CADIZ. Drawn by Lieut.-Col. Batty. "Adieu, fair Cadiz! yea, a long adieu ! Who may forget how well thy walls have stood? When all were changing, thou alone wert true, And if amidst a scene, a shock so rude, Some native blood was seen thy streets to die, A traitor only fell beneath the feud : Here all were noble save nobility— None hugg'd a conquerer's chain save fallen chivalry!" Childe Harold, canto i. st. 85. WITH Cadiz Lord Byron expressed his satisfaction in terms of unqualified praise: "Cadiz, sweet Cadiz! -it is the first spot in the creation. The beauty of its streets and mansions is only excelled by the loveliness of its inhabitants." "Cadiz is the most delightful town I ever beheld, very different from our English cities in every respect except cleanliness (and it is as clean as London), but still beautiful, and full of the finest women in Spain, the Cadiz belles being the Lancashire witches of their land." In all ages the females of Cadiz have been famous for their singular grace and beauty. Under the Roman domination their fame knew no other limits than those of the empire, throughout which they were noted for their elegance, their gaiety, and their powers of fascination; and, if we may believe the "Childe's" report above, the race has by no means degenerated in these days of the basquiña and mantilla. "Cadiz is situated at the extremity of a peninsula which stretches out into the ocean north-westward from the island of Leon. South of this peninsula is the open ocean, stretching away towards the Mediterranean straits, while on the north is a deep bay formed by the peninsula itself and the Spanish coast, running in the direction of Cape Saint Vincent. The open bay furnishes a harbour which is not always secure, for the north-west winds sometimes bring in a heavy and dangerous sea; but the inner port, where the navy-yard is situate, is at all times safe and commodious. This admirable station for the pursuits of commerce attracted the attention of the earliest navigators. So long ago as eight centuries before the Christian era, the Phoenicians, having founded Carthage and pushed their dominions beyond the pillars of Hercules even to Britain, were induced to establish several colonies on the coast of CADIZ. Spain, where the abundance of silver and gold attracted them, even more than the fertility of the soil and the amenity of the climate. Of these colonies Gades was the principal." ،، Cadiz also contained many Phoenician, Greek, and Roman inscriptions and other antiquities. Among them was an odd epitaph, found upon the tomb of some manhating cynic, who thought he had fled to the end of the earth. It ran, Heliodorus, a Carthaginian madman, ordered me by his will to be put into this sarcophagus, at this farthest extremity of the globe, that he might see whether any one more mad than himself would come as far as this place to see him!' All these memorials of the past vanished in 1597, when Elizabeth sent her favourite Essex, with two hundred ships and fifteen thousand men, including seamen and soldiers, to avenge the insults of the haughty Philip and his Invincible Armada. Lord Effingham commanded the fleet, accompanied by all the gallant spirits of the day: Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Corniers Clifford, Sir George Carew, Sir Francis Vere, and Sir Walter Raleigh. The destination of the fleet was not known until after it put to sea, and thus it arrived off Cadiz without any intimation. Essex, when he had prevailed upon the cautious admiral to make the attack, was informed that the queen, careful of his life, had ordered that he should keep himself in the centre of the fleet. He promised to do so; but no sooner did he see Sir Walter Raleigh leading boldly into the inner harbour, under a dreadful fire from the batteries on either side, than, throwing his hat overboard, he gave way to his impatience, and pressed at once forward into the thickest of the fire. The inner harbour was full of ships newly arrived, and laden with bullion and the precious commodities of America. These were run on shore by the Spanish admiral, the Duke of Medina; and when he saw that the headlong valour of the English was about to prove successful, he caused them to be fired. Leaving this scene of conflagration, Essex got possession of Puntalis, and, no longer ruled by any will but his own, marched with his soldiers along the narrow causeway which leads from Leon to Cadiz, and, regardless of the batteries that swept his ranks, stormed the city sword in hand. The Spaniards fought as usual, from house to house, and many of the English were slain of the Spaniards many more, not less than four thousand, but none in cold blood. When the resistance ceased, the town was given over to plunder, and the generals having taken their stations in the townhall, the principal inhabitants came to kiss their feet. The priests and nuns were dismissed unconditionally; but the rest of the population were compelled to give hostages for the payment of a stipulated ransom. This done, the treasure was embarked, the inhabitants were driven from their homes, and the city was delivered to |