Miguel Ximenez was prior; and it held several 
 
88 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 friars, serving as a convent. It had its baptismal 
 font, and is independent of the jurisdiction of the 
 archbishop of Seville, being subject to the order 
 of Malta. Its magistrates were honoured with 
 the title of Excellence. 
 
 Morgado writes, that on the taking of Seville, 
 Saint Ferdinand, on reaching the spot where this 
 parish stands, extended his hand, and said to the 
 chiefs of the military orders, " Take thou this, 
 and thou that;" to those of Saint John he ap- 
 portioned the district they now hold, the pos- 
 sessions of the three orders all being, however, 
 contiguous to each other. This last order was 
 the most favoured: in 1249 it was freed from all 
 taxes and tributes, and its existence was confirmed 
 in 1261 by Alfonso the Learned. In the same 
 year, Prince Edward of England received the 
 honour of knighthood at Burgos from the king of 
 Spain. 
 
 The foundation of the order of Saint John of 
 Acre dates from the eleventh or twelfth century, 
 and arose thus : — Some Neapolitan merchants ob- 
 tained permission from the calif to found hospitals 
 for foreigners in Jerusalem, dedicating them to 
 the Virgin, the Magdalen, and Saint John. Ber- 
 nard Gerard, a native of Provence in France, was 
 the director, in 1118, of the last; but at what in- 
 terval of time from the first establishment of the 
 order is unknown. At the fall of Jerusalem in 
 1187, they retired to Margath, and from thence 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 89 
 
 to Acre, where they fought valiantly in 1280; but 
 were driven to Cyprus, where they remained till 
 1310, when they took Rhodes, and kept it till 
 dispossessed of the island by the Turks in 1520; 
 from thence they passed to Candia, and afterwards 
 to Viterbo in Italy, where Charles the Fifth pre- 
 sented them ultimately with Malta, on condition 
 of their paying homage to the crown of Spain. 
 
 The royal drain, or sewer, which is the one into 
 which all the minor sewers of the city empty 
 themselves, is in this parish; which is a small one 
 indeed, for it only includes thirty houses. In re- 
 moter times, however, it is said to have comprised 
 200. 
 
 SAINT JULIAN. 
 
 The church of Saint Julian, in the division 
 of Seville called by Ferdinand " San Yllan," was 
 formerly a mosque, and before the time of the 
 Moors a Gothic temple. Here the devout pray 
 to the image of the Virgin of Iniesta, a small place 
 not far from Zamora in Leon-* which had been 
 invested with privileges from King Sancho the 
 Brave, on account of miracles performed by the 
 Virgin, in August, 1290, when thirteen settlers 
 were allowed by the king to fix there. It was 
 favoured also by his successor, Ferdinand the 
 Fourth. The original image of the Virgin was 
 
90 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 found in the mountains of Catalonia, lying on a 
 piece of furze. Its first collocation in the church 
 at Seville was in 1380 — a stone having been 
 found with the figure of the Virgin, inscribed, 
 " Sum Hispalis a Sacello ad Portum quae ducit ad 
 Cordovam." Saint Saturninus, a contemporary of 
 Saint Isidorus, was buried here during the Gothic 
 age, in 657. At the period of the plague, in 1649, 
 his grave was violated, and the stone which co- 
 vered it lost. The chapel of the Virgin of Iniesta 
 is the property of the cavaliers " Tous." 
 
 The Puerta de Cordova is in this parish, over 
 which you observe the prison of Saint Hermene- 
 gildus. This has been described in my account 
 of the parish of Macarena, as I visited it in an 
 excursion round the walls of the town. It is fit 
 to mention that the gate does not take its name 
 from being on the road of Cordova, but from the 
 circumstance of Alfonso the Learned having placed 
 there a Cordovese guard, who remained on the 
 spot for a considerable time after the conquest, 
 when Alfonso succeeded Ferdinand, and was 
 engaged in completing the division of Seville al- 
 ready commenced by his predecessor. The pa- 
 tron of this church, Julian, was husband of Ba- 
 silisa ; the two made a vow to God of chastity ; 
 both husband and wife had numerous followers, 
 with whom they suffered martyrdom in Antioch, 
 under the Emperor Maximinus, in the 309th year 
 of the Christian era, and both were sainted after 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 91 
 
 death. Francisco Henriquez founded eight chap- 
 lainships in this parish, which were translated to 
 the convent of Bournos in 1526, but by a bull 
 from Clement the Seventh, they were reinstated 
 here in the following year. Very many, indeed, 
 are the changes of this kind which the see of Rome 
 made ; we travel backwards and forwards in ec- 
 clesiastical antiquities, to seek for endowments 
 and benefices granted and withdrawn from inte- 
 rest or caprice. 
 
 A little way without the gate of Cordova stands 
 the convent of the Capuchinos, which was com- 
 menced in 1627, with the appellation of " Nuestra 
 Señora de la Gracia," on the site of the former 
 convent of nuns of Saint Leander, and where in 
 more remote antiquity Saint Isidorus lived. The 
 only objects of interest it contained, namely, the 
 pictures of Murillo, have been removed to the 
 cathedral. The entrance to the church is under 
 a mean row of elms, and neither the front of the 
 building nor the interior presents any pleasing 
 impression to the visitor. 
 
 The parish of Saint Julian contains 273 houses. 
 
C 92 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE — CONTINUED. 
 
 SAINT JOHN DE LA PALMA. 
 
 This parochial church is so called from the figure 
 of a palm tree, which formerly stood in the ce- 
 metery, where a cross is now placed; and of 
 which the following miracle is related : — Years 
 ago, when Seville contained many heretics, a friar 
 of the order of Saint Francis preached in this 
 church, and said — ' Let no one sin against the 
 faith, for walls have eyes and ears.' The follow- 
 ing night, at the hour of twelve, a heretic who 
 had heard the sermon, in ridicule of what the 
 preacher had said, went up to the palm-tree, and 
 addressed it thus — ' Palm, the Mother of God 
 was no longer a maid after her delivery.' The 
 next morning, a very old man went to the Inqui- 
 sition, and denounced the culprit, who was seized 
 by the inquisitors, but stoutly denied the accu- 
 sation. The aged man was sought for, and on 
 inquiry at his home, his grandson said that he whom 
 they sought had died eighty years ago, and lay 
 at the foot of the palm-tree in the burial ground 
 of Saint John. This being related to the pri- 
 soner, he at once confessed his crime, and was 
 punished with a penance. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 93 
 
 The brotherhood of the Beneficiados, or paro- 
 chial clergy, who had independent property, 
 held their chapter, or cabildo, here ; of whom Gu- 
 tierre, mentioned in the division of Seville, was 
 the first abbot. Indeed, to their body the term 
 of University was applied. Formerly the name 
 of this church and parish used to be of Saint 
 John Battista. It is built on the site of a mosque, 
 and a stone remained, with an Arabic inscrip- 
 tion stating that about 350 years after the mi- 
 nistry of Mahomet, the Moors, when they ob- 
 tained possession of Seville, found a church called 
 of Saint John, and built a mosque upon it, which 
 was the grandest one of the city. It appears that 
 this took place about the year 1000. The Arab 
 stone still remains fixed in the wall at the en- 
 trance of the church, and seems to be imprinted 
 with the old Cufie characters. The parish church 
 contains a Crucifixion by Pedro de Campana, 
 which is of the good time of the master, well 
 drawn, but hard, as is usually the case with his 
 works. The colour is fine and rich. Of this 
 painter it may be noted that he was born at 
 Brussels in 1503, and formed his style on that of 
 Albert Durer; he studied however in Italy, and 
 at Bologna, in the year 1530, painted a triumphal 
 arch for the Emperor Charles the Fifth. He now 
 changed his manner to an imitation of that of 
 Michael Angelo, and his colouring was imitated 
 from Sebastian del Piombo. In 1548, he painted 
 
94 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the Descent from the Cross, now in the cathe- 
 dral, and which was taken from the church of 
 Santa Cruz. In 1552, he traced in charcoal the 
 figures of the Spanish kings, as subjects for sta- 
 tues, in the royal chapel of the cathedral, for 
 each of which he received a ducat. Soon after- 
 wards, being advanced in age, he returned to 
 Brussels, where he died in 1580. He excelled 
 in portraits, and sketched on blue paper, with 
 white chalk, as Pacheco informs us : the author 
 possesses one done by him in that manner. Zea 
 Bermudez mentions that he had a Crucifixion by 
 Campana's hand, traced on white paper with a 
 black pencil. 
 
 In this church the counts of Aquila had a tri- 
 bune, and a place for interment, in acknowledg- 
 ment of benefits conferred in the last century by 
 Espinosa Maldonado, Count of Aquila. The con- 
 vent of the nuns of the Conception is close to the 
 parish church. This was founded in 1475 : at 
 that and earlier periods it was common for reli- 
 gious women to meet together in houses conti- 
 tiguous to some place of worship, and afterwards, 
 either by testament or subscription of some of the 
 parties, money was accumulated, and ultimately 
 they either built in other parts, or continued to 
 reside in a body, subject to certain laws, in the 
 same places where they first united ; and thus, 
 although this convent was founded by Doña Leo- 
 nora de Ribera, at that period, the same so- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 95 
 
 ciety of pious persons had existed long before. 
 Thev did not receive their rules until 1511, 
 which were those of the third order of Saint 
 Francis, with the title of Nuns of the Conception 
 of Nuestra Señora ; their dress was a white tunic 
 having a medal of the Virgin on the breast, and 
 on the shoulder above hung a blue mantle. In 
 the street which runs from the Convento de la 
 Paz, in the parish of Saint Catharine, to that of 
 the Dueñas, is the convent of Santa Maria de las 
 Dueñas, which contained forty nuns of the order 
 of Cistercienses. They were founded in 1292 by 
 Doñas Leonora and Maria of Aragón, sisters of the 
 Admiral Don Juan Matheu de Luna, who gave 
 them a house for that purpose ; indeed, the ob- 
 ject of the foundation was to afford an asylum for 
 the wives of those who fought against the Moors 
 during the absence of their husbands. This con- 
 vent was much patronized by the Catholic Queen 
 Isabel, who used occasionally to spend days there, 
 and presented it with images, dresses, and various 
 other gifts. An image of the Virgin existed in 
 the convent, which was found by a shepherd in 
 the hollow of a tree, and when he approached it, 
 exclaimed — " Take me to my house;" on which 
 he carried it to the parish church of Saint John, 
 but it disappeared. Finding it a second time, 
 the image said — " Take me to my house of the 
 Dueñas :" the man having this divine and more 
 precise instruction, brought it to where it has 
 
96 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 since stood and has been worshipped. A little 
 to the west of this convent was that of the nuns 
 of Espiritu Santo, consisting of forty-eight mem- 
 bers. It was founded in 1540, for the care of 
 female orphans. In 1538, Doña Maria de Agui- 
 lar, a native of Malaga, went to Rome, where she 
 received the habit of the Holy Ghost, or Espiritu 
 Santo, from Pope Innocent the Third, and re- 
 ceived permission to found the institution in 
 Spain; but, on returning to Seville, discovered 
 that it had already been established : she however 
 was named superior of the convent for life, with 
 the power of choosing a successor. — In the same 
 street was the college of Niñas Nobles, founded 
 by Don Manuel Arias, Archbishop of Seville, in 
 1715. It was destined for the maintenance of 
 twelve noble young women. Its patron expended 
 on it more than 230,000 ducats, in gifts and in 
 the cost of its erection. The palace of the dukes 
 of Alva, which adjoined this college, belonged 
 formerly to the family of Piñeda, who sold it to 
 ransom one of the family, Juan de Piñeda, from 
 the Moors, and it was bought by Catharine Ri- 
 bera, widow of Don Pedro Henrique, a progenitor 
 of the dukes of Alcalá, in 1496. It belonged to 
 the dukes of Alva as marquesses of Villanueva 
 del Rio. The hospital of St. Bernard, which was 
 contiguous to the parish of Saint Martin, after 
 passing the Plazuela of Saint Juan de la Palma, 
 claims great antiquity of origin, inasmuch as the 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 97 
 
 establishment existed in Constantinople under 
 Constantine the Monk and the Empress Ida, in 
 1057. It was for the relief of aged men without 
 support, and was therefore called " de los Viejos." 
 The convent of Monte Sion, consisting of eighteen 
 friars of the order Predicadores, stood in what is 
 called the Plaza del Canon. It owed its founda- 
 tion to Doña Mencia Manuel de Guzman, a 
 descendant from the Duke of Medina Sidonia, 
 who died in 1559, the year of its erection. The 
 convent then passed into the hands of this order, 
 by mandate of the council general assembled in 
 Avignon, in 1561 : its new occupiers built the 
 church, and translated the body of the foundress 
 of the convent to its great altar for burial. The 
 pictures which were in the church of Saint Ber- 
 nard have all been dispersed. In the vicinity of 
 this hospital exist remains of what are supposed 
 to have been baths in the time of the Romans. 
 
 I subjoin the Spanish translation of the Arab 
 inscription on the wall of Saint John de la Palma: 
 " Este es el gran templo de San Juan el cual, re- 
 edificó Axataf Rey de Sevilla, por mandado del 
 gran Miramamolin el cual ; fué dotado de sa pri- 
 mera hacienda por Muley Almazor Rey de Ecija, 
 y esto fué por los años de 1020, habiendo gran 
 pestilencia en España." 
 
 The parish of Saint John de la Palma contains 
 360 houses. 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 SAINT LAWRENCE. 
 In this parish stood the Inquisition of modern 
 times. It includes also one half of the Alameda 
 Vieja. Of the tremendous tribunal, to which the 
 inscription of Dante — " Lasciate ogni speranza, 
 voi che éntrate" — might be well applied, nothing 
 now remains save the exterior walls and the 
 council chamber. During the Constitution of 
 1823, the library and some other rooms were 
 blown into the air, whether designedly or by 
 accident is not known. The building serves at 
 present as a barrack for troops. In the neigh- 
 bourhood was to be seen a hospital and hermi- 
 tage, called of Santa Barbara, on the wall of 
 which was painted a figure of the Virgin, which 
 existed in the time of the Goths, under the 
 title of the Rocamador, and served for hermits 
 of that designation, to whom certain privileges 
 were granted through means of Saint Amador, 
 who in 1252 introduced this order into France, 
 under the name of Roca de Amador. The con- 
 vent of Saint Clemente is for nuns of the order 
 of Cistel, and is one of the oldest in Seville, 
 having been established in 1249 by Saint Ferdi- 
 nand, as appears from a document of his grand- 
 son, Ferdinand the Fourth, expressed in the fol- 
 lowing terms : — " Porque el Rey Don Fernando, 
 nuestro bisabuelo, y el Rey Don Alfonso, nuestro 
 abuelo, ganaron la muy noble ciudad de Sevilla 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 99 
 
 de los enemigos ele la fe, en dia de San Clemente, 
 que es una de las nobles conquistas del mundo, y 
 porque esta ciudad fué ganada en tal dia como 
 este hicieron en esta dicha ciudad un monasterio 
 a honra y loor de San Clemente, é hicieron de 
 Dueñas de la orden del Cistel, y dieron les here- 
 damientos é hicieron les merced." This, convent 
 was formerly a Moorish palace, some walls of 
 which are supposed to he distinguishable at the 
 present day. In the church is a tomb covered by 
 a simple red pall, with the following inscription 
 in black and gilt letters : — " Here lie Doña Maria 
 of Portugal, wife of Alfonso the Eleventh, and 
 mother of Don Pedro, as also two young Infantas 
 of Castile." Beneath the choir are the bodies of 
 Doña Berenguela, daughter of Alfonso the Tenth, 
 and grand-daughter of Saint Ferdinand, besides 
 two ladies of royal blood, Beatrice and Leonora, 
 daughters of Henry the Second, one of whom, 
 Beatrice, was lady abbess of the convent. The 
 ceiling of this church is worked in cross-beams of 
 wood, with open apertures, and is well worthy of 
 attention. The walls and cupola are fresco, 
 painted, and various figures of saints appear in 
 the different compartments. I observed in the 
 church some good pictures by Juan Valdes, but 
 they were placed provokingly high, and it was 
 impossible to know what the subjects were. In 
 an altar of Saint John there are some beautiful 
 little saints by Pacheco ; its sculpture, however, 
 
 h 2 
 
100 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 is not remarkable for excellence. The parish 
 church of Saint Lawrence should by all means 
 be visited. The genius of Montañés exceeds it- 
 self in the figure of the patron saint, which stands 
 in the middle of the grand altar, holding a silver 
 gridiron in one hand, and a palm-branch in the 
 other, necessary emblems to his personification, 
 but uninteresting and uncongenial to the spec- 
 tator with feelings of taste. It is to be la- 
 mented that all fine works of the Spanish school 
 are eternally disfigured by mysteries and unpoe- 
 tical appendages, which do not harmonize with 
 the grand and the graceful, and contribute to 
 mar the pleasing sensation we should otherwise 
 experience in seeing them. Like the fatal puns 
 and play of w 7 ords in which Shakspeare so much 
 indulges, and which debase his style, so are the 
 crude delineations of the passion, the implements 
 of torture, the bloody wounds, and the otherfamiliar 
 vulgarisms which perpetually obtrude themselves 
 in the finest works of this country. The Spanish 
 artists copied nature, but they did not always 
 choose happy models ; although it may be alleged 
 in their behalf that their employers often would 
 not allow them to do so. The remainder of the 
 carved wood-work with which this church is 
 adorned does not correspond in beauty with the 
 works of Montañés, nor does it appear to be by 
 his hand. 
 
 In the Chapel de la Assumpcion is a very fine 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 101 
 
 Pacheco, representing the Virgin ascending to 
 heaven; beneath is a pretty landscape, with a ship 
 sailing, probably figurative of the river Jordan ; 
 at the two sides a town is represented, perhaps 
 Jerusalem, and above, in a corner of the picture, 
 are seated the Holy Father and our Saviour. 
 Some delightful saints, by Rodelas, appear in an 
 altar-piece. The figures are of small size, and a 
 bust of the Holy Father issuing from the cloud 
 surmounts the whole, which last picture is near 
 three feet square. Here are also two frescos of 
 interest by Juan de Valdes, besides some other 
 performances of his pencil ; but the former are 
 damaged, and in a state of rapid decay. Of this 
 painter, being a Sevillan worthy, we may say a 
 few words. He was born in 1630 ; and, to show 
 the mutability of popular judgment, was consi- 
 dered during his life equal in talent with Murillo. 
 The master under whom he studied is not known 
 with certainty, but is supposed to have been Ro- 
 delas. He went early to Cordova, where he 
 married, and painted a good deal in the convent 
 of the Carmen in that city, representing, amongst 
 other subjects, the history of the prophet Elias ; 
 placed beneath which are some Holy Virgins by 
 his hand : the execution of them is so good as 
 almost to equal the works of Velasquez. The 
 picture of Saint Andrew, in the church of Saint 
 Francis, and the Conception, in the Plateria, are 
 also of this master. His paintings in Seville are 
 
102 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 scattered about, and have become scarce; it is not 
 easy, however, to mistake his style, being perhaps 
 one of the most original Spanish painters, for we 
 can discover no one whom he copied. In Seville, 
 his painting of the gradual corruption of the 
 body of a dead bishop, and the hieroglyphics of 
 time and death, which are pointed out in the 
 Caridad, are, although disgusting, yet very original 
 works ; and the cathedral, the church of the 
 Venerabiles, and the Geronomites of Buena-vista, 
 have still many of his performances, and have 
 had more. When Murillo saw the above-men- 
 tioned pictures of the charnel-house, he ex- 
 claimed — " To look at this picture, friend, one 
 must hold one's nose." They were painted to rival 
 the other pictures by Murillo in the same church. 
 Valdes was a good draughtsman, and employed in 
 some degree aerial perspective, less indeed than 
 Murillo and Velasquez, but more than Cano. In 
 1671, when Seville solemnized the new worship 
 of Saint Ferdinand, Juan Valdes furnished the 
 decoration of these designs. Many of them are 
 in my possession, and I have given away several 
 to friends. Towards the decline of life, Valdes 
 returned to Cordova, and was ultimately recalled 
 to Seville as director of the academy, a post 
 which Murillo did not dare to solicit in opposition 
 to him, for fear of giving offence. He died in 
 1691, leaving a son, Lucas Valdes, also a respect- 
 able painter, and two daughters, Maria and 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 103 
 
 Louisa, who likewise cultivated their father's art. 
 Of the sculptures and the architecture of Juan de 
 Valdes none have been shown me, but Palomino 
 says that he excelled in both. 
 
 In the parish church of Saint Lawrence, the 
 visitor should look for an Annunciation, by Ville- 
 gas, dated in 1515, which is a fine picture. In 
 the chapel of the Señor de Gran Poder, he will 
 find the famous Christ bearing the Cross (which 
 is carried out once a year, at the night procession 
 of the holy week), by Montañés, and which is 
 among the author's best works. A Virgin of 13 e- 
 lem, with Angels, by Luis de Vargas, is in a 
 small side chapel; it is about three feet square, 
 and a good and pleasing specimen of the master, 
 although dirty and neglected. 
 
 A convent called after Santa Ana stood in this 
 parish, and contained twenty-three nuns ; it was 
 founded in 1594, in Paterra del Campo, near to 
 Niebla, under charge of Doña Antonia Ponze. It 
 took its name from the community, which were 
 Carmelites, having entered Seville on the saint's 
 day of that name. The convent of Saint Antonio 
 de Padua contained monks of the order of Saint 
 Francis, and was composed of 122 members; it 
 existed in the street of the same name, joining 
 that of Saint Vicente. At the end of the six- 
 teenth century commenced what is called the 
 Provincia de los Angeles, or worship of Saint 
 Francis. It first existed near the hospital of 
 
104 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Saint Lazarus, but a great inundation taking 
 place, the members solicited the city to give them 
 a small piece of land near to the Hospital de la 
 Sangre, which was granted, but subsequently, 
 that residence being found inconvenient, they 
 took up their abode in the Calle San Vicente. 
 The convent of Santiago, called De los Cabal- 
 leros, was founded by the master of that order, 
 Don Lorenzo Suarez de Figueroa, in 1409. The 
 primitive church became ruinous, and fell down, 
 but in the present one is seen the tomb of the 
 master, and his effigy in marble, at the feet of 
 which lies his faithful dog, with the inscription 
 on the collar — "Amad Amadis." The tomb of 
 the famous Benito Asias Montano was also in this 
 church, but has now been taken to that of the 
 university. During the occupation of the French, 
 his tomb was translated to the Capilla de la Con- 
 ception Grande, in the cathedral. He died on 
 the 4th of June, 1598. This convent was consi- 
 dered opulent, but did not contain more than 
 from twelve to eighteen members. The college 
 of the Minimos, dedicated to Saint Francis of 
 Paula, bordered upon the parish of Saint Michael. 
 It contained thirty members, and was founded in 
 1589 by the same community, who had a similar 
 convent in Triana, for the benefit of novices. 
 This establishment acquired fame from the 
 learned persons who composed it; Michael Cid, 
 a writer of sacred poetry, being amongst the 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 105 
 
 number. That of the Irlandeses, or " Chiquitos," 
 as it was called, is a small Jesuit institution for 
 the benefit of Irish Catholics, and was dedicated 
 to Saint Patrick. Its foundation took place in 
 1614, the missionary Theobald Stapleton being 
 its rector at that period, but he was afterwards 
 assassinated in Dublin, while administering the 
 sacrament ; in consequence of which the father 
 Augustin de Quiros came from Lisbon, and super- 
 intended the society. The following bishops of 
 Dublin were educated here — Edmund Burney, 
 James Lynch, and Luke Fagan. The scholars 
 wore a dark grey and blue cassock. The college 
 of the Concepción, vulgarly called " De las 
 Becas," faced the Alameda, in the street of its 
 own name. It was conducted after the same 
 manner as the Ambrosian schools of Milan ; ten 
 priests exercising the management : Gonzalo de 
 Ocampo, canon of Seville, founded it in 1620. 
 At the extreme end of the Alameda stood a her- 
 mitage dedicated to the Santa Cruz, or Holy 
 Cross ; it took its origin from the assassination of 
 the only son of the Countess de la Torre, Perefan 
 de Ribera, by a baker, who suspected the young 
 man of having intrigued with his wife. A small 
 hermitage, called Nuestra Señora de la Estrella, 
 was formerly a hospital to the hermitage of 
 Saint Roque, and is said to date from the time of 
 Alfonso the Learned. In 1649, the image of our 
 Lady de la Estrella is said to have made many 
 
106 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 cures during the time of the plague. The con- 
 vent of Santa Clara was founded in 1249, during 
 the life of the saint, but the institution was not 
 placed where it now stands until the year 1289, 
 its situation being in the street of Santa Clara, to 
 the left of the church of Saint John of Acre. It 
 contained sixty nuns, and the land and house it 
 occupies were the gift of Sancho the Fourth, 
 having belonged to Don Fadrique, his son. The 
 Queen Doña Maria was also a great benefactress 
 to this convent, and in 1500 it acquired great 
 part of the property of the Claustráis of Saint 
 Francis. 
 
 In this church, covered by a white marble, lie the 
 remains of Doña Leonora de Guzman, who died in 
 1579, having exercised the functions of abbess for 
 forty- six years. She was of the family of Medina 
 Sidonia, and born in 1498 ; at the age of eight 
 years her parents died, and at eleven her rela- 
 tions wished to unite her in marriage with a hus- 
 band equal to herself in rank and fortune, but 
 she resolutely refused, and having an aunt ab- 
 bess in the convent of Saint Ines, she flew thither 
 for protection, fearing that they would employ 
 force to make her marry. Her relations threa- 
 tened to burn down the convent if she was not 
 given up. Ferdinand and Isabel interfered, but 
 she remained firm against the entreaties even of 
 royalty, and took the veil in the convent of Santa 
 Clara. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 107 
 
 Within the extent of Saint Clemente was a 
 small chapel for the use of those who work silk, 
 which had formerly been a hospital for artisans 
 of that trade, but was changed to a chapel, from 
 want of sufficient funds to support it in the for- 
 mer capacity. 
 
 The parish of Saint Lawrence contains 490 
 houses. 
 
 SAINT LUCIA. 
 
 The Puerta del Sol is in this parish, and in 
 heathen times was dedicated to the luminary 
 from which its name is derived. A small build- 
 ing, inhabited by pious women, was founded in 
 this parish in the year 1717, of the order of the 
 Most Holy Trinity, under the direction of the Fa- 
 ther Chacon, and consisted of six members. The 
 parish church contains nothing remarkable, and 
 in modern years has been much repaired. It is 
 supposed to stand on the site of an ancient hea- 
 then temple. Santa Lucia was a martyr in the 
 reign of the Emperor Decius. In the year 1645 
 this parish, and those of Saint Julian and Saint 
 Gil, were almost depopulated by the plague. 
 The monastery of the Santisima Trinidad was 
 founded by Saint Ferdinand, the order having 
 had its origin in France in the year 1199, and it 
 assisted him in his wars against the Moors, and 
 particularly at the capture of Seville, so that in 
 
108 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 1249 Ferdinand gave them an ancient Moorish 
 palace, without the Puerta del Sol. The number 
 of the community was ninety-two persons. In 
 the year 1404, on the 17th of February, the gar- 
 dener of this convent stole the small " cup of 
 sorrows '' from the figure of our Saviour, and fif- 
 teen days afterwards his body was found, as the 
 tradition goes, in an orchard, surrounded by lizards, 
 who, raised on their hindlegs, stood in the act of 
 adoring it. Alfonso the Learned granted seventy 
 acres of fig and olive land, and six yoke of oxen 
 for its cultivation, to the friars of this monastery, 
 who were required to keep a chaplain to pray for 
 the repose of his father's soul. Here the Romans 
 had an imperial palace, and here Diogenianus, an 
 officer of Diocletian and Maximinian, resided 
 when the tutelary saints of Seville, Justa and 
 Rufina, were put to death. The small prisons 
 are still to be seen where they were confined, 
 one opening on the cloister, and the other in the 
 middle of the church ; they are dark and under 
 ground, surrounded with iron bars, and visited, 
 as Morgado writes, by devout Christians, who re- 
 ceive great spiritual consolation from the sight of 
 them. A well, too, is shown, into which the 
 body of Saint Justa was thrown after it had suf- 
 fered martyrdom. It is supposed that Saint Fer- 
 dinand removed the relics of Saint Justa, with 
 those of Saint Isidorus, to Leon, while our author 
 asserts that the bodies of both were discovered 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 109 
 
 by divine revelation, and translated to the royal 
 monastery of Burgos by Pedro Fernandez. In the 
 Book of the Life and Miracles of Saint Isidorus, 
 written by Don Lucas, Bishop of Tuy, we find 
 that when Ferdinand granted peace to the Moor- 
 ish king, on condition of his giving up the body 
 of Saint Isidorus, that saint appeared to him, and 
 forbade the removal of the body of Santa Justa. 
 The chapel of this monastery is also of great 
 sanctity, from the circumstance that on occasion 
 of a priest being buried in it, the body on the 
 next day was found outside the tomb ; the con- 
 clave of holy friars met in prayer, and it was re- 
 vealed to them that the two female saints being 
 buried in that spot, pure in death as during life, 
 would allow no male to lie by their side ; from 
 which time no more burials have taken place in 
 that chapel. Such are the narratives of those 
 credulous times, when the world was led by 
 words, when individual judgment was forbidden 
 and denounced, and the exercise of private rea- 
 son was deemed an act of impiety. 
 
 On a visit to this church to look for paintings, 
 I saw some frescos which appeared to be from 
 the hand of Herrera. There is a tribune above 
 the entrance, and in front of the grand altar. 
 This fine convent now serves as a prison for the 
 Carlists. 
 
 The parish of Saint Lucia contains 128 houses. 
 
110 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 SAINT MARK. 
 
 Although the Inquisition was first established 
 in the ancient suburb of Triana, it was found ex- 
 pedient to change its situation, and place it in 
 this parish, in consequence of an extraordinary 
 inundation of the river which, in the year 1626, 
 floated Triana, and indeed all the suburbs of 
 Seville. When Caro wrote, fourteen years after- 
 wards, this tribunal consisted of five inquisitors, 
 a judge fiscal or of the revenue, a chief constable, 
 a treasurer, five secretaries, ten counsellors, eighty 
 calificadores or special pleaders, one fiscal lawyer, 
 a notary of secrets, ten common lawyers, two 
 commissaries, a fiscal proctor or attorney, a prison 
 magistrate, a messenger or nuncio, ten respect- 
 able citizens, two surgeons, and one porter. In 
 the body of the city there were 100 familiars ; and 
 in all the district, between commissaries, notaries, 
 and familiars, the number of persons attached to 
 the establishment approached the number of 4000. 
 Zuniga mentions that it was re-transferred to 
 Triana in 1639, after the tower had been repaired, 
 and that afterwards it was a^ain removed to Se- 
 ville, where its assemblies were held in the parish 
 of Saint Lawrence. 
 
 In the parish of Saint Mark stands the convent 
 for nuns of the order of Saint Isabel, the members 
 of which enjoy the patronage of Saint John, whose 
 scapulary they bear on their breast, being held 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Ill 
 
 subject to the Prior of Saint John of Jerusalem in 
 the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. It was found- 
 ed in 1490, by Doña Isabel de Leon Farfana. 
 The visitor should not omit to notice the principal 
 entrance to this convent, which is a pleasing spe- 
 cimen of the Ionic order. 
 
 The church once contained a fine picture by 
 Pacheco, representing the Last Judgment, which 
 fell into the hands of Marshal Mortier ; a Birth of 
 our Saviour, by Rodelas, shared the same fate. 
 The visitor will find, however, an Adoration of the 
 Kings, attributed to the last-named master, and 
 the figure of the saint in the altar of Saint John 
 the Baptist is by Montañés. The two female 
 saints, Isabel and Zaccharia, are by some very in- 
 ferior hand. This altar is filled with bad pictures, 
 apparently representing passages of the life of 
 Santa Isabel. I am told that twelve pictures by 
 Arteaga, of the Life of the Virgin, exist here ; 
 whether they be those last mentioned, future vi- 
 sitors may determine; they appear to me as I 
 have described them. The church of the convent 
 of Saint Paul has two altar-pieces by Cano, 
 sculptured in wood, which are worthy of atten- 
 tion ; but we look in vain in his works for the 
 vigour and elegance of Montañés. 
 
 The Arab tower of the parish church is icon- 
 sidered the most beautiful of any, save the ca- 
 thedral, in Seville ; some delicately cut cornice- 
 work in stone is seen towards the top ; the whole 
 
112 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 effect is handsome, and the several parts appear 
 well proportioned. The church was burnt down 
 in the year 1470. It contains no works of art 
 that are of particular interest. 
 
 A convent belonging to nuns of the order of 
 Santa Maria del Scorro, the community of which 
 amounted to twenty-nine, stood in the Calle Mel- 
 garejos, now the Calle Real, and was founded in 
 1522 by Doña Juana Ayala, daughter of Gonzalo 
 Gomez de Cervantes, and Doña Juana Megalarejo. 
 It was remarkable for admitting postulants with- 
 out remuneration, or " Dote," as it is called in 
 Spanish, — the money which a member con- 
 tributes to the support of a community on her 
 entrance. 
 
 In the year 1670, Don Carlos Remirez de Arel- 
 lano, then governor of Seville, rebuilt, by public 
 subscription, a lunatic asylum ; the house of re- 
 ception for the insane having been annexed to the 
 hospital of Saint Cosmo and Saint Damián, found- 
 ed in the parish of Saint Mark, in 1436, and to 
 which Ferdinand and Isabel granted many pri- 
 vileges, What is called the Hospital de los Niños 
 de la Doctrina, or foundling hospital, was esta- 
 blished by the Counts of Baylen in 1450 ; the 
 children were kept there at the public expense 
 for five years, and afterwards sent to serve in 
 some trade or profession. 
 
 This parish contains 167 houses. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 113 
 
 SAINT MARTIN. 
 
 On the parochial church of Saint Martin being 
 examined for repairing, a thorn of the crown 
 of Christ was found in a leaden box of Gothic 
 date, with the following inscription : — " Sum 
 ecclesiae Divi Martini Hispalensis." The great 
 antiquity of the building may be argued from 
 this fact. The relic was preserved for some 
 years in the sacristy of the church, and there re- 
 verenced by the pious Zuniga, author of the 
 Annals, but was afterwards, in 1649, as he says, 
 lost by culpable negligence. The date of the 
 original erection of the church of Saint Martin 
 does not however appear. 
 
 One side of the Alameda belongs to this parish, 
 the other half to that of Saint Lawrence ; and it 
 had at one time its particular officer, charged 
 with the business of watering and keeping the 
 ground clean. Those who worked in this duty 
 were Frenchmen, who came from the Spanish colo- 
 nies ; and the natural dislike of foreigners in Spain 
 breaks out even in Zuniga, who calls these poor 
 people the " Polilla," or corruption of the wealth 
 of his nation. In reward for their trouble, they 
 were allowed to be water-carriers for sale, without 
 paying any thing to government, or for the water. 
 This was once " Un paseo memorable en todo el 
 mundo, frecuentado en las calorosas noches de 
 ¡numerables coches, y en que á veces se tienen 
 
 i 
 
114 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 otros públicos festijos, á veces alegria de músicas, 
 y de ordinario en las fiestas ministriles y chirimias 
 pagados de lo publico." It is now, however, 
 seldom frequented ; the walks of the Plaza del 
 Duque, of the Salon de Cristina, and the Delicias, 
 (which I have previously described) having ob- 
 tained the preference. The fair sex prefer light 
 walks, young trees, sweet smelling flowers, and 
 spangled parterres, to a severe and formal alley of 
 elms, terminated by two immense columns, with 
 statues of Caesar and Hercules, or some other 
 worthy of the olden time. To those of a con- 
 templative mind, however, it has not lost its 
 charms, and a love of antiquity has more than 
 once made me linger in a walk now rarely visited, 
 save by an occasional water-carrier, or dusty beast 
 of burthen. 
 
 On the column of Julius Caesar is this inscrip- 
 tion : — " Reinando en Castilla el Católico y muy 
 alto y poderoso Rey Don Felipe segundo, y siendo 
 asistente en esta Ciudad el ilustrisimo Señor Conde 
 de Barajas, mayordomo de la Reina nuestra Se- 
 ñora: los ilustrisimos Señores de Sevilla, man- 
 daron hacer estas fuentes y alameda y traer elagua 
 de la fuente del Arzobispo, con industria, acuerdo 
 y parecer del dicho Señor asistente, siendo obrero 
 mayor el magnifico Señor Juan Diaz, jurado aca- 
 bóze, el año de M.D.LXXIIII." On that of Her- 
 cules the following : — i{ Don Francisco Zapata, 
 comiti Barasensi, hujus urbis moderatori vigilan- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 115 
 
 tissimo, Reginse Praefecto dignissimo, justitiasque 
 cultori sequissimo, quod hanc canosam adque 
 neglectam paludem, a totius orbis colluvie repur- 
 gaverit, in amplissimam aream, frondoso nemore 
 consitam, fontibusque ornatam converterit, civi- 
 bus ccelum salubrius auramque frigidiorem es- 
 tuante Sirio reddiderit, archiepiscopalium aqua- 
 rum rivum, vetustate et negligentiá interruptum, 
 a nativa scaturigine restitutum, in varios urbis 
 vicos, magno sitientis populi solatio, derivarit ; 
 Herculis columnas Hercúleo pené labore trans- 
 tulerit: urbem portis magnifice structis illus- 
 traverit, eamque humanissime rexerit — S. P.Q. H. 
 amoris et gratitudinis ergo P. P. anno 1578." 
 These pillars are more particularly noticed in 
 what has been written on the parish of Saint 
 Nicholas. 
 
 Three very fine fountains stand in the centre of 
 the walk, and there are three others in the Saint 
 Lawrence side of the avenues, but none in that 
 part which is within this parish. These fount- 
 ains, as well as those of the Feria and the place 
 of San Vicente, are all of the same period. The 
 elm trees are very fine and high, giving a vener- 
 able appearance to the walks. Some have de- 
 cayed a little towards the tops and side branches, 
 but this does not, in my mind, diminish their 
 beauty. The parish church has only one broad 
 aisle, of handsome Gothic architecture. Í saw in 
 one of the chapels a good picture of a Depo- 
 
 i 2 
 
116 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 sition from the Cross, covered by a glass, which 
 somewhat resembled the hand of Reyna, on each 
 side of which are two small pictures by Zur- 
 baran. In another chapel is some very curious 
 old wood-work, of Christ on Mount Calvary, and 
 the soldier piercing his side, with a Deposition 
 from the Cross, which form the side of an altar, 
 and appear to date quite from the commencement 
 of the art. 
 
 Zuniga the Annalist, to whom we are indebted 
 for much of what we know concerning Seville, 
 was buried in this parish church. He published, 
 besides his annals, a genealogical account of the 
 family of the Ortizes, and had many more works 
 in contemplation ; but death put an untimely end 
 to all his labours in 1680, when he was only 
 forty-four. 
 
 Saint Martin contains 360 houses. 
 
 SANTA MARINA. 
 
 The Arab tower to this church is worthy of 
 notice, and contiguous to it is the round church 
 of Saint Louis, with confused and unseemly, but 
 grotesque, architectural decorations, which was 
 once a Jesuit college, and worthy of remark as 
 having been the first residence of the dukes of 
 Medina Coeli, before they occupied the Casa de 
 Pilatos, in the parish of Saint Stephen, inherited 
 by them from the family of Ribera. The parish 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 117 
 
 church was built in the time of the Goths, a cen- 
 tury before Spain was conquered by the Moors, 
 and while Isidorus was archbishop in Seville. 
 On the arrival of the Mussulmen, it was found 
 necessary to hide all Christian objects of wor- 
 ship, so that after their expulsion a figure of the 
 Virgin with the Child in her arms, made of white 
 stone, was discovered in an aperture of the tower, 
 and afterwards placed in the chapel called " Del 
 Adelantado," with the name of Our Lady de la 
 Piedra, and which used to be exposed on the 
 Thursday of the holy week for public veneration. 
 In 1609, the noviciate house of the Jesuits was 
 placed almost facing this church, in a house sold 
 by the family of Ribera to defray expenses made 
 in the Casa de Pilatos. Doña Luisa de Medina 
 was then its proprietor, and became patron of 
 the Jesuit establishment, where she was buried. 
 As has been said before, it afterwards became 
 the church of Saint Louis. The novices first en- 
 tered here in 1710, and their number consisted of 
 seventy-five persons. 
 
 The hermitage of Saint Bias is placed by Zu- 
 niga in the parish of Omnium Sanctorum, but 
 erroneously, for it stood near this Jesuit college. 
 The family of the Coronéis founded it ; indeed it 
 was Doña Maria of that name, who, after the 
 death of her husband, Juan de la Cerda, was per- 
 secuted by Don Pedro, and retired to the convent 
 of Santa Ines to avoid his addresses, that chiefly 
 
118 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 contributed to its endowment. In this hermitage 
 relics of Saint Bias were worshipped, and it was 
 under the protection of the nuns of Santa Ines. 
 The parish of Santa Marina contains 184 houses. 
 
 SAINT MARY LA BLANCA, or DE LAS NIEVES. 
 
 This parish contains the Puerta de la Carne. 
 The church of Santa Cruz, where hung the pic- 
 ture, now in the cathedral, under which Murillo 
 was buried, is now translated to the Casa de los 
 Venerabiles. On the arrival of the French, and 
 when all was in confusion, and the monastery re- 
 moved, the family of Vibiero, to whom the paint- 
 ing belonged, required it back, but the assembly 
 of the town replied, that, if they built a church, 
 it might be removed there, but they should not 
 allow it to be alienated or privately disposed of. 
 
 Over the Puerta de la Carne was the following 
 inscription : — 
 
 " Condidit Alcides, renovavit J ulius urbem, 
 Restituit Christo Fetfdinandus tertius heros." 
 
 The church of Santa Maria la Blanca contains 
 a very fine Deposition from the Cross, by Vargas, 
 who probably painted it in rivalry of Campana, 
 of whom he was jealous, on his return from Italy. 
 The painting is neglected, and obscured with 
 dirt, so that its minor details are not perceptible, 
 
* 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 119 
 
 but the Christ, the Virgin, and the Mary Mag- 
 dalen kissing the feet, are all fully developed, as 
 indeed is also the figure of the other Mary. The 
 heads of the figures are very expressive and fine, 
 the colouring good, and the drawing far more 
 graceful than is that of Campana in general. In- 
 deed, Vargas has far surpassed the latter painter 
 in this work. On each side are two small figures, 
 of Saint Francis showing his wounds, and Saint 
 John the Evangelist, also by Vargas. In this 
 church stood two very fine Murillos, representing 
 the death of Saint Buenaventura, and the marriage 
 of Saint Catharine : they are now in the Aca- 
 demy of Painting at Madrid. They are oval- 
 topped, and seem, judging from their frames, to 
 be from twelve to fifteen feet in width, by seven 
 high. The aisle of this church is supported by 
 ten granite pillars, which, contrary to the esta- 
 blished custom in Seville, match well; indeed, 
 it is singular to remark that scarcely two pillars 
 are found in any of the buildings or houses even 
 in size and shape, and scarcely one square room 
 exists in any of the ancient dwellings. The 
 Sevillan architects seem to have been possessed by 
 a mania of purposely offending the eye by this per- 
 verse construction. The ceiling of this building 
 is all most elaborately worked, and is curious, 
 but in bad taste. This parish church was the 
 second synagogue dedicated to the Christian 
 faith, in 1391, when the chapter of the cathedral 
 
120 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 (this being an appendant parish to that of the 
 Sagrario) placed a very ancient image of our 
 Lady de las Nieves, or la Blanca, in the church. 
 Its present adornments and skylights were made 
 at the expense of Justin de Heve, and a work 
 was written on the subject by Ferdinand de la 
 Torre Farfan. To the same person it was in- 
 debted for the pictures of Murillo which it pos- 
 sessed. Zuniga imagines the image of the Virgin 
 which stood here to be the same that Alfonso the 
 Learned exhibited for worship to the Sevillans, 
 and which, by a public exercise of miraculous 
 power, restored his sight to a blind man. A her- 
 mitage of the holy seat of Saint Peter of Rome 
 exists in this church, which is close to the gate 
 of the Carne, and abuts upon the several parishes 
 of Santa Cruz, Saint Nicolas de Bari, and Saint 
 Bartholomew. 
 
 A convent of sixty monks once existed in this 
 parish, near to that of the Madre de Dios, where 
 the members of the American board of trade held 
 their solemnities until the year 1717, when they 
 were translated to Cadiz. The order of the Des- 
 calzos, to which it belonged, was introduced into 
 Seville in 1604 ; but, being opposed by the col- 
 lege of Saint Laureanus, were not allowed to ad- 
 minister the sacrament in their church till 1614. 
 They had always the reputation of great sanctity. 
 
 The parish of Saint Mary la Blanca contains 82 
 houses. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 121 
 
 SAINT MARY MAGDALEN. 
 
 The church of Saint Paul is in this parish, 
 where those who are curious in the works of 
 Lucas Valdes may see many of his paintings. 
 The saints in fresco, which are distributed on the 
 various columns of the architecture, are from his 
 hand, and at each end of the transept he painted 
 two large pictures, one representing the cere- 
 mony of the Inquisition burning heretics, in 
 which the portrait of Saint Ferdinand was intro- 
 duced, joining in the procession and carrying 
 faggots for the stake under his arm, as he for- 
 merly did at Palencia. This picture, during the 
 time of the Constitution in 1822, was covered 
 with plaster, so that nothing is seen of it. The 
 second however is entire, and represents the 
 procession of the Virgin of the Kings, the same 
 monarch appearing in the habit of a monk. The 
 pulpit of this church is very prettily inlaid in 
 marble, and the convent dates from the time of 
 Ferdinand the First, conqueror of Seville. Those 
 who are fond of sea-pieces will note here the 
 battle of Lepanto, by Valdes, a large picture, and 
 curious from its details, and its portraitures of 
 the gallies, and singular naval armaments and 
 manoeuvres of the period. The church contains 
 also a large painting of the Coming of the Holy 
 Ghost, attributed to Rodelas. 
 
 This parish is very considerable. Its church 
 
122 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 was rebuilt by the king Don Pedro, on his reco- 
 very from a dangerous fit of sickness. The great 
 chapel belongs to the family of Ceron, having 
 been founded by Martin Fernandez of that name 
 in 1400. The Puerta de Triana is in this parish, 
 which also contained formerly many hospitals. 
 In days of yore the huntsmen of the kings lived 
 in the Calle Colcheros, and an adjacent street is 
 called " de los Perros," because the dogs were 
 kennelled there ; the " Calle de la Muela" took its 
 name also from the large tooth of a wild boar, 
 which was to be seen painted on the wall. This 
 parish is so extensive, that in 1508, when the 
 plague raged in the city, more than 1000 bodies 
 were buried from it in the third week of May. 
 The illustrious family of the Carillos, natives of 
 Seville, but originally of Castilian origin, had 
 their house in this parish, in that part of it called 
 the " Pajeria," where stood the palace of Saint 
 Hermenegildus, a place of worship in the year 
 1500. The Carillos were amongst the first who 
 entered Seville with Ferdinand. In the church 
 of Saint Paul, the Inquisition of Seville usually 
 held its meetings. In 1585, the refuge for orphan 
 children was established here, and near at hand 
 to this building was the college of the Santo An- 
 gel de la Guarda, which consisted of sixty-six 
 monks of the Carmelitas Descalzos order. The 
 period of its first foundation was in 1587, but in 
 1601 Ruiz de Vernu, a judge of Granada, en- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 123 
 
 do wed it, naming for successor the Venameris of 
 Alcalá, to which family he belonged. Mass was 
 said in the church for the first time in 1608, by 
 Juan de la Sal, Bishop of Bona, it having been 
 previously sanctified by the Archbishop of Se- 
 ville, Niño de Guevara. A venereal hospital, 
 confided to the care of these monks, was esta- 
 blished in 1587 in the Calle Colcheros, where it 
 now stands, and is used at present for public 
 offices of the town, the other medical institutions 
 having merged into the large one of the Sangre. 
 
 The church was originally called " del Es- 
 píritu Santo," Archbishop Rodrigo de Castro 
 being its founder. The Augustin college of 
 Saint Acasius, now the town library, which con- 
 tained twenty-two members, was situated at the 
 corner of the Calle de la Sierpe (the library 
 entrance being in the street of the Triperas). 
 Its first establishment was where the convent of 
 Santa Teresa afterwards stood, at the Cruz del 
 Campo, but in 1633 it was removed to the inte- 
 rior of the town, the building it occupied there 
 being the property of Juan Perez de Meñaca. 
 Gaspar de Molina, Bishop of Malaga, left by will 
 a library to this convent, but it only fills two 
 mean rooms, lined with rusty book-cases, and con- 
 taining over the central door three bad portraits, 
 two of Murillo and Velasquez, and another re- 
 sembling Philip the Fifth. The convent of Nu- 
 estra Señora del Popólo, outside the gate of Tri- 
 
124 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 ana, appertains to this parish ; it is used at the 
 present day for the town prison. This convent 
 was of the Augustin Descalzos order, containing 
 a community of sixty-three monks, who had for- 
 merly resided in Seville, but in 1624 removed 
 outside the walls. In the second year of their 
 establishment here a great flood took place, and 
 the following circumstance caused it to take the 
 name of our Lady del Popólo. Near to where 
 the Augustin convent stood, Antonio Perez and 
 his wife Antonia de Villafañe, people of humble 
 estate but virtuous lives, had placed in the en- 
 trance of their house an image of our Lady del 
 Popólo. Their residence was in the street of the 
 Harinas, and before this image they always kept 
 a light in the night-time. When the waters 
 rose, their house was covered, and its walls de- 
 stroyed, but, strange to say, the public saw, three 
 days afterwards, the image erect, with the light 
 before it, sailing over the waters, without being 
 disturbed either by waves or wind. It was there- 
 upon determined in the city to found a convent, 
 or at least to name one, in memorial of the mi- 
 racle, and the lot fell to that of the Augustins. 
 
 The church of this parish was entirely de- 
 stroyed by the French to form a square during 
 their operations, but is now again in progress of 
 erection. 
 
 This parish contains 860 houses. 
 
( 125 ) 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE — CONTINUED. 
 
 SAINT MARY THE MAYOR, 
 OR SAGRARIO. 
 
 That Seville once had a forum is proved by the 
 following passage from Caesar, in the second 
 chapter of his Civil War (already quoted in my 
 first chapter) : — " His cognitis rebus, altera ex n. 
 legionibus, quae Vernácula appellabatur, ex castris 
 Varronis, adstante et inspectante ipso, signa sus- 
 tulit, seseque in Hispalim recepit, atque in foro et 
 porticibus sine maleficio consedit; quod factum 
 adeó ejus conventus cives Romani comprobave- 
 runt, ut domum ad se quisque hospitio cupidis- 
 simé reciperet." Caro supposes that the forum 
 stood in the Plaza de San Francisco, which be- 
 longs to this parish. Of the Basilicas also, or 
 praetorial seats, we know that there were several. 
 Morgado mentions an imperial palace at the 
 Puerta del Sol, or " Gate of the Sun," now oc- 
 cupied by the monastery of the Most Holy Trinity. 
 
 This parish of Santa Maria la Mayor contains 
 the Puerta de San Fernando, Puerta de Xerez, 
 Postigo del Carbon, Postigo del Aceite, Puerta 
 de Arenal; and in point of size it equals any 
 
126 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 other four parishes. In the year 1564, the Casa 
 de Ayuntamiento was finished. Don Juan de 
 Silva y Ribera had begun it, but the tower, gal- 
 lery, and top terrace were still wanting. Don 
 Francisco Chacon, of Casarrubios, added to it, 
 and among the superior pillars is an inscription 
 recording the fact. The mason-work is of hewn 
 stone, but its form of architecture is the Plate- 
 resco, or florid composite, if it may be so termed. 
 It is full of grotesque cuttings and carvings ; 
 flowers, shells, animals, fish, and birds, are all 
 worked up and mixed together in its embellish- 
 ments of stone. These ornaments, fugitive from 
 their delicacy and lightness, are only suitable 
 in works of metal, whence indeed their designs 
 were borrowed. The principal gate is orna- 
 mented with arms of the town and religious in- 
 scriptions in Latin, commendatory of the wisdom 
 of Solomon. The Anticabildo, or Vestibule, has 
 the same escutcheon, and the following Latin 
 verses below : — 
 
 " Jura sua hie dabimus cunctis, discrimine nullo ; 
 Sic mos justitiae, cujus in JEde sumus. 
 Posee aditus, qui justa petis, formidine demptá, 
 Nam Patriae fáciles experiére Patres. 
 Sis tamen admonitus duram patiere repulsam, 
 Quisquis es, injusti siquid ab urbe petis." 
 
 The lower apartment of the Ayuntamiento, 
 which is reached by passing through a passage 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 127 
 
 below the staircase, introduces you to a room of 
 nearly forty feet square, of which the ceiling is 
 divided into thirty-five compartments of relievos, 
 occupied by portraits of Spanish kings, and sur- 
 rounded with a Latin inscription in these words : 
 ■ — " Omnes homines qui de rebus dubiis consul- 
 tant, ab odio, irá, amicitiá, atque misericordia va- 
 cuos esse decet ; haud facile animus verum pro- 
 vided ubi illa oificiunt. Non sequaris turbam ad 
 faciendum malum, nec in judicio plurimorum ac- 
 quiescas sententiis, ut a vero devies. Audite 
 illos, et quod verum est judicate; sive civis sit 
 ille, sive peregrinus, nulla erit distinctio perso- 
 nam m : ita parvum audietis ut magnum, nec 
 accipietis cuj usque personam, quin Dei judicium 
 est." A set of fine phrases, but which, unfor- 
 tunately, like most other good precepts, have 
 rarely been carried into effect. The staircase is 
 equally ornamented with the rooms below and 
 above, but the latter display fine specimens of 
 wooden worked ceilings, or " Artisones," an art 
 which was long practised in Seville, in deal, 
 walnut, cedar, and mahogany. Curious as the 
 carvings may be, however, and well adapted for 
 small rooms, they absorb the light in large ones, 
 and produce a gloomy effect. The whitewashed 
 chambers of these buildings were decorated with 
 tapestry, of which some remains to this day. 
 The office of chief alguazil, or constable to the 
 senate, according to the pernicious usages of 
 
128 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 ancient despotic governments, is entailed in the 
 family of the Dukes of Alcalá; that of Alférez 
 (mayor, or chief ensign) in that of the Marquis 
 of Algava. In order to be admitted as as- 
 sistente, or chief magistrate, to hold place in the 
 Ayuntamiento, it was necessary to prove noble 
 blood. The seal of office displays Ferdinand 
 seated on his throne, with a crown, sword, and 
 globe in his hand, supported by Saint Isidorus 
 and Saint Leander, with the following motto : — 
 
 " Amaris Sanctis armis, Sanctis decet, ideo 
 Imitari non pigeat, quod celebrare delectat." 
 
 The only two rooms at present meriting notice 
 that I saw here, were, one on the first landing- 
 place, which has a ceiling in gilt octagons, where 
 the public meetings are held, and another below 
 it with a ceiling in stone, worked perhaps by 
 Cintora, composed of heads of the rulers of Spain, 
 and a cornice with emblems of justice. This 
 room has a marble floor, and fronting the one on 
 the upper story is an opening to a gallery which 
 looks on the Plaza, the walls of which are orna- 
 mented with antique Spanish figures in distem- 
 per, now scarcely perceptible. The gates of 
 Saint Ferdinand, of Xerez, and of the Arenal, 
 are in this parish ; over that of Xerez was 
 once the following inscription on a tablet of 
 marble : — 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 129 
 
 " Hercules me edificó, 
 Julio Cesar me cercó, 
 De muros y torres altas 
 Y el Rey Santo me ganó, 
 Con Garci Perez de Vargas." 
 
 In the church of the Caridad are some of the 
 finest works of art in Seville. The grand altar is 
 from the chisel of Roldan, and the principal com- 
 partment represents the Deposition of Christ. 
 The body of our Saviour is excellently modelled, 
 and the head of Saint John, and figure of Nico- 
 demus, are very bold and spirited. The skin on 
 the body of our Saviour seems relaxed by the ces- 
 sation of life. Here are also the two famous Mu- 
 rillos, of Moses striking the Rock, and the Parting 
 of the Loaves and Fishes. They are companion 
 pictures, and their dimensions are from ten to 
 twelve feet in height, by nearly the double in 
 width ; below the one is a Saint John with the 
 Lamb, by Murillo, and under the other is a large 
 picture by the same master, of Saint Juan de 
 Dios, assisted by an Angel when ready to sink 
 from fatigue in carrying an infirm person. This 
 picture has been copied by Mr. Dauzats, who ac- 
 companied Baron Taylor to Seville. Above two 
 side doors are pictures by Juan Valdes, one re- 
 presenting Death trampling on the things of this 
 world, figured as a skeleton, and the other a 
 Bishop and Knight of Calatrava, rotting in their 
 graves. The effect of these two pictures is 
 
 K 
 
130 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 dreadful and disgusting, but they are masterly 
 works. In the latter, amidst the gloom of the 
 charnel-house, the worms are seen crawling in 
 and out of the jaws of the divine and the soldier, 
 the lids of whose coffins have rotted away ; and 
 above is a hand with a balance, amidst a ray of 
 light proceeding from above, weighing the sum 
 of the good and evil of both, with the inscription 
 below — " Ni mas, ni menos"— all are alike in the 
 grave. 
 
 The Patio of this hospital is divided into two 
 parts by a colonnade of marble pillars ; from a 
 fountain in each rises the figure of Charity, with 
 infants at the breast, supporting a cross. The 
 establishment was founded by Don Miguel de 
 Manara, in the seventeenth century : his body 
 lies at the foot of the great altar, with an inscrip- 
 tion to the effect, that in spite of his disposition 
 to charity, he considered himself the worst of 
 men. The site of the edifice is on the ancient 
 Atarazanas, or Arsenals, of Alfonso the Learned, 
 between the Postigo del Carbon and the custom- 
 house. Of eleven pictures by Murillo, which 
 once graced these walls, those only which I have 
 described now remain. The following passed 
 into the hands of Marshal Soult during the French 
 occupation : — The Parable of the Prodigal Son, 
 the Apparition of three Angels to Abraham, Christ 
 and the Paralytic at the Pool, and the Angel 
 freeing Peter from Prison. The two former have 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 131 
 
 been purchased by the Duke of Sutherland, and 
 are now in England. The Academy of Madrid 
 possesses the companion picture to the Saint 
 Juan de Dios, namely, Queen Isabel curing the 
 Leprous. Valdes, besides the two paintings al- 
 ready mentioned, has painted the Exaltation of 
 the Cross, on the wall of the upper choir. The 
 two large paintings of Murillo have gained almost 
 a European fame, and some of my readers may 
 be curious to have notices of them in writing, 
 although familiar with their copies. That of 
 Moses striking the Rock is divided into three 
 groups of figures, which harmonize very well. 
 The prophet is in the act of giving thanks to 
 God, after having struck the rock ; his brother 
 Aaron, and four masterly painted figures, are dis- 
 tributing water to the bystanders. The second 
 group contains seven figures ; in front is a boy 
 mounted on a white horse, endeavouring to alight, 
 whilst the animal's head is turned towards a 
 pitcher of water, of which it is desirous to drink, 
 held by a woman with a child in her arms, who 
 is anxious to take from her the water to drink 
 first. The principal figures of the third group, 
 which are very fine, consist of a male figure seated 
 on the ground, filling a vase with water, and a 
 woman with two children, disputing which shall 
 drink first. This picture is peculiarly remarkable 
 from the circumstance that each figure, consi- 
 dered separately, tells its own tale, is full of ani- 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 mation, and fit for a study. The design, colouring, 
 and accessories, are true and harmonious, and the 
 aerial perspective admirable. The second picture 
 is the Distribution of the Loaves and Fishes. It 
 represents our Saviour seated in the opening of a 
 mountain, distributing the bread, surrounded by 
 the twelve apostles, and a lad who delivers two 
 fish to one of them for the same purpose. At a 
 distance, but in the first term, appear the mul- 
 titude who wait to be fed. This last picture has 
 not the variety or expression of the former, but 
 it is well coloured, and approaches nearly to the 
 Italian style. 
 
 The life of the founder of this handsome esta- 
 blishment, which was not raised from religious 
 vanity, but from unfeigned Christian charity, has 
 been written by the Jesuit, Juan de Cardenas ; 
 in which it is mentioned that Miguel Mañara, a 
 powerful man, and knight of Calatrava, was mar- 
 ried to Geronima Carrillo, only daughter of Diego 
 Carrillo of Mendoza, of the order of Santiago. 
 While living in Seville, some hams sent to him 
 from his father-in-law, in consequence of an in- 
 formality in the certificate, were detained at the 
 custom-house. Don Miguel Mañara, as yet full 
 of the vanities of the world, proceeded froui his 
 house to rescue these delicacies, swelling with 
 anger and self-importance ; when, after taking a 
 lew steps in the street, an inward light was com- 
 municated to him, and he heard an internal voice 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 133 
 
 which said, " Whither goest thou with so much 
 pride ? what art thou more than a little dust and 
 ashes ?" Struck by the inspiration, he became 
 instantly humbled. (It is added, however, that 
 the excise officers sent him word that they had 
 only retained the hams in order to know whether 
 they really belonged to him or not.) Other mys- 
 terious warnings, coupled with the death of his 
 wife, which happened soon afterwards, confirmed 
 the severe and adust complexion of his mind ; and 
 the humble employ he adopted was to wait on 
 the poor sick in the site of the place where his 
 hospital now stands, and which had before been 
 graced by a royal chapel, erected in the year 
 1271. Until 1578, the brotherhood of La Caridad 
 had no fixed abode, but in that year the chapel of 
 Saint George was given up to them for the burial 
 of criminals, or destitute and drowned persons. 
 Miguel Manara altered the rules, with the appro- 
 bation of the authorities, according to a more 
 severe scheme, the existing regulations not being 
 considered by him as sufficiently strict. 
 
 The convent of the " Espiritu Santo," or Holy 
 Ghost, was situated between the gate of the 
 Carne and that of Xerez, in the Borceguineria, 
 and was composed of sixty-eight fathers of the 
 order of Clérigos Menores, who first came to Se- 
 ville in 1624. The hospital of the Venerabiles, 
 for succour of aged priests, whether natives of 
 Seville or strangers, was first suggested by the 
 
134 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 brotherhood of Jesus Nazarenus, who occupied 
 the hospital of Saint Antonio Abad; and the 
 laudable undertaking was encouraged and pro- 
 moted by those who governed that of Saint Ber- 
 nard, at whose instance the Duke of Veraguas 
 gave a piece of ground called the " Corral of Doña 
 Elvira/' in the parish of the Sagrario, near to the 
 " Jamerdana," or ancient sewer, which existed 
 there, and a house was taken near at hand for 
 them until their own was built, in 1676. The 
 church of this house of refuge was dedicated to 
 Saint Ferdinand, being the first temple erected to 
 his name, but it was not finished until the year 
 1696. A similar exercise of charity had been ex- 
 hibited by the brotherhood of Jesus Nazarenus, 
 who instituted another house of refuge in the 
 street of the Palmas, in 1627. The work was as- 
 sisted by the Duke of Alba, who in concert with 
 a body of gentlemen bought the house in the 
 Pozo Santo, where the hospital of the Tncurabiles 
 now stands; but his foundation or scheme not 
 succeeding, the brotherhood of Jesus translated 
 the priests to the hermitage of Saint Bias, where 
 they were commodiously lodged, but found them- 
 selves too distant from the brotherhood of Saint 
 Antonio Abad and that of Saint Bernard, which 
 also afforded shelter to invalided ancients ; they 
 therefore determined to give them the preference 
 to any of the other religious professions, and ac- 
 cordingly removed them from the hermitage of 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 135 
 
 Saint Bias to their own establishment. In 1675, 
 after having thus wandered from one place to an- 
 other, their present abode was fixed, and the 
 communion was administered to them in that year 
 by Diego del Castillo, Bishop of Cadiz. Don 
 Fustino de Neve contributed 250,000 ducats to 
 the erection of the present church and building, 
 near to the parish of Santa Cruz. The church of 
 the Venerabiles contained formerly two paintings 
 by Murillo ; one of Saint Ferdinand, the patron 
 saint, and the other a Conception, both of which 
 were taken away by the French, and the latter 
 fell into the possession of Marshal Soult at Paris. 
 The walls are covered with frescos of Lucas 
 Valdes, representing passages in the lives of the 
 saints and pontiffs; amongst the rest, the inter- 
 view of Frederic and Alexander the Third, in 
 which the pontiff is said to have placed his foot 
 on the neck of the prince; and the meeting of 
 Saint Leon and Attila. The original coloured 
 drawings of these, by their author, are in my pos- 
 session. A court planted with orange trees, and 
 a fountain, the descent to which is by circular 
 benches of azulejos, is worth attention; in other 
 respects there is little to be admired in this 
 church. 
 
 The hospital of Saint Martha stood close to 
 this spot, founded by Ferdinand Martinez of 
 Ecija, who instigated the people against the Jews. 
 It dates from 1395. He bequeathed it to the 
 
136 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 care of the chapter of the cathedral. At first the 
 poor were lodged there, but in 1500 the charity 
 was limited to giving daily rations, and the funds 
 of the establishment were managed by an eccle- 
 siastic. Ferdinand of Contreras lived and taught 
 theology in this hospital, amongst others to Diego 
 of Carmona, who from the condition of " seise," 
 or dancer before the Ark during the procession of 
 the Corpus, reached to the dignity of dean, dying 
 in 1556. The nuns of the Incarnacion, who were 
 removed from their convent, in the place called 
 " De Bastos," by the French, settled here, and at 
 present occupy some houses facing the cathedral. 
 
 The Royal Seminary of Saint Elmo stands 
 without the gate of Xerez, facing the public walks 
 of La Cristina. The site it occupies was formerly 
 a suburb, and had a bishop independent of that 
 of Seville, although on some occasions he exer- 
 cised only a suffragan authority. The origin of 
 this is thus accounted for. In 1219 some monks 
 of the order of Saint Francis went to Morocco to 
 preach the Gospel, and found many disposed to 
 embrace Christianity, who had no means of in- 
 struction. Gregory the Ninth, in 1237, despatched 
 thither a bishop, with the title of Apostolic Legate 
 to all Africa, who having been present at the 
 taking of Seville, the second bishop, Lope Fer- 
 nandez, a Franciscan, went to Rome, and was fur- 
 nished with a letter to the king of Morocco from 
 Innocent the Fourth, who charged also the Infant 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 137 
 
 Don Sancho, Archbishop Elect of Toledo, to 
 give him his protection, in order that he might be 
 in safety while in Spain. The archbishop ac- 
 cordingly allotted him the ground and building 
 hereabouts, which had been dedicated long before 
 to Saint Elmo, as well as a property in the farm 
 of Torre Blanca, which was independent property 
 belonging to himself. The bishops of Morocco 
 settled here in 1300, and remained until 1566, 
 when the Inquisitor-General Don Ferdinand Val- 
 des, Archbishop of Seville, solicited Pius the Fifth 
 for a transfer of the houses and land for the 
 benefit of the Holy Office. This was granted, 
 and in 1643 an inscription was placed on the con- 
 vent of Saint Elmo, stating that the whole pos- 
 session of that suburb had been given to the 
 Inquisition, the bishopric of Morocco having 
 ceased to exist. In 1683, however, its rents were 
 appropriated by government for forming a marine 
 college, and to this purpose Saint Elmo is now 
 applied. An attempt had been made previous- 
 ly at the University to establish a course of 
 instruction in navigation, but the building was 
 not sufficiently capacious for the purpose, the 
 number of pupils amounting to 150, and rooms 
 of every description being necessary for their ac- 
 commodation. The building, therefore, of Saint 
 Elmo, as it now stands, was commenced in 1683, 
 and remains still perfect. It is of the Plataresco 
 style, and profusely ornamented with spiral pil- 
 
138 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 lars, twisted cornices, flowers and leaves, in the 
 greatest confusion, over the portals and windows. 
 
 The Tobacco Manufactory is situated in this 
 parish. Rappe snuff is prepared here by cutting 
 the tobacco leaf fine in troughs, with double rows 
 of knives containing six blades fixed on a pivot, 
 each box or trough having seven of these cutters. 
 Cigars are made by the hand, each " atado " of 
 which contains fifty cigars, and some work-peo- 
 ple are capable of making twelve " atados" in a 
 day. The common sort are paid four and a half 
 quartos the " atado," the finer workmen a real. 
 3000 women and 1500 men are employed in this 
 manufactory ; it is so far, therefore, beneficial to 
 the town, but by the use of machinery much ex- 
 pense would be saved. The two entrance-courts 
 have fine Gothic fountains, which adorn their 
 centres, and rows of dismounted cannon are piled 
 against the exterior walls. In this immense pile 
 of building, occupying an extent of ground hardly 
 exceeded by any in Spain, unless perhaps the 
 Escurial, there are twenty eight courts ; on the 
 first floor a proportionate number of terraces* and 
 below warehouses and offices of every description. 
 When the foundations were dug, many antique 
 vases, lamps, and medals were found, little prized 
 by the vulgar, and consequently thrown away and 
 dispersed. The architect of this building was a 
 German named Wamderbar ; the date of its erec- 
 tion is 1757. It stands surrounded by a moat, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 139 
 
 with a strong wall, in length 211 Spanish yards, 
 in width 117, by more than twenty in height. 
 The north front, which is the principal one, and 
 forms the only communication with the town, is 
 entered by a small street called Saint Carlos, 
 built and serving for that purpose. The archi- 
 tecture of the entrance is of the composite or 
 mixed order, much adorned with relievos and royal 
 escutcheons, and surmounted by a figure of Fame. 
 The original cost of the building w T as £370,000 
 sterling. On an average, between mules and 
 horses, 150 animals are kept for its service. 
 
 The hospital del Rey no longer exists, but was 
 founded by Saint Ferdinand, or his son Alfonso, 
 for the military. The India Company of Spain 
 used to hold their meetings in the Alcazar, which 
 part of the building was burned down in 1604. 
 This body was removed to Cadiz in 1717 : it had 
 originated as a community, with its proper offi- 
 cers, in the year 1539. The College called 
 " Maese Rodrigo" was projected in 1472, by Don 
 Rodrigo de Santaella, Bishop of Saragoza, and 
 Canon of Seville cathedral ; but an authority for 
 its foundation had not been obtained when he 
 died, in the year 1509. He left the canon Gerón- 
 imo de Campos in charge of the undertaking, and 
 in 1516 scholars were first taught here. The 
 courses of study were in theology, civil law, phi- 
 losophy, and medicine, for all of which there 
 were professors. The proper name of this college 
 
140 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 was Mayor de Santa Maria de Jesus ; in some do- 
 cuments it appears under the name of " De las 
 Becas," being (with that of Saint Thomas) one of 
 the most remarkable and ancient in Seville. By 
 an act of Philip the Fourth to its protector the 
 Count Duque, dated 1623, the patent of nobility 
 was given to the scholars. 
 
 The Treasury stood in front of and within the 
 walls of the Alcazar. In the room for melting 
 metal was a small door, through which Saint Fer- 
 dinand used to pass when he prayed to the Vir- 
 gin de la Antigua, which had once fallen into 
 the hands of Mussulmans. We learn from history 
 that the Romans smelted in Seville ores of gold 
 and silver, which they brought from Aracena, 
 Aroche, Riotinto, and Calañas. Amongst the 
 ancient Spanish annals are found records of pri- 
 vileges granted to coiners ; and as originally they 
 had no fixed abode, the king, in 1310, allowed 
 them to settle in the Alcazar, and since the dis- 
 covery of the Americas their business became 
 very active. The Arsenals, built by Alfonso the 
 Learned, were worked in arches of brick, and now 
 serve for the Custom-house, and as a place of de- 
 posit of quicksilver. Each front wall measures 
 400 feet. It was here that the Romans built 
 their galleys. That the memory of the work might 
 not be lost, Alfonso placed the following inscrip- 
 tion in the foundation stones : — " Know, reader, 
 that the learned and pure in blood, Alfonso the 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 141 
 
 king, built this entire fabric." In these maga- 
 zines he kept timbers, and made vessels for his 
 intended conquest of Africa. The building con- 
 sisted of sixteen naves, and one of its towers was 
 called the Torre de la Plata. The Latin in- 
 scription was transferred to the gate of the church 
 of the Caridad, where it remained in rough Go- 
 thic characters. The products of the quicksilver 
 mines of Almadén were deposited in one of the 
 naves until transported to America, and duties 
 on its import and export were paid at the mole of 
 Seville, but since 3 742 they have been collected 
 in Cadiz. Some ancient papers existed here, 
 placed near the roof, in the middle of the last 
 century ; the only chronicler who mentions them 
 says, that although as a particular favour he had 
 been offered the perusal of them, yet "the weather 
 is very hot, the distance is great, and none would 
 appreciate the labour, nor read the account of 
 them, so let him do it who likes." The hospital de 
 las Tablas stood outside the wall of the Alcazar, 
 and was founded in 1543 by Don Pedro Pecador, 
 for succour of the poor, but in 1545 it was moved 
 to the present site of the Louja, and there con- 
 tained 100 beds for the destitute. Here it re- 
 mained for thirty years, until, in 1574, it was 
 named Nuestra Señora de la Paz, and placed in 
 the parish of Saint Salvador. 
 
 The " Granero del Obispo de Escalas" fronted 
 the Louja, and was built by Don Balthazar del Rio, 
 
142 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Bishop of Escalas, in 1539, as a granary for dis- 
 tribution of wheat to the poor, of which a thou- 
 sand fanegas were always kept ready. In 1590 
 the bishop died in Rome, and left this granary to 
 the care of the members of our Lady de la Conso- 
 lación, twelve of whom were to manage the 
 charity, having also solicited a chapel in the ca- 
 thedral, where he desired to be buried, and for 
 the adornment of which he bequeathed large 
 sums of money. It is seen to this day, and is one 
 of the most beautiful in the building. The gra- 
 nary was afterwards used as a public one by the 
 Chapter. The hospital of Saint Andrew, or of the 
 Flemings, stood opposite the college of Saint 
 Thomas, in the wall of the Alcazar. 
 
 The " Louja,"or Exchange, is another ornament 
 of this quarter of the city. The derivation of the 
 name is Greek, it being the custom of the an- 
 cients to sell publicly under a spear (as the word 
 Louja imports); the same signification is express- 
 ed by " Subasta." The work is owing to Philip 
 the Second, who was scandalized at the money- 
 changers and brokers holding their meetings, some 
 within the cathedral itself and others in its courts ; 
 in 1583 Herrera the architect received the com- 
 mission to erect an Exchange, and this splendid 
 building was the result ; now indeed deserted by 
 reason of the stagnation of commerce, but one that 
 would be creditable to the capital of any nation. 
 The staircase which leads to the galleries contain- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 143 
 
 ing the manuscripts of the colonial affairs is of 
 red Granada marble, spacious, elegant, and solid, 
 and reckoned one of the finest in Spain. In the 
 saloons a certain monotony reigns : they are re- 
 gular, and very plain, forming a quadrangle, each 
 side of the building occupying 200 feet, and hav- 
 ing three doors to each. The second story, built 
 by Cintora after the plan of Herrera, contains an 
 air-hung staircase in stone, well worthy of admi- 
 ration. The style of architecture is Tuscan, 
 similar to those described by Vitruvius : both 
 above and below the arches are in stone. The 
 court has a handsome fountain, and as you enter 
 to the main door, and ascend the marble steps, 
 there was a place separated by iron chains, in 
 which public auctions were held. A small mo- 
 nument to the back, near the cathedral, was 
 erected on occasion of the earthquake which 
 shook the cathedral in 1755. 
 
 The Dominican convent of St. Thomas con- 
 tained twenty- nine members, and serves as a col- 
 lege for the education of youth. It was founded 
 in 1517, by Archbishop Deza, for the instruction 
 of twenty scholars in Latin, logic, and theology; 
 the year after its foundation the Dominican 
 order, which was the most learned in Spain, with 
 the exception perhaps of the Jesuits, took it under 
 their patronage; and in 1547 Philip the Second 
 allowed those who graduated there for the eccle- 
 siastical profession, the same advantages and ex- 
 
144 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 emptions as were enjoyed by the students of Sala- 
 manca. The founder, ' Deza, was buried in the 
 church, and as dissenters were not admitted to 
 the lectures within this college, they heard them 
 in the chapel of St. Andrew, which was attached. 
 From the Dominican college came the picture by 
 Zurbaran, now in the cathedral, and from that of 
 St. Andrew the Crucifixion of the Saint, by Ro- 
 delas, now also in the cathedral, and the two 
 small pictures noticed hereafter, which are in the 
 possession of Mr. Wetherell. Under the Saint 
 Thomas were some beautiful little pictures by 
 Zurbaran, representing the martyrdom of Saints, 
 which are now hid away by some ecclesiastic, 
 who hopes perhaps that the pretender Don Carlos 
 may return, and restore what has been taken 
 away from his body of clergy ; and until thjs illu- 
 sion be dissipated, and years have passed away, 
 no one can hope to obtain possession of these 
 hidden treasures. Nicolas Antonio, one of the 
 best Sevillan writers, was educated in the college 
 of Saint Thomas. He was born in 1617, and 
 first dedicated himself to the study of the law. 
 His Bibliotheca Vetus, and Bibliotheca España, 
 have immortalized him, and are the most valuable 
 bibliographical and historical depositaries which 
 the country has produced. This writer died at 
 the age of 77, of epilepsy, alike distinguished for 
 learning and virtue. 
 Near to a small bye-gate called " Postigo del 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 145 
 
 Aceite," were public repositories for oil, and it 
 was usual to open this gate only at certain hours 
 after dinner-time, at two in winter and three in 
 summer. It was through this gate that the Moor- 
 ish king Axataf sallied forth to surrender the keys 
 of Seville to St. Ferdinand. It was called also 
 " de las Atarazanas," from being contiguous to 
 the dock-yards. This gate was repaired in 1753, 
 when the Count of Banajas was governor of Se- 
 ville. A repository for salt was contiguous, with 
 the arms of the town over the door ; some salt 
 pans having been left to the public by the will of 
 Doña Guiomar Manuel, who built the prison in 
 the street of the Sierpe. This lady died in 1426, 
 but probably the building was not erected until the 
 commencement of the sixteenth century. Allied 
 to the queen of Henry the Second, Doña Guiomar 
 Manuel was enabled by the possession of great 
 wealth to indulge in acts of charity, which were 
 congenial to her disposition, and the excellence 
 of her nature, combined with the influences of 
 religion, caused a wide diffusion of her beneficence. 
 She left an annual allowance to the convents of 
 Santa Maria la Real, Saint Leandro, and the 
 Dueñas, for prayers to be said over her tomb. 
 The public prison was supplied with water and 
 rebuilt by her aid, and large sums were also left 
 by her will for paving the streets of Seville, be- 
 sides a bequest to the town of the salt pits of 
 Saint Lucar de Barrameda, arid Utrera. She 
 
 l 
 
146 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 established a fund for the " difuntos," and made 
 bequests to all the convents of Seville. To the 
 prebendaries of the cathedral she allotted 2600 
 maravedis for their servants annually. Much of 
 her wealth also was bequeathed towards the con- 
 struction of the great chapel in the cathedral. 
 
 The Archiepiscopal Palace deserves a special 
 notice. The first situation of this building was to 
 the south of the cathedral, towards the Louja, to 
 the back of the chapel de la Antigua of the 
 cathedral ; and a door opened from it to the latter. 
 It was given by Saint Ferdinand, in 1251, to Xlay- 
 mundus, his confessor, Bishop of Segovia; but 
 was moved in the seventeenth century, probably 
 to the place it at present occupies, though I do 
 not find the exact date, but judge so from the 
 plateresco style of ornament with which the front 
 is covered. 
 
 There exist in the street of Abades, fronting 
 that of the Angeles, several subterraneous pas- 
 sages. They were discovered in 1298, and, with 
 the credulity of the times, passed for the lectur- 
 ing rooms of the Devil on Magic. Probably their 
 construction goes back to the most remote period, 
 and they may have been formed on the model of 
 the Cretan labyrinth. Peraza, in the third book 
 of his History of Seville, treats of these passages, 
 as well as of some others which are found in the 
 tower of Saint Nicolas. Zuniga quotes an ac- 
 count of them from an unpublished manuscript of 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 147 
 
 Caro, in the library of the college of St. Alberto ; 
 and after reducing all superfluous matter, the 
 substance of the narrative is here given, in order 
 that the reader may be made acquainted with 
 these curious habitations : — " The entrance to this 
 cave is a square of three feet in dimension, from 
 whence you descend by steps of half-a-yard in 
 height, having a half arch of brick in front : a 
 small window is seen after descending six of the 
 steps, in the wall, and then the arch gives a turn, 
 and after four or five more steps you meet with 
 another similar window; the stair continues al- 
 ways winding, until seventeen steps are passed, 
 when the half-arch turns to the left, and here 
 there is an orifice in the top of the arch, but for 
 what purpose it was intended is unknown : this 
 communicates with a chapel-shaped room, with a 
 dome, built of strong materials and stones, and to 
 the right there is a half-arch with a dome, and 
 two openings on each side of eighteen feet in 
 depth; following on to the right hand, a well 
 appears, ornamented with rockery work of mor- 
 tar ; on the left another half-arch of four feet and 
 a half wide, and the same in breadth, leads to 
 another room similar to the last, but rather wider, 
 and from this communication is made by five 
 small passages, not more than three feet wide, to 
 as many small chapels. On going to the left, the 
 arch is nine feet high and three wide, and at its 
 entrance are two very large stones, which are 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 affixed to the sides of the wall, one opposite the 
 other ; at the end of the passage is a ridge of rock 
 or stone, which requires the visitor to descend 
 two steps in order to pass it, and there are dis- 
 covered above a great number of strong arches, 
 which join together at the top, and continue to 
 an entresol; below which is another chapel, more 
 roughly constructed than the rest, of twelve palms 
 circumference ;" — but farther than this Caro did 
 not proceed. He however goes on to observe 
 that there are many other ramifications, which, 
 being obstructed by mortar, he could not visit ; 
 and that in other parts of Seville, particularly in 
 the houses of the Duke of Veraguas, near the 
 Corral, or court-yard, of Doña Elvira, this passage 
 recurs, serving as a drain for the Alcazar ; and 
 again between the cathedral and the Arquillo del 
 Atambor, which last having been opened by the 
 fall of its arches, emitted a strong gas, which 
 changed the colour of the clothes of the bystand- 
 ers, and drove them away by its fetid odour. 
 It remained open for a year, when a man was let 
 down, tied by a rope, to examine it ; but a flight 
 of bats extinguished the torch he held in his 
 hand while endeavouring to advance, and he was 
 compelled to return. 
 
 The church of St. Francis is interesting from 
 its containing a very fine Deposition of Christ, by 
 Roldan, which stands in the Capilla de los Viz- 
 cainos, the ornaments of which are by Herrera 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE, 
 
 149 
 
 the younger. I saw here a copy of the Death of 
 the First Inquisitor, who was assassinated while 
 at prayers. The original picture is by Murillo. 
 It passed from hence to Rome, and was subse- 
 quently sold in London to the Russian govern- 
 ment. The colouring, however, was not so rich 
 in this as in other pictures of Murillo. The in- 
 laid wood-work of the organ in the church is very 
 beautiful. The French took away a collection of 
 pictures by Murillo, in his early manner, which 
 stood in the small cloister of the convent, which 
 is now almost all taken down. The convent was 
 founded by St. Ferdinand, and contains the tombs 
 of the following nobles: Francisco de Zuniga, and 
 Guzman Marquis of Ayamonte, and his wife Doña 
 Teresa, daughter of the Duke of Medina Sidonia, 
 who died in 1525; and Doña Leonor Manrique 
 de Castro, Marchioness of Ayamonte, in 1536. 
 The former family founded the <f Capilla de los 
 Portugueses," where they lie ; and the latter the 
 middle chapel of the three which are under the 
 elevation of the great altar. The altar of Saint 
 Anne belonged to the family of Doña Juana de 
 Leiba, lords of Torralva in 1611. This is one of 
 the most interesting convent churches in Seville. 
 
 The college of Saint Isidorus, commonly called 
 of Saint Michael, stands near one of the south 
 towers of the cathedral bearing the latter name. 
 It was the most ancient place of public instruc- 
 tion in Seville, and was placed under the protec- 
 
150 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 tion of the archbishop. The dedication was to 
 Saint Isidorus, he being the first who formed col- 
 leges in Spain. Five ecclesiastics directed the 
 studies, which were, however, only elementary. 
 There were sixteen collegians, and six " seises," 
 the latter of whom assisted and sang in the cere- 
 monies of the Corpus. Isidorus, with all his cre- 
 dulity, was the author of some useful works, and 
 to him Christians are indebted for the Mozarabic 
 form of worship. This first Sevillan college was 
 placed in the convent of his name, near to Itálica. 
 At the death of the Archbishop Don Alonzo 
 Manrique, who maintained the College of Saint 
 Isidorus where it formerly stood, in 1538, the 
 Chapter of the Cathedral placed it near that edi- 
 fice, in a spot where existed a small church built 
 under ground, on the wall of which was painted 
 the figure of Saint Michael, a place of Christian 
 worship during the Moorish occupation of the 
 town; and from this circumstance the college 
 took its name. 
 
 The Tower of Saint Michael, or of the Admi- 
 ralty, is supposed to have been one of the city 
 gates under the Romans, since the wall ran from 
 where the bye-gate del Aceite now is, to this 
 same tower, in which are seen two doors, one to 
 the south, by which you enter a passage, from 
 whence, turning to the left, another arch presents 
 itself opening on the city ; and in ancient times 
 all the entrances were made in this way, not 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 151 
 
 direct, but tortuous, as may equally be observed 
 in the ancient gates of the Sol and the Ossario. 
 The Moors, when they built their mosque, threw 
 down the wall and part of the church of Saint 
 Michael, leaving only the chapel de la Antigua, 
 which now forms part of the cathedral. 
 
 The Audiencia Real was founded in 1556 by 
 Philip the Second, who had determined not to 
 allow a Sevillan to be chief magistrate of the 
 town, and that he who was chosen should pay a 
 thousand ducats yearly to maintain the officers ; 
 at the same time he separated the lieutenant- 
 generalship from the functions of chief magis- 
 trate — in former times the two were always 
 united ; and from hence we trace the offices of 
 captain-general and civil-governor of the present 
 day. Sancho Padilla was the first civil, and 
 Juan de Céspedes, of the family of Carrion, the 
 first military governor at this period. The Audi- 
 encia is a civil tribunal only. 
 
 The college of Saint Buenaventura, from whence 
 some fine pictures by Herrera and Zurbaran 
 passed to England and France, was composed of 
 fifty two ecclesiastics of the Franciscan order, 
 and was founded by Luis de Revolledo, for the 
 study of science and literature. It was first placed 
 in the street de la Mar in 1600,, but five years 
 afterwards was removed thence to that of the 
 Catalanes, where it afterwards remained. As the 
 members dedicated themselves to metaphysics, 
 
152 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 to theology, and the exposition of mysteries, the 
 title of " Propaganda fe" was applied to this 
 college. The subjects of the pictures by Herrera, 
 of which mention has been made, were passages 
 in the life of the saint. The Earl of Clarendon 
 has obtained possession, I believe, of three, and 
 Baron Taylor of two ; for although Zea Bermudez 
 mentions only four pictures by Herrera, there 
 were certainly more. The Zurbarans represented 
 passages in the life of the same saint, and of these 
 there were two or three, one of which Baron 
 Taylor purchased, and Lord Clarendon obtained 
 the rest. That of Baron Taylor was, it is said, 
 the best, the other or others being indifferent. 
 The Herreras were very fine, but the distance is 
 in general immense between that master and 
 Murillo, Velasques, or Zurbaran.* 
 
 Nothing has been said of the Quemadero, a 
 spot on which those condemned for heresy were 
 burnt. It was outside the town, near to and in 
 front of the convent of San Diego, close by the 
 Puerta de Xerez, being a square of fifty feet, two 
 yards high from the ground, and built of mortar. 
 
 * Lord Clarendon has obligingly informed the author that the 
 passages in the life of the saint, of which the pictures in his pos- 
 session are descriptive, are — I. The presentation of the Saint, 
 when a child, to San Francisco by his parents. — 2. His reception 
 in the convent. — 3. The miracle at the altar, when, the saint 
 deeming himself unworthy to receive the communion, an angel 
 descends from Heaven and gives him the wafer. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 153 
 
 At each corner were four columns of marble, to 
 which the guilty were tied, a fire being made in 
 the middle, and thus they were burnt to death. 
 The last poor creature who suffered death in this 
 way was a woman called the " Beata," prose- 
 cuted by the Inquisition in 1780 for encroaching 
 on the occupations of the feathered tribe, the 
 crime of which she was with all solemnity con- 
 victed being the laying of eggs ! Mr. Wetherell 
 is possessed of one of these columns, which con- 
 tains an Arabic inscription in Cufie characters, 
 as did the rest, they having been removed from 
 the tower of the Alcantarilla, or small drain, as 
 the word signifies in Spanish. Near this place 
 was the Horca de Tablada, or gibbet where cri- 
 minals were hanged ; and in 1456, a prebendary 
 of the cathedral, Pedro Martinez, was good enough 
 to square the gallows, placing for their accom- 
 modation four columns at right angles, so that 
 twelve persons might be hanged at once, four 
 between each pillar. The whole of this work 
 was destroyed in 1689, but it is useful to record 
 what has given rise to names, which are quoted 
 after their cause has ceased to exist, and which 
 not unfrequently determine topographical ques- 
 tions. 
 
 The Hermitage of Saint Sebastian was one of 
 the most ancient edifices of Christian worship, 
 and stood near this gallows, in a place called the 
 
154 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 " Alberca de los Genoveses," being a pond where 
 cattle drink, and consisted of a church with three 
 naves, a sacristy, garden, and other offices at- 
 tached, it was here the image de los Reyes was 
 worshipped when Saint Ferdinand laid siege to 
 Seville. During the time of the plague in 1649, 
 no less than 23,543 persons were buried in the 
 cemeterv. Within the church was a stone en- 
 graved with this sentence : — " Here are buried 
 two brothers, Gaspar and Balthasar, who slew 
 Blas de Chaves and Isabel Perez, for robbing the 
 fathers." Below are figures of keys, which re- 
 present, probably, those used by the criminals 
 for opening the hermitage to commit their theft. 
 The three last-mentioned places, the Quemadero, 
 the Horca de Tablada, and the Hermitage of 
 Saint Sebastian, are all in the Campo de Ta- 
 blada, a plain without the walls, which bore the 
 same name so far back as the year 827, as the 
 Bishop Don Rodrigo says in the following pas- 
 sage in the twenty-sixth chapter of his history of 
 the Arabs : — " Gentes autem in villain quae Ta- 
 blata dicitur, prope Hispalim, intraverunt, et Arabes 
 eos machinis inpugnantes, a Tablatá egredi coni- 
 pellerunt." And in the Historia General — " fué 
 en un altura que era ahi cerca de Sevilla, que 
 decian Tablada:" — this may mean some eminence 
 near the Tablada. The name is evidently of 
 Latin derivation, and was probably given to the 
 ground by the Romans. Here it was the alerce 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 155 
 
 trees grew (the name of which means in Hebrew 
 cedar). Three streams cross the Tablada ; the 
 first, the Guadayra ; the second, the Tamarquillo ; 
 and the third the Tagarete, which passes close to 
 the gate of Xerez, emptying itself into the ditch 
 of the fortifications, and running thence to the 
 river. The city wall, to the south from the Puerta 
 de Xerez to the Torre del Oro, is cut through in 
 various places, but there was once a gate near to 
 the tower of Alcantarilla, or small sewer, through 
 which Saint Ferdinand used to pass to pray to 
 the Virgin de la Antigua, which now corresponds 
 to the room where metal was smelted for the 
 mint, and has been stopped up with mortar, but 
 might be easily explored if those possessed of the 
 power to make such investigations had the incli- 
 nation to do so. The wall, from the Torre de la 
 Alcantarilla, proceeds to the Postigo del Carbon, 
 and from thence to the Postigo del Aceite, leaving 
 outside the Atarazanas, the old custom-house, 
 and the hospital de la Caridad : and from this 
 same tower a piece of wall, also with towers, 
 unites the Alcazar with the Torre del Oro. The 
 origin of the name of this last tower is doubtful ; 
 some say that it was the royal fortress for keep- 
 ing treasures, and thence took its name. Pedro the 
 Cruel put it to two uses, for he kept women there 
 as well as gold. Others affirm that it was called 
 del Oro, from being the point of disembarkation 
 of the wealth of the Indies. It is not, however, 
 
156 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 of Roman construction. Close by, between the 
 Torre del Oro and where the former mole stood, 
 was a very ancient crucifix of stone, which was 
 afterwards moved to the road leading from the 
 Puerta de Xerez to the convent of San Diego, 
 and in 1693 was built round with a wall for pro- 
 tection. The Postigo del Carbon was the work 
 of Alfonso the Learned, when he built his dock- 
 yards, or Atarazanas, in 1252, and was first 
 called Azacanes. After the discovery of the 
 Indies, the name of this bye-gate was changed to 
 the more dignified one of del Oro. In 1536, 
 Peru, which had been lately discovered, sent so 
 much gold to Spain, that ships were laden with it 
 having pure silver for ballast, and every passen- 
 ger brought 20,000 or 30,000 ducats with him ; 
 and twenty-seven carts were employed going and 
 coming to take the metals to the house of the 
 India Company. The more humble name of 
 Carbon was given to this gate, from the circum- 
 stance, in later times, of weights for weighing 
 charcoal having been placed there. In one of 
 the naves of the ancient dock-yards was contained 
 a description of the ship which sailed round the 
 world in three days, called the t( Victoria," and 
 which Pedro Mexias, in his Dialogues, says he 
 saw go and return by the river Guadalquivir : 
 perhaps this manuscript was amongst those which 
 are already mentioned as having been hidden in 
 the Atarazanas. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 157 
 
 The visitor to this city should not omit to see 
 an Arab room in the house of the widow Olea., si- 
 tuated in the street of La Botica de las Aguas. 
 It is nearly thirty feet square, by forty in height, 
 and surrounded by corridors, which serve for 
 living rooms. There are three horse-shoe arches 
 on one side and two on the others, with a door on 
 the left of the entrance ; on the two other sides 
 there are no doors. The tracery-work is very 
 pretty, and finer perhaps than that of the Alcazar. 
 The Spaniards had formerly covered it with plas- 
 ter, and in repairing the house, at the commence- 
 ment of the present century, it was accidentally 
 discovered on the ground floor, but all history of 
 it has perished. Bejarano, a painter, and father 
 of the present artist of that name, superintended 
 its reproduction to day. Many of the visitors to 
 Seville add to their drawings by taking away 
 sketches of it. Another house very near at hand, 
 which forms the corner of the two streets of 
 Abades Alta and Horno de las Brujas, on the left 
 hand as you ascend the Plaza de Segovia, has a 
 beautiful Arab court, the arches of which have 
 been loaded with Gothic ornaments, but the Arab 
 horse-shoe arches in the wall and sides are tapered 
 with much grace, aud less encumbered with ex- 
 traneous ornaments. The court is of considerable 
 size, and the rooms surrounding it are disposed 
 like those of the Arabs, and have some of their 
 architecture left. The largest opens on a garden, 
 
158 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 in which we saw an ancient sarcophagus, covered 
 with the labours of Hercules in demi-relief. It is 
 the residence of the canon Carrasca, and surprise 
 was depicted on the countenances of the family 
 when they saw our admiration of what was to 
 them so familiar, and apparently unworthy of at- 
 tention ; but to persons of taste the two last men- 
 tioned remains, the room and the court yard, are 
 exquisite specimens of art. Nothing is more 
 coarse than the entrance to the last of these ; for 
 the Moors studiously avoided then, and do to 
 this day, handsome exterior architecture in their 
 dwellings. 
 
 The Alcazar is next to be described. This 
 building appears to be a mixture of Roman, 
 Gothic, and Arabic architecture. Its original 
 date, according to inscriptions, was in the year 
 1181. Its entrance is under a mean archway 
 crowned with diminutive battlements, scarcely 
 exceeding in dignity the sham defences to be 
 seen in villas between Chatham and London. 
 A court yard is passed, and then a square door 
 presents itself, with Arabic tracery work above, 
 and higher up are three Arab windows, each 
 divided in the middle by a small marble pillar. 
 This court is called " De la Montería/' from 
 having once had the figures of objects of the 
 chase painted or carved on the sides, and being 
 the place where the huntsmen waited for the 
 king; it is a main entrance, from whence you 
 
THE ALCAZAR. 
 
 159 
 
 reach a gallery divided by marble pillars, formed 
 in an angle of the building called " El Apeadero," 
 where the kings used to mount in carriages or on 
 horseback; hence you proceed to another small 
 Patio,, and thence to a terrace,, on one side laid 
 out with a large reservoir of water, on the other 
 with old fashioned beds of mould filled with box 
 plants. In vaults contiguous are baths, named 
 after Maria Padilla, wife of Pedro the Cruel, but 
 probably of Moorish construction. The city walls 
 enclose the various pleasure grounds, join the Al- 
 cazar, and extend down to the river side ; from 
 the top of which an agreeable view is obtained 
 of the surrounding country. They formerly 
 united to the Torre del Oro, to which fortress 
 Pedro ravished Doña Aldonca Coronel, the sister 
 of Doña Maria, who had retired to the convent 
 of Santa Clara, and was afterwards allowed to 
 return thither, but with no small diminution of 
 her good name ; from thence she retired with 
 her sister to the convent of Santa Ines, of which 
 she subsequently died abbess. In the garden 
 which communicates with the baths are two 
 shafts of Roman columns, surmounted by leaden 
 figures of a fawn and Terpsichore. We here meet 
 with various gardens, planned and laid out at 
 different periods ; the flags of some are perforated, 
 so that showers of water spring from their surface 
 on the startled passenger, at the will of the gar- 
 
160 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 dener, who turns a key. A brazen figure blows 
 a trumpet, which sounds from the pressure of 
 water on the atmospheric air conducted through 
 a narrow tube. A labyrinth of myrtle, in one of 
 the divisions, has now become transparent from 
 age, but was doubtless intricate enough when 
 young. You are shown the Garden of the Lion, 
 and a supper-house of Charles the Fifth, faced by 
 a terrace, and flanked by a magnificent enclosure 
 of orange trees ; parterres of box wood are cut 
 into every shape and form, and one rustic house 
 is surrounded by a Lilliputian canal, recalling to 
 memory the tea and smoking pavilions of Hol- 
 land. The great irregularity of these pleasure 
 grounds — the flights of stone steps — the covered 
 gallery of the city walls, which is at every step 
 opened by windows and balconies to the sky, and 
 adorned with rock work — the bits of Arab archi- 
 tecture and tiled masonry which are seen scattered 
 about on every wall — the rows of orange trees 
 which screen the walks, and are trained to flat 
 sides of building — the abrupt and broken benches, 
 cased in sweet-smelling flowers, and the large 
 quantity of geraniums, myrtles, limes, oranges, 
 roses, pinks, lavender, lilac and mignionette, 
 which grow together in beds, — all produce an 
 effect by their sight and odour, which, added to 
 the heat of the weather and the brilliancy of the 
 sky, almost bewilders the attention and overpowers 
 
THE ALCAZAR. 
 
 161 
 
 the senses of the visitor, who, half intoxicated, is 
 glad to repose on the stone seats of the terrace. 
 
 The total number of rooms in this palace is 
 eighty-four. The Sala de los Ambajadores served 
 the Moorish princes for their seraglio. It is fifteen 
 yards square, by three times its width in height. 
 Don Pedro, in the worst possible taste, adorned 
 and destroyed the Arab work with portraits of 
 the Gothic kings ; his example has been followed 
 in the succeeding generations, and we see the 
 whole dynasty of Spain compressed into little 
 squares, from the earliest king down to the hi- 
 deous Ferdinand. The pavement of this room is 
 of marble, the ceiling is gilt, and the pannelling 
 of the wainscots is formed of painted tiles. The 
 gallery which runs round the city wall is bedaubed 
 with fresco paintings, but they are very indiffer- 
 ent. Another entrance to this palace is called 
 the " Puerta de las Banderas," before which stood 
 the tribunal of Don Pedro, whence he adminis- 
 tered justice. This is to the back of the Apea- 
 dero, and communicating with it. The tribunal 
 consisted of a large stone chair, covered by a roof 
 supported by four columns, and to which the king- 
 mounted by stone steps. A door from the build- 
 ing communicates with the ancient riding-school. 
 From thence you reach a patio, 100 feet long by 
 forty-five wide, and pass forwards to the long gal- 
 lery, called the " Apeadero," which by private 
 doors communicates with other parts of the build- 
 
 m 
 
162 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 ing. The ceilings of the Alcazar are very beau- 
 tiful. The principal patios are those already 
 mentioned, and the following : that called of the 
 " Sacrificio," where Pedro the Cruel caused his 
 brother Don Fadrique to be murdered; here a 
 red stone is shown, and the credulous are told, 
 as in a similar manner at Holyrood in Scotland, 
 that the stain of the victim's blood has never been 
 effaced. We next remark that of Maria Padilla, 
 which is above her baths, and then the largest 
 patio, whose marble columns support beautiful 
 Arabesque work. Pedro is supposed to have 
 brought much of the variegated marble pillars 
 seen in the Alcazar from the palace of Don Pedro 
 of Arragon, in Valencia, when he took that town. 
 This prince was truly a monster of cruelty, if we 
 are to judge only by his actions, without the Je- 
 suitical apology which some of his advocates plead 
 in his behalf, that he only treated others as they 
 would have treated him. With his first and law- 
 ful wife, Doña Maria la Blanca, he passed only 
 one night; the following year, in 1354, he mar- 
 ried Doña Juana de Castro, divorcing Doña Maria, 
 and with her too he passed only one night, leaving 
 her pregnant of Don John of Castile, who, from 
 the unhappy circumstances of his birth, passed 
 his future days in confinement, his claim to the 
 throne being obnoxious to all. Doña Maria la 
 Blanca was subsequently imprisoned in various 
 places, first at Toledo, then at Siguenza, and 
 
THE ALCAZAR. 
 
 163 
 
 lastly near Xerez, where the tower she inhabited 
 is still seen,, her tomb being in the Franciscan 
 convent of that town. Whilst abandoned in To- 
 ledo by her husband, the town revolted, when it 
 was understood that he wanted to take her again 
 and slay her. This princess was great-grand- 
 daughter of Saint Louis of France, and her mar- 
 riage with the king took place in 1352. He put 
 her to death in 1361, by the hand of Juan Perez 
 Rebolledo, one of his archers, in Medina Sidonia ; 
 Inigo Ortiz de las Cuevas, to whom she was en- 
 trusted for safe keeping, having honourably re- 
 fused to comply with the barbarous order. The 
 execution of Samuel Levi, the confidential Jew 
 treasurer of Don Pedro, took place the year be- 
 fore the murder of his wife, the poor Hebrew 
 being first tortured in order to extract from him 
 a disclosure of his treasures. 
 
 After the death of Doña Maria la Blanca, Pedro 
 declared Maria Padilla to be his real wife, an 
 engagement, as he asserted, having passed be- 
 tween them before he married Maria la Blanca ; 
 and the marriage of the second, Doña Juana, was 
 obviously illegal. Some writers say that Maria 
 Padilla bewitched Pedro, but it is in truth a re- 
 deeming virtue in his character to have loved this 
 woman, who was handsome in person and vir- 
 tuous in character. To the truth of this marriage 
 he brought many witnesses, and made his will in 
 favour of her offspring. Two years before he was 
 
 m 2 
 
164 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 slain, in 1379, by his bastard brother Don En- 
 rique, he burned in the old Alameda Doña Uraca 
 Usorio, mother of two of his best generals, the 
 Guzmans, of whom the tomb is seen in Saint 
 Isidorus del Campo, close to Itálica, in order to 
 possess himself of her wealth ; and it is worthy 
 of record that her servant, Leonor Dábalos, seeing 
 the body of her mistress in the flames, and inde- 
 cently exposed, threw herself upon it, and shared 
 her death in order to save her modesty — an ac- 
 tion of devotion not exceeded in any annals of 
 the most heroic times, even amongst the more 
 courageous sex of men. The tombs of the two 
 are placed together, and the fidelity of the servant, 
 although unhonoured by a monument, is rewarded 
 by the admiration of posterity. The barbarous 
 disposition of Pedro may be gathered from the 
 circumstance of his having feasted before the dead 
 body of his brother when he lay slain, and of his 
 having sacrificed at Toledo, which had revolted 
 against his authority, a youth of eighteen, who 
 offered himself for his father, an aged man of 
 fourscore, who had been condemned to death. It is 
 supposed that Fadrique had intrigued with Doña 
 Blanca, of which connexion a son, Alfonso, was 
 the fruit, and that this perfidy induced his brother 
 to assassinate him. Pedro plundered for the 
 churches as well as for himself, and the rich 
 tombs of Saint Ferdinand, of his mother Doña 
 Beatriz, and Alfonso the Learned, his son, were 
 
THE ALCAZAR. 
 
 165 
 
 all paid for with the money he extracted in 1356 
 from the merchants of Seville. He repaired and 
 embellished the church of Saint Paul, in gratitude 
 for recovery from a fit of sickness in the first year 
 of his reign ; the Madonna" of the Fevers," which 
 was the complaint he suffered from, was therefore 
 worshipped there. An anecdote is related of his 
 having killed a person in the street, as he thought 
 unobserved, and that the testimony of an old 
 woman, who heard the clashing of the swords 
 and the noise Pedro made in walking, convicted 
 him as the author of the murder. The king, 
 having always justice on his lips, however much 
 he disregarded it in his actions, replied — " Well, 
 if I am a murderer, fix up a stone likeness of my 
 head, for you cannot take the real one." This 
 was accordingly done, and placed in the spot 
 where the deed was committed, namely, the 
 tft Calle del Candilejo, 5 ' as it is yet called, and 
 where the head of Don Pedro is still seen. 
 
 History, whether it exaggerates, like contem- 
 porary fame, the good and the evil of its subjects, 
 or whether it is within its province justly to judge 
 the dead, has given a ruthless character to the 
 Sevillan King Don Pedro, not exceeded by that 
 of Nero or Caligula. After the slaughter of his 
 brother Don Fadrique, the page who attended 
 him flew for refuge to the chamber of Doña Maria 
 Padilla, and seized and held up in his arms for 
 protection her infant child. The father stabbed 
 him in that position, The Moorish embassy from 
 
166 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Grenada, with which he was then at peace, were 
 also slaughtered in the Tablada, a plain already 
 described, which lies to the back of the present 
 tobacco manufactory. He was, however, the 
 embellisher of this palace ; but for him, perhaps, 
 one of the famous monuments of Spain would be 
 merely a heap of ruins, and on that account alone 
 we feel an interest in the history of this cruel 
 man. He endowed churches, although reckless 
 of religion, and affords a proof that wickedness, 
 like virtue, is only comparative, and that it is 
 as rare to find a human being irredeemably bad 
 as altogether good. 
 
 A traditional history is current, that Cortes 
 was imprisoned in a lower room, with a double 
 grated window, in the Patio de la Contratación 
 of the Alcazar, and that Columbus, after the dis- 
 covery of America, was also conñned in the prison 
 of the Contratación, or india House, as we should 
 call it. 
 
 Before Arjona the Intendant, in 1829, formed 
 the gardens of the Delicias and the Cristina, 
 the neighbourhood of Seville was little better 
 than a large dung-hill, embellished with some 
 fine trees, and consequently the gardens of the 
 Alcazar were more regarded at that time, and 
 considered more magnificent than at present ; 
 but since a modern distribution of its grounds has 
 taken place, its square and confined walls are 
 deserted for the more capacious and interesting 
 resorts of its modern embellisher. 
 
( 167 ) 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL AND ITS 
 PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 The cathedral of Seville stands on the south side 
 of the city, and is built on unequal ground, so that 
 towards the east and south it is level with the pave- 
 ment, but in other parts it is ascended to by a flight 
 of steps. A range of marble columns, near seven 
 feet high, runs round the building — probably 
 Roman, and which had a place in the former 
 Moorish edifice. They are 100 in number, equal 
 in size and shape, and united at the tops with 
 bands of iron. The circumjacent buildings to the 
 north and west are not calculated to embellish 
 the site of this magnificent temple ; but to the 
 south is the Exchange, or " Louja," a very fine 
 building, in which are deposited the archives of 
 the Indies ; to the east also its original view has 
 been improved, a number of mean edifices having 
 been removed in 1792, which hid the sight of the 
 Archiepiscopal Palace ; hence it is by no means 
 so confined on that side as on the others. The 
 architecture of the cathedral is of all classes — 
 Arabic, Gothic, the " Plateresco," and the Greek 
 Roman. Although all these are jumbled together, 
 and an abominably unsightly " grand entrance" 
 
168 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 has been recently attempted (though, fortunately, 
 not finished) by a Sevillan architect, Cano, and a 
 good deal of the outside walls are left rough, ne- 
 vertheless, of all the cathedrals I have seen, this is 
 the one which, upon the whole, has most pleased 
 me in Europe ; for from without, its construction 
 recalls many interesting epochs of the world, and 
 within are specimens of the finest Spanish masters 
 in art. The horse-shoe Arabic arch, and the pillared 
 windows of the east, predominate in what is called 
 the Giralda, or tower of Gever, which was built 
 in the year 1000 by a Moor, who used it as an 
 observatory. It was in his time only 250 feet 
 high : four brazen balls, which stood on the top, 
 fell down in the earthquake of 1395, and were 
 replaced by a gilt weathercock, shaped as a har- 
 poon. In 1568, Ferdinand Ruiz, an architect, 
 raised it one hundred feet higher, which was then 
 considered a hazardous attempt. The entrance 
 of this tower is very narrow, but it widens in the 
 course of the ascent : the form is a quadrant, of 
 fifty feet diameter. In the different windows are 
 twenty-five bells of various sizes, and in the 
 dome hang six large ones with clappers. Where 
 the bells end, the Christian part of the work be- 
 gins ; and in the first tier stands the accurate 
 clock made by the Franciscan friar, Joseph Cor- 
 dero, in the middle of the eighteenth century. It 
 is audible all over the town, but strikes only the 
 hours ; its bell is placed in the story above, 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 169 
 
 which is formed with Doric pillars ; on the ex- 
 terior frieze are the following Latin words, dis- 
 tributed round the four faces after this manner — 
 "Turris — Fortissnna — Nomen- — DNI. — Prov. 8." 
 The third story is Ionic, and spherical ; upon it is 
 placed a statue of Faith, in gilt bronze, which 
 revolves upon a globe of the same metal, serving 
 as a weathercock. It is fourteen feet high, and 
 is the work of Bartholomew Morel, who in 1568 
 copied it from a design by Luis de Vargas, the emi- 
 nent painter, whose frescos adorned the Moorish 
 exterior, and the intercolumniations of the lower 
 part. These, owing to the carelessness of the 
 mason in preparing their cement, and exposure 
 to the weather, have almost altogether faded. 
 The subjects were the Saints, the Apostles, the 
 Evangelists, the Doctors of the Church, and va- 
 rious martyrs and confessors of the diocese. On 
 the north side the subjects are, figures of Saint 
 Isidorus and Saint Leander, the sainted sisters 
 Justa and Rufina, and an Annunciation, which 
 have been restored by an unskilful hand ; but of 
 the others little save the lines are left. Below 
 is a Latin inscription by Pacheco, the father of 
 the painter. In the Patio de Naranjos, or " Place 
 of Orange Trees," no Moorish architecture re- 
 mains save solid walls, which extend from east 
 to west, from the tower to the new sacristy ; 
 they belonged originally to the mosque of Abu 
 Jacob, built in 1171, which was since connected 
 
170 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 to and incorporated with the cathedral by Fer- 
 dinand, after he conquered Seville : they are 
 similar to those of the mosque in Cordova. One 
 to the north, Vargas painted with the procession 
 to Mount Calvary ; but this fresco is entirely lost. 
 The arches of iron work which form the gate del 
 Perdón are also Moorish. The arabesque work 
 of this gate was modelled by Bartholomew Lopez, 
 in 1519, and the sculptor Michael Florentin 
 executed the two large statues of Saint Peter 
 and Saint Paul, which stand on either side of the 
 door, besides the Annunciation above, and the 
 tablet of Christ driving the money changers from 
 the Temple, which crowns the arch. The Patio 
 is 455 Spanish feet one way by 350 another, a 
 Spanish foot being rather less than an English 
 one. It is planted with orange trees, and has a 
 fountain in the centre, which, with the lofty and 
 massive walls around, give it an agreeable cool- 
 ness in the warm weather. It is bounded to the 
 west by the new sacristy, to the north by the old 
 sacristy, the gate del Perdón, a lodging-room for 
 the youngest curate of the sacristy, and a ware- 
 house for church furniture ; to the east, a gallery 
 covered with offices, another gate, and the chapel 
 de la Granada, and to the south the cathedral, 
 form its boundaries. In front of the last-named 
 chapel was placed a good picture by Pacheco, 
 representing the Virgin of the Conception. The 
 portrait of Michael Cid, author of Couplets which 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 171 
 
 were sung at the celebration of this mystery, on 
 the nights of the Rosario, is introduced in it ; but 
 a few years ago the painting disappeared. Above 
 is the Columbian library, which consists of 
 10,000 volumes and manuscripts left by Ferdinand, 
 the son of the famous navigator, indeed which 
 he describes as double the above number ; but 
 perhaps he counted several tracts in one volume, 
 and in the delay of a law suit, in which the chap- 
 ter of the cathedral was involved, relating to the 
 bequest, many were lost or misappropriated. Don 
 Joseph Aranjo, a canon, afterwards added to the 
 collection. In this room we find a series of por- 
 traits of the Bishops of Seville, from the conquest 
 to the present time, and a half-length portrait of 
 Saint Ferdinand, by Murillo. A marble tablet, 
 taken from the pavement of the cathedral when 
 it was repaired, is placed on the side of the stair- 
 case wall, which represents Don Iñigo Mendoza, 
 the chaplain of Ferdinand and Isabella, who died 
 in 1497, stretched upon cushions in his pontifical 
 robes. It is supposed to be from the hand of 
 Michael Florentin, who executed also the bust of 
 the Archbishop Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, 
 who died five years after his cousin Don Iñigo. 
 In a small edifice on the right as you enter the 
 Puerta del Perdón, called the meeting-room of the 
 brotherhood of the Santissimo del Sagrario, a paint- 
 ing by Herrera el Mozo (or the Younger) appears, 
 representing the doctors of the church writing 
 
172 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 the mysteries of the Eucharist and the Concep- 
 tion. The price paid for this picture when the 
 master painted it, was one hundred pounds. 
 Mateas Arteaga painted other works on the sub- 
 ject of the Sacrament, as well as the portrait of 
 Ferdinand Mata, which is over the door. An 
 infant Jesus, executed by Montañés in 1607, was 
 formerly seen here, but has disappeared like the 
 picture of Pacheco. 
 
 In describing the paintings of the Cathedral, 
 we will take the four sides separately. Entering 
 the Puerta Campanilla, and descending that side, 
 we have the following chapels from east to west. 
 First, the chapels of Saint Philip and Santiago, 
 which contain nothing remarkable ; next comes 
 that of the Mariscal, which being traversed, opens 
 upon the saloon of the Anticabildo, and thence to 
 a patio, in which are placed some ancient inscrip- 
 tions. The Capilla del Mariscal contains an altar- 
 piece by Pedro Campana ; the portraits of the 
 founders of the chapel are painted below, divided 
 into male and female figures, and are reckoned 
 amongst the best of this painter's works. They 
 are quarter lengths of the size of life, showing the 
 bust to the bosom, the hands in some of them 
 appearing crossed in prayer, but the elbows are 
 not taken in. The subjects of the painting in 
 the altar are, on the one side, the Circumcision, 
 Christ curing the Paralytic, a Crucifixion, the 
 Virgin clothing Saint Ildefonso : on the opposite 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 173 
 
 side, Saint lago attacking the Moors; Saint Fran- 
 cis and Saint Domingo are above. The following 
 chapels then succeed : first, the Sacristia Mayor 
 (the pictures in which shall be described here- 
 after), Saint Andres, and the Cálices. In the 
 sacristy of the latter are to be seen, the Virgin de 
 la Servilleta, which came from the Franciscan 
 convent, and a small Saint Dorothea ; the former 
 is among the finest works of Murillo ; in point of 
 colouring the latter did not please me : also two 
 fine Saints by Zurbaran, of the order of Santo Do- y 
 mingo, from the suppressed convent of that name 
 without the town. From thence we pass to 
 where the cathedral clock stands. The chapels 
 here are dedicated to the Misterio de la Concep- 
 tion ; in one is a picture by Peter Fernandez 
 Guadalupe., of the Entombment of Christ, which 
 possesses little merit ; while contiguous to it, in 
 the other chapel, Luis de Vargas painted the 
 Generation of Christ, who appears as a naked 
 figure seated on the ground ; above and around 
 him are groups of angels and doctors of the 
 church ; the figure of death is crouched under 
 part of a rock on which our Saviour is seated. 
 These two pictures form the centre of two altars, 
 and many smaller works encircle them ; in that 
 of Vargas, called " the Gamba," from the power 
 with which the leg and foot of our Saviour are 
 drawn and painted, we see two portraits of 
 founders or benefactors of the chapel. The im- 
 
174 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 mense figure of Saint Christoval, in fresco, carry- 
 ing the Child, appears on one side of the wall. 
 A door beneath the clock leads to the patio, 
 where is the treasury. Next comes the Capilla 
 de la Antigua, in the sacristy of which is a very 
 fine Morales, representing Christ, who forms the 
 centre, and the Virgin and Saint John the sides, 
 of an oratory; but unfortunately it has been 
 washed. I saw here also a good Valdes, repre- 
 senting a bishop in the centre, communing with 
 the Magdalen and her mother. Anachronisms 
 are so frequent among the Spanish masters, that 
 one should never be surprised at the jumbling 
 together of figures separated in history by many 
 centuries. There are also in this sacristy some 
 pictures of the school of Zurbaran. The chapels 
 of Saint Hermenegildus, Saint Joseph, Santa 
 Ana, and the Nacimiento, contain the paintings 
 which have been brought from other convents, 
 and which are noticed in a subsequent chapter, 
 but have nothing remarkable of their own. The 
 last chapel, however, contains a famous altar by 
 Luis de Vargas, the centre picture of which is 
 not inferior to any of the master's works. It re- 
 presents the visit of the shepherds with offerings ; 
 there are nine figures, nearly of the size of life, 
 with several animals, amongst the rest a steer, 
 which is beautifully painted ; the figure also of 
 one of the countrymen kneeling is most forcible 
 and natural. The Holy Father above, in a glory, 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 175 
 
 is looking down upon the scene. Round it are 
 several smaller pictures, of a Circumcision, and 
 Kings offering Presents (in which are introduced 
 beautiful specimens of both landscape and archi- 
 tecture), an Annunciation, and the Four Evan- 
 gelists : these last are a third the size of life. 
 
 Proceeding from the gate of Saint Michael to 
 that of the Baptism, from south to north, the fol- 
 lowing chapels present themselves. The chapel 
 of Saint Augustin, and that of the Angel del 
 Custodio (in the altar of which is a slightly- 
 painted, but very beautiful Murillo, of a youthful 
 angel conducting a little child by the hand ; both 
 figures convey an expression of infant innocence). 
 We here meet with the great entrance, which is 
 unfinished, and of detestable mixed Gothic. The 
 next chapel is that of the Consolación, where 
 appears a Holy Family, with the two portraits 
 below of the founder, and signed Tobar, 1720. 
 Then we come to a small chapel of the Niño de 
 Dios ; thence to the chapel of Saint Leander, and 
 afterwards to the Oratory of Saint Peter, and the 
 Puerta del Bautismo. Between this latter and 
 the entrance to the Sagrario are two small chapels, 
 one of Saint Hieronimus, and the other of the 
 Jacomes ; the latter contains a picture by Ro- 
 delas ; in the former is an altar by Villegas, the 
 composition of which represents a meeting be- 
 tween Saint Isabel and the Virgin, surrounded by 
 other paintings, which are, the Baptism of Christ, 
 
17G DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 a Saint Sebastian, and five figures in three com- 
 partments, of founders and benefactors to the 
 chapel. A Saint Blasius, crowning the whole, 
 appears with a glory of angels. Villegas was a 
 native of Seville, and studied in Italy at the com- 
 mencement of the sixteenth century. A doubt 
 exists whether he instructed Vargas, or was a 
 pupil of that master ; but they must have been 
 contemporary, as the best time of Vargas was 
 about the middle of that century. The latter 
 died in 1590, aged seventy-two years: Villegas 
 died at the age of eighty-seven, seven years after 
 Vargas, and was buried in the parish church of 
 Saint Lawrence at Seville. He never, however, 
 reached the excellence of Vargas. In reference 
 to the painting before described, where the leg of 
 the Christ is so beautifully drawn by Vargas, 
 Verez Alesio, who painted the gigantic Saint 
 Christoval close by, is said to have remarked, 
 (( Your leg is worth the whole body of my Saint 
 Christoval." This picture has been called the 
 representation of Adam and Eve, on awaking to 
 a sense of nakedness in the garden of Eden ; 
 others say it is the temporal generation of Christ. 
 Indeed, like many other allegorical representa- 
 tions, it is not easy to determine what it means ; 
 for modern figures, in the habits of cardinals, are 
 introduced; and it seems of the peculiar class found 
 in this school of painting. I should be more in- 
 clined, however, to consider it symbolical of the 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 177 
 
 temporal generation of Christ, from the figure of a 
 Virgin in the sky. In the chapels from the Puerta 
 del Sagrario to the Puerta de la Torre, are placed 
 some of the finest paintings of the cathedral. In 
 the first, that of the Bautismo, is the famous Saint 
 Anthony of Murillo. The saint is represented 
 kneeling before a table ; the Child of God is ad- 
 vancing in the sky to meet him, surrounded by 
 angels. This picture is near twenty feet in height, 
 by about half the same in width, and is classed 
 amongst the painter's capital works. Above is a 
 fine Baptism, by the same hand. Murillo received 
 J 0,000 reals for painting it, which would be now 
 equivalent to near one thousand pounds sterling. 
 In the next chapel, that of the Scala, there is no- 
 thing remarkable, but in that of Saint lago is 
 presented one of the master-pieces of Rodelas. 
 Saint lago is seen galloping over the Moors on 
 his war-horse. From the circumstance of Rode- 
 las not having been so forcible a colourist as 
 Murillo, it often happens that his paintings, 
 loaded as they almost always are with the dust 
 and dirt of two centuries, do not attract the at- 
 tention of a superficial observer; but when fa- 
 voured by a good light, and carefully examined, 
 they will be found amply to merit the praise 
 which has been bestowed upon them by those 
 who have given them an attentive examination. 
 Violet, ochery, and pale colours prevail a good 
 deal, and there are no very strong contrasts of 
 
 N 
 
178 DESCRIPTION ÜF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 light and shadow in the pictures of this master ; 
 but the expression of the faces, and the drawing, 
 are always masterly, and in point of composition 
 Rodelas stands in the first class of the Spanish 
 masters, though composition is the department of 
 science in which the Sevillan school is weakest. 
 Velasquez, Murillo, and particularly Zurbaran, 
 did not generally introduce many figures in their 
 pictures, nor did they seek much for ideal beauty 
 in those they employed. They were satisfied 
 with copying nature : yet, poor as Zurbaran was 
 in his groups, where do we find a painter who has 
 much surpassed him in the line of art in which 
 he excelled, that of making every figure appear 
 a real one ? In the following chapel, of San Fran- 
 cisco, the large picture of the Beatification of the 
 Saint is by Herrera el Mozo, and is the best picture 
 by him to be found in Seville. He was in gene- 
 ral a weak imitator of Murillo in figures, and had 
 nothing of his father's sturdiness of design and 
 expression ; his landscapes, however, are warm 
 and agreeable, and it may be observed that he 
 was as well paid as Murillo when living, for he 
 received the same sum for the painting of the 
 Doctors writing the Mysteries of the Eucharist, 
 and the Conception, as the latter did for his Saint 
 Anthony. The new organ of the cathedral (for 
 there are two) faces this chapel : Valentin, a Spa- 
 niard now employed at Cadiz, w r as its maker. 
 We next arrive at the Puerta del Patio de los 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 179 
 
 Naranjos, on one side of which is placed the cha- 
 pel of the Virgin of Belem, with a picture of her 
 and the Child, covered with glass, painted by 
 Cano, and classed among his fine works ; and on 
 the other the chapel of Saint Augustin. To the 
 Capilla de las Doncellas succeeds that of the 
 Evangelists, where a large altar-piece displays 
 the disgusting Gothic figures of Sturmius. Then 
 follows the Capilla del Pilar, and on each side of 
 the Puerta de la Torre are the chapels of the Ma- 
 dalena and the Puebla, which present nothing re- 
 markable. The pictures in the Puebla appear to be 
 from the hand of Alonzo Vasquez. From hence, 
 taking the fourth side from west to east, from the 
 Puerta de la Torre to the Puerta de la Campa- 
 nilla, we have three chapels : first, that of Saint 
 Peter, the altar of which is filled with paintings 
 by Zurbaran on wood, containing the following 
 subjects: — In the middle picture the Saint is seen 
 seated in his pontifical robes ; those at either side 
 are, the Vision of the Unclean Animals, and the 
 Saint weeping for his Sins. In the second tier is 
 the Angel in the Prison with Peter, and the Ap- 
 parition of Christ when Peter fled from Rome ; 
 between which is a Conception of the Virgin ; 
 and in the bench of the altar-piece the Confession 
 of Peter before the other Apostles, his Hesitation 
 on the Sea, and the miracle of the Cripple in the 
 Gate of the Temple. These are considered good 
 pictures of the master, but they are placed so as 
 
 n 2 
 
180 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 to be but indistinctly seen, and it requires time 
 before the subjects can be made out and under- 
 stood. They are very finely coloured. The next 
 chapel is that " de los Reyes," or of Saint Ferdi- 
 nand, in which we find no paintings ; but oppo- 
 site to it, on the walls of the sacristy of the great 
 altar, are three, — the Entombment, the Casting 
 Lots for Christ's Garments, and his Descent from 
 the Cross, — of the Italian school, and of but in- 
 different merit. In the Sala Capitular, which 
 you reach through the Capilla del Mariscal, are 
 eight oval pictures of Saints, by Murillo, and a 
 Conception, painted on wood, which is a large 
 and fine picture. The former are the tutelary 
 saints of Seville : on one side Justa, Hermenegil- 
 dus, Isidorus, Ferdinand ; on the other Rufina, 
 Leander, Laureanus, and Pius. On entablatures 
 below are some free yellow pictures by Céspedes, 
 who was at once painter, sculptor and architect, 
 born in the year 1538. In Italy he adopted the 
 pallet and the brush, although his education was 
 more calculated to fit him for literary pursuits 
 than artistical eminence, as we find him in 1556 
 engaged in studying the oriental languages at 
 Alcalá de Henares. In Rome he worked in the 
 churches of the Anunciata and the Trinita del 
 Monte, on fresco, and made a hand for the an- 
 cient statue of Seneca, which merited the title 
 " Victor il Spagnolo." His fame became so great, 
 that he was made a prebendary of the cathedral of 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 181 
 
 Cordova, to which place he returned from Italy, 
 and there spent most part of his life, occasionally 
 visiting Seville during the months of recess. His 
 last visit there was in 1603, when Pacheco was oc- 
 cupied in painting the frescos of Daedalus and 
 Icarus for Ferdinand Henriquez de Ribera, fifth 
 Duke of Alcalá. He died five years afterwards, 
 and was buried in the chapel of Saint Paul in 
 Cordova. Céspedes was the most learned painter 
 of Spain, perhaps of Europe. He wrote, amongst 
 other things, a work on the cathedral of Cordova, 
 proving that it once formed the temple of the 
 heathen god Janus ; and a poem on painting, of 
 which the following stanzas describe the pencil, 
 the brush, the staff, the pencil-case, the tablet, 
 the marble for grinding colours, the easel, the 
 rule, the square, and the compass : — 
 
 " Será entre todos el pincel primero 
 En su cañón atado y recogido 
 Del blando pelo del silvestre vero 
 (El bélgico es mejor y en mas tenido) : 
 Sedas el jabalí cerdoso y fiero 
 Parejas ha de dar al mas crecido : 
 Será grande ó mayor, según que fuere 
 Formado á la ocasión que se ofreciere. 
 
 " Un junco, que tendrá ligero y firme 
 Entre dos dedos la siniestra mano, 
 Do el pulso incierto en el pintarse afirme, 
 Y el teñido pincel vacile en vano : 
 De aquellos que cargó de tierra firme 
 Entre oro y perlas navegante ufano 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 Da évano ó de marfil, esta que se entre 
 Por el canon, hasta que el pelo encuentre. 
 
 " Demás un tabloncillo relumbrante 
 Del árbol bello de la tierna pera, 
 O' de aquel otro, que del triste amante 
 Imitare el color en su madera : 
 Abierto por la parte de delante, 
 Do salga el grueso dedo por defuera : 
 En el asentarás por sus tenores 
 La variedad y mezela de colores. 
 
 " Un pórfido cuadrado, llano y liso, 
 Tal que en su tez te mires limpia y clara, 
 Donde podrás con no pequeño aviso 
 Trillarlos en sutil mistura y rara : 
 De tres piernas la máquina de aliso, 
 De una á otra poco mas que vara, 
 Las clavijas pondrás en sus encajes, 
 Donde á tu mano el cuadro alges ó bajes. 
 
 " De macizo nogal y sazonado 
 Derecha regla que el perfil requadra : 
 Tendrás también de acero bien labrado 
 (No faltará ocasión) la justa esquadra, 
 Y el compás del redondo fiel travado, 
 A' quien el propio nombre al justo cuadra, 
 Que abriéndose ó cerrando nose sienta 
 El salto donde el paso mas se aumenta. 
 
 " Demás de esto un cuchillo acomodado 
 De sus perdidos filos ya desnudo, 
 Que encorpore el color ; y otro delgado 
 Que corte sin sentir fino y agudo 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 183 
 
 Los despojos del pájaro sagrado. 
 Cuya voz oportuna tanto pudo 
 De la tarpea roca en la defensa, 
 Quando tenerla el fiero Gallo piensa." 
 
 Benito Arias Montano was the friend of this 
 artist. On ancient and modern painting and 
 sculpture, he expressed himself with great judg- 
 ment and discrimination : and Pacheco, in his 
 valuable treatise on the former art, founds his 
 opinions on a letter which Céspedes wrote him 
 only a short time before his death. He did not 
 however practise as he preached, for his paintings, 
 though bold and animated, and classical, are not 
 very true to nature, nor is their colouring agree- 
 able ; in fact, they have never become popular, 
 and are but little known. 
 
 In the Contaduría Mayor, on the right hand as 
 you enter to the cathedral, is the full-length life- 
 size portrait of Saint Ferdinand, by Murillo. 
 
 We will now pass in review the pictures of the 
 Sacristia Mayor. The first that saluted my eyes on 
 entering was one of two Conceptions by Murillo, 
 brought from the Capuchin convent. The figure 
 of an angel with a rose is beautifully introduced 
 in a group playing round the feet of the Virgin. 
 Six small figures by Montañés, which have been 
 re-gilt, new dressed, and fresh painted, to the 
 shame of all who were privy to the enormity, re- 
 present Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Charity, 
 
184 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 Saint John, and the Mother of God. Four pic- 
 tures by Juan de Castillo, which are also seen 
 here, and came from the convent of Monte Sion, 
 are very hard, and did not please me nearly so 
 much as those of Saint John de Alfarache ; they 
 represent the Incarnation, Visitation, Birth of 
 Christ, and Adoration of the Kings. The ward- 
 robes for the holy vestments in this sacristía are 
 made of mahogany, inlet with carved figures, by 
 Guillen, of alerce wood ; the remaining part of 
 the former cabinets have fallen to decay, or been 
 destroyed. The two statues of Saint Domingo de 
 Guzman, and Saint Jerome in penitence, the 
 former by Montañés and the latter by Torreggi- 
 ano, are placed here : the Italian, however, far out- 
 does the Spaniard in excellence. Both figures 
 are nearly in the same attitude, of striking the 
 breast, and the sublimity of the Saint Jerome 
 does honour to the genius of the rival of Michael 
 Angelo. The Saint Domingo is a youthful figure, 
 the Saint Jerome that of a man scarcely past the 
 prime of life, but whose countenance appears old : 
 the former is full of flesh, and graceful in form, 
 the latter forcible in muscle, but bearing the ap- 
 pearance of being attenuated by famine, and se- 
 vere in expression. Both however are noble sta- 
 tues. Two Saints of the order of Saint Jerome, 
 brought from the Geronimite convent called 
 "déla Buena Vista," (where stood also the Saint 
 by Torreggiano,) are by Juan Valdes, and of his 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 185 
 
 good time. Square pictures of Saint Leandro and 
 Saint Isidoro, by Murillo, are placed facing each 
 other in this apartment, but they are of an ugly 
 shape, as no breadth of canvas is left above the 
 heads of the figures ; we perceive that the painter 
 was compelled, like a passenger in a ship, to 
 cramp himself to allotted dimensions. The fa- 
 mous Descent from the Cross, before which Mu- 
 rillo used to pray, by Pedro Campana, is placed 
 at the head of this apartment. Joseph and Nico- 
 demus are supporting the body as it descends, 
 of which Murillo said he could see the motion ; 
 below are the mother of Christ and the three 
 Marys. The colouring and drawing are equally 
 fine; the former is as powerful as that of Piombo. 
 Two more statues from the Carthusian convent 
 here present themselves ; one is a Saint Bruno, in 
 white vestments of the order, by Montañés ; ano- 
 ther a small infant, with a funeral torch in its 
 hand, called " de la Tea," from the sepulchres of 
 the Ribera family, Dukes of Alcalá, wrought 
 by some Italian artist. 
 
 The paintings which have been removed from 
 other convents to the cathedral have not yet all 
 been described ; those which are in the chapels 
 are collected in a list at the close of this chapter, 
 after the description of the chapels in this sump- 
 tuous temple, at present a museum in itself. We 
 find among them no works by Velasquez, for al- 
 though a Sevillan, he painted perhaps less for his 
 
186 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 native town than for any other. During ten years 
 only four pictures of importance from his hand 
 have fallen under my view : one a birth of Christ, 
 purchased by Baron Taylor from the Count of 
 Aguila, a Saint John in the Wilderness, the mi- 
 racle of Saint Francis of Paula on the Sea (the 
 latter of which came from Saint Felipe Neri), 
 and a Holy Family, which has been transferred 
 to Russia, from the collection of Torado, (himself 
 a painter, whose pictures have been praised by 
 Pons). The three last were in the collection of 
 Mr. Williams, and the two first have now passed 
 into my hands. 
 
 In speaking of Gothic architecture, we must 
 recollect that it does not belong to any distinct 
 class, but is a style founded probably upon what 
 the Europeans saw in the Holy Land, for its pecu- 
 liarities were adopted at the time of the Crusades, 
 and its most embellished period was during the 
 twelfth century. In the year 1199 began the 
 construction of the cathedral of Leon, the most an- 
 cient one of Spain, whilst that of Segovia, much 
 resembling what we see in the cathedral of Se- 
 ville, was the most modern, being of the period of 
 the declension in Gothic, and dating from 1525. 
 The Gothic style therefore prevailed in this coun- 
 try for nearly four centuries ; and presented an 
 air of lightness to edifices, which we seek for in 
 vain amongst the more classic ancients. The 
 plans relating to the cathedral of Seville were 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 187 
 
 removed by Philip the Second to Madrid, and 
 were consumed in the fire which destroyed the 
 old palace of that capital, on the 24th December, 
 1734. History however informs us that the chap- 
 ter of Seville, in the year 1401, had subscribed 
 large sums for building a new cathedral, instead 
 of the old one which then existed, and had deter- 
 mined to make it " such and so good that none 
 in the kingdom should exceed it." The riches 
 they then possessed, united to subscriptions from 
 the faithful, enabled them to carry the project 
 into execution. Until the year 1462, when it 
 stood at half its height, and the part at the back 
 of the choir was almost finished, the architects em- 
 ployed are unknown ; but from that year until 
 1472 Juan Norman worked there, and afterwards 
 in succession Pedro de Toledo, Francisco Rodri- 
 guez, and Juan de Hoes : but disputes arising as 
 to the plans, Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, at 
 that time archbishop, in the year 1456 wrote to 
 another architect, called Ximen, who took the 
 work under his sole guidance, and superintended 
 its direction until the year 1502. Alfonso Rodri- 
 guez succeeded him, and two years afterwards, 
 the directors were so pleased with what he had 
 done, that the Chapter voted him a sum of money 
 for his good services. Gonzalo de Roxas was 
 also well recompensed for having closed in the 
 cupola, in 1507, which then reached to the top of 
 the first body of the giralda, being ornamented 
 
188 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 and crowned with statues of the apostles, pro- 
 phets, and other saints, wrought by the most emi- 
 nent artists of the day, Pedro Millar, Miguel 
 Florentin, and George Ferdinand Alemán. Un- 
 fortunately all this work, together with three 
 arches, fell down in 1511, at a time, luckily, when 
 no one was in the church. Eight years were oc- 
 cupied in repairing the damage, under the direc- 
 tion of Pedro Lopez, master of the cathedral at 
 Jaen, Henrique de Egas of Toledo, and Juan de 
 Alava, a native of Vittoria, who had executed, in 
 1498, the great chapel in the cathedral of Pla- 
 cencia. The cupola w r as then disposed as it now 
 appears, in consequence of the pillars being found 
 unequal to sustain a greater weight. Juan Gil 
 de Hontanon executed this part of the work, be- 
 ing the same person who gave the plan for the 
 cathedral of Salamanca. It was finished in 1517, 
 under the direction of Juan de Badajoz, principal 
 architect in the cathedral of Leon. In 1519, 
 when the whole was completed, a procession was 
 celebrated in the chapel of Nuestra Señora de la 
 Antigua. 
 
 The ground plan of the church is quadrila- 
 teral, from east to west 398 feet, from north to 
 south 291. It contains 36 columns, composed of 
 groups of small ones of 15 feet diameter: there 
 are 78 arches of stone, which material was pro- 
 cured from the quarries of Xerez de la Fronteira. 
 The distance between each vault in the lateral 
 naves, of which there are eight, is 40 feet, the 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 189 
 
 three between the cross vault, under the dome 
 and the upper end of the church, being consider- 
 ably less; namely, 59 feet to the cross vault in its 
 width, and 20 to each of the chapels of Saint 
 Peter and Saint Paul. The interior of this tem- 
 ple is of the plainest Gothic. The pavement is 
 formed in lozenges of black and white marble, 
 which were first laid by Manuel Nunez in the 
 year 1789, and finished in 1793: they cost 
 155,304 dollars, of which the archbishop Don 
 Marcos Llanespaid 37,500, Don Ignacio Ceballos 
 24,000, the church itself 69,000, and the remain- 
 der was defrayed by voluntary contributions. 
 Part of the floor had been already paved with 
 marble, and the existing epitaphs were copied 
 with care, and preserved by Don Juan de Leoysa, 
 a canon. The gates of the cathedral are nine in 
 number, three to the west, two to the east, three 
 to the north, and one to the south; the middle 
 one to the west being the principal entrance. 
 That of Saint Michael is the one whence the pro- 
 cessions issue. The ornaments on the doors of 
 the east and west side are by Lope, son of Juan 
 Maria, who sculptured them in 1548 ; the gates 
 of Saint Christoval and the Louja, to the south, 
 have never been finished ; the rest, one called of 
 the Lagarto, and the other near to the Capilla de 
 la Granada, are Gothic. 
 
 The first who painted the glass in this cathedral, 
 the beauty of which is not exceeded, perhaps, by 
 
190 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 any in Europe, was Christoval Alemán in 1504 ; 
 others succeeded him, but in 1525 Arnao de 
 Flandes, and his brother Arnao de Bergara, made a 
 public contract to paint the principal part. The 
 following is the work they executed : — The ovals 
 representing the Ascension of Christ, and Assump- 
 tion of the Virgin, in the cruzero, or heads of the 
 cross vaults under the dome; the Ejection of the 
 Money Changers from the Temple, the Unction of 
 the Magdalen, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the 
 Entry into Jerusalem with Palms, the Washing of 
 the Feet of Christ, and the Last Supper, which are 
 at the top of the church ; the Saint Francis, which 
 is in the chapel of that name, and some single fi- 
 gures of Saints. In 1557 Arnao de Flandes died, 
 and Carlos Bruges, in 1558, painted the Resur- 
 rection of our Saviour, above the door of the Ca- 
 pilla de las Doncellas, and the one fronting it, of 
 the Coming of the Holy Ghost; and in 1560 Vi- 
 cente Menandro executed the Conversion of Saint 
 Paul, in the chapel of Santiago ; in 1567 the An- 
 nunciation, over the door of Saint Michael, and 
 in 1569 the Visitation, in the gate of the Bautis- 
 mo. These beautiful windows shed what may 
 indeed be termed a (C religious light," through the 
 vaulted edifice they adorn. 
 
 The middle nave of the church contains the Ca- 
 pilla Real, the Capilla Mayor, and its Sacristy, the 
 dome, and the quire ; the remainder is open space. 
 There are in all eight vaults to this nave. Gon- 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 191 
 
 zalo de Rojas embellished the back of the Ca- 
 pilla Mayor, in 1522. There are three stories to 
 the Capilla Mayor, and Zea Bermudez mentions 
 that above the door in the first was placed a pic- 
 ture of the Nativity by Murillo, which was forci- 
 bly taken away by Marshal Soult. In the second 
 story was the picture of Nuestra Señora del Reposo, 
 which has been engraved at Madrid, and which 
 also shared the same fate from the same hands. 
 The Italian and Gothic ornaments in these galleries 
 are by the following hands — Miguel Florentin in 
 1523, Juan Marin in 1564, Diego de Pesquera 
 and Juan de Cabrera in 1575. The Capilla 
 Mayor is famous for a large pedestal of jasper 
 which holds the paschal torch. The railings 
 which inclose it to the front and sides are of the 
 Plateresco style, and were undertaken in 1518 by 
 a friar named Francis of Salamanca; but soon 
 after commencing them he returned to Castile, 
 whence he had come ; in 1523 a messenger was 
 sent by the Chapter to Leon, expressly to bring 
 him back again to Seville. He continued the work 
 in the next year, and framed the pulpits also, in 
 conjunction, with two assistants, Friar John and 
 Anthony of Palencia. Owing to his having also 
 undertaken the railing of the Capilla de la Antigua, 
 he did not finish the Capilla Mayor till 1533, 
 when he returned to his convent. Doors of leaves, 
 figures of saints, medallions of our Saviour, angels, 
 flames, and chandeliers, are all wrought here in 
 
196 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 metal. The pulpits rest on a column of iron sup- 
 ported by a pedestal of marble. The side rail- 
 ings are in part the work of Sancho Muñoz of 
 Cuenca in 1518, aided by Juan de Yebes and Es- 
 tevan: but were finished by Diego de Idrobo, 
 who received a douceur of 200 ducats beyond the 
 price stipulated. The face of the great altar is 
 of alerce wood, and was designed in 1482 by 
 Danchart, who worked on it for ten years, until 
 his death. The masters Marco and Bernardo 
 Ortiga succeeded him, and in 1505 reached the 
 canopy. Jorge Fernandez Alemán of Cordova 
 finished it, with all the figures, in 1526. Alejo 
 Fernandez, the brother of Jorge, and Andrew Co- 
 varrubias, finally completed the work. Thus all 
 remained till 1550, when the Chapter ordered the 
 sides of the presbytery to be adorned in the same 
 way, and the best artists of the time that could 
 be procured were occupied upon it for fourteen 
 years. It is of the richest Gothic. The Creation 
 and Transgression of our First Parents, the Mys- 
 teries of the Infancy of Christ, his Preaching and 
 Miracles, the Passion and Death, the Resurrec- 
 tion and the Ascension, and Coming of the Holy 
 Ghost, are the principal subjects of its composi- 
 tion. On the altar table stands the statue of Nues- 
 tra Señora de la Sede, and before it the silver-gilt 
 tabernacle, in which the host or " ostia" is kept. 
 This and its ornaments, together with the silver 
 desks, are the work of Francisco Alfaro, in 1596. 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 193 
 
 The sacristy^is narrow and confined. The paint- 
 ings are by Alejo Fernandez, who worked in the 
 Geronomite convent of Cordova, and who has 
 been praised by Céspedes. The choir was planned 
 by Sancho Muñoz in 1519. The seats, 117 in 
 number, are Gothic, and on some are carved pas- 
 sages of the New Testament, on others animals 
 and fanciful representations. They possess a cer- 
 tain merit, and were executed by Guillen in 
 1548, when he made also the doors of the great 
 Sacristy — at least he wrought those which repre- 
 sent children ; the work on the canopy of the throne 
 of the archbishop, and on the seats, is that of his 
 assistants : the more ancient part was wrought by 
 Nufro Sanchez in 1495, to whom Danchart suc- 
 ceeded. In two small doors, communicating with 
 the throne of the archbishop, are pictures of a 
 Christ seated naked, and a Virgin with the Child 
 in her arms, by Diego Vidal the elder, a preben- 
 dary of the cathedral. The magnificent desk of 
 the choristers was made by Bartholomew Morel in 
 1570. The illuminated music books are the 
 work of Sanchez in 1516, Padilla in 1555, Rami- 
 rez in 1558, James and Bernard Orta (father and 
 son) in 1575, and Andrew Riquelme in 1603. 
 The old organ is the work of Bosch; the figures 
 in marble, caryatides, pillars, and incongruous 
 supports of the organs, are by Lucas de Vilches, 
 who was employed here at the beginning of the 
 eighteenth century, being a pupil of Barbas, the 
 
 o 
 
194 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 great heresiarch of architecture in Andalusia. The 
 part behind the choir is lighted by the glass of 
 the principal nave, and here are celebrated the 
 ceremonies of the Corpus. The back of the choir 
 itself extends the whole width of the nave : it 
 presents a face of the Doric order, having an al- 
 tar in the middle dedicated to our Lady " de los 
 Remedios." Pacheco painted in 1633, on the base, 
 the Entry of Saint Ferdinand into Seville, and 
 the Moors in the act of delivering up the keys of 
 the town. The busts of Santa Justa and Santa 
 Rufina, which are on the two doors leading to 
 the choir, are the work of Manuel Perea, in the 
 same year ; and two smaller ones at the extreme 
 end are embellished with figures and Gothic py- 
 ramids, by Louis Gonzales, of the date of 1619. 
 
 We may now make a few remarks on the various 
 chapels mentioned in the former part of this chap- 
 ter, and some of the altars. In one of the latter, 
 near to the Puerta del Lagarto, called after the 
 Virgin del Alcobilla, or de las Angustias, was a half 
 figure of Christ by Murillo, which passed into the 
 hands of Baron Taylor, and is now in the royal 
 collection of Paris. The chapel de las Doncellas 
 took its name from Garcia de Gibaleon, who 
 founded it in 1521, having left money for por- 
 tions to unmarried girls. In that of Santiago, 
 above the picture of the Saint destroying the 
 Moors, by Rodelas, is a Saint Lawrence by Juan 
 Valdes. The chapel of the Espiritu Santo, or 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 195 
 
 Escalas, which is next to this, was founded in 
 1518 by Balthazar Rio, Bishop of Escalas, from 
 whom it was named. The medallions and statues 
 were worked in Italy, where the prelate had long 
 resided. The Birth of Christ, with small figures, 
 which stood in the chapel of Santa Ana, is by 
 Antolinez, a lawyer by profession, but who after- 
 wards took to the pallet. He was born at Se- 
 ville in 1644, and sometimes approached Murillo 
 so nearly that his works have been mistaken for 
 those of that master. Palomino says, that on 
 seeing a small picture by him, he offered a hun- 
 dred dollars for it, thinking it at first sight to 
 have been by Murillo. Antolinez died in the 56th 
 year of his age. This painter is the author of 
 most of the landscapes sold in London which are 
 attributed to Murillo : indeed, it has only once been 
 my fortune to meet with an undoubted landscape 
 by the latter. Those in the Madrid gallery are 
 supposed not to be genuine. The architectural 
 ornaments of the third chapel, of Saint Joseph, 
 were executed by Don Pedro Arnal, and consist of 
 marbles and bronzes, done at the end of the nine- 
 teenth century, for he was living when Cean wrote. 
 The statue of the Patriarch was the work of a 
 contemporary Valencian artist, Eesteve, and those 
 of Saint Michael and Saint Bias by Alfonso Bergaz. 
 The Marriage of the Virgin, by Juan Valdes, stands 
 here, and a pleasing Birth of Christ by Anto- 
 linez. In the fourth chapel, of Saint Hermene- 
 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 gildus, is the magnificent sepulchre of the Arch- 
 bishop Cardinal, Don Juan de Cervantes, which 
 stands detached, and was executed in marble by, 
 Lorenzo de Mercadante. It is supported by six 
 lions, an angel on each side of the four faces hold- 
 ing up the armorial bearings of the defunct. The 
 statue of the Archbishop, with a fawn at his feet, 
 is perhaps the best piece of sculpture in the ca- 
 thedral. The figure of the Patron Saint is by 
 Montañés. The fifth chapel is the work of Don 
 Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, who is buried here, 
 he having been much devoted to our Lady de la 
 Antigua, whose image is painted in the wall, and 
 who honours the chapel with her name. This part 
 of the church is of great antiquity : some indeed 
 say that the figure of the Virgin, the woman kneel- 
 ing to her, called a queen, and the three angels 
 crowning the Virgin, existed in the mosque of the 
 Moors. The architectural ornaments here are 
 not in good taste ; those of the altar-face are by 
 an unknown artist, the rest are the work of Don 
 Pedro Duque Cornejo. The tomb of the Car- 
 dinal Hurtado de Mendoza was executed in 1509 
 by Miguel Florentin, father and master of An- 
 tonio, the author of the monument. In the 
 hollow of an arch, sustained by two carved co- 
 lumns placed upon an embasement or sock, are 
 the head and bust of the Cardinal, and in the 
 interior of the hollow are various carved figures 
 of Christ risen from the Dead, the Virgin with 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 197 
 
 the Child, Saint Anne and her Daughter, and 
 above, the Ascension of Our Lord. On^the right 
 side of the altar lies the Archbishop Luis de Sal- 
 cedo; his interment took place in 1741. Do- 
 mingo Martinez, a Sevillan, painted the ceiling 
 and pictures of this chapel, which are considered 
 his best works. He was born in 1689, and died 
 in the 60th year of his age ; his works exist in 
 the Marine College of Saint Elmo, and before the 
 invasion of the French many were in the great 
 cloister of the convent of Saint Francis. I have 
 met with some of his pictures at Madrid, although 
 he is not recorded as having worked there ; but as 
 he flourished many years ago, and there are several 
 other Spanish painters of the same name, perhaps 
 the works shown me were theirs and not his. 
 Martinez, the Sevillan, is considered only an in- 
 ferior painter, somewhat resembling, but weaker 
 than, the younger Herrera. Juan Lopez, of Gra- 
 nada, finished in 1565 the great rail of this chapel, 
 which had been commenced by Francisco of Sa- 
 lamanca thirty-five years before. In the sacristy 
 of this church stood a Repose in Egypt, by Mu- 
 rillo, which has disappeared. The architectural 
 part of the chapel de los Cálices is by Riaño in 
 1530, and Gainza in 1537, when the Gothic style 
 was declining in Spain. At the commencement 
 of the sixteenth century, the Plataresco style 
 was introduced in this country, and Henrique de 
 Egas was the first who employed it during the 
 
198 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 time of Ferdinand and Isabel, building the Hos- 
 pital of Santa Cruz in Toledo, and the Collegio 
 Mayor of Valladolid, after that fashion. It soon 
 afterwards became common, and the world saw 
 without surprise pedestals of the most capricious 
 shapes, columns made in the form of balusters, 
 capitals of every class, friezes full of masks, grif- 
 fins, and children, medallions with heroic busts, 
 uniting w r ith candelabra, flames and foliage; in 
 short, all that a delirious imagination could de- 
 vise in architecture had succeeded to and taken 
 place of the severe Doric, the gentle Ionic, and 
 the graceful Corinthian. Benvenuto Cellini was 
 the great master from whom all the others drew ; 
 they applied to stone what he had fashioned first 
 in metal. 
 
 The Capilla Real of the cathedral has not yet 
 been described. It is placed in the great nave of 
 the church, between the chapels of Saint Peter 
 and Saint Paul. Worship was paid here to an 
 ancient image of the Madonna, presented by Saint 
 Louis of France to his cousin Saint Ferdinand of 
 Spain, and called the " Madonna de los Reyes." 
 This formerly stood in one of the chapels of the 
 old church, which having been demolished, the 
 Chapter undertook to convey all the relics in it 
 (which consisted of this image and the bodies of 
 Saint Ferdinand and his Queen Beatrice, and of 
 Don Alfonso the Learned), to a more suitable 
 place of interment. In 1515, before the comple- 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 199 
 
 tion of the cathedral, which took place four years 
 later, a royal order was sent for the finishing of 
 this chapel ; the Chapter, however, could come to 
 no decision in the choice of an architect for that 
 purpose, although they took the plans of Egas 
 and Alava, who had worked at Toledo, imme- 
 diately on the receipt of the order, and again, in 
 the year 1541, those of Martin Gainza ; until at 
 last, in the year 1551, Gaspar Vega, the royal 
 architect of Madrid, Ferdinand Ruiz of Cordova, 
 Francisco Cumplido of Cadiz, and Juan Sanchez, 
 who directed the work of the Ayuntamiento, or 
 united civil magistracy of Seville, were called to 
 decide upon the plan of Gainza, which, after 
 careful consideration, they approved. The archi- 
 tect consented to perform the work by contract 
 for 21,800 ducats, but he died in 1555. The term 
 of "cuero y carne," " skin and flesh," in documents 
 of this class, means that the contractor is obliged 
 to deliver the walls and window-cases finished. 
 Ferdinand Ruiz succeeded Gainza in the work, 
 and died in 1575, also before it was quite finished. 
 John de Maeda followed him, and in the same 
 year it was completed. The relics were depo- 
 sited there four years afterwards, accompanied 
 by a general procession. This chapel is 81 feet 
 long, 59 wide, and 130 high. It is ornamented 
 with twelve statues of the Kings of the Old Tes- 
 tament, from designs of Peter Campana. Charles 
 the Third paid for the expenses of the iron railing, 
 
200 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 which was cast in Seville. The painter Pedro de 
 Campana received less than a dollar for each of 
 his designs. Charles the Fourth erected the 
 seats of mahogany. Over the arches communi- 
 cating with two side chapels are the busts of 
 Garcia Perez and Perez de Vargas, illustrious 
 warriors in ancient times. The face of the altar, 
 and the figures of saints which it contains, are 
 by Louis Ortiz, of the date of 1647. The stone 
 statues are of the middle of the 15th century, 
 from the various hands of Vao and Campos, John 
 Picardo, Anjares, Astiaso, Carón, Garabito Cor- 
 nielis, and Cornualis de Holanda. Maria Padilla, 
 wife of Peter the Cruel, and the infants Don 
 Fadrique, Don Alonzo, and Don Pedro, lie buried 
 here. 
 
 Of the great sacristy it may be remarked, that 
 much of the marble in its walls has been covered 
 with lime, from the barbarous taste of the Spa- 
 niards. Philip the Second, on his visit to Seville 
 for fifteen days in the year 1570, preferred its 
 construction to that of the Chapel of the Kings. 
 Riaño designed it in 1530, but died three years 
 afterwards, and Gainza begun the work in 1535. 
 The entrance doors are of ash-wood, and above 
 them are various carvings ; amongst the rest the 
 Death of Abel, and figures of Saints, worked in 
 1548 by Guillen, who had already distinguished 
 himself on similar subjects in the cathedral of 
 Toledo. The sacristy is 66 feet wide, as many 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 201 
 
 long, and 120 high. It is in the form of a Greek 
 cross, the arms being equal. Four principal 
 arches, which receive the vault, are raised on a 
 pedestal, which runs round the whole interior, 
 supported by four buttresses, from each of which 
 advance two columns, about half the dimension 
 of their diameters ; and from these buttresses are 
 drawn the arms of the cross, which present four 
 large fronts : those of the east and west are equal, 
 and each contains two pilasters, much worked, 
 and of the same size as the eight columns, in the 
 middle of which appears a body of the composite 
 order, with columns, and a frieze placed on an 
 embutment or pedestal., and within this again is 
 another space with two columns and an arch ; in 
 the centre of which are placed the pictures of 
 Isodorus and Leander, by Murillo. These were 
 painted in 1655, and presented to the church by 
 Don John Federiqui. Tradition alleges one to be 
 the portrait of the Licenciado, John Lopez, of 
 Talavera, and the other that of the prompter of 
 the choir, Alfonso de Herrera. Zea Bermudez, 
 in his account of the great sacristy, says that the 
 wardrobes are the work of Guillen and Garcia ; 
 but those which he saw have been removed, and 
 new ones substituted, with the old mouldings, for 
 the doors and sides had fallen to decay. At the 
 north and south ends of the cross the number of 
 columns are the same as in the others, and the 
 architectural ornaments equally numerous and 
 
202 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 complicated. The cornice of the whole interior 
 is magnificently worked, and on the east, west, 
 and south sides, above the arms of the cross, are 
 skylights, and in each arch which covers the arms 
 are ten figures of saints, of the natural size. Perez, 
 a pupil of Campana, painted the face of the altar, 
 which opens in the middle, upon the place of 
 deposit of relics of the holy church. Vidal de 
 Liendo, dean of the cathedral, painted six pic- 
 tures, which stood in two dependent chapels, one 
 of which is a copy from Raphael. The principal 
 relics preserved here are wood of the cross of 
 Christ, a thorn of his crown, the body of the 
 Martyr Saint Servandus, and of the Confessor 
 Saint Florentius, all of which are well kept in 
 vases of silver of elegant forms. Within the two 
 chapels just mentioned were two others, in which 
 stood statues by Cornejo, and a Saint Ferdinand 
 by Roldan, which is placed in the great altar on 
 the feast day of that saint. The ornaments of 
 the three chapels which are to the south side, were 
 worked in the beginning of the sixteenth century 
 by Lope Marin, Lorenzo del Vao,and Juan Pi- 
 cardo. The jewels and silver of the cathedral 
 are kept in a small apartment adjoining the great 
 sacristy. 
 
 It may not be amiss in this place, by way of 
 relief to the unavoidable monotony of this detail, 
 to say a few words on the leading masters of the 
 Sevillan school. The three painters whose names 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 203 
 
 have immortalized the Spanish school are Murillo, 
 Velasquez, and Zurbaran. The first was born in 
 1618 in Seville, the second in 1599 in the same 
 city, and the third in the village of Fuente de 
 Cantos, in Estremadura, in 1598. They were 
 therefore contemporaries, and all lived to a good 
 age. Murillo died in his 66th year, and would 
 probably have lived longer, had not his death 
 been hastened by a fall from the scaffolding 
 whilst painting in the Franciscan convent of Ca- 
 diz. Velasquez died at the age of sixty-one, and 
 Zurbaran at that of sixty-four. The merit they 
 possessed is the important one of originality ; the 
 first of them, however, Murillo, has proved the 
 justice of a remark of Voltaire, that he who copies 
 best is the best original : for perhaps no one imi- 
 tated so many masters as Murillo, and yet no one 
 can mistake his style for that of any other painter. 
 We have his imitations of Herrera, of Titian in his 
 portraits, of Guido in his Magdalens, of Velasquez 
 in his beggar-boys and fancy subjects, of Zur- 
 baran in his saints; and yet he shines out in all as 
 peculiarly Murillo, and it seems as if he imitated 
 others only to surpass them. His animals are 
 admirably drawn, but he never appears to have 
 loved landscape painting. His sea-views are of 
 extreme rarity, and are spirited, but inferior to 
 those of the high Dutch school. This was not 
 the case with Velasquez, who was perhaps the 
 most universal genius we have known ; he could 
 
204 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 paint animals, landscapes (the knowledge of which 
 he had probably acquired from Herrera el Viejo, 
 his master), the sea, and fancy subjects and his- 
 torical pieces, with equal ease. In vigour and 
 versatility of genius he equalled Rubens, and 
 drew largely from him. A residence in Italy did 
 not, however, induce him to change his style, and 
 the works of his later years differ little from those 
 of an earlier period, save in a less attention to the 
 minute parts of drawing, and a greater endeavour 
 at effect. No painter managed light better. The 
 aerial perspective of the Surrender of Breda, and 
 of the picture of the artist himself working for 
 Philip the Fourth, and surrounded by his family, 
 is not exceeded by De Hooge, Rembrandt, or the 
 most skilful Dutchman ; yet he had not the grace 
 or tenderness of Murillo, — he surprises, but does 
 not woo you into admiration. Much of his time 
 was unfortunately lost in attending on Philip the 
 Fourth, who invested him with the office of cham- 
 berlain at court; and the last public act of his 
 life was that of accompanying the Infanta Maria 
 Teresa to Irun, on her marriage with Louis the 
 Fourteenth of France. The wife of Velasquez 
 only survived her husband seven days. 
 
 The life of Zurbaran presents us with one of 
 the numberless histories of men, who, born in 
 situations apparently unpropitious for the deve- 
 lopment of talent, have nevertheless attained to 
 the highest glory in their profession. He was the 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 205 
 
 son of a country proprietor, and any who are ac- 
 quainted with the state of that class in Spain (bad 
 as it is now, it was worse then), will consider the 
 eminence to which he advanced as almost a work 
 of magic. He was born a painter ; and his early 
 efforts attracted so much notice, that his parents 
 sent him to Seville to study under Rodelas. Be- 
 fore attaining the age of thirty, he had completed 
 the chapel of Saint Peter in the cathedral, and 
 the famous altar-piece for the collegiate church of 
 Saint Thomas Aquinas, the latter of which is con- 
 sidered his master-piece. The paintings of the 
 Carthuja at Xerez were executed in his thirty- 
 fifth year. Neither Murillo nor Zurbaran ever 
 left Spain, and yet their notions of the art were 
 strikingly opposed. Zurbaran copied nobody, 
 Murillo everybody : the first was satisfied to 
 spend days over a white mantle fixed on a model, 
 and occupy himself on a single figure ; Murillo 
 was grouping, and varying, and catching at every 
 new form and expression, trusting to his own ge- 
 nius to improve upon nature. Zurbaran threw a 
 strong contrast of light and darkness on the prin- 
 cipal figure in the first term, and went no farther. 
 Murillo aimed at and succeeded in conveying 
 aerial perspective to the farthest distance in the 
 sky, and sought to make his outlines melt into 
 the air. Two paintings for the Geronomite con- 
 vent of Bournos, by Zurbaran, one of which is in 
 my possession, had the outline of the figures ri- 
 
206 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 gidly marked on the plain side of the canvas, so 
 hard and inflexible was the system of the pain- 
 ter. Both were fine colourists, and both true to 
 nature ; but Murillo toned down his pictures by 
 glazing, and Zurbaran passed a wash over the 
 strong blue and white he employed, and detached 
 the figures by painting the distances lightly. In 
 point of composition, Zurbaran was inferior to 
 Murillo or Velasquez ; an observation which the 
 reader may readily verify, by turning to the " Ba- 
 varia Sacra," with the plates of Sadeler (wrongly 
 quoted in my Notices of the Northern Capitals 
 as " Batavia Rediviva,"), where he will find the 
 subjects of many of the pictures of the two first 
 masters, and particularly that of Saint Isabel 
 washing the Child afflicted with the Scurvy, by 
 Murillo. According to my own taste, the order 
 of precedence I should give to these three great 
 painters, is as I have placed them in the text; 
 others, however, and particularly the French, re- 
 verse the order, and quote Zurbaran, Velasquez, 
 and Murillo. Indeed, in England and at Madrid, 
 Velasquez is generally put before either Murillo 
 or Zurbaran. 
 
 To vary the continued narrative of architec- 
 tural details, we may turn to an enumeration of 
 the pictures which are now to be seen here, 
 having been removed from suppressed convents. 
 They are as follows. 
 
 Over the gate of the "Patio de los Naranjos," is, 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 207 
 
 first, the Sanctification of Saint Hermenegildus, 
 a large picture by Herrera, bold and gigantic, but 
 unpleasing. It is, however, remarkable for being 
 the painting which caused Philip the Fourth to 
 release the painter when imprisoned for forgery. 
 Second, a companion picture, of the Vision of 
 of Saint Jerome. These two paintings are each 
 near twenty feet in height, by eight or nine in 
 width. Third, a Last Supper, by the same, about 
 fourteen feet by ten. We now come to those by 
 Zurbaran. 
 
 CAPILLA DE LA SEÑORA SANTA ANA. 
 
 Seven Carthusians at table ; a bishop, leaning 
 forward on his staff, gives orders to a servant in 
 waiting, who is dressed in the old Spanish fashion. 
 A painting appears on the wall of the refectory, 
 representing Christ relating his sufferings to the 
 Virgin. 
 
 CAPILLA DEL BAUTISMO. 
 
 The Virgin de las Cuevas, extending a blue 
 mantle over twelve friars in white, which is sup- 
 ported at the extreme ends by two angels. The 
 dove of peace hovers over the scene, and a quan- 
 tity of flowers are strewed below. Zurbaran was 
 limited in power of composition, and could only 
 paint well figures and flowers, but these he did in 
 an unrivalled manner. His animals are generally 
 hard, and unlike what he intends them for ; his 
 sheep often more resemble swine. 
 
208 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 CAPILLA DE SAN JOSE. 
 
 The Eternal Father, seated, resting his hand on a 
 globe on one side, and holding a staff in the other. 
 This picture is painted on a frame shaped like a 
 Greek cross. — An Interview between Saint Bruno 
 and the Pope ; the saint holds his hands meekly 
 folded within his garment; a lay brother is in 
 waiting at the door, and another at a distance is 
 looking on. A dark pillar is in the middle of the 
 first term; there are two windows in the back 
 ground, which consists of architecture, painted 
 light grey and very slight ; a Turkey carpet is on 
 the ground, and a pink curtain hangs over the 
 figures. These two pictures are by Zurbaran. 
 
 The following, by Murillo, are distributed in 
 the various chapels. In the chapel of Saint 
 Joseph, four ovals of a yard in diameter, of holy 
 fathers (attributed to Murillo), from the Capu- 
 chin Convent. — A Saint Joseph and the Child, 
 standing on a stone basement. — A Saint John, 
 resting his elbow on a rising ground, and the 
 sheep regarding him. — A Saint Francis, half figure, 
 caressing the infant Jesus, who stands on a book. 
 This last is a favourite with all, simple as the 
 composition is. A companion picture to the pre- 
 ceding half figure is, Saint Felis of Candalisio, 
 embracing the infant; a wallet lies below. — Saint 
 Domingo and Saint Francis supporting the temple 
 of the Franciscans. — A companion to the last, of 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 209 
 
 Santa Justa and Rufina holding the Giralda be- 
 tween them. 
 
 CAPILLA DE LA SEÑORA DE SANTA ANA. 
 
 Saint Thomas of Villanueva; which picture 
 the author himself was so fond of, that he called 
 it always " my picture," when he spoke of it. In 
 the front ground is a beggar on his knees, with 
 his back turned to the spectator ; on the left of 
 the beggar are a poor woman and child, to the 
 right a boy waiting for alms. In the second term 
 stands the bishop, dressed in black, with a white 
 mitre and gold crosier, holding out money to 
 the kneeling beggar; a table, books, and dark 
 column are to the right of the bishop. — The Saint 
 Felis of Candalisio : this and the preceding pic- 
 ture are those which are generally most admired. 
 The saint kneels to receive the Virgin, who de- 
 scends in a cloud of glory ; his wallet is on the 
 ground ; above the saint are a group of angels, and 
 in the second term trees are discovered ; the effect 
 is a night scene. In these two pictures Murillo 
 perhaps excels Rembrandt in the distribution 
 of light. The colouring is that of the good Se- 
 ville school, as rich as Correggio. — A Descent 
 from the Cross : Saint Francis supports the body 
 of Christ, and two of the painter's inimitable 
 angels are seen above. — A Birth Piece : Our Sa- 
 viour is seen lying in the cradle, and the most 
 beautiful mother, perhaps, ever pencilled con- 
 
 p 
 
210 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 templates him ; a shepherd kneels in adoration, 
 and a countryman presents eggs and offerings. 
 We here trace the conceptions of a Flemish farm- 
 house, and the impressions imbibed from Zur- 
 baran, who studied the book of that period to 
 which allusion has been already made ; for Mu- 
 rillo also had a copy of the work in his possession 
 when he died, which has passed to Señor Veja- 
 rano, a modern Sevillan painter now living. Saint 
 Joseph is seen in the distance. 
 
 OVER THE PUERTA GRANDE. 
 
 An Ascension of the Virgin, from the convent 
 of Saint Francis, by Murillo. — The Victory of 
 Saint Jago over the Moors, by Várela, and the 
 Opening of the Tomb, or Ascension of the Virgin, 
 by Juan de Castillo, are from the convent of 
 Monte Sion. 
 
 CAPILLA DE LA SCALA. 
 
 An Annunciation : the dove of peace is seen 
 descending between grouped angels ; the Virgin 
 is on her knees receiving the divine message, 
 which is given by an angel from a cloud ; a work- 
 ing bag is at her feet. — Saint Antonio receiving 
 the Child, who is seated on a book ; the saint has 
 white lilies in his hand, and a cord of discipline 
 is at his feet. Some regard this picture as the 
 finest specimen of the master. It has no out- 
 lines — they melt into the perspective. Both are 
 by Murillo. 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 211 
 
 SACRISTIA DE LOS CALICES. 
 
 The famous Virgin of the " Servilleta," or linen 
 cloth, has been placed here; it measures about 
 two feet in height, by two and a half in breadth. 
 The subject of this picture has endeared it to all ; 
 and its quality is excellent. The Child regards 
 the spectator with extended hands, held by its 
 mother. The figure, however, of neither extends 
 beyond the bust. 
 
 CAPILLA DEL BAUTISMO. 
 
 This chapel contains two fine Murillos, from 
 the convent of Saint Augustin, which has been 
 transferred to a very impure use, namely, that of 
 holding convicts, instead of its original inhabit- 
 ants, holy fathers. These are companion pictures, 
 of eight feet in height by five or six wide. The 
 one represents the saint kneeling to the Virgin, 
 with a heart in his hand, from which an infant 
 Christ, seated in the Virgin's lap, is extracting 
 the arrow ; a glory of seven angels appears above. 
 The other is Saint Augustin writing, with books 
 at his feet ; the Eternal Father appears with his 
 Son above in a glory, and five angels hover over 
 the figure of the saint. 
 
 ON THE SIDES OF THE PUERTA DE LOS NARANJOS 
 
 Are, the Martyrdom of Saint Andrew, by Ro- 
 delas, a richly coloured picture that might pass 
 for Italian, and opposite the famous Zurbaran, 
 
 p2 
 
212 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 from the college of Saint Thomas. This cele- 
 brated performance represents Saint Thomas 
 standing, being a portrait of the prebendary 
 JNuñez de Escobar, of Seville; above are Christ 
 and the Virgin on a throne of glory, with Saint 
 Paul and Saint Domingo at the sides; the four doc- 
 tors of the Latin Church surround Saint Thomas, 
 reposing on clouds, and in the first term (or lower 
 part of the picture) appear Charles the Fifth, 
 knights and friars kneeling in adoration, and on 
 the other Archbishop Deza, the founder of this 
 college, with his family and followers. The 
 figures are larger than life, and amongst the Spa- 
 nish pictures taken to Paris during the war, this 
 is said to have been the one most admired. 
 
 We may now return again to other works of 
 art, of another description — to bricks, stone, and 
 metal. 
 
 The " Custodia Grande," or Tabernacle, was 
 worked by Arfe, a celebrated silversmith, who 
 lived towards the end of the sixteenth century, 
 for which he received 235,664 reals, (upwards of 
 2500/. sterling of our money). Francis Pacheco, 
 father of the painter, was commissioned to super- 
 intend the distribution and classification of the 
 figures and embellishments which appear on it, 
 all being allusive to the sacred writings. A de- 
 scription of it was published by Arfe, but the 
 work has become very rare. This tabernacle is 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 213 
 
 twelve feet high, and of a round form ; it is di- 
 vided into four stories, each of which contains 
 twenty-four columns. The first is of the Ionic 
 order. The six statues seated on the basement 
 encircle the plane, and represent the four doctors 
 of the Church, Saint Thomas Aquinas, and Pope 
 Urban the Fourth, who instituted the festivity of 
 Corpus Christi. The second story is Corinthian, 
 ornamented with foliage in the frieze and co- 
 lumns. The interior displays the Evangelists 
 within, and twelve tutelar saints of Seville with- 
 out. The gifts and fruits of the Holy Ghost are 
 figured on the columns. The third story is of the 
 composite order, in the midst of which is the 
 Lamb, with the book of the seven seals, upon a 
 throne surrounded by four beasts full of eyes, as 
 seen in the Revelation. Six other histories of the 
 Apocalypse are engraved on the pedestals, with 
 various hieroglyphics in the frieze, and children 
 on the balustrade. In the centre of the fourth 
 story, also of the composite order, is seen the 
 Trinity, seated on a rainbow; it terminates in a 
 cupola, on the top of which is the statue of Faith. 
 The Sevillans, who always have been devoted to 
 the mystery of the Conception, altered the work 
 of Arfe after his death, and in 1668 Juan de Se- 
 gura placed in the centre of the first story 
 what we now see, our Lady of the Conception, 
 instead of the figure of Faith which Arfe had 
 placed there ; and to perpetuate the error, Juan 
 de Valdes Leal was commissioned to engrave the 
 
214 DESCRIPTION OF TH^ CATHEDRAL 
 
 subject in three plates, for which he received 
 2500 reals, about £25 of our money. 
 
 The Tenebrario of the cathedral is a piece of 
 excellent workmanship, executed by Bartholomew 
 Morel in 1562. It is eight yards in height, and 
 serves to hold the fifteen wax lights used at ma- 
 tins in the three last days of the holy week, which 
 are successively extinguished at the end of every 
 psalm ; it has a triangular top, on which are 
 wrought fifteen statues, representing our Saviour, 
 the apostles, and two disciples or evangelists. 
 The whole is of wood, gilt. The artist received, 
 in addition to his wages, 250 ducats as a present 
 from the chapter when it was finished, and a 
 cover was made to preserve it from dust, which 
 cost 1050 ducats. This now is never used; dirt 
 and damp have effaced the gold, and its appear- 
 ance is no longer striking, except when examined 
 closely. 
 
 The Sala Capitular was planned by Riaño 
 in 1530; it is of the Greek Roman architec- 
 ture, a style introduced at this period by Ma- 
 chuca, who built the palace of Charles the Fifth 
 at Granada in 1527. It is also singular that 
 Riaño adopted the Gothic form for the Sacristy of 
 the Cálices, and the Plateresco for the Sacristia 
 Mayor. He died in 1533, but his plans were 
 adopted and followed by Gainza. To describe 
 the Sala Capitular, we must turn back to the 
 chapel of the Mariscal in the cathedral, called 
 also of the " Purification," where are two doors, 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 215 
 
 one leading to the " Contaduría Mayor/' or Ac- 
 countant's Office, and the other to the Anticabildo : 
 this latter is formed of Portuguese jasper, with an 
 open space above giving light to a passage which 
 is nine feet square, conducting to the Anticabildo. 
 This room is forty-six feet long, twenty-two wide, 
 and thirty-four high. The architecture on the 
 side walls is Ionic upon a Doric base, and it has 
 on the right and left ten pilasters of marble, with 
 four niches, in which are as many statues, and 
 five medals, also of marble. Those on the right 
 represent Justice, Prudence, and Fortitude, and 
 the medallions Moses with his rod before King 
 Pharaoh, the universal deluge, the tower of Babel, 
 the chastisement of Haman, and Moses with the 
 people of God. The figures on the left side are 
 Charity, Hope, Temperance, and Piety, and the 
 medallions represent Justice overthrowing the 
 vicious, the dispute of Christ with the doctors, 
 learning on its throne, the attendance of arts and 
 sciences, and the coming of the Holy Ghost. 
 Two small doors are placed at each end of the 
 room, above which is seen Noah counting the 
 living creatures before their entrance to the ark. 
 The Anticabildo has a patio of thirty-three feet 
 square, in the middle of which a fountain springs 
 from a jasper cup. In the wall is an antique 
 stone, with an inscription of the time of Hono- 
 ratus, the twenty-fifth Sevillan bishop. The Sala 
 Capitular is approached through a passage to the 
 
216 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 right of the Anticabildo. Its sides are of the 
 Ionic and Doric order, and on the right is the 
 door of the chapter-room. This apartment is of 
 an elliptic form, fifty feet in height, and thirty- 
 four wide. The floor is of marble. Above the 
 prelate's seat are statues of the theological virtues. 
 Light is communicated from a dome ceiling. Six- 
 teen tablets of marble appear between the pillars 
 or intercolumniations. They represent the As- 
 sumption, a Vision of the Apocalypse (of the Di- 
 vine Spirit surrounded by the ancients, the ani- 
 mals, and the seven lamps) ; the washing of the 
 feet, and the last sermon Christ preached to his 
 disciples ; another vision of the Apocalypse (of 
 smoke issuing from a well), that of the seven 
 lights, the appearance of unclean animals to Saint 
 Peter, Daniel with the lions, Christ expelling the 
 money-changers from the Temple, the father of 
 children gathering grapes and ears of corn, the 
 prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, the baptism 
 of Christ ; another vision of the Apocalypse (in 
 which an angel appears having legs like columns), 
 the seven angels with trumpets, the parable of 
 the sower, and the storm on shipboard in the sea 
 of Tiberias. All these, as well as those in the 
 Anticabildo, were worked in Genoa. The pic- 
 tures which adorn this chamber are mentioned in 
 the list already given in the preceding pages. 
 
 The door of the Contaduria Mayor fronts the 
 altar of the Chapel del Mariscal. It is a room 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 
 
 217 
 
 38 feet long by 24 wide. Céspedes painted 
 here the Sacrifice of Abraham, and the Saints 
 Justa and Rufina holding the Giralda of Seville, 
 during the time of his recess from Cordova. The 
 wall which surrounds the Contaduria Mayor, the 
 Sala Capitular, the Patio of the Anticabildo, the 
 Sacristía Mayor, that of the Cálices, and which 
 terminates in the Louja, or Exchange, is of the 
 composite order, and forms four fronts, which 
 face the cardinal points of the wind. 
 
 We now come to specimens of the Greek 
 Roman architecture in its decay, which began 
 indeed to decline at the death of Herrera, but 
 sunk still more in the eighteenth century. The 
 court dresses changed at the same period, and 
 Philip the Third introduced the slashed sleeves, 
 the trowsers ornamented in the middle of the 
 thigh, the pompous plumes, and the short gar- 
 ments with plaited folds, instead of the modest 
 and severe Flemish cloth and cap, which were 
 used in the time of his father. The proselytes to 
 the new style, who caused the greatest destruc- 
 tion of good taste in Spain, were Juan Martinez 
 Montañés, Alonzo Cano, and Francisco Rizi ; the 
 two former disfigured Granada, and the latter was 
 author of the monument used at Toledo in the 
 holy week : in addition to these we have Bar- 
 nuevo, Herrera the younger, Donoso, and Claudio 
 Coello. These were all men of ability, and all 
 painters : their works are pleasing, but they de- 
 
218 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 generated from the simple and correct style, 
 being loaded with ornaments, often inappropriate 
 and incongruous. The cathedral of Seville emi- 
 nently displays this decay of taste. When, in 
 1615, the chapter ordered another chapel to be 
 built, that might serve as Sagrario, or library and 
 parochial chapel to the cathedral, larger than that 
 then existing (which occupied the site of the pre- 
 sent lumber or furniture rooms in the Patio de 
 los Naranjos), the whole was constructed after 
 the corrupt fashion of the day. Zumarraga gave 
 the plan, which was immediately adopted, he hav- 
 ing been employed as Aparejador, or workman, in 
 the cathedral for the last thirty years ; and the 
 place chosen for its position was where the old 
 chapel of the kings stood, having the nave of 
 Granada and the Contaduria on the west and 
 north sides, in spite of the request which the 
 prebendary Vidal made on his death bed, that it 
 should be in the Patio de los Naranjos, which he 
 considered more eligible in every respect. The 
 stone for the building was brought from the 
 quarries of Xerez and Alcalá de Guadaira, and in 
 1618, on the 30th of April, the work was com- 
 menced. Ferdinand Oviedo worked at it after 
 Zumarraga died, and last of all came Fernandez 
 de Iglesias. When the first stone was laid, the 
 Bishop, Don Pedro de Castro y Quiñones, sub- 
 scribed 10,000 ducats, and the chapter of the 
 cathedral 20,000, in furtherance of the under- 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 219 
 
 taking. From a rent discovered in one of the 
 principal arches, it was judged expedient not to 
 terminate the roof with a dome-light, as had been 
 proposed by Zumarraga. Iglesias therefore placed 
 at the top a figure of Saint Thomas Aquinas, in 
 demi-relief. The work, however, has not gene- 
 rally pleased, although it stood firm against two 
 earthquakes, one in 1680, and another in 1755; the 
 alarm of the public, nevertheless, was very great, 
 and to satisfy them it was found necessary to take 
 away the heavy ornaments from the cornice of 
 the church outside, and to place a cross instead 
 of a figure of Faith, which it had before. The 
 dimensions of the Sagrario on the exterior are, 
 205 feet in length, the width from east to west 
 72, and it is 88 in height. Three sides, two of 
 which face the Louja, and one the Patio de los 
 Naranjos, have three divisions, — Doric, Ionic, and 
 Corinthian : the northern side, to the back of the 
 Altar Mayor, is distinguished from the rest by 
 having above the Doric cornice three arches, in 
 the second division of which was placed a pic- 
 ture by Juan Valdes, representing our Saviour 
 tied to the column. The church has only one 
 nave, but it has the Cruzero, or cross shape, with 
 ten lateral chapels; it is 190 feet long, 64 wide, 
 and 83 high, and the cupola is 108 feet from the 
 ground to the medallion of Thomas Aquinas. The 
 figures of the four Evangelists and Doctors of the 
 church are by Joseph Arce, in 1657. Below is a 
 
220 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL 
 
 Pantheon, where some of the Bishops lie, and 
 amongst the rest, Alfonzo Marcos de Lanes. The 
 sacristy occupies the space between the church 
 and the Puerta del Perdón, being 136 feet long, 
 34 wide, and 33 high. It is divided by arches, 
 and profusely ornamented with Azulejos. The 
 plaster- work of the ceiling is by the brothers 
 Borja, who also loaded in a similar way the 
 chapel of the Vizcainos, in the convent of Saint 
 Francis, and the church of Santa Maria la Blanca. 
 At this period were built the chapels of the An- 
 gustias, the Jacomes, Saint Isidorus, and Saint 
 Leander, in the cathedral, all of which betray the 
 same decline of taste, detracting from and ener- 
 vating the Gothic manliness of the edifice. 
 
 We now come to the worst period of archi- 
 tecture, in the eighteenth century, of which 
 Izquierdo, in Madrid, was a proselyte so early as 
 1700, and Churriguera and Ribera later on, when 
 Seville was inundated with its meretricious forms. 
 The college of Saint Elmo, the convents of Saint 
 Juan de Dios, and the Terceros, were all new- 
 faced, and the choir in most of the churches was 
 moved from the back of the great altar, where it 
 used to stand, to the middle of the building. 
 The face of the altar of the Sagrario is also of 
 this period. Barbas, from Cadiz, constructed it 
 in 1709, for the sum of £ 10,000 sterling of our 
 money. It occupies the whole face of the Pres- 
 biterio, or chancel, being 80 feet high, 40 wide, 
 
AND ITS PRINCIPAL PAINTINGS. 221 
 
 and 30 in depth. Above an arch communicating 
 with the Trasagrario, is the figure of Saint Cle- 
 ment, supported by angels, and in a niche which 
 breaks the principal cornice, is a colossal figure 
 of the Virgin of the Conception ; in the lateral 
 intercolumniations are two statues of Saint John 
 the Baptist and the Evangelist, and above, the 
 arms of Archbishop Arias, who contributed money 
 to the work. The angels which are painted 
 round the statue of the Eternal Father, reaching 
 nearly to the middle of the dome, are by Lucas 
 Valdes. All the architectural ornaments of 
 Barbas displayed here, are of a corrupt and ex- 
 travagant taste, the Romanticism of the art. The 
 lateral altars of the Sagrario are equally florid, 
 and belong to no known style of architecture. 
 On the side of the reading-desk is a crucifix of 
 wood, with the figure of the Magdalen, and three 
 statues in marble, of a bishop and two priests; and 
 the Virgin " of the sorrows," a half figure, in the 
 Tabernacle : and in the Epistola, or to the right 
 of the altar, the Virgin with the Child in her 
 arms, on a throne of clouds, three Archangels, and 
 a sleeping infant Christ, are all by Cornejo. 
 
 The reader has now been made acquainted 
 with what is most material to know relative to 
 this splendid pile of building. If some solecisms 
 and offences against correct taste exist in it, they 
 are amply redeemed by the general magnificence 
 and good taste of the architecture. 
 
222 DESCRIPTION OF THE CATHEDRAL. 
 
 I have omitted to mention that the frame of 
 the clock was copied from a design of Vignola, 
 and that, amongst the other rarities, are shown 
 the Moorish key which was delivered to Saint 
 Ferdinand, which is of small dimensions, but 
 with the w r ords, formed in Spanish letters, on the 
 wards — "Dios abrirá, el Rey entrera," — God 
 will open, and the king will enter. Another key 
 has Arabic letters in the ward to the same effect. 
 The first is of silver, made probably for presenta- 
 tion at the surrender of the city ; the latter is of 
 iron. The diamond on the breast of the Virgin 
 in the grand altar is very splendid. It was cus- 
 tomary for each Bishop to leave a dress for mass 
 to the wardrobe of the cathedral, so that the 
 quantity of vestments now accumulated is very 
 great, and they are most splendid. Of the jewels, 
 the pearls are perhaps the finest. Of the organs 
 in the cathedral, that to the right of the grand 
 altar is by Bosch, that on the other side is a new 
 one put up in 1829, made by Valentin. The 
 visitor will not find the great altar of the Sagrario 
 as Barbas carved it, the whole having been taken 
 down some years ago, from being found too cum- 
 bersome. A plain red face has now been substi- 
 tuted, to represent Granada marble. There are 
 now no paintings at all in the church, but the 
 statues over the side altars remain. 
 
( 223 ) 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NOTICES OF THE PRINCIPAL ARTISTS 
 WHO WORKED IN THE CATHEDRAL 
 OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Joseph Arce was a pupil of Montañés, and in 
 1657 worked the eight colossal statues of the 
 four Evangelists and the four Doctors, placed on 
 the balustrades of the Sagrario, and those of the 
 great altar in the Carthusian Convent of Xerez. 
 The attitudes and drapery of his figures were 
 good. He has been confounded by Palomino 
 with Juan de Arfe Villafañe. This latter was 
 born in Leon in 1535, and studied anatomy in 
 the University of Salamanca; from thence he 
 passed to Toledo, where he applied himself to the 
 study of figures from the hands of Vigarny, Ber- 
 ruguete, and Becerra. At the death of his father 
 he settled at Valladolid, at that period an em- 
 porium of the fine arts ; and when only twenty- 
 five years of age, the chapter of the cathedral of 
 Avila gave him twelve ducats for every mark of 
 silver employed in the Custodia of the church, to 
 be fashioned by him after his own design. It 
 was finished and placed in the church in 1571. 
 in 1580, he undertook that of the cathedral of 
 
224 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 Seville, which he completed in seven years after- 
 wards. During this period he returned to Bur- 
 gos, and there had a like commission, with the 
 privilege of performing part of the work at Seville, 
 where he was already engaged. For the Cus- 
 todia of Seville he received £2000 of our money. 
 After completing his engagement in that city, he 
 returned to Valladolid, and made a Custodia for 
 its church also, which he finished in 1590. In 
 conjunction with his son-in-law, Lesmes Fernan- 
 dez del Moral, he executed another about the 
 same period for the church of Osma, of small 
 size, but very delicate workmanship. He now 
 came to Madrid, where he made the Custodia of 
 the Brotherhood of the Most Holy, in the parish 
 of Saint Martin, for which he was paid 16,883 rials. 
 In 1590 he engraved the portrait of Ercilla in 
 wood or lead, for the first edition of his Arau- 
 cana. Philip the Second gave him the post of 
 Examiner of Coin at Segovia, and in 1596 sent 
 for him to repair some statues of bronze, made 
 by Leoni for the burial-place of the Presbytery 
 of the Escurial. In 1597 he executed 64 copper 
 busts, 32 of male, and an equal number of female 
 saints, for the reliquary of the Escurial. Philip 
 the Third employed him also, for in 1599 he re- 
 ceived 4054 ducats for having worked a silver 
 platter and ewer for the king. He wrote two 
 books, one called the " Quilitador de Oro, Plata, 
 y Piedras," and the other " Varia Comensuracion 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 225 
 
 para la Escultura y Arquitectura.'' The former 
 was published in 1572, the latter in 1585. He 
 also engraved the plates, in copper, of the " Ca- 
 bellero determinado" by Pedro Laso. The period 
 of the death of Arfe is not known. 
 
 Barbas was a native of Cadiz, and only noted 
 for the work he did in the cathedral, already men- 
 tioned. Borja was a sculptor, born in Valencia 
 in 1692, and pupil of Leozard Capech. He re- 
 mained long in Alicant, where he carved the 
 sculpture of the face of the collegiate church, 
 and that of the altar of the Sagrario in the parish 
 of Saint Nicholas, as also the Virgin over the 
 principal door, and the titular Saint over the side 
 door. After having executed the bas-reliefs of 
 the choral seats of the cathedral of Orihuela, and 
 the statue of Saint Francis of Sales, placed in 
 face of the church of Saint Felipe Neri, in Va- 
 lencia, he came to Seville, where he died in 
 1756. Besides being respectable as an artist, he 
 was a good dancer and fencer, and spoke French, 
 English, Italian, Dutch, and the dialect of Ma- 
 jorca. 
 
 Churriguera was born in 1650, and in 1690 
 was chief architect to Charles the Second; he 
 died in 1725 ; yet in this short space of time he 
 managed to introduce a most corrupt style of 
 architecture into Spain, which subsequently per- 
 vaded all the empire, to the deterioration of many 
 fine buildings. One of his principal works was 
 
 Q 
 
226 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 the Royal Academy of Saint Ferdinand at Madrid, 
 and the buildings of the new Baztan, both made 
 at the expense of Don Joseph Caudi. He also 
 wrought the statue of Saint Augustin, in the con- 
 vent of Saint Philip el Real, in the same town. 
 Churriguera never visited Seville, but his name 
 has been quoted, for many works in the style of 
 his flowery architecture are to be seen there. 
 Cean Bermudez says that this mode was im- 
 ported from Italy, specimens of it being found in 
 the Vatican. 
 
 Cornejo, called Duke Cornejo, was born in 
 Seville in 1667, and was a pupil of Peter Roldan, 
 whom he did not imitate in his simplicity ; yet 
 his fame was great during life, for when Barbas, 
 in 1706, worked at the altar of the Sagrario, and 
 in 1724, Luis de Vilches put up the organs, it was 
 expressly stipulated that Cornejo was to work 
 the statues, angels, and medals. They are re- 
 spectable for drapery, and spirited, but extra- 
 vagant and affected in attitude. Indeed, they 
 fully correspond in character with the pruriency of 
 Churriguera and Ribera. When Philip the Fifth 
 visited Seville, Cornejo was named statuary " de 
 Cámara" to his majesty. He worked also in 
 Granada — the figures in the chapel of Our Lady 
 de las Angustias are from his hand ; and the Chap- 
 ter of Cordova confided to him the construction 
 of the seats of the choir and the pulpits, in the 
 cathedral of that city. These were his last 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 
 
 227 
 
 works. In 1725 he worked in the Carthusian 
 Convent del Paular, where he made the angels 
 and statues of the Sagrario, and twelve other 
 statues of saints for the altars and niches of the 
 chapel of the same Sagrario. He charged thirty 
 doubloons for each of the latter, besides the 
 value of the materials. Cornejo died at Cordova 
 in 1757. 
 
 Micer Antonio Florentin was of Italian extrac- 
 tion, but came to Seville when very young. In 
 1545 the Chapter of the Cathedral asked his esti- 
 mate for making a monument to serve in the holy 
 week, which he executed after his own design, 
 placing a large cross on the top, of which Cean 
 Bermudez regrets the removal. This monument 
 w r as repaired in 1594, at an expense of 12,000 
 ducats, and instead of the cross, a large jar of 
 white lilies was substituted; in 1624 this was re- 
 moved, and a fourth body added; and in 1649 
 Peter Honorio of Palencia expended 14,700 reals 
 in painting and gilding the six large columns; 
 but the most expensive repairs were done in 1689 
 by Michael Parilla, who left it in its present state. 
 Its plan is a cross with four equal arms, forming four 
 fronts ; on the pedestals are placed sixteen great 
 Doric columns, and by ten steps in each front you 
 ascend to the height of the pedestals, on the pave- 
 ment of which is placed the Custodia, worked by 
 Arfe, between four other lesser columns, which, 
 having a cupola, form an interior body; the second 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 compartment is Ionic, with eight columns, having 
 a statue, in the middle, of Our Saviour in pontifi- 
 cal robes ; and eight large statues of the following 
 subjects : — the Eternal Life, Human Nature, the 
 Ancient Law, the Law of Grace, with Abraham, 
 Melchisedek, Moses, and Aaron, — standing on 
 eight pedestals in the cornice of the first body. 
 The third body is Corinthian, with eight large co- 
 lumns and eight smaller statues, representing the 
 Soldiers casting Lots for the Robe of Christ, Saint 
 Peter Weeping, Solomon, the Queen of Sheba, 
 the Chief Priest of the Council, Abraham with 
 the knife about to slay his son Isaac, and the 
 Allegory of the Blow on the Face. The fourth 
 and last is of the composite order, and forms an 
 eight-sided dome, on the top of which is the Cru- 
 cifixion, with the two Thieves and the Virgin, 
 and St. John lower down, in the pedestals or 
 abutments. The whole is painted white, with 
 black outlines, and well polished; twenty-five 
 silver lamps, and a great number of wax candles 
 are used to light it, but from its reaching nearly 
 to the top of the great nave it is not well seen, 
 and appears placed in a too confined space. 
 
 Of the Figueroas there were several, but none 
 attained great eminence. Guillon was a sculptor, 
 who was occupied in 1537 with the face of the 
 chapel in the tower of Toledo Cathedral, under 
 direction of the chief master, Alfonso Covarrubias; 
 and in the year 1539 with the sculpture of the 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 229 
 
 wall where the great organ stands. From thence 
 he came to Seville, where he established himself 
 with great advantage, and in 1548 was charged 
 with the execution of a model for the doors of 
 the great sacristy, as well as their compartments. 
 Each door is formed after architectural designs 
 in the plateresco style, and at the bottom two 
 Evangelists are carved, in a sitting posture; and 
 there are two more placed at the top of the fron- 
 tispiece, in demi-relief, as are also the figures of the 
 Saints Leander and Isidorus, Justa and Rufina, 
 which are on the doors. In the half circle of the 
 arch to this door is a representation of the Death 
 of Abel, which, as well as the other work, is 
 carved in alerce wood. This is the most famous 
 work of Guillen; but to him we may attribute 
 also the archiepiscopal chair, besides the orna- 
 ments of the cathedral wardrobes, the latter of 
 which are in the " Sacristia mayor." — Garcia de 
 Santiago was pupil of Bernard Gixon, and known 
 as the sculptor of the statue of Saint Hermene- 
 gildus, in the altar of that saint in the cathedral 
 of Seville, besides other works in various churches. 
 He died in 1740. — Bartholomew Morel lived in 
 Seville at the middle of the sixteenth century. 
 In 1559 he was ordered to form a model for the 
 monument of the Holy Week, as had been before 
 traced by Antonio Florentin: and in 1562 he 
 finished the famous " Tenebrario," or candlestick 
 of the cathedral, for which he received 250 ducats 
 
230 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WOKKKD 
 
 in addition to his regular pay, as a token of ap- 
 probation of the work by the chapter. In the 
 year 1566 Morel executed the figure of Faith, 
 which serves as a weathercock to the cathedral ; 
 and though it weighs near four thousand pounds, 
 the slightest wind influences the flag which is in 
 the right hand, and it thus serves to point out the 
 direction of the wind to the whole city, standing 
 on a pivot traversed by a bolt. He executed also 
 the desk of the choir, which, though large, is 
 plain, and in good architectural taste. The read- 
 ing desk, with four faces on which the books are 
 placed, turns on a round Doric body, which is 
 four-sided, with columns and statues in bronze ; 
 above is a small temple, with the figure of the 
 Virgin, crowned by a Crucifixion placed at the 
 top. — Juan de Oviedo was engaged at Seville in 
 1617 in diverting the course of the river from the 
 town, at the gate of Saint John, then called the 
 " Almenilla," as is recorded in an ancient docu- 
 ment, in these words : — " Reinado en las Españas 
 la Católica Magestad, siendo asistente Don Diego 
 Sarmiento de Sotomayor, Conde de Salvatierra, 
 Sevilla desvió de este sitio la corriente del Rio 
 Guadalquivir 300 pasos al norte con que reparó 
 los continos daños de sus frecuentes inundaciones, 
 y previno la total ruina suya. Fueron diputados 
 Don Alonzo de Casans, Don Francisco de Céspedes, 
 Don Fernando Caballero veinte y cuatros, Andres 
 Ortiz jurado, Juan de Oviedo jurado, y maestro 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 231 
 
 mayor por cuya industria se hizo este divertimi- 
 ento del rio. Año del nacimiento de nuestro Sal- 
 vador Christo, 1597." In the following year, he 
 erected the monument in honour of Philip the 
 Second, which occupied the space in the cathe- 
 dral between the choir and the Capilla Mayor, 
 being a distance of forty-four feet. The monu- 
 ment was divided into three bodies, the lowest 
 being of the Doric order, and mounting to the 
 Ionic and Corinthian. These three tiers were 
 filled with columns; in the middle one was a 
 funeral urn, covered with red velvet, and on the 
 top of the third was a dome, with an obelisk 
 above, surmounted by a globe, and the figure of a 
 phoenix in the midst of flames. Montañés was 
 the artist who formed the statues which stood 
 between the columns; and Pacheco, Vasquez, 
 Parea, and Salcedo painted the ornaments and 
 allegories. The cost of this catafalque, which was 
 principally of wood and canvas, amounted to 
 15,000 ducats. 
 
 Diego Riaño was master architect of Seville 
 Cathedral in 1528, and two years afterwards the 
 plans he had presented for the sacristy and chap- 
 ter-house were approved, and ordered to be ex- 
 ecuted; but he died in the year 1533, without 
 having seen the commencement of his plan car- 
 ried forward as he wished, and the task fell to the 
 lot of Gainza, of whom some notices will be found 
 in the description of the hospital " de la Sangre/ 5 
 
232 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 in the parish of Saint Gil.— Lucas Cintora was 
 bora in Toledo, a town of Navarre, in 1732 ; at 
 the age of fourteen he studied architecture at 
 Bayonne, and afterwards passed to Saragossa, 
 where he worked at the chapel of our Lady " del 
 Pilar," and thence passed to Seville, where, pos- 
 sessing much rapidity of execution, and having 
 been elected member of the college of Saint 
 Charles in Valencia, he found plenty of employ- 
 ment. In 1777, he took to pieces and remodelled 
 part of the Sagrario of the cathedral, and was also 
 the architect of the Inquisition, the Alcazar, the 
 Archive of the Indies, and the Audiencia. He 
 renewed also the house of the Marquis of Medina, 
 and the College of the Becas. The work for 
 which he gained most credit was the completion 
 of the upper story of the " Louja," or Exchange, 
 after the design of Herrera. Cintora died in 
 1800, of the yellow fever. 
 
 The artists hitherto mentioned have been dis- 
 tinguished alike as architects, sculptors, and 
 painters ; but there is another profession which 
 gives beauty and splendour to all buildings, and 
 particularly to cathedrals and places of worship, 
 namely, that of glass-dyers. It has been sup- 
 posed that Seville Cathedral possessed coloured 
 windows so early as 1478 ; but they were only 
 coloured in white. Micer Cristobal Alemán was 
 the first who painted them with figures and orna- 
 ments, in 1504. Bernal, a Fleming, executed 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 
 
 233 
 
 those of the Capilla Mayor in 1518, in which he 
 was assisted by Bernaldino de Gelandia; in 1525 
 the brothers Arnao de Vergana and Arnao de 
 Flandes were introduced to the cathedral, in 
 order to complete the whole of the painting in its 
 windows. Two windows were painted by them 
 jointly, and Vergana continued working until 
 1538, leaving unfinished the side of the Assump- 
 tion, which is in front of the cross vault, or " Cru- 
 zero," on the right hand side of the great altar. 
 Arnao de Flandes finished it, and continued 
 painting till 1557, when he died. The chapter 
 ordered the sum of 50,592 maravedis to be paid 
 to his widow, a debt owing to her husband for 
 the last window he painted, representing the 
 Coming of the Holy Ghost, and which is placed 
 near the gate of the Patio de los Naranjos. 
 During this period of nineteen years, he painted 
 the following pieces : — that of Santa Maria, near 
 the gate of Saint Michael, that of the Apostles, 
 in the cross vault on the left hand side of the 
 great altar, and another also on the left of the 
 great altar, representing four bishops ; the circular 
 window of the Ascension, in front of the Assump- 
 tion, two to the back of the Capilla Mayor, the 
 one which contains the Saints Justa, Rufina, Bar- 
 bara, and Clara, another of Saints Vicente, Lo- 
 renzo, Stephen, and Leonard; that of Saints 
 Lucia, Ines, Cecilia, and Agueda, the Saints John 
 the Baptist, Paul, and Roque ; that of the Saints 
 
234 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 Ursula, Anastasia, and Polonia; and that of 
 Saints Martin, Nicolas, and Silvester. He painted, 
 in addition to these, the Entry into Jerusalem 
 with the Palms, the Resurrection of Lazarus, the 
 Washing of the Feet, the Supper of our Lord, the 
 Unction of the Magdalen, the Money-Changers 
 driven from the Temple, the Passing of the Virgin, 
 and Saint Francis. These form the number of 
 twenty, but in the cathedral there are ninety- 
 three coloured windows. Carlos Bruxes and Vi- 
 cente Menandro probably painted the others, for 
 they continued working there until 1569. 
 
 The art of colouring glass sprung up with the 
 revival of letters in Europe. Unlike other arts, 
 its earliest specimens are the most beautiful, if 
 we count those commencing from the fifteenth to 
 the middle of the sixteenth century. Of late 
 years, however, the advances made in chemistry 
 promise to procure us equally fine works with 
 those of earlier times. One of the most beautiful 
 modern specimens in England exists at Brance- 
 peth Castle in Durham, and represents the battle 
 in which King David of Scotland was made pri- 
 soner by the English, in 1346. The glass which 
 sustains most heat without melting is that of Bo- 
 hemia, and it presents therefore the most advanta- 
 geous qualities for transmitting colours, which are 
 applied with either alkaline or metallic solvents ; 
 and by calculating the colouring nature and the 
 absorbing power of each oxyde, the transparency 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 
 
 235 
 
 is communicated to the glass. For the fusion of 
 the solvents, a crucible of platina should be used; 
 for an earthern one, however well lined with 
 chalk, is always subject to be affected by the ox- 
 ides of lead and melted alkalies, which, by intro- 
 ducing a foreign matter, deteriorate the delicacy 
 of the tints. The blue, purple, and carmine co- 
 lours do not admit of the introduction of bismuth 
 or lead, and are formed from alkalies, while the 
 red, the yellow, and the black are metallic; green, 
 violet, and orange are composed from a mixture 
 of the two, alkalies and metals. The colours are 
 applied to the panes of glass with spirits of tur- 
 pentine, and then put into the furnace, the heat of 
 which causes the glass to imbibe the colours. 
 Two furnaces are generally used, one for the first 
 vitrification, and the second, of a more even heat, 
 for rebaking the glass, which is introduced gra- 
 dually on an iron, bronze, or earthen pallet, with 
 a long wooden handle, from the entrance to the 
 strongest heat, which is in the centre of the fur- 
 nace. The finest establishment for manufacturing 
 painted glass in France, is that of Monsieur Bron- 
 gniart, at Sevres. A proof, however, that even 
 the material parts of science vary in perfection 
 under different hands, and that practice takes 
 place of theory in many instances, is, that igno- 
 rant as the first colourists of glass and the ancients 
 were in chemical science, the moderns have not 
 surpassed, indeed scarcely equalled, their purple 
 
236 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 and red tints ; and the great chemist, Sir Hum- 
 phry Davy, was unable to ascertain the materials 
 used for producing a similar colour on cloth, which 
 custom had rendered easy to the dyers of Tyre. 
 
 The following names belong to those who 
 worked the iron railings and other ornaments of 
 metal in the cathedral, which, although an art of 
 minor importance to sculpture and painting, ne- 
 vertheless has its merit, and is extremely orna- 
 mental to public buildings ; indeed, a taste seems 
 prevalent in Spain for iron work, whether bor- 
 rowed originally from the Arabs it is difficult to 
 say; but we find the gratings of the doors and 
 windows generally worked in graceful compart- 
 ments — in Seville in particular, where the doors 
 which open upon the courts are all of iron ; 
 great taste is displayed in their construction, they 
 being both strong and of light appearance. That 
 such an art was practised by the Goths w r e have 
 little reason to doubt, and that the Moors worked 
 keys and iron ornaments in very curious patterns 
 we have existing proofs ; but no earlier specimens 
 worthy of admiration have come down to us. 
 The Goths had indeed travelled from the north of 
 the Black Sea to the south of the Morea; from 
 thence they ascended Italy, crossed the Alps, vi- 
 sited the south of France, and fixed themselves in 
 Spain in the fifth century ; hence it is reasonable to 
 suppose that they brought with them, at least to 
 some extent, the arts of these different countries, 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 237 
 
 particularly the working of iron, which is useful 
 for war and necessary for safety. How far their 
 labours extended is uncertain, but the iron crown 
 of dominion was familiar to them, and they must 
 have valued a metal which was used as a symbol 
 of royalty. We however see their medals defaced, 
 and of the rudest work ; they made more progress 
 in victories than in science, and the historian en- 
 counters more difficulty in fixing their dynasties 
 than those of any other marauders, from their ge- 
 neral inattention to the arts. 
 
 The following are the names of those who 
 worked in the cathedral. Friar Joseph Corredo, 
 who was born in Port Saint Mary in 1717, 
 made the cathedral clock, and the iron grating 
 of the chapel of Saint Peter in the same church. 
 He is also the maker of the clock of the con- 
 vent of Saint Francis. He died in 1797. James 
 Idrobo, in the year 1522, worked the iron rails 
 to the side of the Capilla Mayor, and in the 
 following year he received 200 ducats for extra- 
 ordinary work done on the right side of the same. 
 These railings are in better taste than those of the 
 choir. Sancho Muñoz was one of the best artists 
 in this branch, at the beginning of the sixteenth 
 century. He came from Cuenca to Seville in 
 1517, and the following year executed one of the 
 lateral rails of the Capilla Mayor, and afterwards 
 was commissioned to execute the iron work round 
 the choir, with an allowance of 200 ducats in 
 gold for each year he worked, on condition that 
 
238 NOTICES OF ARTISTS WHO WORKED 
 
 the whole was to be finished in eighteen months, 
 or otherwise that the engagement should be null 
 and void. He was also enjoined to make a draw- 
 ing of the work, before going to Cuenca to seek 
 his assistants. This being approved of, he brought 
 them to Seville, and finished the work within the 
 time specified. Besides the many ornaments 
 which this railing displays, it contains the figures 
 of prophets and kings worked in iron, and a re- 
 presentation of the temporal generation of Christ, 
 well executed, and finished with much care and 
 attention to design. Palencia, in 1537, executed 
 the iron staircase of the pulpit in the cathedral, 
 which stands to the right of the grand altar. He 
 was a pupil of Friar Francis of Salamanca, who 
 worked the division in iron between the Cruzero 
 of the church in the monastery of Guadaloupe. 
 Ye pes worked in the cathedral in 1518 and 1519. 
 He assisted in the execution of one of the two 
 great lateral rails of the Capilla Mayor. 
 
 Such are the names and notices which I have 
 met with touching the authors of the embel- 
 lishments in metal in the Sevillan Cathedral. 
 Few and meagre as they are, it is fortunate that 
 we know even so little ; for at that time artists 
 were not so fortunate as Pierre Denys, the work- 
 man of the railing to the organ table at the church 
 of Saint Denis in France, in 1715, who has been 
 handed down to the admiration of posterity. A 
 life of privation would be rewarded, could the ar- 
 
IN THE CATHEDRAL OF SEVILLE. 
 
 239 
 
 tist return to earth, and view the admiration 
 offered to his works by future generations ; could 
 he witness beauty and power, the fair and the 
 great, paying homage at his shrine ; but he sleeps 
 insensible to the smile of approbation and the 
 murmur of praise ; his day has been often spent 
 in seeking provision for the morrow, in toiling for 
 a meal, and bearing the insults which patient 
 merit too often takes of the unworthy. 
 
( 240 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE CONTINUED. 
 
 SAINT MICHAEL. 
 
 This parochial church was rebuilt by the King 
 Don Pedro, and its large chapel given by him to 
 his treasurer Yañez de Aponte, who lies there, a 
 victim sacrificed to the anger of his master in 
 1367, as is shown by his epitaph. It contains 
 also some more tombs of note, amongst others 
 that of Vergaza, of the date of 1358. The archi- 
 tecture of the building is Gothic. We find here 
 no paintings of merit, but a fine carving of the 
 Crucifixion, by Montañés, has been placed in the 
 grand altar, which formerly stood in an adjacent 
 chapel. It is probable that in the time of the 
 Goths this parish of Saint Michael existed where 
 that of Saint Roman now stands, for on opening 
 an excavation there to rebuild a wall, a box of 
 relics was found with the following inscription : — 
 " These holy relics were hid in this wall on the 
 destruction of Spain, by a member of the church 
 of Saint Michael ;" — thus alluding to the occu- 
 pation of the country by the Moors. Pedro, 
 however, built it where it now stands. The sue- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 241 
 
 cessors of this treasurer, Aponte, changed their 
 names to Alvarez de Chillas ; time and poverty 
 have now altogether reduced and obscured the 
 family. The Colegio de los Ingleses was founded 
 in 1592, where Roman Catholic English were in- 
 structed by the Jesuits ; it stood on the left hand 
 side of the Calle de las Armas, as you enter into 
 the parish of St. Michael. Robert Pearson was 
 sent with letters of authorization from the King of 
 Spain to the Archbishop of Seville, at the end of 
 the sixteenth century. The community consisted 
 of four members only. In front of this seminary 
 stood the hospital of Saint Antonio Abad, which 
 had its origin in a permission to found it from 
 Henry II. brother of the king Don Pedro, and 
 during the life of the latter, when he temporarily 
 occupied Seville, on the 4th June, 1366. Eight re- 
 ligious men directed the management of this hos- 
 pital. In later times it became a priory, subject 
 to the order of the knights of Castrogeris, being 
 the family of Solis, marquisses of Rianzuela, 
 whose houses are in the church. Fronting the 
 principal gate of this parish was the Jesuit Col- 
 lege of Saint Hermenegildus, which consisted of 
 fifty-nine members. It was commenced in 1580, 
 the city giving 500 ducats towards the expense of 
 building the schools. 
 
 The church is of an oval form, and decorated 
 with worked plaster and gilding. The upper 
 part is of the composite, and the lower of the 
 
 R 
 
242 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Ionic order, with figures of the apostles and doc- 
 tors of the church. This church contained the 
 picture of Saint Hermenegildus beatified and glo- 
 rious in heaven, Saint Leander and Saint Isidorus 
 standing below, and King Recarredus (who was 
 the first that gave full licence for the Christian 
 worship in Spain) listening to their instructions. 
 This is the picture now in the cathedral, and the 
 sight of which caused Philip the Fourth to liberate 
 the author, who was at that time imprisoned for 
 forgery. 
 
 The Convent of the Nuns of the Conception 
 was in the Calle del Puerto, having been trans- 
 lated from the Calle de Lizos, in the parish of 
 Saint Lorenzo. It contained twenty-one mem- 
 bers. The translation was effected by Elvira de 
 Vargas Herrera, in 1631. It was a very ancient 
 institution, and existed perhaps prior to the order 
 of Santo Domingo, the members of which latter 
 were fifty in number, and lived in the spot where 
 the parishes of Saint Michael and Saint Andrew 
 separate, very near to this last convent. These 
 nuns were formed into a community in 1525, by 
 Juana Fernandez, who took the name of Maria de 
 Jesus, and three religious women of the Domi- 
 nican convent of the Madre de Dios joined her, 
 establishing their institution in some houses which 
 belonged to Juana Fernandez. The Dominican 
 Convent of Nuestro Señor Jesu Cristo was sepa- 
 rated from the last two streets, that of the Plata, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 243 
 
 and the Pasión ; formerly the sisterhood was es- 
 tablished in the parish of Saint Gil, from whence 
 it was removed in 1513 by Doña Inés de San Mi- 
 guel, member of the Carmen, and of the family of 
 the Farfanes, who date from the Goths, to the 
 Convent of the Incarnacion of the same order, 
 where it remained till 1585, when it was trans- 
 lated to the Alameda, under name of the "Belen," 
 from an image found there, in a hermitage of 
 Nuestra Señora de Belen. In the house which 
 the holy women left, others established them- 
 selves of the habit of Santo Domingo, being en- 
 dowed with property left for that purpose by 
 Gabriel Luis, a rich tradesman. Thirteen poor 
 girls were the first community, in 1585, of these 
 Dominican nuns; their number afterwards ex- 
 tended to forty. 
 
 This parish contains 188 houses. 
 
 SAINT NICOLAS BARI. 
 
 This parochial church is supposed to stand 
 on the site of an ancient temple to Hercules, who 
 was a popular deity, and worshipped as such by 
 the inhabitants of Seville. Near to this church 
 were found the two Roman columns, which, al- 
 though one is surmounted with the statue of Julius 
 Caesar, still retain the name of the pillars of Her- 
 cules. They appear to me of the later time of 
 
 r2 
 
244 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Roman work, and their name may have been de- 
 rived from their collocation on a spot which once 
 was a temple to Hercules. Four similar columns 
 exist in the same neighbourhood, but they are 
 buried in the earth ; of one, which lies near a well, 
 the base descends deeper than the bottom of the 
 well. The architect's name is inscribed on ano- 
 ther — at least we read on it the word " Virinius." 
 The square hewn stones of the Alcazar are sup- 
 posed to have been taken by the Moors from the 
 temple of Hercules. The site of the present 
 church was first dedicated to that hero, under the 
 Goths to the Virgin, and afterwards to its present 
 patron saint. During the occupation of the Moors, 
 it still retained some parishioners, and passed by 
 the title of Santa Maria Soterraña ; the walls be- 
 ing so thick that two persons could pass a-breast 
 upon them, and they contained cells which pro- 
 bably served as chapels, and are supposed to 
 have anciently communicated with the subter- 
 ranean passages in the street of Abades. A con- 
 vent of the " Madre de Dios" nuns, of the Domini- 
 can order, which exists in this parish, formerly 
 stood in the gate of Triana, but from an inunda- 
 tion in 1486, it was found necessary to move them 
 here, and the Catholic queen Isabel transferred 
 to them some houses forfei ted by persons who had 
 embraced Judaism. The establishment contained 
 fifty-eight members. The founder of this con- 
 vent was the wife of one Sanchez de Huete, whose 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 245 
 
 husband having accidentally found a hidden trea- 
 sure, employed it for this purpose; but there is 
 no note of the year of its foundation, and all we 
 learn is that the establishment in the first instance 
 was located in Triana. Some have imagined that 
 a Jewish synagogue once stood on its site, but no 
 good grounds exist for the supposition. The 
 Jewish quarter was enclosed by two walls, and 
 had two gates, one at the church of Saint Nicolas, 
 and the other at the present gate " de la Carne," 
 which at night-time were always kept closed. 
 Another convent for eighteen nuns, of the order of 
 Saint Justa and Rufina, stood in the street " de 
 las Virgines, between the church of Saint Nicolas 
 and the last-named convent. It was founded by 
 Alonzo Faxerdo de Villalobos, in 1582, for the 
 benefit of his own relations, some of whom were 
 at that time translated from the Convent of the 
 Conception in San Juan de la Palma to this mo- 
 nastery. Administration of the sacraments was 
 allowed here six years afterwards, and the founder 
 had the pleasure to live and witness the comple- 
 tion of his work in 1590. This parish contains 
 one hundred and ten houses. 
 
246 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 SAINT PETER. 
 
 The alhondiga, or public granary, of this pa- 
 rish had been rebuilt a few years before the 
 famine of 1506, — when the adelantado, or go- 
 vernor, of the province of Andalusia, Don Fran- 
 cisco Henriquez de Ribera, supplied a large quan- 
 tity of corn at a low price for the use of the poor. 
 His name, and a memorial of this benevolent 
 action, remain engraved in the building on stone. 
 In the convent of Santa Ines, inhabited by the 
 nuns of Santa Clara, is preserved the body, still 
 uncorrupted, as tradition goes, of Doña Maria 
 Coronel, daughter of Alfonso Fernandez Coro- 
 nel, who was slain in the town of Aquibar, in the 
 fourth year of the reign of Don Pedro the Cruel, 
 having refused to give up the place to the king. 
 Don Pedro, as his biographers describe him, was 
 brave and hardy, with no philosophy, and little 
 religion; he plunged on horseback, sword in 
 hand, into the Guadalquiver, to slay the legate of 
 the Pope, who was in the act of excommunicating 
 him from a vessel, not daring to do it on shore, 
 and who only saved his life by leaping on land, 
 and mounting a horse to escape. The king, as the 
 chronicles report, was passionately fond of money, 
 falcons, and the fair sex. Alfonso Fernandez 
 Coronel left behind him two daughters, one named 
 Maria, the other Aldonsa, the former of whom is 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 247 
 
 the subject of this little narrative. She was wife 
 of Juan de la Cerda, a lineal descendant of the 
 Castilian kings. Her sister was married to Alvar 
 Perez de Guzman, lord of Lara. Don Pedro sta- 
 tioned the two husbands to defend the frontiers 
 of Aragón, as he esteemed them the two most 
 valiant of his officers. While in discharge of their 
 duty, it was reported to them that the king had 
 criminal intentions towards the wife of Don Al- 
 varez; the two brothers-in-law thereupon left 
 their posts, and proceeded to Seville with troops, 
 to the rescue of their ladies. Don Pedro having 
 given orders that they should not be permitted to 
 enter Andalusia, they proceeded to collect a large 
 force of troops, Don Alvarez in Aragón, and Don 
 Juan in Gibraleon, which was his own feudal 
 property. The latter, however, was attacked and 
 defeated between Veas and Trigueras, by Juan 
 Ponce de Leon, lord of Marchena, taken prisoner, 
 and afterwards put to death at Seville. 
 
 When Doña Maria Coronel heard the disastrous 
 news of her husband's capture, she left Seville 
 for Tarragona, and presented herself to the king, 
 to supplicate for her husband's life. The tyrant, 
 with singular perfidy, granted her prayer, being 
 at the same time aware that he had been trea- 
 cherously murdered, for on her return to Seville 
 she found that eight days had elapsed since the 
 sentence of death had been put in execution. 
 His widow having become acquainted with these 
 
248 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 facts, and dreading the importunities of the king, 
 caused a cavity to be formed in the orchard of 
 Santa Clara, where she concealed herself, causing 
 flowers, which by the kindly intervention of pro- 
 vidence grew miraculously to an equal size with 
 the others in one night, to be placed over the 
 ground ; and availing herself of a secret door 
 which communicated with the monastery, she de- 
 fied scrutiny, and lived for some time in safety ; 
 but still dreading the risk to which she was ex- 
 posed of losing her honour, she is said to have 
 bathed her face in boiling oil, so as completely to 
 remove all the temptation of her beauty, and then 
 to have taken the vows. This took place in 1357. 
 When Henry, the successor to Pedro, came to the 
 throne, he restored her property, which had been 
 confiscated, and with it she endowed this monas- 
 tery. The mortal remains of this illustrious lady 
 are deposited within the convent. — In the altar- 
 piece is a figure, by Montañés, of Santa Ines, 
 with a lamb in her arms. Campana, too, is seen 
 here to advantage in an altar-piece. The parish 
 church has an altar-piece also, with eight paint- 
 ings by the same artist ; two represent portraits 
 of ecclesiastics, and seven of holy sisters, proba- 
 bly benefactors to the institution, which are very 
 well painted ; portrait painting being the line of 
 art in which Campana particularly excelled. In 
 the chapel of San Pedro is seen the Liberation of 
 the Saint from Prison by an Angel, by Rodelas. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 249 
 
 This picture is eight feet high by six wide, and 
 oval topped ; it contains only two figures, which 
 are larger than life, and are magnificently treated. 
 The distribution of light is well managed, the 
 colouring good, and it is a work of art worthy to 
 compete with the good productions of the Italian 
 school. 
 
 Both Maria and Aldonsa Coronel were abbesses 
 of this convent. Don Pedro ravished the latter 
 from her retreat in the sanctuary, and kept her 
 for some time in the " Torre del Oro," after which 
 she returned to the monastery, with much cen- 
 sure from the scrupulous in conduct among the 
 devotees, which, however, did not prevent her 
 succession, after the death of her sister, to the 
 dignity of abbess. This building was completed 
 in 1374, and Maria Coronel was still living in 
 1411. 
 
 Another convent of twenty-eight nuns, of the 
 Augustin order of the " Encarnación," existed in 
 the "Plaza" of this parish, founded under the 
 will of Juan de Varrera, who died in 1591. Their 
 convent was destroyed by the French, and they 
 occupied afterwards the Hospital of Santa Martha, 
 in the parish of Sagrario, and the nuns live now 
 in some houses in front of the cathedral. The 
 hospital " Del Buen Suceso " was remarkable for 
 its fine jasper columns ; the date of its foundation 
 was but the beginning of the last century, and 
 about the year 1774 it sunk altogether into ob- 
 
250 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 scurity. Adjoining to the parishes of Saint Ilde- 
 fonso and Saint Catalina, stood the convent of the 
 " Descalzos de la Trinidad ;" it was a large one, 
 containing seventy-four members, which had ex- 
 isted in the first instance outside the walls of 
 Seville, near to Saint Benito, but in 1610 was 
 transported hither. 
 
 " Ana la pobre," one of the female worthies of 
 Seville, was buried in this church, having had the 
 merit of successfully combating, not merely the 
 temptations of the devil, but those of extreme 
 poverty also, with the greatest heroism. Married 
 at the age of eighteen, she is said to have resisted 
 the attacks of hunger for three days, with her hus- 
 band and two small children, till by a miracle the 
 bread she begged from charity was multiplied for 
 their necessities. After his death, her piety, 
 which had become proverbial, caused the rich and 
 powerful to seek her acquaintance, but she fled 
 from wealth and greatness, and maintained a con- 
 duct so dignified and self-denying, that at her 
 death, in 1617, crowds attended her funeral as 
 that of. a monarch, although her station was so 
 humble that the date of her birth is unknown. 
 
 The ancient manufactory and sale-house of to- 
 bacco was in the "Calle Moreria," which once 
 served as a theatre, and afterwards as a prison 
 or penitentiary for females of evil repute. An 
 American named Carrafa first contracted for the 
 sale of this drug, by advancing to the king, in 1632, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 251 
 
 two millions of reals, payable in six years ; in 
 1685, however, the monarch took the conduct of 
 it into his own hands ; at that period one hundred 
 men and one hundred and sixty women were em- 
 ployed in the establishment. The modern one, 
 however, is infinitely more extensive than this. 
 
 The convent of " Regina Angelorum," inhabited 
 by forty-eight monks, "Predicadores," took its 
 name from the "Plazala de Reina," in which it 
 stood. This species of college was founded in 
 1553, by the will of Doña Leonora Manrique, 
 Marchioness of Agamonte, who left Doña Teresa 
 de Zuniga charged with the work of its establish- 
 ment. 
 
 The parish of Saint Peter contains 190 houses. 
 
 SAINT ROMAN. 
 
 Some say that this parish church was used by 
 the Christians, in the time of the Moors, as a place 
 of worship ; the most probable account however 
 is, that it was first a Gothic, then a Mahomedan, 
 and afterwards a Christian temple. A legend 
 was left inscribed on stone, recording its erection 
 in the seventh century. The Puerta del Osario 
 is by some placed in this parish, by others in that 
 of the Macarena. In the times of the Goths, the 
 church I have mentioned was dedicated to Saint 
 
252 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Michael ; on the restoration of the Christians, 
 Saint Roman, who had suffered in Antioch by- 
 order of the prefect Asclepiades, became its pa- 
 tron. The chapel of the Sacristy appertained to 
 the family of the Céspedes. 
 
 In the wall between the " Puerta del Sol " and 
 the " Osario," was the convent of (C Nuestra Señora 
 de la Valle." It was remarkable for an image of 
 the Virgin, which rescued a child who had fallen 
 into a well, for which reason the Virgin is painted 
 in the act of grasping at the infant. Indeed it is 
 said that this image once stood in the parish 
 church, and that the sexton, endeavouring to de- 
 stroy it by repeated blows, was terrified by a voice 
 issuing from the wood, and asking, " For what rea- 
 son am I thus ill treated ?" upon which, commu- 
 nicating the miraculous event to the archbishop, 
 he ordered the figure to be placed in this con- 
 vent. Originally it was filled with Dominican 
 nuns, until 1502, when the order of Saint Catha- 
 rine succeeded in the occupation of it. The 
 Catholic Queen Isabel was a benefactor to this 
 establishment. In 1682 it was annexed to the 
 " Terceros " of Gerena, under whose patronage it 
 ultimately remained, and contained sixty mem- 
 bers. 
 
 The convent of Saint Paul, also in this parish, 
 was founded in 1475 by Anade Santillan, and the 
 church built by the widow of the constable, Isa- 
 bel Henriquez, Marchioness of Montemayor in 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 253 
 
 Portugal, brother to the Duke of Braganza, who 
 was put to death by King John the Second of 
 Spain; their graves and epitaphs remain there. 
 The nuns who dwell here were forty-one in num- 
 ber, and of the Geronomite order. At its first 
 foundation, the jurisdiction of this order had not 
 yet been admitted in Spain, so that until 1514 
 they remained subject to that of Santa Martha, in 
 Cordova. 
 
 The parish of Saint Roman contains 154 houses. 
 
 SAINT ROQUE. 
 
 The space which lies between the Puerte del 
 Osaria and that of Carmona, consists of the 
 Parish of Saint Roque, being an " Ayuda," or 
 assistant parish to that of the cathedral, as are 
 also those of San Bernard, Santa Cruz, and 
 Santa Maria la Blanca. The origin of this parish 
 arose, in 1599, out of the singular devotion 
 paid during the time of the plague to the saint, 
 who stood in the hermitage of the hospital " De 
 las Lenceros," or " of the Linen Drapers," later 
 known by the name of the Estrella, in the parish 
 of Saint Laurence. The parish church was built 
 close to the walls of the city, and the district, 
 which had till then been under the jurisdiction of 
 the curate of Saint Bernard, was now divided; 
 
254 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the space from the " calzada/' or causeway, to 
 the ducts of Carmona, being apportioned to Saint 
 Roque, and that from the ducts of the gate of the 
 Carne, to Saint Bernard. The Christ " de las 
 Lagrimas" was reverenced in this church, from a 
 miracle of the figure of our Saviour having been 
 seen to weep ; which is attested with the great- 
 est gravity by a useful but anonymous writer of 
 the period. 
 
 Facing the parish church of Saint Roque is 
 the chapel of our Lady of Gracia, generally called 
 " de los Angeles," at charge of the brotherhood of 
 the Blacks ; and on the day of the Angeles, 
 " Corren parejas y gaasos los hermanos llevando 
 padritios caballeros maestrantes, y es capitulo de 
 regla de la maestranza el asistir á esta función." 
 It is of great antiquity, its date being anterior to 
 the year 1400, and contemporary with the Arch- 
 bishop Mena, founder of the Carthuja. 
 
 This quarter of the town was the resort of 
 negroes, and a great body of them always met 
 here; indeed the street named " Conde Negro" 
 is to the back of the chapel ; at a subsequent 
 period a band of women was formed to sing 
 the Rosario in this parish. In 1553, some dis- 
 respect having been observed towards the mys- 
 tery of the Conception at the court, Seville was 
 compelled to wipe away the affront by the ex- 
 hibition of many religious festivals and proces- 
 sions; but in this parish the subscription not 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 255 
 
 reaching what was requisite to pay the expense, 
 a virtuous free negro offered to sell himself, 
 in order to complete the necessary sum. A rich 
 elder, Don Gonzalo Nuñez de Sepulveda, admir- 
 ing the piety of the negro, paid the money for 
 him : an instance of generosity in the Spanish 
 character equally creditable and rare. 
 
 The magazines for keeping saltpetre to make 
 gunpowder are outside the city walls, but belong 
 to this parish ; they are now entirely in ruins, but 
 had been constructed on a large scale. After 
 having remained empty for many years, they were 
 nearly levelled with the ground in 1836, when 
 Gomez, the Carlist, threatened an invasion of 
 Seville, to prevent his using them for fortifica- 
 tions or shelter. They even now appear like the 
 foundations of a separate village. 
 
 San Roque contains 543 houses. 
 
 ALL SAINTS. 
 
 This church contains a Last Judgment, by a 
 painter called Reina, one of Herreras best pupils, 
 in the middle of the seventeenth century, of whom 
 I have never met with any other work. It is a 
 painting of five feet by three and a half, oval 
 topped, and exhibits a good specimen of aerial 
 perspective. The souls are issuing from purga- 
 tory, and the Father and Saviour are seated above. 
 
256 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The colouring is of the good Spanish school, but 
 rather ruddy. There is an Arab tower, with Go- 
 thic entrances to the church. An altar-piece by 
 Várela, a scholar of Zurbaran, presents seven pic- 
 tures, but they are weak in design. Don Pedro 
 rebuilt this church, which has three naves. The 
 arms of Portugal also are seen here, Don Dio- 
 nisius of Portugal having been its benefactor in 
 1269, on occasion of a visit to his relation Alfonso 
 the Learned. The chapel of the Cervantes is in 
 this church, from whence the revolted drew out 
 the green standard in 1521, in a quarrel between 
 the family of Arcos and that of Medina Sidonia, 
 for supremacy in the city. In 1587, eight hos- 
 pitals, which stood in this parish, were incorpo- 
 rated into the single one of the Amor de Dios. 
 The latter was founded by Alfonso the Learned, 
 in 1284. The number of such houses for cha- 
 ritable purposes, existing, as we find them, in 
 proportion to that of ecclesiastical communities, 
 is one of the most pleasing features in the aspect 
 of monastic influence. Indeed, it is only of later 
 years that prelates and priests became dangerous 
 and useless. In the early ages they acted no less 
 as soldiers, physicians, and historians; they com- 
 forted the afflicted, and defended the weak. As 
 knowledge became more widely diffused, they 
 were found wanting in advancement, and being 
 never called into the field, nor allowed to depart 
 from antique rules of philosophy in their con- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 257 
 
 vents, the expense of their maintenance became 
 far greater to the state than the value of their 
 labours. Now, indeed, the wisest of them would 
 be considered only as possessed of knowledge 
 curious in its kind, and adapted to a recluse, but 
 of none such as fits a man to be useful in the 
 world. 
 
 The convent of Saint Benito, in this parish, 
 was of the military order of Calatrava ; it was 
 founded in 1397, by the Chapter, for its grand 
 master Gonzalo Nuñez de Guzman ; it is of small 
 size, but contains, in a side altar, a very fine As- 
 cension of the Virgin, by Juan VaJdes. She is 
 represented rising on angel-heads, with the Eternal 
 Father in the clouds. The great altar is filled 
 also with pictures by the same master, of which 
 a Saint Sebastian pleased me most. 
 
 The convent of Nuestra Señora de Belén, which 
 contained twenty-six nuns of the order of Carmen, 
 owed its origin, in the year 1513, to Doña Ines 
 de San Miguel, of the lineage of the Gothic Ara- 
 fanes, who placed the establishment in the parish 
 of Saint Gil, where it remained till 1585, when it 
 was removed to its present place. The Hospital 
 of the Animas, which at the same period existed 
 here, was suppressed : it stood near to the Feria: 
 a small chapel however remained, with a bell 
 which called to prayers at the hour of the Animas. 
 The hospital served for a religious brotherhood, 
 called " of the Animas." The Feria was the an- 
 
258 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 cient market-place; it is now frequented on 
 Thursdays, being filled with furniture and arti- 
 cles of domestic use, but no comestibles. The 
 Counts of Montijo have a palace here. The Col- 
 lege of San Basilio, containing sixty monks of 
 that order, was founded by Nicolas Trianchi, a 
 native of the Island of Cyprus, in 1593, and here 
 he was buried. He left his whole fortune to the 
 Casa de Misericordia, of which he was a member, 
 upon an agreement that the church and other 
 parts of the building should be perfected. 
 
 The Convent of the " Geronomites de Buena 
 Vista," (a name given to it when Philip the Fourth 
 visited Seville) is without the gate of the Maca- 
 rena. Its original foundation was in the year 1413, 
 but during the time of Philip the Second it was 
 almost entirely rebuilt by the famous architect 
 Herrera. It formerly contained some fine pic- 
 tures, which have been removed to the cathedral, 
 by Valdes, as well as the Patron Saint by Torre- 
 giano. This man, ever restless and impatient, 
 left Spain as he left Italy — in disputes with every 
 one. He was born in Florence in 1470, and was 
 disciple of Bertholdo, himself a pupil of Donate 
 Lorenzo de Medici ordered the latter to collect 
 the Greek and Roman antiquities, the cartoons 
 and the designs and models of Masaccio, Brune- 
 leschi, Ucello, and other professors, in order that 
 they might serve for the study of youth ; and 
 Torreggiano was the first who benefited by their 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 4259 
 
 publicity. Ghirlandajo had also orders to introduce 
 his pupils, of whom Michael Angelo Buonarotti 
 and Francesco Granacci were the most famous; 
 and speedily all the most celebrated names were 
 on the list for admission to this museum. A 
 quarrel ensued between Michael Angelo and Tor- 
 reggiano, caused in the first instance by jealousy, 
 on the part of the former, of attentions paid by the 
 Duke of Medici to the latter. Torreggiano broke 
 the nose of his enemy, and as the other had many 
 friends, he was obliged to leave Florence: but 
 Alexander the Sixth employed him in the Torre 
 Borgia at Rome, in working stucco. In 1492 he 
 turned soldier, under the banners of the Duke 
 Valentin, and behaved well in this new career ; 
 but not finding promotion quick enough for his 
 desires, he again took to statuary, making small 
 figures in bronze and marble, which are much es- 
 teemed in Italy. Some merchants tempted him 
 to visit London, where he was well received, and 
 left works in Westminster Abbey; but his un- 
 quiet disposition made him again desirous of 
 seeing new countries, and he came to Spain. 
 Having learned that it was intended by govern- 
 ment to raise monuments to Ferdinand and Isabel 
 in Granada, he flew thither in quest of the em- 
 ployment; but notwithstanding he had shown 
 his talents in working the medallion of Charity, 
 which is placed above the door of the Sala Capi- 
 tular in the cathedral, he was not intrusted with 
 
 s2 
 
260 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the execution of the mausoleums, which some 
 say were done by Philip de Vigarny, others that 
 they were sent ready carved from Genoa. At 
 last he came to Seville, then rich and opulent, 
 and executed a Crucifixion in clay, which Vasari 
 speaks of in the highest terms ; a Saint Jerome 
 with a Lion, (the head of the saint being copied 
 from an old Florentine victualler, who had for- 
 merly been a merchant,) and a Virgin and Child, 
 all of which were for the Convent of the Gerono- 
 mites. The Duke of Arcos ordered a repetition 
 of the latter to be made for him, promising to pay 
 the artist a very large price ; and when the work 
 was brought home, loaded him with maravedis, 
 which when counted amounted to only thirty 
 ducats. This so incensed Torreggiano, that he 
 broke the statue in pieces, for which he was con- 
 fined in the Inquisition, as having committed an 
 offence against religion ; where, if not assassin- 
 ated, he died of melancholy, in 1521. Zea Ber- 
 mudez attempts to exculpate the Duke of Arcos, 
 and amongst other excuses says that the Virgin 
 and Child does not exist in the Convent of the 
 Geronomites; perhaps he may have never seen 
 it ; but if the other part of his story be as true as 
 that the Virgin and Child do not exist — for they 
 are now to be seen in the school-room of the con- 
 vent — the villany of the vile Spaniard is of the 
 deepest die, and deserves the execration of pos- 
 terity, and the greatest publicity of exposure. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 261 
 
 The Crucifixion I have heard nothing of, but the 
 piece in question was hid away, and owing to the 
 brutal ignorance and negligence of the friars, 
 never noticed till the suppression of the convent, 
 when it was accidentally discovered. 
 
 The grand patio of the Geronomite Convent 
 was probably the work of Herrera : it is a square 
 of 150 feet; the arches are supported by united 
 columns of the Doric order. The roof of the ar- 
 cades are of groined stone, uniting in arches ter- 
 minated with cherub heads. The upper story is 
 Ionic. A beautiful small cupola should be no- 
 ticed, which is in the staircase leading to the ter- 
 race above the convent, being built for the visit 
 of Philip the Fourth. The statue of Saint Jerome 
 stood in the space to the left of the grand altar of 
 the church. The altar itself presents the most 
 Gothic of Gothic carvings, and is divided into 
 small niches. The railing in front is thirty feet 
 long, and much admired by those who are curious 
 in iron-work, being all beat with the hammer, 
 and twisted into leaf-work. It may be from 
 twelve to fifteen feet in height. This building is 
 now used for the instruction of youth, being a 
 college under the direction of Señor de Fernel, 
 formerly the governor, or " gefe politico," in Se- 
 ville, — a much better employment, indeed, than 
 for the use and residence of fat ignorant friars, 
 each of whom in former times had his mule to 
 save walking, so that a Geronomite animal of 
 
262 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 that breed had become proverbial for excellence. 
 The price of yearly admission to this seminary is 
 four thousand reals, for which the youths are 
 better fed and lodged than at Stonyhurst; but 
 whether in this paralyzed country any encourage- 
 ment will be given to so laudable an institution, 
 is very doubtful ; the price, indeed, is considered 
 high, although in it are included payments to mas- 
 ters in Latin and Greek, dancing and drawing; 
 there is besides a gymnasium, and the quality of 
 the viands is of the best class. The director is an 
 intelligent person, speaks several languages, and 
 amongst the rest very good English. In addition 
 to the large patio, already mentioned, of this con- 
 vent, there is a smaller one, laid out as a garden. 
 I was well pleased with my visit here, and still 
 more so with the opportunity it afforded of wit- 
 nessing the advance and enterprise of the college. 
 
 The Convent of Buena Vista, during its occu- 
 pation by the friars, contained fifty-five members. 
 The Hermitage of Saint Onofre is between the 
 Puerta de Macarena and the convent, and one of 
 great antiquity. It was to the shrine of this saint 
 that widows addressed themselves who desired 
 to be re-married, and they say that no saint had 
 more suppliants than Saint Onofre; for in spite 
 of the many vexations suffered from us, the nature 
 of the sex is so affectionate and devoted, that they 
 return willingly to bonds and slavery for our sake. 
 This hermitage is also remarkable for having been 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 263 
 
 the residence for some time of Ambrosio Mariano, 
 and his companion Juan, the former of whom af- 
 terwards founded the convent of the Descalzos 
 order, called " Nuestra Señora de los Remedios/' 
 in Triana, in 1573. Both were originally pro- 
 fligate characters, but Ambrosio was converted to 
 a new life by a vision from Saint Benedict, and 
 Juan sobered down to religion from having suf- 
 fered extreme misery. Ambrosio, indeed, served 
 Philip the Second, and was a good engineer and 
 mathematician. He proposed to render the Gua- 
 dalquivir navigable to Cordova, but not finding 
 encouragement from the court, was disappointed, 
 and gradually retired from the world to the con- 
 vent. A small hermitage called the " Purisima 
 Concepción," used to serve for the repository of 
 holy oil, in case any one required extreme unc- 
 tion when the gates of Seville were shut, it having 
 been the custom to close them in the winter at 
 nine, and in summer at ten o'clock; for which pur- 
 pose an ecclesiastic was always in attendance ; 
 but of late years these hermitages have become 
 nests of robbers, and nothing holy now comes near 
 them. This hermitage stood between the river 
 and the high road which leads from the Puerta de 
 Macarena to the Geronomite convent. 
 
 Having enumerated the principal buildings in 
 this parish, it may be interesting to turn for a 
 few moments to the life of the architect who em- 
 bellished it with the finest architecture it pos- 
 
264 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 sesses, and which will remain for centuries after 
 the exercise of the worship for which it was raised 
 has ceased within the walls. — Juan de Herrera, 
 who succeeded Juan Bautista de Toledo as chief 
 architect of Philip the Second, was born in 1530, 
 in the village of Mobellam, in the Asturias. His 
 family was noble, for the Asturians arrogate to 
 themselves universal nobility. He was versed in 
 mathematics, and was the pupil of Juan Bautista 
 de Toledo, who had studied in Italy. In 1563, 
 although charged by the death of his master with 
 the execution of the greatest works in Spain, 
 Philip allowed him only one hundred ducats a 
 year, but he was working for immortality in the 
 meantime, without even the title of architect or 
 director. The king finding that there was not 
 room enough for 100 friars in the building of the 
 Escurial, according to the original plan, Herrera 
 undertook to supply the deficiency by raising it a 
 second story ; an Italian named Pacciotto assisted 
 him in the construction of the church, but the 
 first plan of it was a copy of the Vatican at Rome, 
 which Herrera, by remodelling the cross vaults 
 under the dome, which in the Vatican are circular, 
 and making other alterations which the position 
 of the building required, framed of the Doric 
 order, painting the vaults of the four arms of the 
 Greek cross which it formed. This church, in- 
 cluding the Capilla Mayor, and the Choro, is 374 
 feet long by 230 broad. The chapel of Aranjuez, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 265 
 
 and the southern side of the Alcazar of Toledo, 
 were also amongst his works. In 1585 he con- 
 structed the Louja of Seville, for which he re- 
 ceived a payment of one thousand ducats. About 
 the same period he furnished a design for the Ca- 
 thedral of Valladolid, of which part was executed 
 according to his plan, being composed of groups 
 of columns of the Doric order; but in 1629, the 
 Chapter, resolving to finish it speedily, employed 
 Churriguera, who added his incongruous work. 
 The bridge of Segovia was also the work of Her- 
 rera. At Madrid, indeed, as well as in the pro- 
 vinces of Spain, almost all the public works of 
 that century were done after his plans. The gate 
 of Triana at Seville, which was first used in 1588, 
 the Mint, the Custom-House, which was opened 
 two years previously, the tower added to the pa- 
 lace at Lisbon, the church of Valdemosillo near 
 the Escurial, that of Colmenar de Oreja, and the 
 court of the Castle of Villaviciosa ; the choir of 
 the nuns of Santo Domingo at Madrid (where 
 lay the body of the ill-starred Don Carlos, son of 
 Philip the Second), the bridge between Galapagar 
 and Torrebodones, on the river Guadarrama, the 
 face of the altar in the large chapel of Santa Cruz 
 in Segovia, and that of the great chapel in the 
 Monastery of Yuste, — all these were the work of 
 this great architect ; and it is worthy of remark, 
 that whilst performing what has placed his coun- 
 try in that age almost on a level with Italy for 
 
266 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 public buildings, he, for ten years, only received 
 an advance from the original 100 ducats to 250, 
 and the trifling wages of a servant of the royal 
 household. By way of partial recompense, on his 
 retirement from his professional employ ments, 
 some time before his death, he was allowed to 
 trade on his own account with America. He was 
 buried in the church of Saint Nicholas in this 
 town. The date of his death is uncertain, but 
 appears to have been between the years 1597 
 and 1599. 
 
 The Hospital of Saint Lazarus, though it claimed 
 a separate parish, may now be considered as com- 
 bined with that of All Saints. This establishment 
 w r as perhaps the earliest general one in Seville, 
 the other hospitals being only for the use of those 
 particular bodies by whom they were founded; 
 but we find that the monks, under Alfonso the 
 Learned, who composed the order of Saint Lazarus, 
 were enjoined to hold a house ready for the re- 
 ception of the blind, the wounded and the sick, of 
 all the archbishopric of Seville, as well as the 
 suffragan bishopric of Cadiz. In a grant of Al- 
 fonso the Eleventh, of the date of 1372, appears 
 the substance of a letter from Alfonso the Tenth 
 to his son Don Sancho, dated in Seville, 1322, in 
 which he particularly recommends this hospital 
 to his attention. It was customary for four of 
 those under cure in it, daily to beg charity, each 
 mounted on his horse ; and by the old statutes of 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 267 
 
 Alfonso the Learned, the hospital could employ 
 100 men of the district to ask alms, which per- 
 sons were free from any excise duties; besides 
 which, none admitted to the hospital could be ar- 
 rested in or removed from it, except for murder or 
 high treason. It is situated between the gate of 
 Macarena and the Geronomite Convent of Buena 
 Vista. 
 
 The parish of All Saints contains 826 houses. 
 
 SAINT SALVADOR. 
 
 The church of this parish was formerly a 
 mosque, and served the Moors both for devotion 
 and as a college. The archbishop, Don Fernando 
 Tello, presided over the Collegiate church in the 
 Calle Gallegos, until it was removed to the mosque, 
 in the year 1340. The Moorish tower, having been 
 shaken by an earthquake in 1396, would have 
 fallen altogether in 1670, had it not been taken 
 down ; it was then replaced by one of Christian 
 construction. The family of Tello have their bu- 
 rial-place under the great altar. The tower of 
 the Moors is supposed to have been formed from 
 the sepulchre which held the bones of Saint Isi- 
 dorus, Saint Leander, and the female saints Flo- 
 rentina and Fulgencia, converted to this use by 
 the infidels, and from the top of which the faith- 
 ful were called to prayer. Saint Ferdinand pre- 
 
268 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 sented to the Christian occupants an image of 
 " La Señora de las Aquas," or our Lady of the 
 Waters, and the pious chronicles affirm that the 
 Moorish use of the place could never succeed, for 
 those who went there to adore Mahomet lost their 
 voice, and some their lives. In the tower was the 
 Arab inscription — " This is the study of Miriam." 
 
 In the Plaza de Saint Salvador of this parish, 
 stood the Hospital of Nuestra Señora de la Paz, 
 facing the parochial church. It was founded by 
 Don Pedro Pecador in the year 1543, being com- 
 posed of twenty ecclesiastics, of the order of 
 Saint Juan de Dios, and contained 100 beds; 
 in 1574 it was changed to its present site, being 
 the house from whence it had been brought ori- 
 ginally, namely the Hospital de la Misericordia, 
 translated by the city to the parish of Santa Ca- 
 tarina, where existed the Hospital " de las Siete 
 Llagas," which passed under the name of H la 
 Sangre," without the gate of Macarena ; and the 
 house was bought for the monks of Saint Juan 
 de Dios, by the Captain Fernando de la Vega, 
 whose sepulchre lies at the foot of the great altar. 
 
 The town prison was built in the Calle de la 
 Sierpe, which is also in this parish, by a devout 
 woman named Guiomar Manuel, but it has been 
 removed to the suppressed convent of the Popólo, 
 in the parish of the Madalena, outside the town 
 walls. This prison was erected in 1418, and the 
 water was brought to it at the expense of its 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 269 
 
 worthy foundress, the King John the Second 
 having given free use of the same for that pur- 
 pose; in 1563 it was enlarged, and in 1569 com- 
 pleted. Morgado, who writes a little later than 
 that date, says that from 500 to 1500 persons 
 were generally imprisoned there, and that it was 
 not usual to confine them with chains ; he goes 
 on to say that a " ver la chuzma de tantos presos, 
 tan asquerosos desarrapadas, y en vibas carues, 
 su hedor y bozeria no parece sino una verda- 
 dera representación del Infierno en la tierra." 
 The house which the author now occupies is at- 
 tached to this prison, and was considered in- 
 eligible as a residence on account of its vicinity. 
 Now, indeed, this objection has ceased; but on 
 one occasion thirteen convicts escaped over the 
 wall, landed on the terrace, gained the stair- 
 case, and quietly got into the street without 
 doing any mischief. This, however, has only oc- 
 curred once in the memory of the present gene- 
 ration. The interior distribution of the apart- 
 ments of the prison was very faulty. The cells 
 of the prisoners were on the ground, within thick 
 massive walls. A large open space of grass was 
 allotted for their recreation, but the prison did not 
 correct their vices, for they were famous for com- 
 mitting acts of theft, even in the presence of their 
 guardians. The whole lot of ground and old 
 walls might be now purchased from the town for 
 less than a thousand pounds, and would afford 
 
270 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 room for four houses at least, of modern construc- 
 tion ; but as the Spaniards are poor, the govern- 
 ment unstable, and no protection is afforded to 
 enterprise, few dare speculate on what must ne- 
 cessarily be remote and uncertain chances of 
 profit. 
 
 The University of Seville is a remarkable build- 
 ing, and has attached to it the most beautiful 
 church in the town, to which many of the pic- 
 tures and tombs taken from the suppressed con- 
 vents are in progress of translation. This Univer- 
 sity was founded by Ferdinand and Isabel, in 
 1502, being then united with another at the Pu- 
 erta de Xerez ; but in 1769 Charles the Third 
 placed it in the former old habitation of the Jesuits, 
 where it now stands. The length of the nave of 
 this church, from the foot of the grand altar, is 
 about 150 feet, and that of the transept, which 
 crosses at the grand altar, half that extent. The 
 church is formed like a Latin cross, and has no 
 side aisles or wings to the nave. Though I did 
 not measure them, it appeared that the width of 
 these two wings must be near a third of their 
 length. The ceiling is very high, and in some parts 
 there are pyramidal sky-lights extending above. 
 All the inside is painted white. The grand altar 
 contains the following paintings. A Holy Family, 
 by Rodelas, which has been re-varnished, and is 
 now rich and glowing, forms the centre picture : 
 Saint Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 271 
 
 to whom the University once belonged, appears 
 in it, with Saint Ignatius the Martyr, and the Lion. 
 In the centre of the sky is a circle surrounded by 
 a glory, with the letters IHS. Below this picture 
 is a small infant Jesus, also by Rodelas, which 
 would make a delightful cabinet picture. The 
 painting just described is near twenty feet high, 
 and gives the spectator a very different idea of 
 the master than he would gather from seeing his 
 other works, which are almost all placed in bad 
 lights, or obscured by dirt and dust. To the right 
 is an Adoration, rather less in size, and on the 
 left a Birth of Christ, also said to be by Rodelas. 
 Above the centre picture, and crowning the altar, 
 is a magnificent Annunciation, by Pacheco ; and 
 on the sides a Saint John the Evangelist, and 
 Baptist, companion pictures, by Alonzo Cano, but 
 of a period when he painted in a very hard man- 
 ner, with strong contrast of light and dark colours. 
 On the walls, to the right and left of the grand 
 altar, are four more paintings, representing, on 
 the left, Christ appearing to Saint Ignatius, and 
 on the right, that Saint administering the sacra- 
 ment. Each of them is flanked by a figure of the 
 patron saint ; one represents him in prayer, with 
 a book at his feet, the other preaching, with the 
 consecrated wafer in his hands. Rodelas is said 
 by some to have been a pupil of Titian ; by others 
 to have followed the manner of his scholars ; but 
 Mr. Williams does not agree with either of these 
 
272 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 opinions. He has however approached to the 
 gouty legs of the Italian in many of his angels, 
 and his colouring is unlike that of most Sevillan 
 painters. He attained to the dignity of Canon at 
 Olivares, and Palomino gives him the title of 
 Doctor, though he does not say what science he 
 professed. More of his works are scattered about 
 Spain than are contained in Seville, for he worked 
 a good deal at Madrid ; the best of them, however, 
 are in his native city. He died in Seville in 1620, 
 in the odour of sanctity, having reached the age 
 of sixty and odd years. Since I have visited 
 Spain no painting of importance by Rodelas has 
 presented itself to me for sale, and the only 
 person who I know possesses any is Mr. John 
 Wetherall of Seville, who has two companion pic- 
 tures, which stood below the Martyrdom of Saint 
 Andrew, now in the cathedral, and formerly were 
 in the Chapel de los Flamencos, in the college of 
 Saint Thomas : one represents Christ waiting for 
 the fishermen, and the other a mystery, which it is 
 not easy to comprehend. The last picture is full 
 of figures, with a view in the distance of Seville 
 and the cathedral; the former has only two or 
 three. These are two well-coloured and well- 
 designed pictures, but the former is infinitely pre- 
 ferable to the latter. 
 
 The painter Francisco Pacheco was son of a 
 canon of the same name in Seville : the father 
 was the best Latin poet of the place, and his son 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 273 
 
 an eminent painter : the latter was born in 1480, 
 and became the rival of Alonzo Vasquez, whom 
 he certainly excelled. His figures are stiff, and 
 cold in colour, but classic, and his drawing is 
 good. As he lived to the age of seventy-five, and 
 painted a great deal, his pictures are easily met 
 with ; indeed, they are often taken for those of 
 Rodelas. One in my possession is almost as soft 
 as the best works of the latter master. He wrote 
 a work on painting, called " De la pintura, su 
 antigüedad y grandezas," which is now become 
 rare, and is very greedily sought for on account 
 of its excellence. The lives of artists are gene- 
 rally written in their works, and the dates of a 
 book, or a picture, or a temple, generally tell all 
 that occupied the time of their authors. He 
 who studies, and dedicates himself to the muses 
 with an intention to excel, has no time left for 
 extraneous occupations ; he must woo them and 
 them alone; fickleness deprives him of success, 
 without affording the chance of a fresh conquest. 
 
 Herrera, who built the Exchange, or Louja, 
 was the architect of the University. It is now 
 destined for scholars in all the sciences. The 
 church is intended as a mausoleum for all the il- 
 lustrious Sevillans. 
 
 The collegiate church of Saint Salvador con- ' 
 tained the following inscription : 
 
 T 
 
274 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 L . VIVIO . MF 
 
 AVINO CON . 
 
 RI 
 
 A VII 
 
 T . R . P . IN . LVDIS . 
 HISPAL . 
 
 from which we may infer that at one time or 
 other a Roman Gymnasium existed there. In- 
 deed Dextro affirms that in the year 185 of the 
 Christian era, the heathen places for public 
 games were dedicated to the true God, and that 
 afterwards Saint Isidorus and his brother Leander 
 taught in them. Subsequently the Moors used the 
 place for the same purpose; for a stone found 
 there, with Arabic characters, has been translated 
 thus by Sergio Maronita : — " This is the study of 
 Maruan, whom God have in his holy keeping." 
 Ferdinand the Third equally encouraged colleges 
 and public schools. 
 
 At the outlet of the Calle Gallegos was once 
 a Hermitage, dedicated to Saint Joseph by the 
 carpenters of Seville. It had three altars, a sa- 
 cristy, and all the usual appendages of such a 
 place. The convent of the Religiosas Minimas, 
 of Saint Francisco de Paula, was founded in Se- 
 ville in 1593, in a spot now called the Cruz de 
 la Cerrageria, by the other convent which this 
 order holds in Triana, for their relief in case of 
 inundation in the latter place. The order con- 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 275 
 
 sisted of thirty-two nuns. The name of the Sierpe, 
 or serpent, was given to the street of Seville in 
 this parish, from the circumstance of a piece of 
 the jaw of that reptile being placed in an inn 
 which formerly existed in the street. In a street 
 communicating between that of the Carpintería 
 and the Cruz de la Cerrageria, was the establish- 
 ment for foundlings, which dates from the year 
 1558, when it was instituted by the Bishop Juan 
 de Valdes. In 1590 it was annexed to the bro- 
 therhood of the " Dulcisimo nombre de Jesus," 
 situated in "San Pablo el Real." In 1654, the 
 Archbishop of Seville, Pedro de Tapia, aided the 
 establishment, by reducing the number of its di- 
 rectors to twelve. The ancient office of collecting 
 orphans was practised by the monks of the Sancti 
 Spiritus, who had a residence in Triana : and the 
 establishment of which I am now speaking was 
 for the reception of those poor children who are 
 confided to the care of Providence alone, and is 
 now in the same place, Calle de la Curia, under 
 the direction of a company of Sevillan ladies. A 
 community of Jesuits, in the year 1554, were 
 lodged in the house of Don Francisco Fernandez 
 de Pineda, but the piety of the Sevillans being 
 touched by the situation of these worthy men, 
 they were in 1558 placed in a house in the ex- 
 treme part of this parish, near to the Puerta del 
 Osario, which once belonged to the Dukes of 
 Medina Cceli, but was then the property of the 
 
 t2 
 
276 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 captain of the Alcazar, Fernán Suarez ; it was 
 finally repaired and arranged in the year 1565, 
 when it was regularly sanctified, and opened with 
 great state. In 1580, the Jesuits left this establish- 
 ment, to found the college of Saint Hermenegil- 
 dus. The number of its members was forty-two. 
 
 The parish of Saint Salvador contains one thou- 
 sand houses. 
 
 SAINT STEPHEN. 
 
 This parish church was also a mosque, and on 
 one side of the building appears a gate with the 
 Arab horse- shoe arch, whilst above is displayed a 
 quaint Gothic cornice, composed of monster heads, 
 by way of capital. A singular picture by Rode- 
 las is to be seen here, of Saint John and the Vir- 
 gin standing on each side of a Christ, of not very 
 good execution, in wood; the two first figures 
 are painted, whilst our Saviour, nailed to the 
 cross, is independent of and protrudes from the 
 picture. The ceiling of the edifice is in light 
 trellised wood- work ; the grand altar contains the 
 Stoning of Saint Stephen, a Holy Family above, 
 and saints at the side, of which Cean Bermudez 
 says that the Peter and Paul are by Zurbaran, 
 but the rest by his followers, the Polancos. At 
 first sight they might all be mistaken for the 
 works of the former master. 
 
 In this parish we have the Puerta de Carmona. 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 277 
 
 The Monastery of Augustin Nuns of Saint Lean- 
 der, which formerly contained forty-seven mem- 
 bers, is at no great distance ; and the institution, 
 according to Morgado, dates so far back as the 
 forty-seventh year after the conquest of Seville. 
 It was founded, apparently, first at the gate of 
 Cordova, and Alonzo the Eleventh gave donations 
 to the establishment in 1347, and again trans- 
 ferred to it some property in houses in the year 
 1350, the same year in which he died. Don Pe- 
 dro the Cruel moved these holy persons to the 
 parish of Saint Marcos, having confiscated the 
 houses of Teresa Yufre, wife of Albar Diaz de 
 Mendoza, for having defamed him ; but his suc- 
 cessor Henry placed them in this parish, where 
 they permanently remained. This convent church 
 is more remarkable for its carving in wood than 
 for paintings, the two altars of Saint John being 
 the work of Montañés. In one of these the saint 
 is represented in the desert, and, in the compart- 
 ment above, in the act of baptizing Christ. Be- 
 tween these capital works is placed the head of 
 the saint, in a platter, done with frightful veracity. 
 These are flanked by a tier of angels and saints. 
 On the opposite side Saint John the Evange- 
 list is writing; above is the mother of Christ 
 with her Child, and between these again is the 
 Martyrdom of the Saint, in a brazen vase of burn- 
 ing oil. These are, like the others, surrounded 
 by figures of minor dimensions, but all are beau- 
 
278 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 tifully carved. The grand altar is profusely or- 
 namented with wooden carvings, of a more modern 
 date, and the entrance door to the church, which 
 appears to be of black walnut, is remarkable for 
 its beauty of execution. Considerable difficulty 
 now exists in obtaining information respecting 
 convents in Seville, or its antiquities, and we 
 must look for them in books alone, which, although 
 a laborious mode of gaining information, is less so 
 than that of having to pump and question the 
 ignorant blockheads who show you about, and 
 are almost sure to mislead you. What JEneas 
 Sylvius, who was afterwards Pope Pius the Se- 
 cond, says of Cardinal Julianus, is not foreign to 
 the purpose ; when asked by an idle and profli- 
 gate fellow why, instead of studying the dead in 
 books, he did not study the living world, he re- 
 plied, " Because a good book is a living man, and 
 a person like thyself a dead one." 
 
 Near at hand to this monastery is the Hospital 
 del Cardenal, the porch of which is filled with 
 armorial bearings and saints, on a gold ground, 
 and in the Patio appears a Gothic Nativity, in 
 one compartment of which Saint Michael is seen 
 weighing souls in one scale of the balance, and 
 striking down the Devil, who occupies the other. 
 The Casa de Pilatos, so called from the palace 
 modelled after that of Pontius Pilate, by Don Fa- 
 drique Henriquez de Ribera, Marquis de Tarifa, 
 and which, with the other property of the family, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 279 
 
 has merged into the possession of the Dukes of 
 Medina Celi, their relations, is one of the most 
 interesting edifices of Seville* Don Fadrique, in 
 1520, made a pilgrimage from Bournos to Jeru- 
 salem, in which he spent more than two years, 
 and returned to Seville in 1522, having himself 
 measured the distance which Christ travelled 
 with the cross ; and re-measured this out from his 
 own house, reaching from thence to the Cruz del 
 Campo. This "cruz" or cross was placed, in 1482, 
 upon the aqueduct of Carmona, that pious pas- 
 sengers might rest and pray. The inscription 
 which surrounds it is illegible, and its founder 
 unknown. It seems to have been the intention 
 of the Ribera family to make this palace a place 
 worthy of notice, for an old family mansion which 
 was in the parish of Santa Marina, now the 
 church of Saint Louis, had fallen into ruin, and 
 they removed here in the time of Don Pedro Hen- 
 riquez, who was married to Doña Catalina de 
 Ribera, and successively embellished it. Don 
 Fadrique added the work which is shown as an 
 imitation of the house of Pontius Pilate, and it is 
 probable that all the arabesque part was executed 
 for him by some Arab architects, children of those 
 who had lingered in the town after the conquest. 
 His successor, Erifan the First, Duke of Alcalá, 
 brought from Rome a number of statues and 
 marble busts, with columns, which were pre- 
 sented to him by Pope Pius the Fifth. Another 
 
280 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Duke of Alcalá, Don Fernando Henrique, added 
 a library ; the collection contained, amongst other 
 works, the manuscripts of Morales, and he added 
 to it the books of Don Lucian Negron, a learned 
 canon of the town. These, however, and the 
 medals which accompanied them, were taken to 
 Madrid in 1712, by Don Manuel Marti. The 
 front of this building is not peculiarly striking, 
 were it not for the circumstance of a balcony ad- 
 vancing on one side, of the same form and dimen- 
 sions as that shown at Jerusalem, from whence 
 Pontius Pilate absolved himself from the blood of 
 Christ. An inscription over the great entrance 
 so describes it. The principal patio, which con- 
 tains two good statues of Pallas, with the buck- 
 ler and gorgon head, is about sixty feet square, 
 to which may be added the width of the cor- 
 ridor, which is ten more. Marble pillars, but 
 of singular architecture, surround the patio, and 
 support the galleries above. A beautiful fountain 
 plays in the middle, and some dolphins in stone, 
 rising from the water, support a large cup, which 
 pours down copious streams into the large vase 
 below. Fixed all round in the walls are Italian 
 busts, of the middle period of sculpture, but they 
 have no great merit. The arches between the 
 pillars are formed with stucco, and display beau- 
 tiful arabesque designs ; one side of the square, 
 however, has fallen to decay, and, to the shame of 
 the proprietor, has been replaced with common 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 281 
 
 flat stucco. Standing in the corridor to the right 
 as you enter, and on opening two intervening 
 doors, you perceive three arabesque arches, gra- 
 dually diminishing, and terminating in a small 
 chapel, in the centre of which rises a Granada 
 marble pillar, of red and white colour, which is 
 intended to represent that at which Christ was 
 scourged. The rooms below are well propor- 
 tioned, but somewhat low; they have ceilings 
 profusely gilt in octagons, squares, and Arabic 
 trellis-work. One of the handsomest of these 
 opens to the large garden, through a corridor in 
 which are fixed, amongst many busts and pedes- 
 tals, a large figure of Ceres, and two mutilated 
 statues of Pasquin and Manfrodius. The first of 
 these, indeed, was never perfect; for the Roman 
 statue on which the satirical couplets were placed, 
 at Rome, is supposed to have been that of a muti- 
 lated gladiator. The latter statue is that of the 
 husband of Lucrecia Gonzaga, — a woman who* 
 sacrificed in marriage to a brutal husband at the 
 age of fourteen, by her name alone saved his life* 
 when condemned to death by the Duke of Fer- 
 rara. I observed in the chapel a picture of a 
 Holy Family, which appeared to me to be by 
 Perugino, or of his school. An Arabic room, with 
 a fountain in the middle, should not be passed 
 unnoticed. Its ceiling is in compartments, ter- 
 minating in points, which are all gilt. In a room 
 with an elegantly comparted ceiling, in squares, 
 
282 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 are to be seen some window-shutters of the old 
 alerce wood, which have unfortunately been 
 painted green. Its length is 90 feet by 24 wide. 
 Two beautiful Italian marble columns, of a single 
 piece, and surmounted by Corinthian capitals, 
 support the small gallery, leading to a lesser gar- 
 den. The cost of these apartments may be ima- 
 gined, when it is stated that a small room of 
 twenty-five feet square, near to the one now men- 
 tioned, has a ceiling in compartments, the cost of 
 whose gilding alone, in the present day, would 
 not be less than four hundred pounds. With the 
 large garden I was charmed ; the air, as we en- 
 tered, had just been freshened by a shower, and a 
 silvery vapour was hanging on the trees within. 
 The golden balls of orange fruit, mixed with the 
 green foliage, the varied hues of shrubs and flowers, 
 not yet fully decked in their May dress ; the per- 
 fume of the roses, violets, heliotropes, pinks, as 
 well as of many sweet-smelling shrubs, — the aca- 
 cia, the myrtle, and the laurel, — all mingled toge- 
 ther, presented a varied combination of colours 
 and of scents, redolent indeed of spring and her 
 luxuriant vegetation ; so that when seated, more 
 fully to contemplate and enjoy these bounties of 
 nature, they almost made me feel again youthful. 
 The beds of fruits and flowers mixed together, 
 were confined by hedges of box, and the mystical 
 alleys of red brick were shaded by the grateful 
 green, so as to be almost hid. The garden had 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 283 
 
 the appearance of a thicket, and the trunks of the 
 fruit trees, interweaved together, transmitted the 
 light in varied rays, and gave the appearance of 
 unconfined extent to their limited domain. The 
 smaller garden has a large tank, which may serve 
 as a cold bath, and supply water for warm ones 
 to an adjoining room which is used for dressing. 
 The staircase to the room above has a gilt ceiling, 
 and the sides are covered with azulejos, sur- 
 mounted by arabesque ornaments in plaster. On 
 the landing-place, which opens on the upper cor- 
 ridor, is a sort of recess, and a slab imitating the 
 hearth on which the soldiers of Pilate kindled a 
 fire, when Peter denied Christ, and a small grat- 
 ing from whence the cock crowed, are also exhi- 
 bited. 
 
 The parish church of Saint Stephen has been 
 imagined by some to be of the Mozarabic con- 
 struction. The convent of Santa Maria of Jesus 
 was founded here in 1520; Don Alberto of Por- 
 tugal, and Doña Felipa de Melo, his wife, gave 
 the land ; the family of Bucarelli and Federiqui 
 of Florence were the patrons, it contained thirty- 
 nine members. The convent of the nuns of Saint 
 Leander once contained five pictures by Mu- 
 rillo ; two were purchased by Mr. Wetherell of 
 Seville, and sold lately in England; one passed 
 into the hands of the Canon Sipero of Seville* 
 and another into those of Bravo, a linen draper of 
 the same place, and were both purchased by 
 Baron Taylor; a fifth Mr. Williams obtained, 
 
284 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 which is in my possession. The picture which 
 Bravo had, represented Christ and Saint John 
 standing together, and facing the spectator, with 
 a landscape slightly sketched in the background. 
 The colouring was pleasing and showy, but not 
 very rich, and there was no subject or story in 
 the composition. Nevertheless it pleased gene- 
 rally, and consequently acquired a certain fame. 
 The two paintings of Mr. Wetherell consisted of 
 St. John preaching in the Wilderness, and the 
 Baptism in the Jordan ; they were not, however, 
 so well preserved as the former. That of the Ca- 
 non Sipero was the weakest of these four, and its 
 subject does not occur to my memory, but it was 
 illustrative of some passage in the life of the saint. 
 The fifth, which is in my possession, represents 
 Saint Augustin washing the feet of Christ; it 
 contains only two figures in the foreground, but 
 a group of monks of the order appear in the dis- 
 tance ; the whole is richly coloured, and equally 
 forcible with the picture of Saint John de Dios in 
 the Caridad ; it is the finest Murillo in my col- 
 lection. 
 
 The Convent of Saint Augustin was without 
 the gate of Carmona, and was founded by Saint 
 Ferdinand in 1249. It contained 100 members. 
 The church had three naves¿ The great altar was 
 the work of Pineda, and from hence were brought 
 the two pictures by Murillo* now in the cathedral* 
 In a chapel near where the music-desk stood, was 
 a figure of Christ, found by a devout person in a 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 285 
 
 subterranean passage of the convent, in 1314. It 
 had the left arm detached, which was lying upon 
 the wound in the side ; but the figure miraculous- 
 ly extended it, on his approach, to the position it 
 afterwards held. The sacristy, and indeed the 
 whole of this church, was very beautiful. Pineda 
 was pupil of Luis Ortiz, and one of the principal 
 founders of the Seville Academy, in 1660. He 
 was considered the best sculptor for altar-pieces 
 of his day. His principal works were in the 
 chapel of Saint Antonio, in the cathedral, in this 
 church of Saint Stephen, in that of the Caridad, 
 and the ornaments in the Sagrario of the Carthuja. 
 He also aided Valdes Leal in the preparations for 
 the canonization of Saint Ferdinand in Seville. 
 
 On a small bridge over the Tagarete, and close 
 to the Augustin Convent, was an image of the 
 Virgin, called " de las Maderas," which was said 
 to have been placed there by Alfonso the Learn- 
 ed, having the letters "no-do" affixed, which 
 mean " he has not left me," — No me ha dejado. 
 It is said also, that on the renovation of the bridge, 
 or " Alcantarilla," as it is called in Spanish, in the 
 time of Henry the Fourth, this image was placed 
 there ; but not with the legend of " no-do," which 
 belongs to the arms of Seville, though they figured 
 also on those of a knight named Villafranca, who 
 was a great favourite of Alfonso. We are not, 
 however, to conclude that the inscription was 
 coeval with the collocation of the Virgin, for the 
 
286 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 armorial bearing of " no-do" means only the knot 
 of union and fidelity, and the signification of the 
 " no-do" on the image is different. 
 
 The Casa de Refugio de los Niños Torribios, in 
 this neighbourhood, dates from the year 1722, 
 and was founded by one Torribio de Velasco, from 
 the Asturias, who used to live near to the Neveria of 
 the Alameda. It was his custom to take the poor 
 children whom he met to pray before the Virgin 
 de Europa, and to give them small presents in 
 order to excite their devotion, so that by degrees 
 their obedience became so great, and their number 
 increased so much, that as he taught them also to 
 read and write, the schoolmasters of the town be- 
 came jealous of and opposed him. The Domi- 
 nican fathers, however, took his party and assisted 
 him with money, by which he was enabled to 
 establish a school in the house which had formerly 
 served for the inquisition, and collected together 
 150 pupils. Philip the Fifth, on occasion of his 
 visit to Seville, caused 2000 dollars to be advanced 
 for the construction of a house; and this sum, 
 added to other subscriptions, enabled the esta- 
 blishment to be conducted on a more extended 
 scale. Torribio died in 1730, and was buried 
 with much pomp in the church of Saint Paul. 
 Another establishment of a similar kind is men- 
 tioned by Morgado as having existed in Seville 
 in 1584, dedicated to the Niño Perdido, and Santa 
 Ana, in which orphans or stray children were 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 287 
 
 clothed, fed, and instructed, until they were fit 
 for some profession, or were claimed by their 
 parents. 
 
 The monastery of Saint Benito Abad contained 
 twenty-two members, of the affiliation of Saint 
 Benito de Silos, being founded in 1249 by Saint 
 Ferdinand, from monks who accompanied him to 
 Seville: and the society lived in 1259 in some 
 houses which Alfonso the Learned gave them, 
 outside the gate of Carmona, as a priory, and after- 
 wards as an abbey, of which Luis Méndez, Bishop 
 of Sidonia, was the chief, the order having re- 
 ceived the monastery of Silos. Ferdinand and 
 Isabel allowed them the use of the water from the 
 Caños de Carmona, and various other privileges. 
 In the primitive church was the sepulchre of 
 " Santa Inés la Sevillana," of whom the tradition 
 is lost ; the body of Saint Stephen, brought from 
 Cárdena, was also reverenced there. The religion 
 of Saint Benito was introduced into Spain in 535, 
 and several convents were dedicated to it, one of 
 the principal of which was that of Leon, in 554, 
 where Saint Leander visited his sister Theodora, 
 wife of Leovigildus king of Spain, who at that time 
 held his court in Seville ; and he founded a mo- 
 nastery in 556, under the title of Saint Michael, 
 or according to some, of the Conception, in a place 
 called Otero, commanding the city, where is now 
 the hermitage, near the Cruz del Campo. Saints 
 Leander and Isidorus, prelates of Seville, and Ful- 
 
288 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 gentius, bishop of Ecija, inhabited this convent, 
 which was also appropriated for the reception of 
 females separated from the men, and where lived 
 Saint Florentina as abbess. The monastery re- 
 mained here until the Almobades Moors came, in 
 1010, who turned it into a mosque; but at their 
 expulsion the order was removed to where that of 
 Saint Acasius, now of Santa Teresa, stood, near to 
 the Caños, and it passed under the title of Saint 
 Domingo of Silos, until 1300, when, on account 
 of the distance from the city, it was placed near 
 to the small bridge, or " Alcantarilla de las Made- 
 ras;" here it remained till 1602, when, the situ- 
 ation being found unwholesome, the order occupied 
 the houses of the Count of Mejorada, opposite the 
 Terceros, for eight years, and in 1610 they were 
 placed in the Calzada, where the institution now 
 exists, near to the Cruz del Campo. 
 
 The convent of Saint Teresa was on the left as 
 you proceed to the Cruz del Campo, from the last 
 mentioned monastery ; and contained eighteen 
 nuns, of the order of our Lady of the Carmen. It 
 had formerly been occupied by Augustin monks, 
 in 1593, and they lived there for forty years, until 
 they entered the city, occupying the college of 
 Saint Acasius, in the parish of Saint Mary Mag- 
 dalen. The order of Carmen bought this posses- 
 sion in 1641, with permission of the Archbishop, 
 and by the aid of Francis Gomez, a knight of San- 
 tiago, who was its patron. The church was small, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 289 
 
 and had only one nave : to its right passes the 
 open stream of water which falls into the conduits, 
 or " Arcos/' of Carmona ; and here formerly fami- 
 lies used to unite and enjoy themselves on holi- 
 days. It has been already observed, that in 1300 
 this place was occupied by the monks of Saint 
 Benito, of the order of Saint Domingo de Silos. 
 The hermitage of our Lady "de la Soledad" is close 
 to the Cruz del Campo, but Zuniga gives no ac- 
 count of its origin ; the Abbot Gordillo, however, 
 in his treatise on the foundation of the convent of 
 Saint Benito, observes that in the year 556, in this 
 same spot, called "el Otero," stood the convent 
 dedicated to Saint Michael, with the title of the 
 Conception, and occupied by the order of Saint 
 Benito, being founded by Saint Leander, from 
 whence issued abbots and monks suitable for pre- 
 lates in other cities and provinces. When the 
 Mussulmen arrived, they slew most of these holy 
 men, whose martyrdom was celebrated, till the 
 end of the seventeenth century, by processions, 
 "novenarios," or nine days' prayers, and " Esta- 
 ciones," or visits paid to churches to pray, from 
 Trinity Sunday to the day of Saint Augustin ; and 
 the following churches were visited— that of Sant- 
 iago, Saint Stephen, Saint Augustin, Saint Benito, 
 the Trinity, and that of Santa Justa and Rufina, or 
 the Capuchinos, where were placed some crosses, 
 and the adjacent ground was called the Campo 
 Santo. The Moors turned the convent into a 
 
290 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 mosque, which existed in 1248, as is found from 
 the Annals of Alfonso the Learned; immedi- 
 ately on the taking of Seville, prayers were offer- 
 ed there in order to purify it, from the 23d of 
 November till the 22d of December of the year 
 of the capture ; and it was the chapel in which 
 Ferdinand himself prayed, who, being acquainted 
 with its history, restored it to the order of Saint 
 Michael. 
 
 The "humilladero," or oratory, of the Cruz del 
 Campo, forms a semi-circle, supported on the out- 
 side by four small pillars ; and within, on a pedes- 
 tal with jasper steps, stands a column surmounted 
 by a cross, with the figure of our Saviour worked 
 in white jasper. Below this oratory, and between 
 each second pillar of the entrance, runs a stream 
 of water proceeding to very near the Hermitage 
 de la Soledad. This oratory is said to have been 
 built by Don Fadrique Henriquez, Marquis of Ta- 
 rifa, by papers found in his family ; but this is 
 erroneous, for Zuniga proves that it was the work 
 of the Governor Diego de Merlo, in 1482, under 
 Ferdinand and Isabel ; who, causing the Caños 
 de Carmona to be rebuilt at this spot, commemo- 
 rated the circumstance by the erection of this 
 oratory. Another motive is also alleged for its 
 construction — namely, that the wood of the cross, 
 which the Bishop Alfonso de Fonseca left to the 
 cathedral in 1473, having arrived at Seville, the 
 Archbishop Gonzalez de Mendoza, accompanied 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 291 
 
 by the chapter, went with it in procession, in 
 1482, to Saint Benito, and the relic was placed in 
 this spot until the bishop came to receive it with 
 due ceremony. Pope Urban the Eighth granted 
 a jubilee in 1625 to this hermitage, (which was 
 called "de la Calzada" and "del Campo" indif- 
 ferently), at the instance of the Dukes of Alcalá. 
 
 The "Caños de Carmona," or Aqueducts of 
 Carmona, are principally the work of Ferdinand 
 and Isabel, although small portions are found 
 evidently of Roman construction. Rodrigo Caro 
 inclines to think that the Carthaginian miners ori- 
 ginally made them, from specimens he had seen in 
 the Sierra Morena attributed to that people, and in 
 which, at certain distances, openings existed along 
 the arches as in these. Morgado and Espinosa attri- 
 bute them to the Moors, who certainly built their 
 conduits with the same peculiarity of construc- 
 tion. Zuniga observes that the conduit of water 
 runs above the arches for the space of 500 yards, 
 and that one Misero Cabizo obtained the life lease 
 of the water in Alcalá, on condition of repairing 
 the walls and gates of Seville at the conquest, and 
 supplying the Alcazar and Huerta del Rey with 
 water. Alfonso the Learned, in 1292, transferred 
 the right to the municipality of the city. From 
 the circumstance of the stone now in the Carthuja 
 of Seville having been found near to the water 
 spring of Alcalá, a short way out of the town to- 
 wards Carmona, it is not impossible that Herme- 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 negildus, who was persecuted by his father, had 
 first used these sources of water for the supply of 
 the town, the communication to the river having 
 been stopped by Leovigildus. 
 
 The parish of Saint Stephen contains 144 houses. 
 
 SAINT VINCENT. 
 This is now the fashionable quarter of Seville. 
 The parish church of Saint Vincent the Martyr 
 dates from the time of the Moors, having been 
 formerly a mosque of great consideration, and in- 
 deed some say a Gothic cathedral before Saint 
 Isidorus flourished, who, when he felt death ap- 
 proaching, caused himself to be carried into this 
 church, where he expired. Here many of the 
 principal Spanish families had burial places, such 
 as the Alfaros and Bravos de Laguna, the Ponces 
 de Leon, the Vargas, and Santillanes. In the 
 hollow of an altar once lay the body of Adeodatus, 
 an Armenian bishop, who died in Seville in 643. 
 It is said to have remained uncorrupted for many 
 years. 
 
 In the former convent of the Merced in this pa- 
 rish, it is proposed to form a museum for the general 
 collection of pictures taken from the different con- 
 vents, and singularly enough, scarce a single Cano 
 exists among the whole, although eight by that 
 master were in the refectory of the Carthusian Con- 
 vent; of these some have passed to Marshal Souit, 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 293 
 
 others to Mr. Williams (who has ceded two to me), 
 and Baron Taylor purchased one, while another is 
 in the hands of a picture dealer at Cadiz. The 
 strength of the gallery, therefore, will consist in 
 Herreras, Murillos, and Zurbarans, with their 
 school, aided by some of the old Spanish masters. 
 The principal court-yard of the Merced is decorated 
 with forty-eight marble columns; the staircase 
 leading to the museum is very fine, spreading half- 
 way into two branches, by which the landing place 
 is gained. The room destined for the works of Mu- 
 rillo is at the top of one of these branches, and in 
 size about a hundred feet square, by twenty-five 
 high ; the others are of similar length, but narrow, 
 low, and bearing a disproportionate appearance. 
 A garden of an acre (no contemptible size when 
 situated in the middle of a town) embellishes the 
 building, and without the corridors of the patio, 
 which are beautifully ornamented with blue tiles, 
 is also a space allotted for flowers. This esta- 
 blishment is on an imposing scale ; but who can 
 predict the probable term of its completion, and 
 who is certain that amidst the confusion of admi- 
 nistrations in Spain, the pictures that are intended 
 to furnish it will ever reach their destination ? 
 Any political change would expose the whole> 
 perhaps, to the foreign market; the museum would 
 remain as a mockery to the city, and the pockets 
 of a few obscure jobbers alone would be partially 
 lined. Whilst in the churches, paintings are se« 
 
294 
 
 PARISPIES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 cure in Spain, but remove them from such sanc- 
 tuaries, and they are instantly in danger. 
 
 In the church of the Carmen, the visitor should 
 observe the Crucifixion of Christ, by Luisa Roldan: 
 our Saviour appears nailed to the cross, with the 
 thieves on either side. The anatomical merit of 
 this work is greater, perhaps, than that of the ex- 
 pression of the faces ; the work is however a fine 
 one; there are figures of Joseph and the Virgin 
 below, well placed and well designed ; the whole 
 of the composition being the full size of life. The 
 bust and breast of Christ are boldly and success- 
 fully sculptured. The entrance doors of this 
 church are a fine specimen of carved wood, not 
 in figures, but irregular diagrams and angular 
 compartments, which however join well together, 
 and are not unpleasing to the eye. In the con- 
 vent of Saint Antonio is a beautiful staircase of 
 red jasper marble, and the pillars of the entrance 
 court are tastefully arranged, the roof being sup- 
 ported by an alternate disposition of four and two 
 columns close together, supporting the same arch. 
 The church of the Carmen was built by Don Pedro 
 in the year 1358 ; it was called by its present 
 name from a stone figure of the Virgin having 
 been found in the foundations, dressed after the 
 fashion of the Carmelites. The convent contained 
 eighty-five monks. The convent of Saint Antonio 
 was for the reception of nuns penitent, of the 
 Franciscan order. An anecdote is related of the 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 295 
 
 parish church of Saint Vincent Martyr, mentioned 
 at the commencement of this chapter ; that Gun- 
 deric, the king of the Vandals, having entered 
 Seville in the year 420, and proceeded to plunder 
 this church, then a place of Christian worship, on 
 his leaving it, the devil slew him in the threshold, 
 by order of the Almighty. It gained the name of 
 Saint Vincent from having been the palace of this 
 saint, who was put to death at Saragoza in 1305. 
 
 In former times, as at present, the Calle San Vi- 
 cente was the most distinguished street in Seville, 
 since at the conquest Saint Ferdinand resided 
 there, and at that time it contained the ancient 
 custom-house, long afterwards remarkable for its 
 little turrets ; the residence, too, of the masters of 
 Santiago was at the extreme end of the street. 
 A fountain in the Plaza de San Vicente is sup- 
 plied by that of the Arzobispo ; to which you de- 
 scend by steps. Formerly a theatre stood in this 
 parish, in the house of the Conde de Niebla ; af- 
 terwards it was moved to the garden of the college 
 of Saint Hermenegildus ; and Caro mentions that 
 in the years 1620—1640 the following places for 
 public theatrical exhibitions existed in Seville ; — 
 one in the Monteria of the Alcazar, a second in 
 San Pedro (where formerly were confined women 
 of bad character), a third near to the residence of 
 the Counts de Gelves, where at present stands 
 the convent of the Venerabiles, and which was 
 called the " Corral de Doña Elvira and a fourth 
 
296 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 in the garden of the Alcoba, which looks towards 
 the Puerta de Xeres. The town is now reduced 
 to one theatre only ; so that, although it supports 
 also an Italian Opera, we may fairly judge that 
 at the period mentioned it must have been much 
 more densely peopled or more wealthy than at 
 present. 
 
 The great convent of the Merced, now destined 
 for a museum, was founded by Saint Ferdinand 
 in 1249 ; in 1500 the family of Suarez de Castilla, 
 from whom the Condes de la Torre are descended 
 by the marriage of Pedro Suarez and Leonor Car- 
 rillo, obtained a chapel there. In former years 
 many fine pictures are said to have adorned this 
 convent ; what it latterly possessed of Murillo and 
 Zurbaran have all been taken to Paris. It con- 
 tained ninety-eight monks. The convent of Do- 
 minican nuns, called " Santa Maria la Real," was 
 founded, or at least caused to be founded, by a 
 poor woman, called from her extreme wretched- 
 ness, " Maria la Pobre," who, influencing others 
 who possessed more means and equal zeal, they 
 united, and solicited Maria, daughter of the King 
 Don Pedro, that she would bring some nuns from 
 a convent of the same name in Toledo, and insti- 
 tute this present one in Seville. In 1410, the 
 Archbishop Alonzo de Exea issued an order to that 
 effect, the application having been backed by 
 Queen Catharine, mother and guardian of John 
 the Second, and the nunnery was founded in the 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 297 
 
 street called Zapatería Vieja, at the same spot 
 where Maria la Pobre used to live. Both Queen 
 Catharine and Ferdinand, afterwards king of Ar- 
 ragon, who was joint guardian of John the Second, 
 contributed to the foundation of the monastery, 
 and thence it took the name of " Real" or Royal; 
 Diego Deza, Archbishop of Seville, was also a 
 great benefactor to the establishment. In the 
 Calle del Naranjuelo, which reaches to that of 
 Saint Lawrence, and at its entrance from the Pla- 
 zuela de San Vicente, stood the convent of Capu- 
 chin sisters of Santa Rosalia. It consisted of 
 thirty-four members, and was founded in 1701 by 
 the Archbishop of Seville, Don Jayme Palafox, 
 and Cárdena, who brought his sister Josefa Ma- 
 nuela from Saragoza to superintend it. He died, 
 however, within eleven months of its commence- 
 ment, when the foundations were only just laid; 
 it was therefore afterwards carried on by charita- 
 ble subscription, not being finished till the year 
 1724, when the abbess died. The nuns of the 
 order of Saint Augustin were twenty-two in num- 
 ber in this parish, and lived in the convent called 
 " Dulcísimo Nombre de Jesus," which was founded 
 in 1540, ostensibly for the purpose of confining dis- 
 solute women, a Bull being granted to that effect 
 by the Pope at the instance of Philip the Second 
 and Doña Juana de Aragón, Duchess of Medina Si- 
 donia; the establishment was not however settled 
 in its present position until 1551 : it was under 
 
298 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the jurisdiction of the chapter of the cathedral, 
 and stood in the Calle de los Caños. It did not 
 serve for the order of Augustin nuns until the 
 year 1551. The convent of the Assumption stood 
 partly in the Calle de las Armas, and partly in 
 the Calle ancha de San Vicente ; it held fifty-four 
 women called Mercenarias, and was founded in 
 1568, by three religiously disposed ladies, Doña 
 Maria Zapata, Doña Beatriz de las Roelas, and 
 Doña Francisca Martel. Of these Maria Zapata 
 was the most illustrious, being wife of Don Luis 
 Manrique, from whom the present Marquisses of 
 Motilla are descended. 
 
 Outside the " Puerta Real" is the college of 
 Saint Laureanus Martyr, which held a community 
 of fourteen monks. It was founded in 1601 by 
 a venerable friar, Francis Veamonte, who was 
 empowered by the See of Rome to expend his 
 hereditary possessions in this establishment. This 
 is mentioned in the Life of St. Laureanus, written 
 by Tello, and printed at Rome in 1772. The 
 order of the Descalzos de la Merced took its 
 origin in this convent, from whence it afterwards 
 moved to that of Saint Joseph. The site of this 
 college is on an eminence close to the gate; the 
 church which served at the commencement of its 
 foundation was that of the " Brotherhood of the 
 Holy Interment of Christ," a community which 
 sprung up in Seville in 1587, under the guidance 
 of a devout Italian, Thomas Pissaro, a potter by 
 
PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 299 
 
 trade, who prevailed on the members of the wor- 
 ship of our Lady de Villaviciosa, (who had come 
 from the street of the Colcheros to the oratory of 
 Colon, contiguous to the gate just mentioned,) to 
 change the name of their community to that of 
 the Holy Interment, which they at first consented 
 to do; but subsequently, in the year 1604, they 
 used both names of worship. This body was 
 principally Italian. On another eminence near, 
 and without the walls, was the college of Ferdi- 
 nand Columbus, son of the great navigator, where, 
 in 1535, he caused to be painted the figure of St. 
 Ferdinand, the conqueror of the city, mounted on 
 horseback, with a sword in his hand, and the fol- 
 lowing inscription : — 
 
 " Férrea Fernandus perfregit claustra Sibillse, 
 Fernandi et nomen splendet ut astra poli." 
 
 Ferdinand Columbus had travelled far and 
 wide ; he had visited Asia and Africa, and after 
 collecting 20,000 volumes, desired to found a col- 
 lege and school of mathematics on this spot. 
 But let no one count upon the gratitude of pos- 
 terity : although at his death he bequeathed his 
 library to the cathedral, part of it was dispersed 
 during the process of a law-suit between his heirs 
 and the chapter, and the chart of the famous na- 
 vigator, which probably belonged to it, was of- 
 fered for sale here, a few years ago, in an obscure 
 book shop ; whither it has gone no one knows, 
 
300 
 
 PARISHES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 and I regret, whenever I recal the circumstance, 
 not having been on the spot to secure it. Ferdi- 
 nand Columbus himself died in 1539, before he 
 was able to complete what he purposed, and the 
 college of Saint Elmo took place of the one he 
 had intended to found. His oratory, which re- 
 mained, served for the use, as has been already 
 mentioned, of the devout body who worshipped 
 our lady " de la Villaviciosa," and the " Holy In- 
 terment of our Saviour." 
 
 This parish contains 690 houses. 
 
( 301 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The gates of Seville are twelve in number. — 
 We may take them in alphabetical order, observ- 
 ing that six look to the river, and an equal num- 
 ber to the land side. The gate of the <e Arenal " 
 is towards the west, and is in the parish of the 
 Sagrario, or Santa Maria la Mayor. It takes its 
 name from the plain of sand contiguous, called in 
 Spanish Arena. The quarter it occupies is full 
 of tunnellers, who make casks for wine, vinegar, 
 and oil ; and the name of the quarter is the 
 " Carreteria :" formerly it was the resort of fo- 
 reigners who visited the town, being full of shops 
 and taverns. Between this gate and that of Tri- 
 ana is the " Baratillo," a place for the sale of old 
 clothes, and there was once a Capilla del Bara- 
 tillo, from whence processions issued in the even- 
 ing and sung the "Rosario," and which was main- 
 tained by public subscriptions of the neighbours. 
 
 The gate of " Carmona" leads to the convent 
 of St. Augustin, and to the Caños or aqueducts 
 of Carmona. It was called of Carmona, from its 
 opening the way to the town of Carmona. It is 
 in the parish of Saint Stephen. 
 
 The gate of the " Carne " is so called in modern 
 
302 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 times from its proximity to the slaughter-houses 
 of the city. Its ancient Arabic name was " Bab 
 Ahoar," and it belonged to the Jewish quarter, 
 although some give the same name to a bye-gate 
 of the Alcazar, from whence the kings used to 
 gain the country when they went on hunting ex- 
 peditions, and which is between the present gate 
 of the Carne and Xerez. The gate I am now speak- 
 ing of was repaired in 1572, and, during the 
 time of the Moors, had a brass pipe on the top 
 morticed in the wall, through which water was 
 transmitted, a principle in hydrostatics entirely 
 neglected by the succeeding Christians. It be- 
 longs to the parish of Santa Maria la Mayor, and 
 through it is the readiest road for visiting the 
 parish of Saint Bernard and the cannon foundry. 
 It is to the south side of the city. 
 
 The gate of " Cordova" is in the parish of Saint 
 Julian ; Saint Hermenegildus suffered martyrdom 
 in its tower. It is called of Cordova, from having 
 had quartered near it a Cordovese body of troops, 
 at the time of the division of Seville under Al- 
 fonso the Learned. Pereza mentions that the 
 rope which tied the saint for decapitation, was 
 shown in the prison which he had inhabited. 
 Near at hand to this gate is the Torre Blanca, or 
 White Tower, which gives the name to a street in 
 front. 
 
 The gate of Saint John looks northwards to 
 the river. It was called " Bab Oragel" by the 
 
GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 303 
 
 Moors, which, Pereza says, means in Arabic the 
 Gate of Lodgers or Guests ; others suppose that 
 it takes the name from a Moorish prince called 
 Acab, son of Ragel, who put to death at Seville 
 more than 200 Moors of Toledo and Cordova. 
 This gate had a tower with four windows, and in 
 the centre an inscription on stone, in Arabic cha- 
 racters, which the author of this account has thus 
 found translated in Spanish : — " En el nombre de 
 Dios poderoso de piedad. Alabanza de Dios so- 
 bre Mahomad, que la fé fuente de benedicion, y 
 que predicó en ella sobre vos, Dios la luz de 
 Mahomad, que es Dios el mayor Dios, y Dios es 
 luz de los cielos, y de la tierra, como su luz, y 
 todos quantos Angeles en el cielo, y fieles. Quien 
 se ampara con estas palabras le perdona Dios sus 
 pecados. Del siervo de Dios Mahomate hijo de 
 Malique el Levantisco. Año de mil y cinco." 
 On the side of the river this tower has a pass, by 
 which you descend both on the right hand and 
 the left, and it was here that the ships formerly 
 discharged their cargoes in Seville. Zuniga has 
 mistaken the gate of the Varqueta or Almenella 
 for this of Saint John, to which he applies the 
 name of " Bab Ragel." 
 
 The gate of Macarena is in the parish of Saint 
 Gil, and is said to have derived its name from a 
 Moorish girl, daughter of the king of Seville, who 
 was mistress of a tower at a little distance, to 
 which the hospital of Saint Lazarus adjoins; and 
 
304 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the gardens, which were at about half a league's 
 distance, are said to have belonged to this princess. 
 There are still many orchards and flower gardens 
 in this vicinity. Formerly this gate was a fortress, 
 and on the face of the principal arch was this in- 
 scription : — 
 
 " Estremo seras de mundo, 
 Sevilla, pues en ti, vemos 
 Juntarse, los dos estremos." 
 
 On passing this arch you entered upon a square, 
 in which stood two more arches on either side, 
 each of which gave an opening to the country, 
 and between them a high and strong door, within 
 which stood another small square, and a gate 
 which gave entrance to the town. The kings, 
 when they passed, left the keys at these two last 
 named gates. 
 
 The gate of Osario looks to the east and land 
 side of Seville. It was called "Bab Alfar" by 
 the Moors, and so indeed Alfonso the Learned 
 calls it (in 1523), when he gave it to the Huelgas 
 de Burgos, at the division of Seville ; it was after- 
 wards named Osario, being the spot where the 
 Moors buried their dead. An Arabic inscription 
 is said to have existed over the door, with the 
 words — " This is the city of confusion and bad 
 government ;" placed there by a Moor, who, with- 
 out more right than his own proper will, used to 
 take a piece of money for each body that passed. 
 This gate has the peculiarity of standing partly 
 
GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 305 
 
 in the parish of Saint Roman, and partly in that 
 of Saint Roque, the interior being in the former, 
 the exterior in the latter. In front is the field 
 named after Santa Justa and Santa Rufina, from 
 their martyrdom there. 
 
 The gate Real, or " of Gales," faces to the west, 
 and looks on the river. It is in the parish of 
 Saint Vincent, and probably took its name from 
 the procession entering Seville in 1248, when the 
 town surrendered to Ferdinand. Philip the Se- 
 cond, when he visited the town in 1570, entered 
 it through this gate ; on which ceremony Juan de 
 Malara wrote a book in 1649. On occasion of 
 the plague, bodies were buried outside this gate ; 
 the place was marked with a cross, and a yearly 
 procession of the parish attended to supplicate 
 for the souls of those interred there. The space 
 between this gate and that of Saint John is called 
 the Quarter of the " Humeros," or Tunnels, and 
 was once the dock-yard of the Moors, and after- 
 wards inhabited by the fishermen of the river. A 
 Hermitage of Our Lady of the Rosary, attached 
 to the convent of Saint Laureanus, existed on this 
 ground. 
 
 The gate of Triana looks to the west, and to- 
 wards the river. It was called formerly the Trina 
 Gate, and had a causeway to the bridge which 
 crosses the Guadalquivir, and conducts to the 
 quarter of Triana. It was called Trina, from for- 
 merly having had three arches, and Alfonso the 
 
306 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Learned so names it in the book of privileges 
 given to the convent of Saint Paul, which stands 
 near at hand, and is built on the site of the palace 
 where Saint Hermenegildus was born. In 1500 
 it was the property of Alonzo Carillo. The pre- 
 sent convent was moved here from the site where 
 it first stood, at a short distance, in 1588, this si- 
 tuation being deemed preferable. A part of the 
 palace of Saint Hermenegildus was in the Pajeria, 
 where the ancient gate of Triana stood, and was 
 called the house of " Liones," from two crowned 
 figures in stone of these animals ; these being the 
 ancient Gothic imperial arms. It stands in the pa- 
 rish of St. Mary Magdalen. Between the gate of 
 Triana and the Real, a barrack was built for the 
 royal body guard of Spain, in 1729, on occasion 
 of a visit of the princes. A government saw-yard 
 was also established there at the same period. 
 
 The gate of the Sol is so called from its facing- 
 due east, receiving the most direct rays of the 
 rising luminary. The present is not however the 
 ancient gate ; the latter was crowned with a large 
 tower, by which access was gained to the city, 
 and on entering it was necessary to turn to the 
 right, passing through a passage joined to the 
 wall, which is observed from the exterior ; a con- 
 trivance which formed a key of safety, and was 
 much praised by architects : from this entrance- 
 arch opening was given to another fortification, 
 which followed the line of the ditch. The modern 
 
GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 307 
 
 gate is practicable and convenient for carriages. 
 The fountain of the archbishop stands fronting 
 the gate, which served the Moors, and afterwards 
 the Christians, for watering the adjacent gardens, 
 and for the supply of the city. 
 
 The gate of the Varqueta is to the north, and 
 looks on the river. The walls of the town are 
 here turre tted. It was called also of the Alme- 
 nilla, from an adjacent tower; the term of Var- 
 queta, or Barqueta, for the Spaniards use the B 
 and V indifferently, signifies " little boat," and 
 may have been applied to this gate from a con- 
 tiguous ferry. After the inundation of 1626, it 
 was considerably strengthened, in order to resist 
 any future overflow of the river. The Moorish 
 palace of King Jacob, son of Ragel, who is sup- 
 posed to have built the gate of Saint John, was 
 close to this spot ; upon which Saint Ferdinand 
 afterwards founded the Royal Monastery of Saint 
 Clemente. This Moor is also memorable for hav- 
 ing, in 1167¿ built aqueducts at a great expense, 
 from Alcalá de Guadaira to Seville. On the side 
 of the river opposite to the ferry, there are sub- 
 terranean passages, supposed to communicate with 
 the Carthuja; whether these were the work of 
 the Moors, who had a passage to the ancient cel- 
 lars, or " Cuevas," as they were called, when the 
 Carthusians first settled there, is in uncertainty, 
 for they have never been explored of late years ; 
 but we are authorized, perhaps, in supposing such 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 to have been the case; and as the Arabs used 
 these places for the deposit of grain, as well as 
 of arms and mercantile stores, it is to be presumed 
 that this is only part of a long communication 
 between Seville and the exterior country, through 
 which supplies were brought in case of need, and 
 which were used also as hiding-places in war. 
 
 The gate of Xeres is so called from its com- 
 municating to the road which leads to the town 
 of Xeres de la Fronteira. On an arch of it are 
 inscribed the following verses : — 
 
 " Hercules me edificó, 
 Julio Cassar me cercó, 
 De muras y torres altas 
 Y el Rey Santo me ganó, 
 Con Garci Perez de Vargas." 
 
 Another line seems wanting here after the 
 third : — 
 
 " Un Rey Godo me perdió." 
 
 In ancient times this gate belonged to the Al- 
 cazar, being within the space from thence to the 
 Tower del Oro, and the bye-gate of the Aceite. 
 The distance between the gate of Xeres and that 
 of Carmona is occupied with the gardens of the 
 Alcazar, having a bye-gate for the royal use, which 
 was opened after rebuilding the Alcazar, by the 
 Moors, and called " Bab Ahoar." A number of 
 straggling dirty houses were removed from the 
 front of this wall in 1742, by Diego Perez de 
 Baños, a commissioner of public repairs. There 
 
GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 309 
 
 was once a mill on the contiguous stream of Ta- 
 garete, but it has now disappeared, and the stream 
 is almost stagnant. The once wealthy convent 
 of Saint James, or " Diego," which has been 
 transformed to a tannery, and is near to this gate, 
 arose from the foundation, by the chapter of the 
 city, in 1583, of "Descalzos" of Saint Francis, of 
 the province of Saint Joseph, who settled first in 
 the plot of land called " Cantalobos," belonging 
 to Gasper Brum, and afterwards in the hospital 
 of Saint Gil, near to the gate of Macarena. A 
 part of them separated from the rest, dedicated 
 peculiarly to Saint James, were placed here by 
 their patron, the municipality of Seville, who 
 built their convent. The prison, the cloisters, 
 and church, are still visible, in 1784 this build- 
 ing was given to Mr. Wetherell by Charles the 
 Third, to found therein a tannery and manufac- 
 ture for leather ; but it was afterwards purchased 
 by that gentleman in 1817, some dispute having 
 arisen respecting the title-deeds, and he continued 
 there until his death, about twelve years since. 
 Under his direction it became a tan-yard of im- 
 mense importance, 800 hides being weekly pre- 
 pared there. The wages of a tanner have now 
 fallen from ten to eight reals daily, being some- 
 what more than eighteen pence. The orange 
 garden adjoining did not at first belong to the ma- 
 nufactory, but was added at a subsequent period. 
 Were the government to remain steady, and pro- 
 
310 
 
 GATES OF SEVILLE. 
 
 tection to be afforded to commerce, this branch 
 of trade, with the modern improvements intro- 
 duced into it, would be a very lucrative one in 
 Spain ; at present it is conducted in the old man- 
 ner, without any advantage from later experience, 
 and even thus it is considered a profitable busi- 
 ness, when carefully managed. But the govern- 
 ment has always paralyzed the energies of this 
 nation, and a large contract with the court of 
 Madrid was the principal cause of injury which 
 affected the late proprietor of this establishment. 
 The whole has now passed into the hands of the 
 widow Aeche a. 
 
( 311 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 To enjoy the romance of Seville, it must be vi- 
 sited by night. A walk through the streets, when 
 the burning sun has set, and the moon risen, pre- 
 sents a scene of luxurious novelty, peculiar to 
 this extraordinary city. Then the guitar sends 
 forth its tender and tremulous notes, and the fra- 
 grance of the rose and jessamine are on the gale. 
 Through the green grated iron doors of the houses, 
 all the varied lights of the courts are seen, and 
 each is filled with a diversified group. The sky 
 above appears clear as in broad day, while num- 
 berless convent towers cut upon its pale blue sur- 
 face, and in the tortuous streets the long dark sha- 
 dows of a passenger, or an immoveable lover wait- 
 ing for the object of his passion, are cast on the 
 white walls of the irregular habitations. Here an 
 abutment throws a line of shade on a building, 
 there a tower darkens all below, while the broad 
 flash of light glares upon half a street. In the 
 deep stillness of all around, the mind enters within 
 itself, no longer disturbed by the business of the 
 day ; it has leisure for reflection, and the venerable 
 antiquities around recalling the many years that 
 have passed over them, the imagination depicts 
 
312 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 another and an earlier age, when the treasures of 
 America floated to these shores, and the Spanish 
 name caused terror to all Europe. In a still more 
 extended range, it may figure to itself the iron 
 visages of the Goths, and the turbaned Arabs, 
 amongst whom a glance from the jet black eye of 
 beauty to a lover, was a fatal luxury, often pur- 
 chased by his blood. Boiling and impetuous, but 
 kind and docile, the veins of the Andaiusians are 
 still filled with the life drops of their African an- 
 cestors ; wild and untamed, their every move- 
 ment betrays the freedom of the roving camp, 
 when amidst the fire of battle, or the whirlwind 
 of the desert, all are equal, and rage and sym- 
 pathy alone have place in the heart, where exist- 
 ence is too uncertain to tutor conduct to prudence, 
 and pleasure too rare to be resisted, or accepted 
 without greediness and passion. Clanship still 
 exists in Spain ; a point of honour in the great is 
 to support the weak, even in conduct contrary to 
 law ; while an intrusive swain, prowling for con- 
 quests, is chased by the whole neighbourhood 
 from the quarter to which he is unknown, as the 
 birds unite to drive away the stranger from their 
 flocks. 
 
 The houses of this town are perhaps the most 
 picturesque in the world. You enter them from 
 a porch, or " zaguán," to a court, round which are 
 marble columns, and these are found not only in 
 the principal but even in ordinary habitations. 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 313 
 
 The arches between the columns support galleries 
 or rooms above, it is usual to inhabit the ground- 
 floor in summer time, and the upper story in win- 
 ter: in the former season a canvas veil is placed 
 over the whole court during the heat of the day, 
 and removed at night, when the family collect 
 together to receive friends under the galleries or in 
 the courts, whilst flowers are placed round a foun- 
 tain which generally plays in the centre, the courts 
 being often paved with marble. The lamps which 
 hang around the walls in symmetrical arrange- 
 ment, the bubbling of the water, the fragrance of 
 the flowers, the mystical green branches which 
 spring up in every direction from large earthen 
 pots, give an appearance of romance, which, 
 added to the broken lights, the irregular architec- 
 ture of the buildings, and the white ionic columns 
 of marble, present in every house a varying sub- 
 ject for the draftsman or painter. To the sides of 
 the walls are attached mirrors, which reflect all 
 around, and pictures, amongst which were once 
 found works of art that would delight the con- 
 noisseur. Now, indeed, from the all-invading 
 gold of foreigners, and the want of taste of the 
 natives, the places of the best have been supplied 
 by coloured lithographs of the French and Eng- 
 lish schools. It has been calculated that 80,000 
 marble columns exist in Seville, but there as- 
 suredly must be a much larger number, for many 
 are buried in the walls, others covered with 
 
314 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 plaister, and on an average every house pos- 
 sesses six. 
 
 The private cabinets of paintings have almost 
 all disappeared. The Canon Sipero has a fine 
 Crucifixion, by Cano. • Mr. Williams has two 
 pictures by the same master, a Holy Family, 
 and a repetition, borrowed, but varied, from the 
 Flemish Rubens. In the house of the late pre- 
 bendary Pereira, are a Saint Francis, with the 
 Stigmata, of the early time of Murillo ; and the 
 first picture of the master, rude, but not without 
 grace, representing the Virgin and St. Francis 
 inviting a monk of that order to embrace the doc- 
 trine of St. Thomas ; it came from the Regina 
 Angelorum convent. The collection of Don Joa- 
 quim Cortes has disappeared. The Canon Maestre 
 has the two finest Murillos now in private hands; 
 the one represents Saint Francis kneeling, with 
 extended arms, his face directed towards Heaven 
 in the attitude of prayer, amidst a landscape, with 
 a lay-brother reading in the second term. This 
 painting is vigorous, and approaches to hardness, 
 but is in imitation of Guido, or from his concep- 
 tion : the second borders equally on the style of 
 the same painter, and represents Saint Catharine, 
 a half figure, with a sword in one hand and a 
 palm branch in the other; but this is of Guido's 
 softest and richest manner. In the Saint Francis, 
 Murillo has borrowed the ideal sentiment of the 
 Italian, and coloured it in his own way ; while in 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 315 
 
 the Saint Catharine he has adopted both the sen- 
 timent and the colour. In the house of the Count 
 of Mejorada are three pictures by Murillo, worthy 
 of attention : a small Virgin and Child, on wood ; 
 Saint Antonio kneeling and receiving Jesus in his 
 arms ; and Our Saviour Crucified. The first and 
 third of these are the best. The Nativity of Ve- 
 lasquez, and the Virgin " de la Faga/' by Murillo, 
 belonging once to Count Aguila, are now in the 
 gallery of the Louvre ; they were sold, as report 
 goes, for 30,000 dollars, in what has yet been 
 said, remarkable pictures only have been noticed; 
 for Bravo, Señor Cortino, and others, have all 
 something ; indeed, a Christ with the Sheep,, by 
 Cano, in the possession of the latter gentleman, 
 is a very pleasing picture. The visitor, however, 
 will be overwhelmed with Velasquez and Murillo, 
 by all who have pictures, with the exception of Mr. 
 Williams. The worthy owners believe what they 
 hope; they buy an old painted cloth, clean it, 
 and dub it what they please. Many good painters 
 lived at the time of these two great men, so that 
 their repetitions are not easily distinguished from 
 originals by those unaccustomed to the Sevillan 
 school, and who judge only from colour. It is 
 from drawing, and drawing alone, we must hope 
 to fix the identity of Murillo. 
 
 Nothing has yet been said of the principal feast- 
 days kept at Seville. They are, the Thursday and 
 Friday of the Holy Week, the " Corpus Christi," 
 
316 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 the " Purísima Concepción de Nuestra Señora, 
 Patrona de España y las Indias," and the Nativity 
 of our Saviour. The Thursday of the Holy Week is 
 Easter Thursday; on which, at one hour after mid- 
 day, it was that our Saviour took his disciples to 
 Mount Olivet, and having blessed them, ascended 
 to heaven in the same form he had assumed on 
 earth; and Cornelius Alapide and Suarecius as- 
 sert that he folded his hands in his ascent in the 
 form of a cross. Amongst the pious this is the 
 most hob/ of all festivals, and it was instituted, as 
 St. Augustin says, by the Apostles, in token of the 
 consummation of the glorious resurrection, after 
 the Saviour had given his disciples injunctions 
 not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit should 
 descend upon them, and had constituted Saint 
 Peter the head of the Church. He arose to hea- 
 ven, as Saint Geronimus says, leaving the stones 
 printed with the marks of his feet. The festivity 
 of the Corpus Chris ti, or most Holy Sacrament, 
 is not of very early date, having been first cele- 
 brated by Robert, Bishop of Liege, in 1246. It 
 is related that Saint Juliana saw in her prayers a 
 beautiful full moon, but rather rugged in its cir- 
 cumference ; she was for a long time ignorant of 
 the meaning of the apparition, till at length the 
 voice of God spoke to her inwardly, and said, 
 " This moon is the symbol of my Church, to which 
 something is yet wanting, which should be cele- 
 brated by all the faithful." Her confessor being 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 317 
 
 consulted, declared that the ceremony wanting 
 was that of the body of Christ, or Holy Sacrament. 
 Saint Thomas Aquinas composed the ritual of 
 prayers for this festival. The processions were 
 directed in their present order by Pope Urban the 
 Fourth. The " Custodia," or " Ciboriiim," which 
 is carried in the procession, contains the conse- 
 crated bread. The ceremony of the Conception 
 of the Virgin arose from the vow of Saint Ansel- 
 mus, bishop of Cantuaria, who being overtaken at 
 sea by a violent storm, on his return from Eng- 
 land, raised his eyes to heaven and saw Saint 
 Nicolas, who promised him safety if he vowed to 
 observe this festivity. This he engaged to do ; 
 whereupon the storm instantly ceased. Hence 
 was also the first commencement of the western 
 Church, in 1109. The ceremony of the Nativity 
 rises to the earliest periods of the Christian fes- 
 tivals, for Saint Geronimus speaks of it, writing 
 to Marcela. Pope Julius fixed it on the 25th of 
 December. Three masses are said on this day, for 
 the following reasons:— first, because our Saviour 
 comes from the Holy Father, and is eternal ; se- 
 condly, in respect of his mortal nature, as son of 
 the temporal mother; and the third, in celebra- 
 tion of his spiritual nature. 
 
 The Feast of Saint Ferdinand is on the 30th of 
 May, the day of his death, and is celebrated all 
 over Spain. Those of the Nativity of Saint John 
 the Baptist, of Saint Peter, and Saint Paul, are 
 
318 GENERAL REMARKS OX SEVILLE. 
 
 more peculiarly observed in Seville than in other 
 parts. Another procession peculiar to the town 
 is that of the brotherhood of the Santo Intierro, 
 or Holy Burial of Christ, which takes place once 
 in fifteen years, on occasion of St. Ferdinand hav- 
 ing found an effigy of our Saviour between two 
 walls of a house in the street of the " Humeros," 
 on the site of which a chapel was built, called of 
 Mount Calvary, near to the Puerta Real, and in 
 which afterwards, together with part of the pa- 
 lace of Colon, or the College of Saint Laureanus, 
 was founded the royal and military order of our 
 Lady " de la Merced." From the period of its 
 first institution to the present time, the Catholic 
 kings of Spain have been grand brothers of this 
 order. In the procession appear the archangels 
 and angels Gabriel, Michael, Rafael, Uriel the 
 guardian angel, Salathiel, Barachiel, Zachiel. 
 Then the several Christian sibyls — the Persian, 
 the Lybian, the Samian, the Cuman, the Helles- 
 pontan, the Phrygian, and the Tiburnan, In 
 former times, before the dissolution of the con- 
 vents, the religious ceremonies and processions in 
 Seville used to be very splendid; for all the 
 members attended, bearing with them the images 
 of their churches, and, at the proper seasons, with 
 crucifixes and crowns of flowers, which, scattered 
 about the long files of blue, white, grey, and black 
 friars, and mixed with gold and silver vessels, 
 long wax torches, and carved and painted figures 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 319 
 
 from the churches, gave an impression of gaiety 
 to the scene, mixed with solemnity. The banners 
 of the different brotherhoods floated in the air, 
 with silken scarfs of every colour, the latter of 
 which recalled the memory of those times in 
 which each monk was a warrior, and the sword 
 clove to the bishop equally with the crosier. 
 Now, indeed, all this has disappeared, and the 
 ceremonies of the present year have been inte- 
 resting only to the devout : the change has been 
 advantageous to the nation, for the former holy- 
 days were too numerous; they impeded business, 
 encouraged idleness, and afforded frequent op- 
 portunities for intrigue and disturbance; fortunate, 
 indeed, was the day that passed over without an 
 evening of bloodshed. The romance, however, of 
 the exhibitions has in a great degree been de- 
 stroyed ; what was more delightful than to turn 
 from all the splendour of the processions, and 
 see the piercing eye and the taper foot of a grace- 
 ful figure peeping from beneath the long black 
 veil and silken petticoat, in an innumerable crowd 
 commingled in variegated dresses of every hue, — 
 the streets being then filled in a ten-fold degree 
 with elegance and beauty ? 
 
 The arts and manufactures are in their infancy 
 in this country : they have not yet adopted water 
 or steam to abbreviate manual operations. Stone 
 is cut by the fatiguing means of an iron saw. 
 The texture of mats is formed after the fashion of 
 
320 
 
 GEXERAL REMARKS OX SEVILLE. 
 
 the Arabs, and the streets are often impeded by 
 twisters of cord, which is run upon a little wheel 
 for a hundred yards. Whatever is new, or brought 
 from foreign countries, experiences opposition to 
 its introduction, less indeed now than formerly, 
 but quite enough still to disgust those desirous 
 of forwarding and ameliorating the state of so- 
 cial welfare amongst the Spaniards. Should a 
 barometer be injured, neither Cadiz nor Seville 
 affords an artisan to mend it. As we found once, 
 amongst the class of English rustics, a French 
 dish was considered disgusting, and the French 
 address affected, so in Spain, where the same il- 
 liberally exists, roast-beef passes as raw meat, 
 and fit only for hounds, or to be cooked over 
 again; and the reserve of an Englishman is counted 
 as brutality and stupidity. The Spaniards did 
 not improve on the inventions of the Arabs : even 
 the mode of raising and distributing water, from 
 the principle of its uniform level, which the latter 
 understood and availed themselves of, was neo- 
 lected by the former : indeed, in one of the gates 
 of Seville there was a conduit, probably Arab, 
 which mounted above the top, and descended to the 
 other side; while the aqueducts between Cordova 
 and Seville have stone lodges, into which the wa- 
 ter rises and descends; yet no attempts were made 
 to irrigate the land, nor was any outlay of money 
 or labour encouraged for such useful purposes, by 
 their successors. Were it possible to irrigate the 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 321 
 
 land, two crops of corn might be procured yearly, 
 but owing to the heat of the weather, it hardens 
 so much that the farmer is obliged to wait until 
 rain comes, in order to use the plough. 
 
 The population of Seville in the year 1823 
 amounted to 81,875 souls: of these 43,007 were 
 single persons, the males being less in number 
 than the females by about 500 : of married cou- 
 ples there were 30,389, and of widowers and wi- 
 dows 8479, the latter bearing to the former an 
 excess of 4859. The number of religious persons 
 of both sexes was about 2000, and there were 387 
 public beggars. After this period (which was that 
 of the Constitution) the population increased great- 
 ly, when the friars came back under Ferdinand : 
 and we may at present presume that between 
 the inhabitants of the town and suburbs, and the 
 strangers resident in Seville, the population may 
 reach 100,000 in number. Indeed, many are now 
 migrating hither from Cadiz, as the colonial com- 
 merce is entirely destroyed in the latter place, 
 and it is found more easy to smuggle goods into 
 this town than the other. Owing to a bad govern- 
 ment, and excessive duties, scarcely any trade is 
 carried on in Spain, except as a contraband one. 
 Fair and unfortunate country, the curse of fallen 
 opulence weighs it down, — who can tell when to 
 rise again ? 
 
 It is the present intention of the government to 
 collect all the pictures for a museum, and the 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 books of convents for a public library, sorting the 
 latter, and keeping a copy of each work, while the 
 duplicates are to be sold by public auction. This 
 presents a fine field for bibliomaniacs to luxuriate 
 in, and the trouble of a voyage from England or 
 France would be amply repaid, were it possible 
 to count with certainty on such an intention : but 
 the money paid by students, which was to have 
 defrayed the expenses of the library- shelves, has 
 all been seized by the government to defray the 
 extraordinary expenses of the war, and it is not 
 impossible that we may see both pictures and 
 books hidden away in obscurity, or pilfered and 
 dispersed clandestinely. 
 
 Seville contains forty convents for men, and 
 twenty-nine for women, besides four "Beateríos," 
 which are public charities, a species of foundling- 
 hospitals, for the education of children who are 
 poor and friendless. The buildings exist, indeed, 
 but most of the communities of these places have 
 been dispersed. It is impossible to stray amongst 
 these abandoned cloisters, without feeling regret 
 at their desolation ; to see thistles and weeds 
 grow between the joints of a pavement which was 
 once neat and polished, and the wild fig-tree forc- 
 ing its insidious roots into architraves and mould- 
 ings, formerly brilliant in beauty, and inviting to 
 the pencil of the painter, the mind of the poet, 
 and the fervour of the devotee. In neglected 
 aisles, an occasional statue dark with age, and 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 323 
 
 once sanctified by daily prayer, is seen, whose 
 calling and influence are past ; a tomb is robbed of 
 its tenant, and the glory transferred to it by the 
 recollection of his life spent in devotion or in 
 arms, exists no more. The dark ages would in- 
 deed have been altogether obscure, had not re- 
 ligion preserved what was denied to the arts, 
 handing us down the infant conceptions of the 
 uncultivated mind, and the deeds of those for 
 whom there were no chroniclers nor historians. 
 We regard, indeed, such samples with a degree of 
 tenderness, not granted in general to contempo- 
 rary exertions of genius, like parents who watch 
 the infantine movements of a child, the first d awn- 
 ings of his tender mind, and the simplicity of 
 speech and action which delight then, but would 
 be unbecoming in those of more advanced years. 
 We judge them not as they are, but as what they 
 promise to be, and look forward in the hope and 
 expectation of their arrival at future excellence. 
 
 Of ancient Arab libraries in Seville we find 
 scarcely more than one tradition, in relation to 
 the study of Miriam, which has been noticed at 
 the commencement of the present work. Accord- 
 ing to the author of an article in the Edinburgh 
 Revieio, on the Life of Ferdinand and Isabel, by 
 Mr. Prescott, the account of Casiri, in his Biblio- 
 theca Escurialensis, of the existence of seventy 
 Arab libraries during the occupation of the coun- 
 try by the Arabs, is a mistake, that writer having 
 
 y 2 
 
324 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 mistaken the list of books read by the author for 
 that of libraries. Thus this piece of information, 
 although copied by others and myself, leaves their 
 number as obscure as before Casiri wrote. As, 
 however, Jews mixed with Arabs, Persians, and 
 Africans, as well as Christians, composed the po- 
 pulation of towns subject to the Mahommedan 
 domination in Spain, more collections of books 
 were naturally made in this country than in the 
 East, where the people were always migratory, 
 and did not come so much into contact with Eu- 
 ropeans. It is matter of doubt whether the pro- 
 duction to-day of the Arab manuscripts in the 
 Escurial, would afford the information which has 
 been anticipated from them. It was then and is 
 now customary for every Mahommedan prince to 
 have an historiographer, who exaggerated the ac- 
 tions of his reign, being salaried expressly to praise 
 him. The historical accounts of the Arabs might 
 therefore be more correctly gathered from Jewish 
 or Christian chroniclers, than their own writers ; 
 indeed, the researches hitherto made have by no 
 means been so satisfactory as we could wish. Of 
 curiosities in literature and science we should 
 certainly find many, for the Arabs have always 
 been lovers of story-telling, a taste which they 
 have handed down to the Spanish, who, when 
 they collect in conversation, generally find some 
 one to beguile the time and amuse the company 
 by relating a " cuento," or fable. " Cuéntame un 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 325 
 
 cuento," is the request generally made when con- 
 versation flags. And in science, the discoveries 
 the Arabs made, and their machinery, however 
 rude, are interesting as specimens of art in its in- 
 fancy. The question of the number of libraries 
 remains therefore undetermined, but we may con- 
 clude that they were more numerous in the towns 
 of Spain than those of the East. 
 
 Any one curious to observe the great loss which 
 has taken place of pictures, since the entry of the 
 French into Spain, has only to turn from the lists 
 of Cean Bermudez and Pons, to the churches them- 
 selves, where he will not find one fourth part re- 
 maining of those enumerated by these writers. 
 The pictures thus abstracted are not however lost 
 to the world ; the greater number are now floating 
 about in different directions, and have the effect of 
 stimulating the curiosity of those who see them, 
 and induce them to make inquiry into the state of 
 the art in the country from whence they came. 
 Thus also new ideas are communicated to those 
 artists who have no means of travelling to foreign 
 countries to improve their style and enlarge their 
 conceptions. Indeed, when Napoleon took away 
 the Corregios from Parma and Modena, he com- 
 mitted no sin either against justice or civilization, 
 for the property was that of a foe applied to be- 
 nefit a great nation, and ceded according to treaties 
 which guaranteed their possession. 
 
 The administration of justice in Seville is exe- 
 
326 GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 
 
 cuted in a similar way to the rest of Spain, which 
 is uniform throughout the country, with the ex- 
 ception of the Basque provinces, who have their 
 Consejo in Navarre. There are three tribunals, 
 civil, military, and ecclesiastic ; but the two latter, 
 for civil processes, are subject to the former. In 
 criminal cases, the military come under the judg- 
 ment of the Captain-general of the province, and 
 the ecclesiastics under the Provisor, a person de- 
 puted by the Archbishop ; and in case he cannot 
 decide, the case is referred to the tribunal of the 
 "Rota" in Madrid; and the criminal procedure, 
 in relation to civilians, the military, and ecclesi- 
 astics, all ultimately merges in the " Tribunal Su- 
 premo de Justicia" at Madrid, which is equivalent 
 to the " Consejo real antiguo de España y sus In- 
 dias." One small town, or several united, are 
 called " Cabezas de Partida," and have what are 
 called " Jueces de primera instancia/' who, if un- 
 able to settle disputes, refer them to the Audien- 
 cias, of which there is one in each of the following 
 towns: Madrid, Valladolid, Granada, Seville, Al- 
 baycete, Valencia, Barcelona, Mayorca, Canarias : 
 and they pass them to the Tribunal Supremo. 
 There is no Court of Cassation in Spain, and so 
 many decrees and exceptions exist, that the laws 
 are more complicated here than in other countries. 
 Foreigners can appeal to the military tribunal in 
 criminal matters, the captain-general of a province 
 being their " Padrón," or protector. All other 
 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SEVILLE. 327 
 
 Fueros have disappeared ;* but the country has 
 as yet no code of laws which can serve for a text 
 book: the Roman law, the 4 'Siete Partidas" of 
 Alfonso the Learned, the " Nova Recopilación" of 
 Charles the Third, and the " Novissima " of Charles 
 the Fourth, are the present legal guides for law- 
 yers. 
 
 In the year 1400, the first clock which struck 
 with bells, and had been used in Spain, was placed 
 in Seville. 
 
 * This was of course written before the recent pacification of 
 the Basque provinces. 
 
( 328 ) 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The following are the places most entitled to no- 
 tice contiguous to this city : — 
 
 ALCALA DE GUADAÍRA 
 
 Is a pleasantly seated town, containing 10,000 
 inhabitants, two leagues distant from Seville to- 
 wards the south-east, on the road to Carmona. A 
 small adjacent place, about half a league towards 
 the north, from remains of metals found there, 
 and old traditions, is supposed by some to have 
 been a town before the Deluge ; others are con- 
 tent with attributing its origin to Tubal. Alcalá 
 is also supposed to be very ancient, from excava- 
 tions and habitations found in the rocks. At a 
 later period it was the abode of a Greek colony, 
 who called it Hienipa, at the time when Seville 
 existed at Santa Ponce close to Itálica, and before 
 the inhabitants occupied their present town. Don 
 Vicente Mares, in his geography, the " Fenix 
 Troyana," says that the Carthaginians built Al- 
 calá 1400 years before Christ. It is more likely 
 to have been coeval with the establishment of the 
 present town of Seville. In the right hand corner 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 329 
 
 of the castle was placed a stone, with an inscription, 
 part of which has been thus translated : — " Patriae 
 ordo Hienipensium populus et turba clypeum et 
 statuam decrevit." This stone existed in the street 
 of "Avellanada" in Seville in 1833. From hence 
 we judge that Hienipa was an ancient name of 
 Alcalá ; which some derive from the word Hiena, 
 others from a Carthaginian word equivalent to the 
 Latin "pagus," — a place whence spring fountains 
 of water. My modest suggestion is that the name 
 might be corrupted from " yñ," the earth, and 
 " nwru" to wash. Later, under the Romans, Os- 
 set was called by Pliny Constantia Julia; and if 
 Alcalá was ever Osset, it then took the name, for 
 when Julius Caesar conquered Spain, all places 
 vied in adopting his name, or that of his family. 
 In the dam fronting the church of Santa Maria, 
 once was placed a temple to Ceres, which is bu- 
 ried under the steps of the altar of the Augustinas 
 Descalzas. Two other later inscriptions have 
 been found, one a funereal tablet, and the other 
 relating to the temple of Ceres, which however 
 has never been satisfactorily explained, though 
 ingeniously attempted by the Rev. Don Leandro 
 José de Flores. Some more inscriptions, of little 
 importance, have been found at Santa Ponce and 
 near Utrera, relative to Alcalá. Its present name 
 is Arabic, and signifies " The Castle." Of the 
 first introduction of Christianity into Alcalá little 
 or nothing is known; a tomb-stone has been found 
 
330 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 there, however, of the later Gothic period, with 
 this inscription : — " Eulalius, Famulus Dei, vixit 
 annos plus minus 93. Recessit in pace, in era 
 653." Flores says, that in the church of Saint 
 Michael he saw a similar stone, with the name of 
 Januarius ; and various tombs, here and at Utrera, 
 have been discovered and opened, but unfortu- 
 nately their contents were dispersed by the rus- 
 tics. One was that of a pious matron called 
 Eugamia. Another very ancient stone was found 
 in the water-mills of the Carthusians in 1669, 
 and is now placed in the wall of the small ceme- 
 tery of the Carthusian convent near Seville. The 
 reading is the same as recorded by Flores and 
 Caro, as follows: — " In nomine Domini, anno fe- 
 liciter secundo regni Domini nostri Ermenegildi 
 regis, quern persequitur genitor suus Dom. Luvi- 
 gildus Rex, in civitate ipsa duquinone." This 
 inscription, though in rough letters, is all legible. 
 It relates to the persecution of Hermenegildus by 
 his father Leovigildus. The former intermarried in 
 579 with Yagunda, and received from Leovigildus 
 the kingdom of Andalusia ; but turning Catholic 
 in the year of his marriage, he was persecuted, 
 dethroned, and dispossessed of all his titles and 
 possessions by his father, who put him to death 
 at Seville in 584. Hermenegildus had previously 
 brought into Osset 300 of his soldiers, who in all 
 probability set up this inscription. This stone, 
 found in the aqueducts of Alcalá, has induced 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 331 
 
 Flores to think that the tower of Alcalá was called 
 Osset; but other antiquarians have placed it in 
 Triana, and in Saint Juan de Alfarache : indeed 
 all these places may have been under the juris- 
 diction of the town of Osset, although its situa- 
 tion is still undetermined. In 713 and 714 the 
 Moors conquered Spain, and Alcalá, after having 
 been destroyed by them, was again repeopled. In 
 1172 Josef abu Jacub built the bridge of boats 
 across the river at Triana, and brought the water 
 from the castle of Gabir, as the Moorish tower of 
 Alcalá is called, to Seville. In 1245, or the fol- 
 lowing year, the Christians, under Ferdinand, re- 
 gained this castle from the Moors, and passed the 
 summer heats of 1247 in Alcalá ; and at the end 
 of August laid siege to Seville. No particulars 
 have reached us relative to the surrender of the 
 place, but some hills to the north of the castle, 
 now called " Malas mañanas/' took their name 
 from the circumstance of the Christian troops, 
 who had possessed themselves of Carmona on the 
 21st September, 1246, being seen advancing on 
 Alcalá by the Moors, who exclaimed, — " Malas 
 mañanas tenemos,"— We have a sorry morning. 
 This is related by Flores, already quoted, who 
 would therefore place the surrender of Alcalá in 
 1246. A story is recounted by Juan de la Cueva, 
 author of one of the many bad Spanish epic 
 poems, that Ferdinand ordered the Maestre de 
 Eucles to fire the pleasant fields of Alcalá, if the 
 
332 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 castle did not surrender, on which occasion Mu- 
 léase, the governor, in order to save Alguadaira, 
 the daughter of Axataf, who commanded Seville 
 for the Moors, put the lady under care of her 
 lover Botalha, for conveyance to Seville. They 
 were accompanied by other Moors, but on the 
 road met an equal party of Christian knights, who 
 slew the escort of eight Moors, losing however 
 two of their band, Don Benito and Guillen Piera. 
 Shortly after, a civil war broke out in the fortress, 
 and Mulaese fighting single-handed with Mami 
 Hamete, one of the mutineers, they both fell from 
 the walls of the castle. The discord continuing, 
 Mohaydin, who had most authority, was solicited 
 to give up the place; and. its surrender is chaunted 
 by our poet in the following magnificent stanzas. 
 
 " Clamando que se abriese 
 La puerta, yal Rey Moro por Ferdinando 
 Posesión de la villa se le diese 
 Entonces, Moahidin alzando 
 Una bandera blanca que se viese 
 De lejos, hizo abrir la fuerte puerta 
 Que para nada hasta alli fue abierta." 
 
 Possessed of the castle and town, Ferdinand re- 
 tired again to Carmona. 
 
 " Hechos reparos, puesta diligencia 
 En el segundo del, el Rey glorioso 
 Sobre Carmona vuelve victorioso." 
 
 The monarch meditated, however, a still more 
 glorious conquest, —that of the fair Alguadaira 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 333 
 
 herself; and who could resist, in those or even 
 these days, a lover who is both a prince and a 
 warrior ? The object of his passion was touched, 
 and relinquished, it is said, her faith and her per- 
 son to his suit. 
 
 The arms of Alcalá are a castle on a river, be- 
 tween two keys; on the reverse is a figure of 
 Saint Matthew. On the conquest of Alcalá, it 
 was divided, like Seville, amongst the followers of 
 Ferdinand ; from this system of distribution, the 
 ancient warriors of Spain were the richest in the 
 world, and often able to dictate laws to their mas- 
 ters. In countries laid waste and desert from 
 war, bounties and municipal laws for the towns 
 were granted to new settlers, to such a degree that 
 each province, each city almost, had its " fueros," 
 or independent assemblies ; and never to this day 
 have the otherwise despotic masters of the Penin- 
 sula been able to unite a senate, or " cortes," 
 which could dictate laws for the entire kingdom, 
 or destroy this independence which they had 
 given; while in England and America, the senate 
 has and uses a power more arbitrary than was 
 ever possessed or exercised by Ferdinand, by 
 Charles, or by Philip. The might of these princes 
 extended only over individuals ; the other is felt 
 by corporations and provinces. 
 
 The bread-baking profession appears to have 
 been immemorial in Alcalá; at least we have a 
 document of the King Don Alonzo, granting pro- 
 
334 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 tection to bakers, of the date of May, 1318. In 
 1253, Alonzo, son of Ferdinand the Second, an- 
 nexed Alcalá to the jurisdiction of Seville, and 
 confirmed the decree of his father, which gave it 
 the privilege of union with the collegiate church 
 of Seville. 
 
 Of the early history of the castle at Alcalá we 
 know nothing ; that it was Moorish there is little 
 doubt. In 1492, Ponce de Leon, Marquis of Ca- 
 diz, repaired it in that part which faces the parish 
 of Saint Michael. The governor whom Ferdinand 
 left there at the conquest was named Rodrigo 
 Alvarez. The Calle Ancha, or " Wide Street," 
 pompously announced by Flores, is a beastly lane, 
 where without care the passenger runs imminent 
 risk of breaking his shins from the rugged and 
 uneven pavement ; this conducts you to the parish 
 of Saint Michael : the other parish (for the town 
 is composed of two) being that of Santa Maria. 
 The church of Santa Maria was formerly called 
 " Nuestra Señora del Castillo," and now of the 
 "Aguila," or Eagle, from a figure of that bird 
 being seen painted on an altar contiguous to the 
 castle, in a part called the " Torre Mocha." The 
 erection of it is attributed to Ferdinand, as well 
 as that of the parish church of Car mona. Indeed, 
 in 1253, the churches of Santa Maria and Saint 
 Michael did not exist in Alcalá as parish churches. 
 Traditions say, that near to the gate of Santa 
 Maria existed a verdant cross of tares, which never 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 335 
 
 faded either in winter or summer. The large bell 
 of the church was cast by Juan de Bolabarca, in 
 1585, two or three years before he cast that of 
 Seville. A few ancient pictures exist here, but 
 none of value. On the church door the traveller 
 learns that in visiting this church he gains the 
 same indulgences as in that of Saint John at La- 
 teran at Rome. — Alcalá is very healthy, and is 
 much visited by invalids ; the population suffered 
 scarcely at all when the cholera ravaged Seville. 
 
 The parochial church of Saint Michael dates 
 from the Goths, and is more ancient than that of 
 Santa Maria. It did not hold parishioners, how- 
 ever, till within the two last centuries, and it now 
 contains nothing remarkable. In the time of Don 
 Pedro the Cruel, in 1350, so much timber existed 
 about this neighbourhood, that ships were built 
 from it, and the greatest care was taken of its 
 growth. 
 
 The castle of Alcalá held once an illustrious 
 prisoner, Don Diego Garcia de Padilla, who was 
 put to death by Don Pedro in 1365, being at that 
 time a Master of Calatrava; and a manuscript 
 says he was deposited in the well during his im- 
 prisonment, namely, in the " Algibe." — Juan Car- 
 dellas, Archbishop of Braga, was also imprisoned 
 hereby the same monarch in 1367, and only libe- 
 rated when Henry conquered Pedro at Montmiel ; 
 although amongst the miracles of Thomas Aquinas, 
 the escape of Cardellas from prison is attributed 
 
336 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 to the saint. Alcalá was, in 1470, the seat of 
 feuds between the Duke of Medina Celi and the 
 Marquis of Cadiz, which lasted for three years, 
 and in the end terminated in favour of the former 
 family. Don Pedro José Guzman Davalos Ponce 
 de Leon, Santillan y Mesia, first Marquis of 
 Mina, took his title, under Charles the Second 
 (1681), from one of the streams of water called 
 the Mine, which is the most copious. In a work 
 of Pedro Leon Serrano, we observe the following- 
 passage : — " Es también obra particular admirable 
 y de gran estimación ; está debajo de tierra, y 
 para descubrir este tesoro y que eternamente rinda 
 rompieron la piedra viva ; es su dueño el Marques 
 de la Mina." The waters of Alcalá turn thirty-six 
 mill-pools, besides those which are on the river 
 side, and furnish water to more than a hundred 
 gardens. Eels, barbels, and " bogas," a species 
 of herring, are found in them. The shad (zabalo) 
 also frequents the larger streams. This fish may 
 be called the salmon of Andalusia ; it eats well 
 either boiled, broiled with butter sauce, or pickled 
 in vinegar ; it is found in great plenty, and is con- 
 sidered wholesome. 
 
 The fame which Alcalá and Carmona enjoy at 
 present for bread-baking, was possessed by them 
 in antiquity; Roman inscriptions to the god 
 Pan have been found in both places, and Pliny 
 observes that the Andalusians first used hair-sieves 
 for passing flour. Bread- making has immortalized 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 337 
 
 Juan Márquez Aroche, for Pacheco has placed 
 him, for this talent, amongst the lives of his emi- 
 nent men. 
 
 The parish churches of Saint Michael and Santa 
 Maria were within the ancient walls of the town 
 fortress, and are now united in that of Saint Juan 
 de Dios, dedicated to Saint Jago, the latter being 
 founded in 1480, but not regularly used until 1530. 
 
 There is nothing more here that claims parti- 
 cular attention. Juan de Ledesma, in 1649, en- 
 dowed four chaplains for holding the pall when 
 the sacrament was carried to sick persons. There 
 is another parish, called Saint Sebastian, in which 
 José Leandro Flores, who has written the notices 
 of Alcalá, was born. Its church existed at the 
 end of the fifteenth century. The grand altar 
 contains a good picture by Pacheco, representing 
 Saint Sebastian. Amongst the different convents, 
 that of the Hospital Saint Juan de Dios, which 
 had before the title of Saint Ildefonso, is the only 
 one which contains any thing of interest for an 
 Englishman, namely, in the following epitaph : — 
 " John Scroop Colquitt, Esq., Lieutenant-Colonel 
 of the First Regiment of Foot Guards, died here 
 from fever, brought on by fatigue in the march of 
 Seville, and his exertions in attacking its bridge 
 of Triana, on the 27th of August, 1812." The pri- 
 son being in ruins, malefactors are now shut up in 
 the public granary, which was at one time the 
 largest in the province. 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Don Cristoval de Monroy y Silva was born at 
 Alcalá in 1612, and is claimed amongst the good 
 Spanish writers of the day, who were then indeed 
 the most distinguished in Europe. His most im- 
 portant compositions are the following : — " A Dis- 
 course in Defence of Truth and Troy ;" " A Lyric 
 Poem on the Passage of the Duke of Medina Si- 
 donia to Saint Lucar to be married ;" " Descrip- 
 tion of the Crag of Saint Paul, in metaphor of the 
 Giant Polyphemus, sung by the Nine Muses and 
 Apollo f " Life of Saint Paul, the First Hermit;" 
 " Description of the Spring which runs from Al- 
 calá to Seville ;" also the " Description of a Foun- 
 tain in Judea." Besides these, we have by him 
 comedies on the following subjects: — The Cana- 
 nean Giant ; Saint Christobal ; The Alameda of 
 Seville, or Secrecy in Love ; San Bartholomew in 
 America ; The Jealousy of Saint Joseph. Hap- 
 pily, in the state of the press, now filled with 
 more interesting publications, these works will 
 not be again intruded upon the public; however 
 varied they may be, modern readers will be satis- 
 fied with their titles. Don Cristoval died in 1649, 
 and probably his fame as a writer died with him, 
 for an antiquarian only now records his life and 
 death, as he would record the existence of a fa- 
 mily which has long since disappeared. 
 
 It would be useless and trivial to wade through 
 descriptions of streets and unimportant edifices, 
 with which many pages of Don Leandro José de 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 339 
 
 Flores' book is filled ; what he writes is for the 
 honour of his native town, the picturesque neigh- 
 bourhood of which he calls the Elysian Fields, 
 and can only be tolerated on that score. He rates 
 the population of the place, in 1826, at 5133 inha- 
 bitants; but now it is supposed to contain as 
 many as 10,000. 
 
 When Philip the Second visited Seville, the 
 gate at which he entered, namely, the " Puerta 
 Real," was decorated with various devices, amongst 
 which figured the different cities of Andalusia. 
 Alcalá was represented as a beautiful girl, in a 
 blue and dark-purple dress, a red cloak hanging 
 from the left arm, the hair curled, and the head 
 crowned with a fortress ; the left hand holding a 
 plate of olives and cakes of bread ; a fountain was 
 at her feet, and a stream of water flowed from her 
 right breast, which was pressed by the right hand ; 
 on her bosom was a jewel supported by two golden 
 angels, and at the feet the following verses — 
 
 " Yo humilde hija piadosa 
 A mi madre doy el pecho 
 Bañando no á mi despecho 
 De Sevilla la hermoso 
 El verde y florido lecho 
 De Ceres y de Minerva 
 Soy Señor favorecida 
 Minerva me da la vida 
 Y Ceres la espiga y yerba 
 Con que ella es entretenida." 
 z2 
 
340 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The visitor of Alcalá will do well to remark the 
 following objects. A fine picture, already alluded 
 to, by Pacheco, perhaps indeed one of his very 
 finest, in the parish church of Saint Sebastian, 
 which is composed of four figures the size of life. 
 The Saint is represented lying in bed, and a fe- 
 male figure ministering to him, and presenting oil 
 for his wounds ; the other two are in attendance. 
 The picture is rich in colour and graceful in de- 
 sign, but Saints are not in general popular sub- 
 jects, and ought to be confined to churches and 
 convents, would the present rage for pictures allow 
 it. — The altar-piece, by Montañés, in the nun- 
 nery of Santa Clara, where the sculptor exhibits 
 some of his most beautiful work in a most dimi- 
 nutive shape. The passages of the life of Santa 
 Clara which it represents are not the most inter- 
 esting to the mere connoisseurs of art, yet these 
 would be delicious tablets to transfer to the mu- 
 seum of an amateur. We have among them an 
 interesting specimen of Sevillan monuments, in 
 Saint Isidorus at full length, holding the Giralda 
 in his hand. The Martyrdom of Saint John is 
 also among the subjects. In the church of San- 
 tiago there is also a fine figure of the patron saint, 
 clothed in the usual gingerbread-coloured robes 
 of the times, by the same sculptor. It was placed 
 in the grand altar of the church, but the decora- 
 tions of the Holy Week obscured it, so as to 
 be only feebly visible ; an amputated hand, which 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 341 
 
 had been sacriligeously cut away, appeared to be 
 admirably carved. In the same church, a Purga- 
 tory, by Pacheco, detestably painted, offended 
 our eyes ; and on our visit to this last church we 
 were glad to abandon murky walls, dull pictures, 
 and the indistinct Santiago, for the genial sun- 
 shine of the street. The view, on descending the 
 road towards Seville, presents many points of 
 beauty. The castle-hill, crowned at the top with 
 ruins, between which the ancient church of Santa 
 Maria is perceived, breaks boldly down to the 
 river side; the valley, confined by the opposite 
 banks and high ground, is clothed with a dark 
 line of orange, lemon, pomegranate, myrtle, and 
 olive trees, through which the silver windings of 
 the stream are here and there visible, until both 
 lines of the eminence meet in the distance, when 
 an expanse of woody verdure is presented, spread 
 over an extended plain, terminated on one side 
 by the incipient mountain line of Ronda, and lost 
 in the other amidst the level of Seville and Santa 
 Ponce. 
 
 Gandul is within the jurisdiction of Alcalá, and 
 is the property of the Jaureguis of Seville, who 
 take the title of Marquisses of Gandul ; this dig- 
 nity was granted to the family by Charles the Se- 
 cond, in 1698. The old castle of Marchenilla, 
 which presents an Arab tower, surrounded by a 
 wall, with Gothic fortifications, was in 1474 the 
 seat of treaties between the Duke of Medina Si- 
 
342 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 donia and the Marquis of Cadiz. The parochial 
 church of Gandul is dedicated to Saint John the 
 Evangelist, and contains the sepulchres of the fa- 
 milies. In the sacramental books of 1530, Gan- 
 dul is represented as a chapel of the metropolitan 
 church of Seville, and a very small place. In the 
 tower of Marcheniila, Pedro de la Peña, a religious 
 person, fixed his hermitage about the middle of 
 the last century. At that period there were four- 
 teen mills for grinding corn, and 100 inhabitants 
 in the village ; these have since decreased, and it - 
 now consists of only one street. The old fortress 
 of Marchenilla has afforded ample occupation for 
 artists; Messrs. Roberts and Lewis both took 
 sketches of it when they visited Andalusia, and its 
 picturesque appearance has excited more interest 
 than the few circumstances that are now known 
 of its history. The district of "Dos Hermanas" 
 took its name from the discovery of a wooden 
 figure of Santa Ana, a small bell, and a bronze 
 cross, by two sisters. The period of this disco- 
 very is not known, but is supposed to have been 
 subsequent to the expulsion of the Moors by 
 Saint Ferdinand, these relics having probably been 
 buried where they were found on the entry of the 
 Moors into the country. The sisters are supposed 
 to be the Saalices, who, according to Caro, lie in 
 front of the Capilla Real in the cathedral of Se- 
 ville, near to the pillar on the right : there, how- 
 ever, we find the tomb of Guiomar Manuel, who 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 343 
 
 built the prison of Seville and supplied it with 
 water, and died in 1426. The Deity is, as usual, 
 said to have revealed the site where these relics 
 lay to the worthy women in a dream. A friar 
 named Isidoro de Castro published a book in 
 1795, on the subject of the discovery of these re- 
 lics, which states that the two sisters came from 
 Leon, and were named Elvira and Estafania Na- 
 zareno, their father Gomez Nazareno having, in 
 the division of Seville at the conquest, received 
 from Ferdinand, whom he accompanied, this plot 
 of land as a possession. 
 
 The whole of this neighbourhood was formerly 
 filled with castles and fortresses. The Marquis 
 of Castromonte is lord of the Dos Hermanas. The 
 Marquis of Serrezuela takes his title from a ruined 
 castle seen from thence. The family of Pedrosa 
 are marquises of Dos Hermanas, by grant of Charles 
 the Second. The present parochial church of Dos 
 Hermanas is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalen. 
 The ancient architectural remains at present seen 
 in the neighbourhood were once watch-towers. 
 
 The culture of the olive tree is very extensive 
 in the neighbourhood of Alcalá, and persons even 
 from New South Wales have visited it to gain in- 
 formation respecting the mode of treating the 
 plant. It gives me pleasure to be enabled to lay 
 before my readers an account of the best and 
 most modern mode of culture employed here: 
 for though it may never be capable of adoption 
 
344 
 
 VICIXITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 in England, its description is always an addition 
 to our stock of useful knowledge. 
 
 The olive tree is propagated in Andalusia by 
 branches taken from the large trees in the months 
 of January or February, cut to the length of nine 
 feet, and planted three feet in the ground, thirty- 
 six feet apart. Immediately after planting, they 
 are banked up with earth in the shape of a cone, 
 to the height of five feet, in order to preserve the 
 moisture for a greater length of time, and oblige 
 the shoots to spring from the upper part of the 
 branch. In the other provinces of Spain, where 
 the heat is not so great, they do not go to the 
 expense of banking them up, but merely cut away 
 the shoots that grow too low. During the first 
 year, and sometimes the second, it is customary 
 to water them in the months of July and August, 
 which is done by making a hole in the embank- 
 ment, which is not levelled until the end of the 
 second year, when the superfluous shoots are cut 
 away, leaving only four that are the most favour- 
 ably placed at the top of the young tree, so as to 
 form four branches, which is considered the most 
 perfect form; although a good tree will be pro- 
 duced from three, and even two branches, but 
 not fewer; and in case from accidental circum- 
 stances it is left with only one branch, the others 
 are replaced, if possible, in succeeding years, by 
 leaving new shoots. When the young trees are 
 well taken care of by cutting away all the super- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 345 
 
 fluous shoots, and the ground has been well 
 ploughed, once in the winter and again in the 
 spring, and kept clear of weeds, at the age of ten 
 years they begin to be so far productive as to 
 leave a profit on the yearly expense of their ma- 
 nagement, but they cannot be considered to be in 
 their full force of bearing until the age of thirty 
 or forty years. It is customary to prune the trees 
 in this province every second year, cutting away 
 all the suckers, and leaving them clear for the 
 admission of the sun and for ventilation ; no branch 
 is allowed to grow in a vertical position, as such 
 branches are observed to produce few or no olives. 
 The olive tree is never very productive, unless 
 kept in a strong growing state ; for which reason, 
 at the age of fifty or sixty years, when they have 
 attained a large size, and the common pruning 
 and cultivation is no longer sufficient to keep 
 them in that state, if they be formed of four 
 branches, the two largest on one side are cut away 
 within about nine inches of the trunk of the tree; 
 if formed of three, two are cut away, leaving one ; 
 and when formed of two, the largest is cut off, 
 which is always done in winter ; and the branches 
 so removed are those that serve for planting. 
 After this operation is performed, the branches 
 that are left shoot with great vigour, and new ones 
 are formed on those that have been cut off, by 
 taking away the superfluous shoots at the end of 
 the second year, but not before, and leaving those 
 
346 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 that are most favourably situated. At the end 
 of ten years the new branches will have attained a 
 considerable size, and the remaining old branches 
 are also cut away, by which means the tree is 
 formed anew, a vigorous state of vegetation is 
 maintained, and by this succession the tree may 
 be continued for ages. If an olive plantation gets 
 burnt, which sometimes happens from the dry 
 pasture taking fire, or any other serious injury 
 happens to a tree, the trunk should be cut level 
 with the ground, and a new tree is formed in the 
 course of ten years from the shoots that spring 
 up from the roots. There are a great many olive 
 trees still in existence that were planted by the 
 Moors. 
 
 There are also in this part of Spain many large 
 plantations formed in a very different way. Some 
 grounds are found full of the wild olive, in which 
 case they are cleared, leaving the trees that are 
 most favourably situated, and grafting them. The 
 trees thus formed are found to be more hardy, and 
 suffer the dry seasons better, than those that are 
 produced by planting the branches. 
 
 The Haciendas, or olive plantations, in Anda- 
 lusia, are in general on a very large scale, some 
 of them being composed of above sixty thousand 
 trees, and having a palace-like house, with a cha- 
 pel, for the residence of the proprietor; two or 
 three mills, and houses for the workmen, with 
 offices. An olive-tree frequently produces two, 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 347 
 
 and even three fanegas of olives (five fanegas are 
 equal to eight bushels), but taking the average, 
 on a large plantation, half a fanega per tree is 
 considered a good crop. The olives are taken to 
 the mill, and ground into a pulp ; this pulp is put 
 into a sort of flat basket-work, made of esparto 
 (a kind of grass), and put into the press, plenty of 
 boiling water being poured over the basket-work 
 previous to pressing. From the press both oil and 
 water run off together to a reservoir, where, the 
 oil collecting at the top, it is taken out with a tin 
 bucket, and put into large clay jars, which hold 
 from 800 to 1600 gallons. They are covered round 
 with the dry olive cake that comes out of the 
 press, which, fermenting, occasions a strong heat,, 
 and in about ten days the oil becomes sufficiently 
 clear for use. The quantity of oil produced from 
 each fanega of olives averages from three to four 
 gallons English, according to the soil; those 
 grown in stony ground producing the greatest 
 quantity. Thus, a plantation of 60,000 trees, 
 yielding a good crop, would produce at least 
 90,000 gallons of oil, worth in this market, at the 
 present price, 6,250/. sterling. The expenses of 
 the year would be about 2000/. sterling, leaving 
 a clear profit of 4250/. The capital employed 
 may be considered 15,000/. for the value of the 
 plantation, and 2000/. required in the manage- 
 ment, making a total of 17,000/.; so that the 
 annual profit reaches 25 per cent. Such crops 
 
348 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 cannot from experience be expected to average 
 more than one in every two years, and good olive 
 plantations, well managed by the proprietor, will 
 leave him an average profit of from 10 to 15 per 
 cent., but when rented, only five. The most fa- 
 vourable soil for the olive tree is a light and ra- 
 ther sandy ground, and one great advantage of 
 its cultivation is, that the proprietor of an estate 
 can in this way advantageously employ all his 
 poorest land, since the olive will grow where 
 wheat cannot. 
 
 In ancient times the village of Dos Hermanas 
 was called Orippo, under which name it appears 
 in the Itinerary of Antoninus. The medals found 
 here represent the bust of a man with a bunch of 
 grapes, and on the other side a bull, with a cres- 
 cent above and the word Orippo at its feet. 
 
 CANTILLANA. 
 This place was formerly called Basilipo, and is 
 only remarkable for its obstinate resistance to the 
 Christians in the time of Saint Ferdinand, for 
 some ancient inscriptions which are found on Ro- 
 man tombs, and slight remains of aqueducts. It 
 has a parish church, and gives a title to the mar- 
 quises of Cantillana. 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 349 
 
 CAR MONA. 
 
 This town is mentioned in the Commentaries 
 of Caesar, although Pliny omits it: but Diosco- 
 rides says that the herb sarsaparilla grew in the 
 neighbourhood of Carbonia, by which he is sup- 
 posed to mean Carmona, for it is or was plentiful 
 there. Ptolomaeus places Charmonia amongst 
 the Turdetan towns of Betica. It is found also 
 in the Itinerary of Antoninus from Merida to Se- 
 ville. The ancient medals of Carmona bear on 
 one side a head of Mars, on the other two ears of 
 corn, with the word " Carmo" placed between. 
 Those of the Gothic times are unintelligible. 
 When the Moors besieged the town, they found 
 its fortifications so strong, that they could only 
 gain possession of the place by entering under the 
 disguise of Christian fugitives. This people kept 
 possession of Carmona for 533 years, when it 
 again fell into the hands of the Christians under 
 Saint Ferdinand, but it did not yield to him until 
 the sixth month of the siege of Seville, when 
 Gonzalez Giron took possession of it in the name 
 of the king. It is said that the queen Juana, be- 
 ing fearful that Giron might be slain, introduced 
 into the town 500 soldiers dressed in women's 
 clothes to protect him ; indeed by the public acts 
 of the time, we see that the queen had principal 
 command in the place. By the second law she 
 made, no heretic was allowed to remain there, or 
 
350 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 " ser en portillo/' " to be in the gateway," which 
 means occupy the post of judge ; for amongst the 
 ancients justice was administered at the gates of 
 a city; hence the figurative prayer in the Scrip- 
 tures of being delivered " from the gates of hell," 
 which means from the judgment of eternal punish- 
 ment. The soldiers of Carmona distinguished 
 themselves in the battle of the Rio Salado, under 
 Alfonso the Eleventh, and under Pedro the Cruel 
 it was the most faithful of his towns, and probably 
 to him are to be attributed great part of the ruined 
 fortifications we now see. After the battle of 
 Montmiel, and the death of Pedro, Henry, his 
 bastard brother, proceeded against Carmona, and 
 attacked it by escalading, but many of his soldiers 
 were slain. The commander, however, Martin 
 Lopez, receiving no assistance from without, capi- 
 tulated on condition of his life being spared, and 
 consented to give up Mateos Fernandez, who was 
 chancellor of the late king. Henry agreed to 
 this, but on entering Carmona, seized both Lopez 
 and Fernandez, and sent them to Seville, where 
 they were put to death. Lopez was a Master of 
 Calatrava, and native of Carmona. At the taking 
 of Alhama, in the wars of Granada, the first who 
 mounted the scaling ladders was Juan de Ortiga, 
 a native of Carmona, who, hearing another behind 
 him, said, " Who comes there ?" — The soldier an- 
 swered, " A man of Toledo" — upon which Ortiga, 
 thinking to be witty, said, s( Can any good thing 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 351 
 
 come from Toledo?" — the other replied, "Get 
 forward, and you shall soon see :" — he kept his 
 word, fighting most desperately. The earthquake 
 of 1504, which threw down parts of the convent 
 of Saint Francis, wounding several persons, de- 
 stroyed also the church of Santa Maria de Gracia, 
 outside the town of Carmona, and killed two 
 friars. In the same year the Catholic queen Isabel 
 died. Nothing more is found interesting concern- 
 ing Carmona ; of the three " Alcázares," or forti- 
 fied palaces, which it once contained, none are 
 now left, save in ruins. Unsparing time ravages 
 every thing; whilst penning these pages, it sadly 
 recurs to my memory, that nine years ago I ran a 
 race with a Spanish officer to the summit of its 
 castle-crowned hill, and that after so short a lapse 
 of time, I am scarcely able to hobble about with- 
 out a stick : to this the enemy Time has brought 
 me — gouty limbs and grey hairs are the heritage 
 he has left me to enjoy. Carmona now contains 
 20,000 inhabitants, and seven parishes, of which 
 Santa Maria is one of the best in the archbi- 
 shopric ; it is also an archdeaconry of the metro- 
 politan church of Seville. 
 
 C A R U L A. 
 
 Of this Roman place we know not the site, but 
 it is supposed to have been higher up the river 
 
352 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 towards Cordova, at a distance of six leagues 
 from Cantillana. Its medals bear a head of Mer- 
 cury, with a winding line issuing from the neck, 
 figurative perhaps of the Guadalquivir, and the 
 letter X ; on the reverse a circle, with bars pro- 
 jecting on one side, and the other the word Carl, 
 with eight dots in this form — :::: 
 
 I L I P A. 
 
 The medals of Ilipa bear a fish on one side, 
 supposed to be the shad, with a half-moon above, 
 and below the word " Ilipenses;" on the other 
 side is an ear of corn. In former times it must 
 have been a place of consequence, for Strabo 
 observes — " Hispalim usque navigatur sursum 
 grandibus onerariis, ad quingenta fere stadia, ad 
 superiores autem urbes, Ilipam usque, minoribus ; 
 inde ad Cordubam scaphis fluvialibus :" and it 
 was near to the mines of the Sierra Morena. It 
 is supposed to have been the present Peña-flor, 
 and some say the spot where Cneius Scipio de- 
 feated the Lusitanians, in which 12,000 of the 
 latter were slain, and only seventy-three of the 
 former. The account by Livy is as follows:— 
 " Tandem gradum intulere Romani, cessitque Lu- 
 sitanus ; deinde prorsus turga dedit, et cum insti- 
 tissent fugientibus victores, ad duodecim millia 
 hostium sunt caesi, capti quingenti quadraginta, 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE, 
 
 353 
 
 omnes ferme equites, et signa militaria capta 
 centum triginta quatuor; de exercitu Romanorum 
 septuaginta et tres amissi. Pugna turn inde haud 
 procul Hipa urbe est." Many "Roman inscriptions 
 have been found here, and amongst them Caro 
 quotes that of a temple to Lightning, which was 
 thought to appease the anger of Jupiter, and ward 
 off his bolts : — 
 
 FVLGETRAE . PRO . DEO . IOVE . 
 MAX . POPVL . PACANDO 
 FVLGVRIBUS . E . NVBE . 
 ERVMPENTIBVS . 
 
 Of the other towns of a similar name, Tlupula 
 Grandis (which Pliny honoured with the addi- 
 tional name of " Laus"), is supposed to be the 
 ancient Illiberis, near Granada ; one of the gates 
 of Granada, opening on the Albaizin, was called 
 in the time of the Moors " Faxalaus," which has 
 induced some to think that Granada itself was 
 this town; indeed Caro says that he received from 
 Justin Antolinez, in his time Bishop of Granada, 
 this inscription, which existed amongst the papers 
 of an antiquary of that town — 
 
 C . ANTISTIO . C . F 
 ANTIS . VET . PATR . RR . 
 N . TVRPIONI . ILIPVLENSI. 
 
 — with a relation that a silver-gilt statue, weigh- 
 
354 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 ing ninety pounds, was dedicated to one Turpion 
 of Ilipula ; on investigation, however, the whole 
 has been judged an imposition. Ilipula Minor is 
 supposed to have existed in the mountains near 
 Malaga, while Iliba passes as the village of Cabe- 
 zas. Ilibena, from the medals bearing a fish on 
 one side, with the word Ilibena and an ear of corn 
 on the other, was probably some place on the 
 Guadalquivir, of which however all trace is lost. 
 
 ITALICA. 
 
 Antiquarians have not been able to determine 
 whether the present town of Seville had theatres 
 and amphitheatres, or if so, where they stood. 
 Saint Isidorus mentions that after the martyrdom 
 of Santa Justa, her sister Rufina was exposed to 
 a ferocious lion in the amphitheatre : " Rufina 
 vero ad alia certamina, santissimae sorori superstes, 
 praesidis jussu in arenam producta (ut sanctus Isi- 
 dorus refert) ferocissimo leoni objecta est." This 
 passage appears in the Seville breviaries, and ano- 
 ther says that she was there burnt after death — 
 " Cujus corpus a carnificibus in eandem arenam 
 tractum combustum est." It may be conjectured 
 that all this took place at Itálica, for we have no 
 clear remains of any theatre or amphitheatre in 
 the town of Seville. Philostratus, indeed, in his 
 life of Apollonius Thyaneus (the magician of the 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 355 
 
 day, who predicted the death of Domitian in 
 Ephesus, at the moment when the tyrant was 
 slain in Rome), mentions that some tragedians 
 passing through Seville, and performing for the 
 first time with the dresses and the masks at that 
 time customary, the latter of which augmented 
 the voice from a whisper to a roar, the audience 
 were so alarmed when the dialogue grew warm, 
 that they all ran away and left the performers 
 alone : — " Is igitur Hispalim veniens terribilis 
 primo aspectu visus est, donee in scená tacitus 
 perstitit : videntes enim ipsum tarn alte gradien- 
 tem, et tarn vaste hiantem, peplis superstantem 
 vestibusque tam monstrosis indutum, non sine ti- 
 more ejusmodi habitum admiraban tur. Ubi autem 
 vocem attollens altius clamare ccepit, plurimi, 
 tamquam dsemonis alicujus voce perculsi, diffu- 
 gerunt; tales erant tamque simplices barbarorum 
 mores." The general accounts of Philostratus are 
 reckoned fabulous, but nothing here related is in- 
 consistent with probability. Of Itálica we know, 
 however, neither the origin nor the destruction, 
 and had it not been the cradle of Trajan and 
 Adrian, history would have been entirely silent on 
 its fame. Before it acquired the name of Itálica, 
 it was called Sancios ; but when Scipio Africanus, 
 after driving the Carthaginians from Spain, de- 
 sired to provide for his wounded and maimed sol- 
 diers, uniting them together in Sancios, he peopled 
 the place with them, and it gained the name of 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Itálica, from being filled with Italians, being pro- 
 bably called " Castra Itálica." Appius Alexandri- 
 nus, in the 144th Olympiad, writes thus: "Relicto 
 utpote pacata regione valido prsesidio, Scipio 
 milites omnes vulneribus débiles in unam urbem 
 compulit, quam ab Italicá Italicam nominavit, 
 claram natalibus Trajani et Adriani, qui posteris 
 temporibus Romanum Imperium tenuere." Itálica 
 is sometimes called " Sevilla laViega," or Old Se- 
 ville. It had municipal rights, as appears from 
 coins collected of the Augustan times, with the 
 inscription — 
 
 MVNICIP . ITALIC. 
 
 Indeed, Adrian, when the inhabitants petitioned 
 the Roman senate that they should be considered 
 a colony, and not a municipal town, replied with 
 greater prudence than their deputies, that it was 
 more advantageous for them to enjoy their own 
 customs, and be independent of Rome, than to 
 form an integral and colonial part of the empire, 
 with an obligation to adopt all its laws and fash- 
 ions. They persisted, however, and gained their 
 demand, which, like most state honours, pleased 
 their vanity but did not better their situation, as 
 an inscription goes to prove, collated by Ursinus 
 in his notes to Tacitus, and also by Gruterus, 
 which runs thus : — , 
 
 L CANNVLEIVS . IN . ITALIA . VOLSINIENSIVM PA- 
 TRIAE . SViE . ITEM . TERENT . ET TIBVRT1VM ITEM . 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 357 
 
 COLONI . ITACENSIS . IN . PROVINCIA . BiENINEN- 
 SIVM . M . HELVIVS . M . F . CLEMENS . ARNENSI . 
 DOMO . CARTH AGINE . PR^F . EQ . AL.E . PRIMiE . 
 CANNA NEFATVM . PRESIDI . SANCTISSIMO . ET . RA- 
 RISSIMO. 
 
 CVRAM . AGENTE . L . AGONIO . CALLISTO . TRIB . 
 MIL . LEG . XIIII . GEM . SEV. 
 
 I visited Itálica on the 14th of May, under a 
 burning sun. The excavations are near the high 
 road, in two places, one almost touching it, and 
 the other about 300 yards distant. In the former 
 is discovered, as some imagine, the palace of Tra- 
 jan, and three statues are lying on the ground, 
 said to be those of Junius Brutus, Minerva, and 
 Trajan; of which, however, we see here only the 
 drapery : that of the Minerva is fine, and the head 
 supposed to belong to it, which has been trans- 
 ported to Seville, is equally so. A small Venus 
 has also been discovered, entire. Other remains, 
 preserved in the Alcazar, consist of a fine Torso, 
 perhaps of Antinous, and other works of inferior 
 merit. The other excavation presents some re- 
 mains of baths, but all the recently discovered 
 marbles have been removed to the Alcazar at 
 Seville, where they are collected, or to the con- 
 vent of Santa Ponce. The Roman inscriptions in 
 the Alcazar have been transcribed by several per- 
 sons, copies of them having been sent to Madrid : 
 in a work like the present, which is not exclu- 
 
358 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 sively dedicated to antiquarian research, a collec- 
 tion of them would be out of place. Two new 
 tesselated pavements have been lately discovered ; 
 one is close to the houses of the village of Santa 
 Ponce, as you descend towards the convent and 
 church of Saint Isidorus del Campo. In this I 
 discovered the tail of a fish, and was told that be- 
 neath some dirt and mud were to be found part 
 of two nymphs, interlaced together. The other 
 mosaic is wholly unintelligible at present : they 
 are both fenced round for protection, but without 
 any roof, and, as in the case of the pavement de- 
 scribed by Laborde, the rains will speedily ruin 
 them, if one be not supplied. The liberal natives 
 of Seville assert that the English have been the 
 cause of the ruin of the last-mentioned pavement, 
 from every visitor of that nation buying bits ; thus 
 shamefully transferring to others the blame of 
 their own stupidity and negligence. 
 
 The convent and church of Santa Ponce are 
 interesting. The terrace in front commands a 
 fine view of Seville and the river. Its holy in- 
 mates were farmers ; the yard contiguous contains 
 stalls and troughs for more than 150 oxen. The 
 main entrance to the abbey is castellated, with 
 Arab arches, and in the front court stands a mar- 
 ble pillar from Itálica. This establishment serves 
 as the parish church of Saint Isidorus del Campo. 
 It is very ancient, having been founded in 1301. 
 In the arcades of the fist small patio you traverse, 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 359 
 
 appear a series of figures and armorial bearings, 
 with Arab tracery work, painted by some German 
 artist before oil was used, and with good effect. 
 The barbarian lodgers (for now those condemned 
 to work on the public roads, and of whom a party 
 are exploring the subterranean Itálica, are located 
 here, together with their guards) have poked out 
 the eyes, and destroyed part of the figures, of 
 these ancient remains. Much more, indeed, has 
 been covered with lime by the priests. The next 
 court is in the Arab style, mixed however with a 
 portion of Saxon architecture. The capitular sa- 
 loon of this convent is handsome, and contains 
 seven pictures, apparently by Alonzo Vasquez, or 
 of his school. The ceiling is beautifully painted, 
 and gilt. All these remains are now, however, 
 falling to decay ; dirt, neglect, and wanton abuse 
 have so deteriorated the monastic monuments, that 
 in many cases they are irreparably damaged, and 
 in a few years more will become wholly dis- 
 figured. The interior of the church is remarkable 
 for an altar-piece, the work of Montañés, with 
 four compartments, representing the visit of the 
 Magi, the Birth of our Saviour, his Ascension, and 
 Resurrection. In niches on each side of the great 
 altar are tombs of the family of Zuniga, as well 
 as two others, with statues of Montañés, repre- 
 senting Guzman el Bueno, its founder, who was 
 killed fighting against the Moors in 1309, and his 
 wife, both the size of life, kneeling in prayer. 
 
360 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 The name of the latter was Maria Alonzo Coronel; 
 for wives in Spain keep their maiden name after 
 marriage. The date of their tombs is 1347. In 
 chapels on the other side are placed the tombs of 
 Doña Urraca, who was burned by Don Pedro the 
 Cruel, of her husband, and the site of the tomb 
 of Leonora Dábalos, who faithfully threw herself 
 into the flames with her mistress. In an altar 
 dedicated to Saint Peter, the body of Saint Cu- 
 thiacius was worshipped ; a present made by 
 Pope Sixtus the Fifth to Henry de Guzman, son 
 of the first Count of Olivares, who caused it to be 
 placed here, with a gilt inscription on a black 
 stone. Fray Andres de Villamanrique, prior of 
 this convent, amongst other works, wrote an his- 
 torical treatise upon a small skull, which used to 
 be shown in the Escurial, belonging to a man, no 
 larger than that of a partridge, although he had 
 attained the age of twenty-five years. This work 
 was printed in Seville in 1675. Another reverend 
 prelate of renown, Juan de San Francisco, a Ge- 
 ronomite, died here in 1710, in the 75th year of 
 his age, and is buried in the church. 
 
 The diameter of the ancient amphitheatre of 
 Itálica is seventy-five paces. In ancient times it 
 is supposed to have had a smaller one adjoining, 
 as may be judged from certain contiguous en- 
 trances, and a fountain at a short distance appears 
 to be of Roman construction : its stone-work was 
 found buried in the earth. 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 361 
 
 The annual fair of Santa Ponce takes place in 
 October. Cattle are sold in large numbers, and 
 the demonstrations of joy which the visitors show, 
 and their numerous trains of equipages, have 
 formed subjects for many pleasing artistical com- 
 positions. Then all is bustle and gaiety; cars 
 drawn by oxen creak along the road, while the 
 guitar tinkles amidst the laughter and jokes of 
 their various occupants. The Spanish character 
 is naturally gay ; the people are " pleased with a 
 rattle, tickled with a straw;" on occasions like 
 these all their cares vanish ; the poor forgets his 
 poverty, the unfortunate his losses ; all join toge- 
 ther in merry-making; and the casual observer 
 would be at a loss to discover any sombre lines of 
 countenance in men and women who furnished 
 inmates for the gloomiest sanctuaries of devotion, 
 and whose cruelties depopulated the provinces 
 over which they held their empire. Through the 
 kindness of Mr. Wetherell, the circular funeral 
 inscription subjoined to this sketch is communi- 
 cated to the public : it belongs to a member of 
 the Ulpian family, much distinguished in Rome, 
 and which was found in the ruins of Itálica. It 
 formerly was in the collection of the Count of 
 Aguila, and occupies a circle of twelve inches 
 diameter. The poet Silius, who wrote on the 
 Punic war, took the name of Italicus from being 
 born in this town. The medals of Itálica are of 
 five classes. Those of the time of Augustus and 
 
362 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Tiberius bear a head on one side, with the legend 
 " Providential Augusti Municip. Italic. ;" and on 
 the other a female figure, with a globe on the 
 ground, and the words, " Genio Pop. Municip. 
 Italic." These, indeed, were the arms of the 
 Italican legion which served in the Roman army. 
 The Saint of Itálica was Cornelius, a cohort of 
 this legion, whom Saint Peter converted to Chris- 
 tianity, and on whom the Holy Ghost was seen 
 visibly to descend, according to the narrative of 
 Saint Luke in the Acts of the Apostles. Saint 
 Peter subsequently made Cornelius Bishop of 
 Cesárea, in Palestine. 
 
 SAINT JOHN DE ALFARACHE. 
 
 This was a famous Arab place of resistance 
 against the Romans, and the remains of the an- 
 cient castle attest its almost inexpugnable situa- 
 tion. It lies on the Triana side of the Guadal- 
 quivir, about half a league lower down the river. 
 The mountainous ridge of the Sierra Morena ter- 
 minates at this point. When the Carthuja was 
 founded, the Franciscan monks who resided there 
 came to a convent here, and were endowed with 
 the parochial church, and the lands, fruits, and 
 civil rights thereto appertaining. In this burning 
 climate (for Seville is called the frying-pan of 
 Spain) it may seem ridiculous to talk of cold to 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 363 
 
 those of northern climes ; nevertheless, a screen 
 of wall belonging to the old Moorish fortress, 
 which enclosed an acre of land, was loosened by 
 the frost, and fell down on the southern side, 
 about ten years ago ; from the stone of which the 
 then Intendant Arjona made the present road 
 from Seville to Saint John de Alfarache. On 
 gaining the high ground from the village to the 
 convent and church, a fine amphitheatrical view 
 is presented of the village of Helves, and the 
 plain bounded by the mountains of Ronda, through 
 which the river winds, decked by an orange grove, 
 the property of Mr. Beck, a merchant in Seville, 
 and which darkens over the stream with its thick 
 foliage of green. From thence, proceeding through 
 an olive plantation, we reach the church and con- 
 vent ; and from the front a stone balcony, with 
 seats, hangs over a precipice of some hundred 
 feet, supported by the ancient walls. Here the 
 whole of Seville lies at the spectator's feet; to 
 the left are seen the villages of Tomares (famous 
 for a spring, whose water is brought to Seville, 
 and considered slightly purgative), Camas, Santa 
 Ponce, Algarva, Alcalá de Rio, and to the right 
 Alcalá de Guadaira and the hills of Carmona, 
 composing a view both extensive and beautiful. 
 Besides the Moorish walls of San Juan de Alfa- 
 rache, there exist others near at hand of greater 
 antiquity, called Chaboya, below which are ves- 
 tiges of a town. In this place is the baptismal 
 
364 
 
 VICINITY" OF SEVILLE. 
 
 font described by Gregorius Turonensis, from 
 which an annual miraculous supply of water 
 flowed on the Saturday of the Holy Week, sus- 
 taining itself without running over, until touched 
 by one baptised, when it fell again to its former 
 level. Saint Gregorius says that Hermenegildus 
 repaired, with his 300 followers, to this fortress, 
 and expresses himself thus : — " Habito ergo trac- 
 tatu de multis virorum millibus, trecentos viros 
 elegit armatos, et intra castrum Osset, in cujus 
 ecclesiá fontes divinitus complentur, includit." 
 We therefore see that it is undecided whether 
 Alcalá de Guadaira, or this fortress, may be termed 
 Osset. That such a place existed, coins attest, 
 bearing a female head, with the legend "Julia 
 Constan tia Osset" on one side, and on the other 
 a naked figure bearing a bunch of grapes. Alcalá 
 de Rio also was included in the territory of Osset. 
 
 The parish church dates from great antiquity; 
 it was before the fifteenth century the seat of the 
 monks of Saint John the Baptist, who gave it the 
 name, but they returned it to the crown ; and in 
 1400 Bishop Mena, the founder of the Carthuja, 
 translated thither the monks of the third order of 
 the Franciscans, whose seat they occupied. The 
 objects now worthy of notice in the building are 
 paintings by Juan de Castillo, of the life of the 
 two Saints John. They consist of four pictures : 
 John the Baptist baptising Christ, and preaching 
 in the Desert; The Evangelist writing; and his 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 365 
 
 Martyrdom in a vase of boiling oil. These are 
 the Castillos which have pleased me most, and 
 are preferable to those seen in the Sacristia 
 Mayor of the Cathedral, which came from the 
 Convent of Monte Sion. A Gothic fountain of 
 transparent marble, for baptism, is shown in the 
 church, with an elegant light-worked pedestal, 
 from which we are told the horses of the Arab 
 commanders of the fortress used to eat. The air 
 here is excellent, and to the village below families 
 resort on holydays to enjoy themselves, and pass 
 their leisure hours. Indeed the country life is 
 dear to all ; and the philosopher, the man of busi- 
 ness and of pleasure, esteem alike the ease and in- 
 dependence which it offers. The opposite banks 
 of the river are covered with orange groves ; their 
 sale is the principal foreign trade which Seville 
 enjoys. Fifty vessels, each containing about 300 
 chests, leave the river yearly for the United King- 
 dom, the value of which may amount to sixty 
 thousand hard dollars; but in addition to this, 
 there are shipments made, in greater or less pro- 
 portion, of wool, wine, quicksilver, and salt, and 
 for which hardly any returns are made in manu- 
 factured goods, owing to the existing prohibition, 
 which is injurious to the English, as they have to 
 pay in specie, and are not able to give in return 
 the products of their industry. 
 
366 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 MARCHEN A. 
 
 The " Colonia Marcia" of the Romans is sup- 
 posed to have been the modern Marchena : it was 
 founded by Marcus Marcellus, who greatly aug- 
 mented the population of Cordova, as some say ; 
 others, however, attribute its origin to the circum- 
 stance of Lucius Marcus having fixed his tent 
 there, when he repelled the Carthaginians, after 
 the death of the two Scipios, in a spot supposed 
 to be near to Osuna. It was in this part of An- 
 dalusia that St. Apollonius suffered martyrdom 
 with his companions : — " In Betica Marchenias, 
 quae Marcia Colonia dicitur, Sanctus Apollonius, 
 cum sociis, qui pro Christo Domino percussione 
 perempti sunt." This appears in the Chronicle 
 of Julian Perez. Roman inscriptions of the time 
 of Nero have been found in Marchena. Of the 
 Arab writers Roasis says that " Marchena is a 
 good town and well peopled." Saint Ferdinand 
 made himself master of it in 1240, at the same 
 period when he conquered Ecija, Estepa, and 
 other places in the neighbourhood. Ferdinand 
 the Fourth, who was named the " Emplazado," 
 gave it in 1309 to the Ponces of Leon. Under 
 Peter the Cruel it was ravaged and almost ruined 
 by the Moors, to whom that monarch had given 
 licence to enter the lands of Seville and Cordova. 
 
 Of the natural products of Marchena, the let- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 367 
 
 tuce is remarkably fine. Columella speaks in 
 praise of those of Cadiz in these terms : — 
 
 " Et mea, quam generant Tartessi littora Gades, 
 Candida vibrato discrimine, candida thyrso." 
 
 The neighbouring country affords fine pasture 
 for cattle, and once contained a good breed of 
 horses. The ancient parish of Santa Maria de la 
 Nota stood within the castle : there is also another 
 parochial church, dedicated to Saint John the 
 Baptist. The walls and fortifications of Marchena 
 were once much esteemed, although now in ruins ; 
 indeed Salazar Mendoza speaks of them in the 
 highest terms, more particularly as he says they 
 had a religious origin, having been built by an 
 order from Pope Martin the Fifth, with aid from 
 Christian charity, in 1430; and that they were 
 marked with the arms of Colonna, the family of 
 the pontiff. 
 
 PARROQUIA SANTA MARIA DE LAS CUEVAS. 
 THE CARTHUJA. 
 
 Time, though it effects improvements in go- 
 vernments, lamentably ravages antiquities; no 
 transformation can be greater, except the greatest 
 of all in another world, than for a convent of the 
 highest fame to become a pottery, however re- 
 spectable the said pottery may be. There is cer- 
 
368 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 tainly an analogy between the fragility of an 
 earthen vessel and our human fragility, but to see 
 some of the finest marble sculptures that ever 
 decked a monastery removed from it, and a fur- 
 nace for clay, with its rough, round, and homely 
 dimensions, intruding on the sight in their place, 
 destroys every interesting speculation, save that of 
 the value of crockery ware. 
 
 The bishop Don Gonzalo de Mena founded on 
 the site of a hermitage near to Triana, and in front 
 of Seville, the Convent of Carthusians, to which 
 order he had become attached at Burgos in the 
 year 1400. The hermits, who dwelt in excava- 
 tions of the earth, from whence the place took the 
 name of Cuevas, and some members of the third 
 order of Saint Francis, who had been sent by 
 Mena to occupy the same place some time before, 
 were removed to Saint John de Alfarache, another 
 parochial church. In the year of its establish- 
 ment there w r as a plague and famine in Seville, 
 which this good bishop endeavoured to mitigate 
 by giving food and medicine to the poor, but fell 
 a victim himself to the contagion in 1401, leaving 
 a thousand doubloons in gold for the prosecution 
 of the work. His convent was embellished in the 
 sixteenth century by a descendant of Alonzo the 
 Eleventh, Don Fadrique Henriquez de Ribera, 
 who built two mausoleums for his progenitors, 
 and one in particular for his father and mother, on 
 opposite sides of the present grand altar, and at 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 369 
 
 the foot of which he was at last buried himself, 
 a flat slab being placed over him, with his figure, 
 his blazons and armour traced upon it, and the 
 following inscription: " Aqui yace el illustris- 
 simo Señor Don Fadrique Henriquez de Ribera, 
 Marques primero que fue de Tarifa, adelantado 
 mayor de la Andalusia, el cual falleció á tres de 
 Noviembre, de 1539; cuya anima Dios perdone." 
 The tomb of the founder Mena was removed from 
 the Carthuja, in 1820, to the cathedral; from 
 thence, in the year 1823, it was brought back to 
 the Carthuja, and, still later, was re-transported to 
 the cathedral. The small church of the present 
 building was the primitive church of worship at 
 the foundation of the convent. Zuniga says that, 
 in the year 1504, the members of the convent 
 removed the body of the bishop from the present 
 cathedral church, where it lay, in the chapel of 
 Saint lago, to their monastery. It is to be in- 
 ferred, therefore, that it had already undergone a 
 translation from its first grave. The body was 
 discovered almost entire, with its pontifical robes, 
 a salver, a cup, and the phial for holding conse- 
 crated oil. The following inscription was then 
 placed over it: " La verdadara virtud, conque 
 de mayor esplendor á mi linaje illustre, me le- 
 vantó á la silla obispal de Calahorra y después á 
 la de Burgos, últimamente fui Arzobispo de Se- 
 villa, viví inculpablemente, y no contento con pro- 
 curar como buen pastor, aumentar la grey del 
 
 B B 
 
370 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 Señor, que apacentaba, fundé, y doté amplisima- 
 mente este monasterio, para que en élhallaten 
 muchas almas carrera de salvación, y muchos 
 pobres permaneciente el socorro de mi liberalidad, 
 perdí la vida en tiempo de peste, porque aplacado 
 el Señor en mi, mitigase su justicia con mis 
 obejas, y después de largos dias que estuve sepul- 
 tado en la iglesia metropolitana de mi Cathedral, 
 por diligancia y lagrimas de mis espirituales hijos, 
 fui traido á esta iglesia mia, donde cercado de sus 
 piadosos trabajos que son frutos de mi caridad y 
 zelo, esperando la segunda Estola. Reposa en el 
 Señor Don Gonzalo de Mena natural de Toledo, 
 murió año 1401." The tomb of the bishop was in 
 the small church ; indeed, there had been a long 
 lawsuit between the family of Ribera and the 
 monks, as to the question who was entitled to 
 claim the convent as their property. It was de- 
 cided that each had a right to part; the com- 
 munity to the works of Mena, and the Dukes of 
 Alcalá, or family of Ribera, to what they had 
 built. The walls of the gardens and orange groves 
 are almost washed by the Guadalquivir; the 
 alleys of cypress mentioned by Morgado are still 
 seen green and luxuriant. The number of cells 
 amounted to seventy, or rather there were houses 
 for that number, the upper stories being allotted 
 for winter, and those below for summer accommo- 
 dation. To each of these was attached a garden, 
 planted with citron, lemon, and orange trees, 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 371 
 
 flowers and shrubs : every monk was allowed 
 what he chose to eat and drink, and was supplied 
 with all books he desired to read, and all instru- 
 ments for carpenters' work, for in general the 
 members of the convent applied themselves more 
 to mechanics than to literature. In one of the 
 cells was found a map of the world, traced on 
 the wall. The privations of the profession were, 
 to attend prayers at midnight, not to look on wo- 
 man, and never to speak except on particular days, 
 which occurred once or twice a year, or by permis- 
 sion of the Superior. I conversed with the prior 
 before the dispersion of his flock, and found him 
 affable and good-humoured. In the 16th century 
 the community had funds for the following pur- 
 poses: — To divide fifty-five measures (fanegas) of 
 corn monthly, which was distributed amongst 110 
 poor widows ; a maintenance for all foundlings 
 put in or left at the gates ; clothing for thirteen 
 poor men at Christmas, who assisted in the choir 
 at evening vespers ; provision for sixty decayed 
 gentlemen, who fed at the convent; and supplies 
 of bread, soup, and water to as many poor as pre- 
 sented themselves, which Morgado estimates at 
 so high a rate as from four to five hundred daily. 
 There was also a fund for the maintenance of 
 seven chaplains, who served at the small church 
 contiguous to the grand entrance, which is to the 
 west, the other being to the east, communicating 
 only with some court yards and farm houses ad- 
 
 bb 2 
 
372 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 jacent to the convent. The whole of this build- 
 ing occupies eighteen Spanish acres ; the orange 
 grounds and gardens are of equal extent. It 
 grieved me on my present visit to find what was 
 once neat, clean, and resplendent, now dusty and 
 neglected : to observe the empty niches of tombs, 
 once ornamented with all the sumptuousness of 
 carved and polished marble ; to mark the pan- 
 nels of coloured porcelain chipped and defaced, 
 while the large convent clock, which has not yet 
 been removed, struck mournfully in the silence 
 of the deserted tenement. The walls which sur- 
 round the grounds are built very massive, and 
 inclining inwards, to prevent inundations, which 
 sometimes cover the plain, and in 1 783 rose to 
 four, and in the following year ten feet within 
 the gate. At that period the " mallicones" of 
 Triana were made, — being small walls of stone to 
 confine the waters which reach from the bridge 
 to the Car thuja. 
 
 As you enter the west or principal gate, there 
 is a chapel of convenient size for the parish, no 
 stranger being allowed to intrude on the service 
 where the monks performed their devotions. The 
 arcade or portal under which you pass to enter 
 the convent, is of Roman architecture, though 
 not of the Roman time. From thence the visitor 
 views the principal entrance of the convent, which 
 contains a handsome circular window, spoiled 
 however by square turrets at the edge of the 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 373 
 
 facade, of the worst Gothic; what was once a 
 magnificent row of elms on each side of this ap- 
 proach, now survives only in a few aged stumps, 
 picturesque, but mouldering in antiquity, and cut 
 so that from their trunks heads of verdure spring 
 in small branches. The gate conducts you to a 
 court, on one side of which were the apartments 
 of the prior, and on the other that assigned to 
 strangers who visited the monastery ; this last 
 had attached to its entrance a small corridor, 
 running close to the church walls, formed of beau- 
 tifully united bricks, of small size, made concave 
 within for mortar, so that none is seen in the ex- 
 terior joints, the whole appearing of one piece. 
 On entering the church, the first object which 
 meets your sight is a rail which separates the 
 " legos" from the monks of higher class, and be- 
 tween this rail and the door are the seats, sixteen 
 in number, which the former occupied. In a cha- 
 pel adjoining, to the right, was placed the famous 
 Crucifixion in wood, by Montañés, now trans- 
 ferred to the chapel of the Cálices, in the cathe- 
 dral of Seville. In this chapel is a plate, which 
 indicates that in 1784 the water rose here to nine 
 feet. The " barbones," or elder brethren, of grave 
 and severe aspect, who had suffered by austerity 
 or misfortune, and enjoyed the higher rank of the 
 fraternity, sat within the rail before mentioned, 
 on forty seats equally distributed on each side of 
 the church, flanking, but at a distance from, the 
 
374 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 grand altar, which faces the entrance, where are 
 the places of the " legos," — brethren of an inferior 
 class, who do not sing in mass, only in the choir, 
 and are not yet friars. The seats of both classes 
 are of carved walnut wood, beautifully scrolled 
 and worked, each seat being surmounted by a 
 saint, and each saint by an angel, fiddling, piping, 
 or chaunting. Before this altar, and at the sides, 
 lay the junior branches of the family of Perifan 
 de Ribera, a man who served his country for near 
 a century. The whole extent of these two cha- 
 pels, from the grand entrance to the first step of 
 the grand altar, is about 220 feet; behind the 
 altar is the sagrario, the floor of which was once 
 inlaid with tortoiseshell, but was removed by the 
 French, and has been subsequently paved with 
 ebony and silver scrolls, executed by José Guti- 
 errez in 1816. The carved wood-work of the 
 altar and the sagrario glitters with gold and co- 
 lours, but is not of much merit. In the Sala Ca- 
 pitular were once the two Zurbarans, of Monks at 
 Dinner, and Saint Bruno and the Pope, which 
 have passed to the cathedral. The refectory, 
 with the marble tables, which Zurbaran copied in 
 the former of these pictures, has a beautiful pul- 
 pit, with a spiral staircase, from whence prayers 
 were read during repasts. The tables have been 
 all removed, or are about to be so. Three of them, 
 cut in slabs, were purchased by, and now do ser- 
 vice to, the author of this work. They were 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 375 
 
 twenty-five in number, of the best Genoa marble, 
 and measure near nine feet each in length by- 
 three broad; ranged in single lines down each 
 side of the refectory. The chapel of the founder, 
 Mena, is 45 feet long by 15 broad, containing no- 
 thing curious. In a detached capilla, or chapel, 
 which opens on the cemetery, planted with orange 
 trees, and which is beautifully ornamented with 
 compartments of painted tiles, once stood the 
 figure of the patron Saint Bruno, carved by Mon- 
 tañés. The habitation of the prior, or " Celda- 
 prioral," contains two rooms inhabited by Philip 
 the Second, on occasion of his visit to the Car- 
 thuja; one, which was his bed-room, is only 
 twelve feet square, and quite plain, as is likewise 
 an adjoining one, of about three times the size, 
 where he used to receive his court. In a small 
 chapel to the north-east of the church, and near 
 the sagrario, is a marble slab with the following 
 inscription in Gothic letters, and which has 
 not been removed to the university, like the 
 rest : — " Aqui yace sepultado el honrado caballero 
 de Arcos alcaide de Tarifa, que ganó á Gibral- 
 tar de los Moros enemigos de la santa fe Catho- 
 lica año de 1504, fué bienhechor de la casa : ro- 
 guemos al Señor por él." The Crucifixion by 
 Montañés, which has been removed to the Ca- 
 pilla de los Cálices, in the Cathedral of Seville, is 
 an admirable performance; the inflexions of the 
 muscles are boldly marked, and the expression of 
 
376 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the countenance probably served Murillo for a 
 study, equalling in softness that which he con- 
 veyed to canvas. 
 
 The holy precincts of the Carthusian convent 
 were stained with blood, in the year 1626; a 
 member of the community slew the prior ; he did 
 not, however, as might have been supposed, ex- 
 piate the homicide with his life, but died a na- 
 tural death in 1678. Indeed, it is with the great- 
 est difficulty that the extreme sentence of the law 
 can be put into force in Spain ; all parties inter- 
 fere, and the general wish is to save the criminal, 
 even amongst the friends of the injured party, and 
 at the expense of justice; we sometimes hear of 
 executions for desertion from the army, or for rob- 
 bery on the high roads accompanied with violence ; 
 but in private quarrels, where one of the parties 
 is killed, the murderer generally escapes with a 
 short imprisonment. As long as the Spaniards 
 carry knives, assassinations will be frequent ; and 
 to deprive them of such weapons would be con- 
 sidered unjust, as they serve ordinarily to cut 
 their food. The Andalusians are however less 
 violent than the inhabitants of the north of Spain; 
 they rarely rise against their superiors in more, 
 than words, and their outrages proceed more from 
 sudden impulses of passion than from any settled 
 intention to commit injury; indeed the lower 
 classes are often patient, docile, and honest, in 
 circumstances where others would be passionate, 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 377 
 
 obstinate, and roguish. With all its good points, 
 however, the Spanish character is unfavourable to 
 the formation of a powerful or independent nation, 
 governed constitutionally ; no Spaniard knows nor 
 can imagine what independence is, as we under- 
 stand it ; they can none of them move without a 
 patron ; they cannot form to themselves an idea 
 of honour not conferred by kings ; and in the 
 south of Spain particularly, their vanity is so in- 
 ordinate, that they will give up a project, and 
 cease the examination of a question, if it in any 
 way tends by its adoption or discussion to cast a 
 shade upon their favourite whims and notions. 
 With acknowledgments of their own depression 
 and degeneracy often in their mouths, they yet 
 are internally convinced that no nation under the 
 sun is so great, so glorious, and so excellent as 
 their own. 
 
 With their religion it is the same ; they deride 
 and ridicule the priests, yet at the first headache 
 or sickness relapse to the abjectness of devotion, 
 and cry out for a confessor. Doubtless these poor 
 people are now seen to the greatest disadvantage; 
 their affairs are involved in ruin, and nothing but 
 the jealousy of other powers deters France from 
 appropriating to herself the northern provinces^ 
 which Louis XIV. so much coveted, and the En- 
 glish from occupying Andalusia : we therefore 
 must applaud that constancy and resolution which 
 prevents them from being down-hearted, and sup- 
 
378 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 plies the place of patriotism, which in the univer- 
 sal distrust, confusion, and poverty of the nation, 
 can only appear at second hand, rather as a shade 
 and colour than a substance. Society, morals, 
 and even religion, never remain stationary ; they 
 must either retrograde or advance ; an eternal 
 change occurs in opinions and in the social rela- 
 tions of life ; it is indeed evident to all who have 
 had an opportunity of seeing the Spaniards as 
 they were twenty years ago, and as they are now 
 found, that a slight change for the better has 
 taken place already amongst them, and we may 
 fairly anticipate that it will continue progressive 
 as long as peace is maintained in Europe. In 
 case of a general war, the peninsula would doubt- 
 less retrograde in civilization, for the tree of know- 
 ledge is only just sprouting, and all hindrances 
 to the communications with the countries from 
 which it has been brought, would necessarily ope- 
 rate to prevent its attaining to a goodly growth. 
 This, however, would only be what befalls every 
 other country in proportion, when shut up within 
 itself. The fear of an enemy causes distrust ; a 
 prejudice arises against every thing he does or 
 proposes ; we are alarmed at his most simple 
 movements, and view with aversion his food, his 
 manners, and his kind. As it is by union alone 
 that a defensive body can maintain itself, all is 
 afterwards considered sacred and excellent which 
 was practised at the moment of common danger ; 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 379 
 
 all detestable and vile that savours of the enemy: 
 hence, therefore, wedded by these prejudices to 
 ourselves and to our own habits, we necessarily 
 remain stationary in civilization and knowledge. 
 The French imagine that their revolution and 
 their wars civilized the world ; but it was not by 
 arms they did so, but by the diffusion of prin- 
 ciples and knowledge wholly independent of them. 
 A plebeian endowed with learning asserted his 
 superiority over an ignorant noble ; old prejudices* 
 indeed, resisted this admission, but the march of 
 intellect was not to be arrested in its progress, 
 and war ensued ; its termination gave the world 
 a convincing proof that mental ability and physi- 
 cal force constitue the only real elements of 
 superiority one human creature possesses over 
 another, while the pretensions of nobility serve 
 only as a varnish to render the face of society 
 more brilliant, without adding any thing to its 
 solidity. The grateful pride of a line of ancestry, 
 the splendour of a court, the possession of large 
 fortune, all fall to nothing when unaccompanied 
 by sense, knowledge, and well regulated ambi- 
 tion ; indeed, they are only foils to make igno- 
 rance and weakness more glaring. Surrounded 
 by power, we cannot, like Joshua, bid the sun to 
 stand still, unless from divine authority ; we can 
 only wield the arms suited to our abilities, and 
 like Phaeton, who borrowed the steeds of Phoe- 
 bus, we are whirled to destruction in the endea- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 vour to manage a mighty engine beyond our 
 guidance. Unless our knowledge is proportioned 
 to the station we occupy, we are compelled to 
 consult others, and soon lose both power and in- 
 dependence. This, therefore, is necessary for the 
 welfare of society and security of every nation, in 
 all political stages, that the wisdom of the prince 
 should be sufficient, which it rarely is, for his sta- 
 tion of governor, or that the people should have 
 information to enable them to appreciate freedom, 
 before it is entrusted to them. The horrors of the 
 French revolution proceeded from good principles 
 ill directed; the king knew not how to govern, 
 and the people were no less incompetent to di- 
 rect or enjoy liberty. Each side abused its 
 powers, and the civil war which succeeded only 
 handed the nation over to what was worse, — an 
 oligarchy of democrats. The despotism of a com- 
 monwealth is only more supportable than that of 
 a monarchy, as more flattering ; if we suffer under 
 it, as we often do, we have at least the satisfac- 
 tion of knowing that the ills inflicted are not from 
 the will of one man, nor arising from the mere 
 caprice of the many-headed monster, the people, 
 but are submitted to after a consultation has been 
 held for the general good, among those who, no- 
 minally at least, derive their authority from the 
 consent of the whole body. 
 
 But however we may be disposed to censure 
 the polity or government of other nations, as dif- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 381 
 
 fering from our own, we should do well to reflect 
 that probably their condition suits them, and that 
 it is the soundest policy not to interfere in the 
 affairs of other states, from a hope of bettering 
 their social condition ; that, as a general rule, we 
 should content ourselves with aiding others when 
 we can, only interfering with or opposing their 
 internal proceedings when they are found to be 
 dangerous to our own existence. The Tory and 
 Whig wars which have overwhelmed us with debt, 
 were ostensibly indeed undertaken for the pro- 
 tection of our commerce, but in reality to support 
 a king and his nobility in their government, in 
 the maintenance of which the welfare of the na- 
 tion was assumed to consist. Our rulers were 
 too ignorant to understand that no foreign com- 
 merce, however favourable, will repay the ex- 
 penses of armaments to gain it. Indeed, if we 
 keep to ourselves what we have acquired, and 
 establish an exclusive monopoly, our nation must 
 suffer^ like ill-fated Spain, either from the stag- 
 nation of commerce, or from the operation of 
 illicit traders ; and yet for such purposes wars are 
 undertaken and defended. The duty on foreign 
 corn is enforced, really because, as it is be- 
 lieved, it enables the aristocracy, in whose hands 
 political power is lodged, to live luxuriously, and 
 obtain high rents : although it is quite as doubt- 
 ful whether the removal of it would at all injure 
 the condition of the higher classes, after a few 
 
382 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 years, as it is whether it would ameliorate that of 
 the lower, to whom, however, it is at all events 
 a source of great heartburning, if not distress. 
 Great Britain presents the anomaly of desiring, 
 like the scorpion, to sting itself to death, in the 
 same way that it attempted to ruin the French, 
 during their revolutionary war, by preventing the 
 introduction of corn at a season of famine ; now 
 inflicting at home the evil once intended for an 
 enemy. 
 
 O S S E T. 
 
 All we know about this place is what Pliny 
 writes : — " Et a laevá Hispalis cognomine Romu- 
 lensis ; ex adverso Osset, quod cognominatur 
 Julia Constantia :" and we see medals with a face 
 on one side, and the word "Osset/' — on the other 
 a husbandman with a large bunch of grapes in his 
 hand; but it is probable that Osset was a dis- 
 trict, for it included Alcalá del Rio, or, as it was 
 called, " Aquas Duras," and, from the chronicle 
 of Marcus Maximus, Gregory suffered martyrdom 
 there. " In Hispaniá Bseticá, apud Aquas Duras, 
 quse Osset dicitur, moritur glorióse Gregorius fa- 
 mulus Dei." Castelleja, San Juan de Alfarache, 
 and indeed Alcalá de Guadaira, may have all be- 
 longed to this commune. 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 383 
 
 TRIAN A. 
 
 This suburb of Seville may now contain ten 
 thousand inhabitants. In 1770 its numbers were 
 less; and the yellow-fever of 1800 considerably 
 reduced them at that time. Formerly it was 
 altogether, and indeed is now partially, the resort 
 of sea-faring men, and one Rodrigo de Triana, 
 accompanying Columbus to America, in 1492, 
 was the first who descried land in the ship called 
 the Pinta, commanded by Martin Alfonso Pinzón. 
 The Farfanes, who aided Cortes in Mexico, came 
 also from Triana ; of whom Moratin says in the 
 poem of " Las Naves de Cortes destruidas," — 
 
 " Farfanes aquel alto que blandía 
 La pica, y de su patria amartelado 
 Se va siempre acordando en sombra vana 
 De la dulce Sevilla y de Triana." 
 
 The marine wood deposits were in the " Campo 
 de los Remedios" of this place, where was wor- 
 shipped an image of the Virgin, which gave its 
 name to the adjacent convent. In the present 
 day the Lilliputian fleet may consist of 150 small 
 craft, between boats and barges. One thousand 
 seven hundred and thirty-nine acres are all the 
 land dependant on Triana, which are divided into 
 gardens, orchards, and arable land. The plain in 
 which Triana stands is traversed diagonally by a 
 Moorish ditch called the " Madre," which dis- 
 
384 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 charges the waters of the river in flood time. The 
 
 manufacture of painted tiles, or Azulejos, is very 
 extensive, and fine specimens of them are seen at 
 the Carthusian convent, in the cloister of Saint 
 Michael, the Alcazar, and Casa de Pilatos, at 
 Seville. A square yard costs about ten shillings. 
 In 1791, 346 persons were employed in this manu- 
 facture, which produced a profit of more than ten 
 thousand pounds sterling; but it has now fallen 
 nearly a third. At the entrance from Santa Ponce 
 and the Carthusian convent, large sales of agri- 
 cultural produce are made, and vagabonds stroll 
 up and down to levy contributions on the sellers, 
 knife in hand. These " graceless and godless 
 men," as Dr. Southey calls the French army of 
 Buonaparte in Egypt, pay little heed to justice 
 or authority; time has sanctioned their abuses, 
 and under a despotic government, violence, when 
 not directed against the chiefs, is too often over- 
 looked ; they therefore plunder and lie idle. Per- 
 petual groups of urchins, crawling in the sun and 
 playing at cards, recall to mind the faithful re- 
 presentation of the beggar boys of Murillo. The 
 church of Saint Anne is head of a parish contain- 
 ing a thousand houses, and was founded by 
 Alfonso the Learned, in consequence of the fol- 
 lowing miracle, which is announced on one of its 
 walls : — " The king was suffering from acute pain 
 in his eyes, when one fell out from its orbit; he 
 prayed to St. Anne, and promised to build her a 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 385 
 
 church in this spot, when suddenly the eye re- 
 turned to its orbit again." The church was ac- 
 cordingly built, and consecrated by Don Rein on 
 the archbishop, in 1280. Its pavement has 
 since been raised, as it was usual at that time to 
 descend by steps into places of worship. The 
 altar-piece is filled with fifteen paintings on wood, 
 by Pedro de Campana, representing passages in 
 the life of St. Anne and the Virgin, whose As- 
 sumption is at the top, and in the centre of the 
 second body, St. George is represented on horse- 
 back, slaying the Dragon : the chapel of that saint 
 having been annexed to this church at the same 
 period when the painting was executed, which dig- 
 nity it gained from the castle of Triana, at the 
 conquest, having been occupied by knights of the 
 order. The pictures of Campana are ill kept, and 
 obscured by dirt, as is also a fine Madonna and 
 Child, contemplated by two angels sitting on a 
 cornice, from the hand of Alejo Fernandez,, an 
 ancient painter of considerable merit, and who 
 worked in the cathedral of Seville, as well as in 
 the Geronomite convent of Cordova, where he 
 painted the great altar. He was still living in 
 1525. The pulpit is worked in flowered stone, of 
 great antiquity; and we observe in the church an 
 Assumption, by Herrera the younger, and an 
 Alfonso Vasquez, representing Christ triumphing 
 over Satan ; the latter, however, is a poor picture. 
 The church of Nuestra Señora de la O is a pa- 
 
 c c 
 
386 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 rochial one, supplementary to that of Saint Anne. 
 It stands on the site of a chapel formerly dedi- 
 cated to Saint Bridget, and the Saints Justa and 
 Rufina. The brotherhood of our Lady of the O 
 was formed in 1566, but the church was not 
 formed into a parochial one till 1615. In 1763, 
 Clement XIII. gave its frequenters the same in- 
 dulgences as those of Saint Peter at Rome, an- 
 nexing it to Santa Maria Rotunda. There are 
 two pictures in this church of some merit, one of 
 Jesus, Mary and Joseph, by Juan Simon Gutier- 
 rez; another of Christ appearing to Saint Peter 
 on the sea-shore, by Stephen Márquez. In the 
 year 1404 criminals were hanged on a tower 
 which stood near to the site of this church, and 
 remains of which, Matute says, are visible on the 
 river-side, ata place now called the Enramadilla: 
 the building is said to have been octangular. 
 
 In Triana was established one of the two ma- 
 nufactories of soap in Andalusia, it being forbidden 
 to make any of that material save here and in the 
 parish of Saint Salvador in Seville, at a place 
 where were afterwards placed the stables of the 
 family of Saavedra. The manufactory of Triana 
 stood in the " Calle de Castilla," from whence the 
 name which we apply of "soap of Castile." The 
 privilege of making soap was not even granted to 
 Cadiz. In Seville the soft soap was manufactured, 
 and in Triana the hard, the latter being exported 
 to America, Flanders, and England. The sum 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 387 
 
 paid to government by the contractors of Triana 
 was 20,000 dollars yearly. 
 
 The tribunal of the Inquisition was first esta- 
 blished in Seville by Ferdinand and Isabella, in 
 1481, although it existed under Saint Ferdinand ; 
 it was intended for a check upon conversion to 
 Judaism, as expressed in the mandates of these so- 
 vereigns : — 66 Know ye all, that perceiving in our 
 kingdoms and lordships there exist some bad 
 Christians, apostates and heretics, who, in spite 
 of having been baptized, and declaring themselves 
 Christians, have turned and do still turn to the 
 sect, the superstition, and the perfidy of the Jews, 
 &c. &c." The following inscription was placed 
 in the entrance of the building : — " Sanctum In- 
 quisitionis officium contra Haereticorum pravita- 
 tem in Hispaniee regnis initiatum est Hispali 
 anno 1481, sedente in trono Apostólico Sixto IV. 
 a quo fuit concessum, et regnantibus in Hispaniá 
 Ferdinando V. et Elisabeth, a quibus fuit impre- 
 catum. Generalis inquisitor primus fuit Frater 
 Thomas de Torquemada, Prior conventus Sanctse 
 Crucis Segoviensis, ordinis predicatorum : faxit 
 Deus ut in fidei tutelam, et augmentum infinem 
 usque sseculi permaneat. Exurge, Domine ; j udica 
 causam tuam : capito nobis vulpes." 
 
 Doctor Lobon was assistant to Torquemada, 
 and both were active in persecuting the Hebrew 
 race. We find by a later inscription, which was 
 placed on the gate of the castle or Moorish fort, 
 cc 2 
 
388 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 that in the year 1524 twenty thousand heretics 
 had been converted, and one thousand burned ; 
 so that it appears that since the commencement 
 of the operations of the Holy Office, more than 
 one had every day been reclaimed to the faith, 
 and about one in three hundred burned. This, 
 however, is the Spanish account, while others say 
 that three times the number perished. The Inqui- 
 sition continued in Triana until 1626, when, in 
 consequence of a flood which damaged the build- 
 ing, it was removed to the parish of Saint Mark 
 in Seville, where it occupied the house of the 
 Tellos Taveras until 1639; it then returned to its 
 original habitation ; but being always insecure, 
 from the floods of the Guadalquivir, it was at last 
 moved to the old Alameda, on the 30th of Novem- 
 ber, 1785, the persons arrested having been con- 
 veyed there on the preceding night with great 
 secrecy. It was usual to cover the wheels of the 
 carriages which conveyed the members in their 
 nocturnal visits with cork wood, so that no noise 
 was made when they stopped to search houses or 
 arrest suspected persons, The alarm at an inqui- 
 sitorial visit was so great, that a governor of 
 Andalusia, under Charles the Fourth, called, from 
 his wealth and favour at court, " El Señor del 
 gran poder," when he was roused from his bed by 
 one of the members, in his hurry to dress, pre- 
 sented himself before the inquisitor with his wig 
 reversed. The visit, however, was only made to 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 389 
 
 inquire whether he had in his possession any- 
 lascivious prints or pictures, as information had 
 been laid at the office to that effect. 
 
 The most celebrated executions in Seville were 
 in the years 1660, 1692, 1695, 1700, and 1703. 
 In 1660, thirty-eight converted Jews were burnt, 
 thirty-one in " estatua," which means in effigy, 
 and seven in person, of whom two were women ; 
 fifty-two other offenders were punished in a 
 greater or less degree. The ceremony lasted 
 from five in the morning till nine at night, and 
 was held in the Plaza of Saint Francis at Seville; 
 the procession was headed by the holy cross, silver 
 gilt, covered with black crape. In the execution 
 of 1692 perished Miguel del Aguila, a painter 
 accused of witchcraft, prophesying, and lying; 
 the two latter charges were probably well founded. 
 In 1696, Ana Eagusa, a native of Palermo, was 
 punished for lying and pretending to revelation, 
 with two years' imprisonment, and eight of ba- 
 nishment: ten convicted persons were executed 
 at the same time. In 1695, five women and two 
 men suffered, besides a religious person, or beata, 
 of Port Saint Mary, called Catalina Briguela, 
 who was accused of having held an understand- 
 ing with the devil since seven years of age, and 
 of having disturbed the peace of the province; 
 she was punished with 200 stripes, and eight 
 years of banishment. In 1700, more than twenty 
 convicted persons suffered, and one in effigy. In 
 
390 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 the year 1703 there was a famous execution, of 
 Diego Duro, an irreclaimable Jew ; and the paint- 
 ing of Lucas Valdes, in the church of Saint Paul, 
 alludes to this occurrence, in which, with an ana- 
 chronism common among painters, he introduces 
 Saint Ferdinand, as Matute says, carrying wood 
 to the fire. This picture is now destroyed. I 
 was told it represented Philip the Second in that 
 amiable occupation ; however this may be, Saint 
 Ferdinand used, as Father Florez relates, to carry 
 wood with his own hand to burn the heretics : — 
 " El mismo solia conducir la leña para el suplicio 
 de los hereges;" and other historians state that 
 so early as 1236, he thus assisted in the burning 
 of culprits in Palencia. In 1722 and 1724, other 
 executions took place; they continued, indeed, 
 until nearly the end of the last century, when they 
 finally ceased : the last who suffered (as has been 
 already observed in treating of the Quemadero), 
 being a poor woman accused of laying eggs, in 
 1780. The seat of the Inquisition is now a mar- 
 ket-place ; the face of the building has been com- 
 pletely remodelled, and the Moorish tower fell 
 down within the present century. An adjoining 
 part of the building serves as a warehouse for 
 pottery-work, and the whole property has passed 
 into the hands of the family of Medina Sidonia. 
 
 The two principal monasteries of Triana are 
 those of Santa Maria de la Victoria, and of Nues- 
 tra Señora de los Remedios. The first belongs to 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 391 
 
 the order of friars Mínimos de San Francisco de 
 Paula, the latter to the Carmelites of the first 
 order. The Franciscans came, with their pro- 
 vincial master, Don Pedro de Almodovar, to Se- 
 ville in 1513, being ten in number, from Ecija, 
 having the intention to settle within the town, 
 and procured a licence to that effect from Don 
 Diego Deza, then archbishop ; but they after- 
 wards preferred possessing the church and hos- 
 pital of Saint Sebastian in Triana, which had ex- 
 isted from time immemorial, and there they fixed 
 their statutes and conferences four years after- 
 wards. In 1517, Don Francisco de Cordova, 
 bishop of Velandia, and assistant to the Arch- 
 bishop of Seville, consecrated the place in its 
 present name. Francis Duarte built the Capilla 
 Mayor of the church in 1524, and was buried 
 there in 1554. He collected many relics, and 
 presented the following to the church : — a part of 
 the cross of Christ, hair and milk of the most holy 
 Mary, a tooth of Saint. John the Baptist, part of 
 the beard of Saint Paul, a piece of Aaron's wand, 
 and five heads of the eleven thousand virgins of 
 Cologne, which were publicly shown on the Sun- 
 days in Lent ! The tomb of Clara de Jesus Mon- 
 tero, one of the pious females of Triana, is placed 
 here. Of this devout person, who died in the 
 odour of sanctity in 1695, it is related, that when 
 quite a child, and during the absence of her pa- 
 rents, a beggar having demanded succour, and 
 
392 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 permission to rest in the house, Clara allowed 
 him to occupy the bed of her mother, who, re- 
 turning home, chid her daughter for doing so, and 
 on proceeding to the room in order to dislodge the 
 unwelcome visitor, found he had disappeared, and 
 that an image of Jesus crucified occupied his 
 place. The miracle operated in deciding Clara 
 to adopt a monastic life. She spent hours im- 
 moveably fixed in prayer, and on one occasion, 
 while thus employed, she felt something rise from 
 her leg, pass over her body, and come out from 
 beneath her dress at the shoulder. It did not, 
 however, withdraw her from her devotions, and 
 was found to be a scorpion, which had passed over 
 her body without biting her. The founder of the 
 second convent just mentioned was Friar Peter, 
 whose origin is doubtful. Morgado says of him, 
 that a strange man, of grave aspect and vene- 
 rable appearance, already mature in age, made 
 his appearance on the banks of the Guadalquivir, 
 during the year of our Lord 1540, regarding with 
 fixed attention the ships moored in the river. 
 Whether some disappointed passion lurked be- 
 neath, which influenced him to devotion, or whe- 
 ther, by musing on the current of the waters, and 
 considering the dangers and vicissitudes to which 
 men are exposed in voyages, he compared them 
 with those of our journey through life, and so re- 
 solved to retire from its perils, history does not 
 affirm, although an opinion afterwards gained ere- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 393 
 
 dence, that the stranger was no ordinary person, 
 but of either royal or noble descent. However, 
 whatever might have been the causes for his con- 
 templative disposition, the various objects which 
 met his eyes fostered and confirmed it, and the 
 busy scene of the harbour, the lovely face of the 
 river, and the bright blue sky above, arrested the 
 holy man's attention, and pleased him so much, 
 that he commenced gathering fragments of wood 
 to build himself a hermitage, and sat quietly down 
 near to the Franciscan convent, rather to the 
 south of the houses of Triana, furnishing his resi- 
 dence with an image of our Lady de los Reme- 
 dios, in order that crews of vessels which passed 
 to the bar of Saint Lucar, and made voyages to 
 America, might pray for and benefit by the pro- 
 tection of her saintship. The Sevillans, who are 
 even now simple and religious, were at that time 
 much more so, — besides being possessed of great 
 wealth; they therefore gave money, and paid 
 many visits, to Friar Peter, till by degrees the 
 brethren in the neighbouring convent became 
 jealous, and very charitably endeavoured to dis- 
 lodge the new settler. The worthy devotee, al- 
 though he professed to have retired from and be 
 disgusted with the world, had not allowed its 
 troubles to break his spirit ; he stood firm, resist- 
 ed the hostile friars, and after making two jour- 
 nies to Rome, managed to get his hermitage an- 
 
394 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 nexed to Saint John Lateran of the Holy See, by 
 a bull from the Pope, and snapped his fingers at 
 the enraged Franciscans of Triana. Upon this 
 success, penitents and donations flocked to and 
 were poured upon the hermitage, in greater abun- 
 dance than rnanna to the Israelites, and within 
 three years from his first establishment Friar 
 Peter was able to build a church, and furnish ac- 
 commodation for several companions, whose de- 
 votions he directed. He lived thus holily and 
 well for many years, and after his death the pro- 
 perty passed into the hands of the primitive Car- 
 melites of Pastrana, a town in New Castile, on 
 the Tagus, who, coming to reside here, made it an 
 establishment of greater importance. The kit- 
 chen-garden and orange-ground annexed were 
 the finest in Seville : the Xoria, or water-pump, 
 and the tank, were the admiration of visitors; 
 indeed, generally speaking, the enjoyments offer- 
 ed to the eyes of the vulgar in monastic abodes 
 were of themselves enough to make a religious 
 calling popular, even had the population in gene- 
 ral been rich, and indifferent to religious obser- 
 vances; and this was still more the case in Spain, 
 where most were poor, and almost all fanatical. 
 In monkish cells were united all the learned, and 
 in their dependent possessions was collected very 
 much of the wealth of the times ; besides which, 
 the favour of Rome rendered their inmates and 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 395 
 
 masters irresistible even to royalty. In the pre- 
 sent year, the garden and convent have been sold 
 for twenty thousand pounds sterling. 
 
 The convent of our Lady de la Consolación is 
 for nuns of the Minimas order, who formerly ex- 
 isted in the town of Fuentes de Leon, and was 
 brought here in 1563, being at that time too poor 
 to maintain itself in the former place. In conse- 
 quence of an inundation, the sisterhood divided, 
 one part coming to Seville, and residing in the 
 street of the Sierpe; when the waters fell, the 
 other returned to Triana. Juan Rodriquez of 
 Santa Marina was buried in this church, in 1607; 
 the histories say that the body was found uncor- 
 rupted after the twentieth day. A chapel close 
 to this convent was called after our Lady de la 
 Encarnación, and in 1734, the then Archbishop 
 of Seville, Don Lucas de Salcedo, allowed mass to 
 be celebrated there. In the same street with the 
 two last named religious establishments, (which 
 is the handsomest in Triana, and called the Calle 
 de la Cana,) on the west side of it, was the con- 
 vent of Saint Jacinthus ; it was founded by Bal- 
 tazar de Silveira, a native of the Terceira Isles, 
 subject to the Portuguese, and the order of its in- 
 mates was that of Santo Domingo, being thirty- 
 five brethren in number. The spot of its first 
 establishment was between the parish hospital of 
 Saint Lazarus, and that of the " fuente del Arzo- 
 bispo," in a plot of land called Cantalobos ; from 
 
396 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 whence it was moved to the site of a hermitage 
 dedicated to our Lady de la Candelaria, in 1670. 
 A handsome church, in which mass was said, fell 
 down shortly after its erection. 
 
 The University of Mariners, composed of those 
 who sailed to and from the Indies, possessed on 
 the Triana bank of the river a hospital and con- 
 fraternity, governed by an ecclesiastical adminis- 
 trator, which was dedicated to our Lady del buen 
 Ayre, Saint Peter, and Saint Andrew : the mem- 
 bers of which founded a chaplainship for saying 
 masses in the church of Saint Anne, which they 
 endowed from the proceeds of two houses in 
 Seville, one near the gate of the Arenal, and the 
 other in the street of the Rabeta : but in 16S3, in 
 consequence of the ardour with which nautical 
 studies were pursued in the country, they re- 
 moved to Saint Elmo, taking with them the se- 
 pulchral stone of their cemetery, on which was 
 placed the following inscription: — "Esta Loza y 
 huesos se trasladaron de la Antigua Iglesia de los 
 Marinantes de Triana á la de este real colegio de 
 S, Sant Elmo en I o [Marzo de 1779 años." The 
 land which the Triana hospital had occupied was 
 sold in 17 SO to the canon Don Ferdinando Xar- 
 bona, who built on it a handsome house, with 
 doors and a balcony to the river side and to the 
 * Calle larga ;" placing a cross of wood in the 
 garden, at the spot occupied by the Sagrario. 
 
 A ferruginous water is found in the " Huerta," 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 397 
 
 or orchard, of " Molina," at Triana, which women 
 are said to drink for obstructions, with good 
 effect. As the visitor proceeds from the gate of 
 Triana, in Seville, towards the bridge, he tra- 
 verses a small suburb called the Cestería, belong- 
 ing to the parish of Saint Mary Magdalen, and 
 in which is placed the convent " del Popólo ; the 
 foundation of this suburb is posterior to the con- 
 quest. 
 
 UTRERA. 
 
 This town was called Utriculum in the fourth 
 century : it was at that time the theatre of seve- 
 ral martyrdoms, amongst others of Saint Straton, 
 who, bound to two bent trees, was torn in pieces 
 by their relaxation : — 
 
 " Occidit ille Scinis, magnis male viribus usus, 
 Qui poterat curvare trabes, et agebat ab alto 
 Ad terram laté sparsuras corpora pinus." 
 
 Perhaps it may have gained the name from the 
 soldiers of Augustus, who, at the end of the Can- 
 tabrian war, twenty-three years before Christ, 
 were sent here, they having probably proceeded 
 from the Etruscan colonies of Utriculum, now 
 Otregoli. The earlier and Greek name, Caro 
 says, was Betis, which has been often given in 
 antiquity to cities having large flocks of sheep, 
 and which produced the lambskin covering called 
 
398 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 in Greek the Beta, which was famed also amongst 
 the Romans: — " Beeta pellis et in hyeme et in 
 sestate bona est." Two streams run through 
 Utrera, which form fountains, and a panegyrist 
 of the place applies to one of them, called the 
 Lamedilla, these verses of Ausonius : — 
 
 " Salve, fons ; ignote ortu, sacer, alme, perennis, 
 Vitree, glauce, profunde, sonore, illimis, opace." 
 
 The town is situated in a plain, and surrounded 
 by walls : its population, in the middle of the last 
 century, amounted to ten or twelve thousand in- 
 habitants ; at present it may be calculated at 
 somewhat more. The disposition of the inhabit- 
 ants is kind and friendly, so that the following 
 sentence has become proverbial — " Mátalo y vete 
 á Utrera"—" Kill him, and fly to Utrera." The 
 quantity of cattle in this neighbourhood is very 
 great, and the soil is fertile. The arms of Utrera 
 are a castle, surmounted by the half-figure of a 
 woman, crowned, with an olive-branch in the 
 right hand, and in the left a sceptre. Sabinus, 
 the first Archbishop of Seville, and director of the 
 sainted sisters Justa and Rufina, was a native of 
 this town ; to him God revealed the well into 
 which Diogenianus had caused the body of Justa 
 to be thrown, whose remains he collected to the 
 ashes of Rufina, who had been burned in the 
 amphitheatre. Saint Ferdinand obtained posses- 
 sion of Utrera in the same year in which Seville 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 399 
 
 submitted to him, and portioned it out to his fol- 
 lowers for repopulation, after the evacuation of 
 the Moors. Among the settlers was a poet of the 
 king, called Domingo Abad, who wrote " Ro- 
 mances," of which the following is a specimen : — 
 
 En somo del Puerto Distu que bien corres 
 
 Cuídeme ser muerto Aqui no te engorres 
 
 De nieve, y de frió Que el sol se recala 
 
 E dése roció Dixel frío tengo 
 
 De la madrugada E por esso vengo 
 
 A la Decida A vos fermosura : 
 
 De una corrida Querer por mesura 
 
 Fallé la Serrana Abrir la posada. 
 
 Fermosa, lozana Dixo la moza : 
 
 E bien colorida. Cormano la choza 
 
 Dixela á ella : Está defendida 
 
 Omillone bella Non avedes guarida 
 Sin facer jornada. 
 
 In the ninth year of the reign of Alfonso the 
 Learned, the tributary Moorish princes revolted 
 against him, and those who inhabited Utrera 
 joined them. The tower w T as however defended 
 by a friar of the order of Calatrava, called Don 
 Aliman, and they could not take it. At the same 
 period, the Alcazar of Xeres was also commanded 
 by Garcigomez Carrillo, a Christian knight, who, 
 when the Moors prevailed against his garrison, 
 retired to the tower of the Alcazar with five or 
 six others, and the doors being broken down and 
 burnt, and his companions all slain, the enemy 
 had so much respect for his valour that they 
 
400 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 would not kill him, and he being resolved not to 
 surrender, they caught him with iron hooks, and 
 made him prisoner. In the year 1263, however, 
 the tower was regained by Alfonso the Learned. 
 Under Alfonso the Eleventh, the inhabitants of 
 Utrera formed a part of the army at the battle of 
 Rio Salado, in 1340, as the following ancient 
 verses attest : — 
 
 " De Ecija sale el Maestre 
 Capitán de la frontera 
 Lleva Caballeros de Arcos 
 Y el peonage de Utrera." 
 
 In 1368, the town, now become populous, was 
 destroyed by Mahomad, king of Granada, al- 
 though he was at that time in alliance with Don 
 Pedro, the Spanish monarch. As we descend to 
 the close of the fourteenth century, and during the 
 reign of Henry the Third, civil dissensions dis- 
 turbed Andalusia, and involved Utrera in war, 
 Alvar Perez de Guzman was admiral of Spain, a 
 post solicited by Hurtado de Mendoza, who had 
 much influence at court, the king being in his 
 minority, and directed by guardians. A relation 
 of Guzman, the Count of Niebla, assisted Men- 
 doza, and Utrera took part with the Count. The 
 grand admiral was dispossessed of his station, but 
 he united with Pedro Ponce, lord of Marchena, 
 and seized on Seville, and the count of Niebla 
 and Mendoza retired to Utrera. Many lives were 
 lost, and the peaceable inhabitants, finding them- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 401 
 
 selves on one side exposed to the Moors, and on 
 the other to the horrors of a civil war, determined 
 on leaving the country altogether. The civil ma- 
 gistrates therefore met, and threw themselves into 
 the arms of the Sevillans, who afforded them pro- 
 tection. From this period began the feuds of the 
 Ponces and the Guzmans, which descended to 
 their successors, the Marquis of Cadiz being the 
 descendant of the former, and the Duke of Me- 
 dina that of the Count of Niebla. Ferdinand and 
 Isabella endeavoured to compose these feuds, and 
 ordered that the castle of Utrera should be given 
 up to the town of Seville, which Ferdinand Arias 
 de Saavedra refused to comply with, saying that 
 his father had received it from king Henry the 
 Fourth, and that it was an unjust request on 
 their part. The consequence was that the castle 
 was besieged, but after forty days, all attacks 
 against it being unsuccessful, the grand treasurer 
 of the queen, Gutierra de Cardenas, ancestor of 
 the Dukes of Maqueda, entered into a parley, 
 but could not induce the commander to surren- 
 der; he therefore ordered an assault upon four 
 points simultaneously, making the most vigorous 
 one towards the gate of Xeres. Although the 
 gates were destroyed, the commander, Juan Plazer, 
 and an officer, Juan Garcia, second in command, 
 determinedly repelled the attack ; at last these 
 were slain fighting, and the whole garrison put 
 to the sword, with the exception of twenty-two 
 
 D D 
 
402 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 who laid down their arms, and they were taken 
 to Seville, and hanged next day in the Tablada. 
 It is said that during the attack, those without 
 cried, " Give up the town to the king ;" and those 
 within replied, " Juan Plazer will not ;" and again, 
 " Give up the town to the king," and the reply 
 was, " Juan Garcia will not." From the period 
 of Ferdinand and Isabella, the castles and baro- 
 nial residences in Spain fell to ruin ; they were 
 found dangerous to kingly power in revolutionary 
 periods, and expensive to maintain in time of 
 peace : the nobles attended at court, and their 
 residences were gradually abandoned and neg- 
 lected. After Utrera was taken, most of the other 
 partisans, who had ravaged the country under 
 pretence of taking sides with the Ponces or the 
 Guzmans, laid down their arms, with the excep- 
 tion, however, of the commander of Coronilla, 
 who was at the head of the Membrilla party, to 
 the great damage of the neighbourhood ; in con- 
 sequence of which Garcia Lobato, native of Mo- 
 ron, and entrusted with the command of the castle 
 of Cote, insinuated himself into his confidence, 
 and invited him to dinner, after which, taking 
 him out to see the fortifications of the castle, on 
 reaching a very deep Moorish dungeon, called 
 Mazmorra, he precipitated him into it, and there 
 he finished his days. A song of the times used 
 to be — 
 
 Este es Cote Coronilla, 
 Este es Cote y no Membrilla. 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 403 
 
 His adherents, upon this disaster, immediately 
 dispersed. Arias de Saavedra, the Count of Nie- 
 bla, was subsequently condemned to death, with 
 forfeiture of all his dignities and property. The 
 sentence was not carried into effect, owing to the 
 intercession of his friends; but it seems Pro- 
 vidence determined to punish him for having 
 been the cause of so many deaths ; for on Christ- 
 mas night, being in Penafiel with his wife and 
 sons, the room in which they were suddenly gave 
 way, and they all perished. His possessions in 
 Utrera are now occupied by the convent of the 
 Carmelites. 
 
 The remaining part of the annals of Utrera is 
 chiefly occupied with petty exploits with the 
 Moors, and a visit of Ferdinand the Catholic king, 
 in which he made up the quarrels between Mateo 
 Palacios and Alvarez de Bohorquin, who had mar- 
 ried a daughter of the former without his consent, 
 whence a new example of the spirit of partisan- 
 ship threatened to involve all Utrera in the quar- 
 rel. Mateos was pacified, and his two sons, who 
 had served in the wars of Granada, received the 
 honour of the golden spear. In 1568, Philip the 
 Second visited Seville, on occasion of the wars 
 with the Moriscos, which endangered his throne, 
 and Utrera figured in the allegorical decorations 
 of the period, as a handsome matron, in a dress 
 the upper part of which was yellow, and the 
 lower blue, with ears of corn under her arm, and 
 
 d d 2 
 
404 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 plates of baked bread, grapes, with pine nuts, 
 and on her breast an image of our Lady of the 
 Consolation ; at her feet were verses, which set 
 forth that all the pride of the town consisted in 
 the possession of this Virgin : — 
 
 " Una Virgen que en mi veo 
 Es lo que mas me engrandeze." 
 
 In the year 1598, Utrera became the residence 
 of some Moors, under the following circum- 
 stances. Two brothers, Hamet and Benhamet, 
 reigned in Morocco, and had agreed that the 
 first-born son of either should succeed to their 
 joint authority, and subsequently the younger 
 ones, without its passing to grandsons until all 
 these died, when the succession was again to be- 
 come lineal. This arrangement, as may be sup- 
 posed, caused discord at the outset ; for Benhamet 
 had an elder son who desired to be the single 
 possessor of the government. At length, how- 
 ever, the succession fell to the son of the young- 
 est brother, who reigned sixteen years in peace 
 and tranquillity, and declared his son his suc- 
 cessor, slaying at the same time one of his own 
 brothers, in order that there might be less danger 
 of opposition. Another brother, however, Muley 
 Meluc, took up arms, and dispossessed his ne- 
 phew of the government, having made a voyage 
 to Constantinople, and being aided by the Turks. 
 Hamet retired to the mountains of Suza, where 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 405 
 
 he still maintained himself, but at last solicited 
 the aid of Philip the Second, who refused to as- 
 sist him ; and afterwards that of the King of 
 Portugal and Sebastian, who joined him, but was 
 defeated in battle and slain, while Hamet was 
 drowned in crossing a river. Meluc died before 
 the news of the victory reached him, which took 
 place in 1578 ; and, although he left a young 
 son, his brother Hamet was called to the throne, 
 and causing the body of the drowned king to be 
 sought for in the river, filled it with straw, and 
 entered Fez with it in triumph. The son of the 
 Hamet who was drowned left Africa for Lisbon, 
 with an uncle named Muley Nacer, he being 
 called Muley Xeque, where he was received with 
 a train of one hundred Moors. Afterwards, how- 
 ever, they removed to Utrera and Carmona, 
 Muley Xeque occupying the latter place, and 
 Muley Nacer the former. The houses occupied 
 by Muley Nacer in Utrera belonged to Don 
 Rodrigo Ponce, and took the name of the Rey 
 Moro. Some time afterwards, Muley Xeque 
 changed his religion, and was baptized under the 
 name of Philip of Africa, King Philip the Second 
 officiating as godfather. The converted Moor 
 was made a grandee of Spain, and. presented to a 
 " Comienda" of Saint lago, with 12,000 ducats of 
 annual income. Another Moor, one of his fol- 
 lowers, also changed his religion, and was bap- 
 tized Diego, from having heard, as he said, this 
 
406 
 
 VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 word pronounced by a supernatural voice. Muley 
 Nacer was still ambitious, however, of reigning 
 in Africa, and in 1595 obtained permission from 
 Philip to return to Fez, and invited such of 
 his followers as chose to accompany him, with 
 which invitation few complied ; on mounting 
 his horse, the animal gave him a kick, which 
 was considered a bad omen : he nevertheless 
 persisted, and was joined in Africa by six or 
 seven thousand partisans. He had also applied 
 for succours to the King of Spain, which were 
 refused, since peace existed between that coun- 
 try and Africa. At first he was successful ; but 
 finally the fortune of war changed, for the King 
 of Fez, collecting a large army, dispersed the in- 
 vaders, and decapitated Muley. Thus ended the 
 fortunes of these Moors. Utrera and Carmona 
 were inhabited by them for six years, and they 
 were the first who introduced and brought into 
 fashion the red melons, called Zandias, not be- 
 fore known in Spain, but which have now become 
 popular with and acceptable to all classes. 
 
 In the middle of the seventeenth century, the 
 plague raged with great violence in Utrera, on 
 which occasion Domingo Faxardo, one of the in- 
 habitants, gave such an example of courage and 
 devotion, in assisting to bury the dead, although 
 he had been twice attacked with tumours arising 
 from the complaint, and had survived all his as- 
 sistants, that several others, animated by his ex- 
 
VICINITY OF SEVILLE. 
 
 407 
 
 ample, joined him, after receiving the sacrament, 
 and bidding adieu to their relations. They wore 
 buckram dresses with scapularies hanging round 
 their necks, drew the sledges loaded with dead 
 bodies, and visited the sick. Three only of the 
 party died. 
 
 The miracles which are recorded of the images 
 in the churches of Utrera are so numerous, and 
 connected with such trifling causes, as to lose all 
 interest from the gross imposture of their in- 
 vention. 
 
 VERGENTUM. 
 
 This Roman town is supposed to have occu- 
 pied the site of the present Gelves, a village be- 
 tween two and three leagues distant from Seville, 
 to the right of the river towards Cadiz. In the 
 church I saw a Saint Christoval, which reminded 
 me of the Sicilian painter Monrealese, and a large 
 picture, perhaps a Resurrection, or Last Judg- 
 ment, (for I did not note it at the time, and seve- 
 ral years have now elapsed since my visit,) which 
 was very indifferent, and falsely attributed to 
 Murillo. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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