Journey in a Spanish Diligence.

Spanish Diligence Lines—­Leaving Seville—­An Unlucky Start—­Alcala of the Bakers—­Dinner at Carmona—­A Dehesa—­The Mayoral and his Team—­Ecija—­Night Journey—­Cordova—­The Cathedral-Mosque—­Moorish Architecture—­The Sierra Morena—­A Rainy Journey—­A Chapter of Accidents—­Baylen—­The Fascination of Spain—­Jaen—­The Vega of Granada.

Granada, November 14, 1852.

It is an enviable sensation to feel for the first time that you are in Granada.  No amount of travelling can weaken the romantic interest which clings about this storied place, or take away aught from the freshness of that emotion with which you first behold it, I sit almost at the foot of the Alhambra, whose walls I can see from my window, quite satisfied for to-day with being here.  It has been raining since I arrived, the thunder is crashing overhead, and the mountains are covered with clouds, so I am kept in-doors, with the luxury of knowing that all the wonders of the place are within my reach.  And now let me beguile the dull weather by giving you a sketch of my journey from Seville hither.

There are three lines of stages from Seville to Madrid, and their competition has reduced the fare to $12, which, for a ride of 350 miles, is remarkably cheap.  The trip is usually made in three days and a half.  A branch line from Baylen—­nearly half-way—­strikes southward to Granada, and as there is no competition on this part of the road, I was charged $15 for a through seat in the coupe.  On account of the lateness of the season, and the limited time at my command, this was preferable to taking horses and riding across the country from Seville to Cordova.  Accordingly, at an early hour on Thursday morning last, furnished with a travelling ticket inscribed:  “Don Valtar de Talor” (myself!), I took leave of my English friends at the Fonda de Madrid, got into an immense, lumbering yellow vehicle, drawn by ten mules, and started, trusting to my good luck and bad Spanish to get safely through.  The commencement, however, was unpropitious, and very often a stumble at starting makes the whole journey limp.  The near mule in the foremost span was a horse, ridden by our postillion, and nothing could prevent that horse from darting into all sorts of streets and alleys where we had no desire to go.  As all mules have implicit faith in horses, of course the rest of the animals followed.  We were half an hour in getting out of Seville, and when at last we reached the open road and dashed off at full gallop, one of the mules in the traces fell and was dragged in the dust some twenty or thirty yards before we could stop.  My companions in the coupe were a young Spanish officer and his pretty Andalusian bride, who was making her first journey from home, and after these mishaps was in a state of constant fear and anxiety.