took possession of it, and esta. blished themselves there. Yet there is a tradition of long stand. ing in Scotland, and generally credited at present in England, that the Irish are descended from the Caledonians. It is easy to re. concile the two opinions. The Caledonians may have subjected or peopled Ireland in very remote times, and the Biscayans may have established themselves there at a later period. The Biscayans consider them. selves as the descendants of the an. cient Cantabri, who were a rustic people, high spirited, brave, intre pid, passionately fond of inde. pendence, who would sacrifice their lives, the lives of their wives and of their children, to their love of liberty; who resisted for a length of time the forces of the republic of Rome, who defeated its armies, who were subjugated without being subdued; in short, who were the last people of Spain that yielded to its different con. querors. The Cantabri are described in history as an active and robust people, having a ferocious temper, and extraordinary customs; unac quainted with money, endowing the women whom they married, very constant and firm, resisting obstacles, facing every kind of danger, and easily supporting fatigue and labour. The modern Biscayans are represented as still preserving strongly-marked traces of the character of their ancestors, but considerably softened by civilization. They are equally robust and strong, brave and active, Very light in running, they climb the mountains with the greatest facility. They are, in the main, high-minded, proud, and inde pendent; they are said to be very self-conceited, obstinate, easily made angry, very irritable and is. patient. These defects are compensated by several good qualities: they at in general laborious, industrious, active, ingenious, studious, faith. ful to their word, humane, hosp table, noble in their proceedings, gay, lively, and sociable. The inhabitants of Alava in g neral devote themselves to ag culture; those of Biscay and Gu puscoa are as much merchants u farmers; they are considered a the best sailors in Spain. We have already noticed their expedi tion to Ireland in remote times. Į It is said, that with a fleet con posed of boats made of the trunk of trees, hollowed and corend with skins, they then conquere that country: which is not very credible. After that period the carried their commerce into ver distant countries; at the end of the fourteenth century, they ha factories, and a consol at Azof, the mouth of the Tenais, on the confines of Europe and Asia. The inhabitants of the provinc of Biscay are generally of the conmon stature; they have a fresh colour, an animated, lively, and cheerful face, and an open coun tenance. They live to a good old age, to which the tranquil and healthy life they lead a great deal contributes. Their domestic hap piness too is founded upon a solid basis, the social virtues; the wo men appear to be good, faithfel, and attentive to their domestic concerns; the children obedient and respectful. Their ideas rarely ex tend tend beyond the narrow circle of their duties, as their sight extends no further than the enclosure of their mountains: they are perhaps right in not attempting to pass either the one or the other. The Biscayans are not reputed to have the sobriety of the Spaniards in general; it is said of them, that they consume the pro. duce of their wine in buying foreign wines; they eat and drink a great deal, but are seldom intoxicated. The idea of a nobility descending to all the natives of Biscay, has a striking influence on the character of the people of the three cantons; it preserves in their houses a principle of dignity, which, even in the lowest offices, gives them a noble mein and an elevation of soul. The wives of the ancient Canta. bri were as courageous as their husbands; they did not carry arms, or fight, but they attended on them in battle, supported their courage, and provoked their ven. geance. Animated by an heroic pride, they resolved to be free, and spurned every idea to the contrary, preferring death to servitude. They sacrificed all that was dear to them to their independence. Carrying always a dagger about them, they were often seen, during the wars of the Romans against the Cantabri, to plunge it in the breasts of the children whom they suckled, at the moment they were about to fall into the power of their enemies, preferring the grief of losing them, to that of seeing them in slavery. The Biscayan women are still high-minded, courageous, and de. termined, and would perhaps dis. play the same energy, if there were occasion for it, Their features are in general regular, and their complexion fresh, brown, yet ruddy, bespeaks vigour and health : a bold countenance, a lively eye, a confident look, and a certain haughty air, mark in them the sentiment of independence which has reigned in this province. The Cantabrian women used to carry the heaviest burthens; they cultivated the lands, ploughed the fields, and did every kind of work; they got up soon after their lying. in, and nursed their husbands, who went to bed in their stead, a custom which was likewise common among the inhabitants of Navarre, and for which it is impossible to give any reason. The Biscayan females of the present day have not degenerated. They work in the field as well as the men, and more diligently: at the sea-ports they are more employ. ed than the men; they manage the boats, and likewise act as porters. Bilbao particularly is the place to judge of them. Without shoes or stockings, with a short petticoat, their arms naked to the shoulders, and displaying vigorous muscles, they are not dismayed with the heaviest burdens; it often requires the assistance of two stout men to help up the load, and, while the stranger is terrified to look on, they run off with it as if it were nothing. nothing. After working in this manner all day, they shew no sing of fatigue at night; they often return home, several of them toge ther, holding hands, dancing to a tambourine. They are sometimes seen working on the sides of moun. tains, climbing rapidly over steep 3D 3 rocks, rocks, running along them, and coming down with incredible bold. ness. Character of the Asturians. [From the same.] A strong attachment to their country, an unshaken fidelity to their sovereign, a passive obedience to the laws, an ardent zeal for religion, and a probity, proof against all temptations, are the he. reditary features of the character of the Asturians, to which we may add boldness and courage. They have no vivacity in their manners; they may be accused, and they are, of dullness; and yet the Asturias have given birth to distinguished men of every kind. The Asturian's probity may be considered as proverbial; he is even disinterested, taking this word in its strictest sense. Theft is unknown amongst these honest mountaineers, and with regard to what is called dissi. pation, amusement, or pleasure, their sim le manners differ from those of the other Spaniards. They do not know what is every where else called the highest degree of civilization; they are sheltered from it behind their rocks, where, happy and peaceful, they confine themselves to their duties, and in general live to a good old age, because their constitution is healthy and robust. Character, Manners, Genius, and language of the Galicians. [From the same.] The Callaici were the oldest in. habitants of Galicia. Those people employed themselves in nothing but war and hunting; and such a were not strong enough for the: kind of life, occupied themselves in fishing. Their wives ploughed the land, sowed, gathered the har vest, and took care of their fami lies. When they lay in, their husbands took to their beds in their stead; a custom as ridiculous as absurd. The modern Galicians do not, preserve the wildness of those of those primitive natives, but merely a distaste to what is called in gene. ral civilization. We find -in their mountains only simple and pure manners, a quiet and hospitable people, without any idea of luxury. The Galicians are large, strong, very muscular, and robust; they easily support fatigue. The wo. men are fair, tolerably handsome, with black hair and eyes, fice teeth, and regular but not very expressive features. The men, women, and children, go bare. foot. As in Biscay and the Asturias, this kingdom is entirely composed of the Christianos vie jos (old Christians), who have never intermarried with converted Jews or Moors. The Galicians, like the Astarians, very frequently quit their fire-sides, to seek at a distance the means of fortune, or to acquire a greater degree of ease; they are attached to religion, and faithful to the king. Serious, grave, free, sober, and prudent, they lead a melancholy life, and keep little company. In other respects they distinguish themselves by their probity and courage. The Galicians furnish a great number number of soldiers for the army. Every year, in the month of October, the militia is assembled, and -the young men are taken for it from the age of fifteen years. The peasants are seen running with pleasure to the place of assem. bling, delighted to see themselves armed, and treated as cavalleros, nobles soldados del rei. They are naturally disposed to arms; the inhabitants of the county of Montforte are remarked for this, as well as those of Lemos, which is watered by the little river Cabe, and the capital town of which is situated upon a steep and lofty mountain. This town is reputed to have been founded by emigrant Greeks; and what supports this opinion is the vivacity, wit, and bravery, of the inhabitants of this canton. - The Galicians were the first poets of Spain. Before the descent of the Romans, they composed and sung verses, some traditions of which remain in their ancient language, yet they made little progress in this art. The present language of Galicia is a mixture of the ancient Castilian, of the time of Alphonso the Wise, and of Portuguese, with several expressions which it has retained of the ancient Roman language. Character, Manners, Customs, Habits, Dress, and Language of the Old Castilians. [From the same.] It is the remark of an acute writer, that the Old Castilians are gloomy and taciturn, and bear in their swarthy aspect the expression of dejection and poverty. It must be acknowledged they have little relish for the pleasures of society; they are serious, grave, rèserved, and somewhat stately, and in their movements are perhaps more solemn aud slow than any other people in Spain; but it must be admitted also, that their morals are incorrupt and ingenuous; that they are upright in conduct, strangers in artifice, and unpractised in cunning or duplicity; probity is their birthright; they are naturally obliging; they are also disinterested, and so perfectly free from af fectation that they may justly be called the honest people of Spain. Placed in one of the poorest provinces of the Spanish empire, without wealth, and without the means to obtain it, their energy is constantly repressed by poverty, their industry languishes from discou ragement, and whilst they are stig matized with apathy and sloth, they are in reality oppressed with accumulated difficulties, and left by an unfortunate destiny, to inactivity and despondence. In general they are averse to conversation, they have little intercourse with one another, and still less with strangers; their few amusements are of the same sombre cast; sùbjected to an imperious etiquette, equally circumscribed, constrained, and monotonous, they afford no variety, and inspire no gaiety, but are uniformly characterized by circumspection, gloom and solem. nity; different shades of character are however often perceptible in this province. The inhabitants of the valley of Mena, in the country of Burgos, who believe themselves descended from the ancient Canta. bres, still retain a large portion of 3 D4 their their constitutional courage and vivacity. The habits and manners of the mountaineers of Burgos cor. respond with those of the Biscayans. Character, Manners, Customs, Habits, Dress, and Language of the New Castilians. [From the sume.] It might naturally be expected, that the influence of the court should operate on the manners of New Castile, or at least on such parts of it as are placed in its vicinity. It has been already observed, that Madrid is isolated from New Castile, the capital is always elevat. ed above the province. On leav. ing its walls you are instantly transported from a seat of luxury to a scene of indigence; and instead of activity, industry, and wealth, are presented with a dreary picture of sadness, sloth, and beggary. The inhabitant of New Castile, though marked by a lofty aspect, is not proud, and with the expression of extreme gravity, is, in reali. ty, prone to excessive mirth. With superior capacities for reflection, he thinks much but demonstrates little, and acts less; he is rather slow in yielding his confidence, but, when he trusts at all, it is with his whole heart. and soul; he is neither prompt in enterprize, nor disposed to acquire the regular habits of industry. There are, perhaps, not many active occupations he is likely to pursue with success; his aptitudes are to science, particuJarly to such abstruser branches as are connected with speculation and research; his conceptions are strong and vigorous; his judgment solid; his imagination vivid and viva With acute and vivid feelings he is more reflective than the native of Catalonia or Aragon; he is never precipitate; he weighs, he delibe. rates, and is slow in forming his decision; and, consequently, is not easily induced to leave his own sphere. Ilis vivacity belongs to the mind; it impels not to activity or to personal exertions. Hence his appa. rent sloth, and slowness, so fre. quently cited with reproach; on examination it will, however, ap. pear, that his failings have originated rather in his situation than his character. It should be remembered, that the Castilian was formerly devoted to the art of war, and taught to despise the occupations of agriculture and science, as inferior and ignoble objects. This preju. dice has been transmitted from his ancestors, and is perpetuated by indigence and ignorance. Fortune places a barrier to his progress in science. The same adverse circum. stances impede him in agriculture, and the arts; he beholds a fertile soil; but he commands no ports; no marts to remunerate the care and toil of assiduous cultivation, The New Castilian possesser qualities of genuine excellence; he is honourable and humane, sober and temperate, and revolts from every species of falsehood or du plicity. In his temper he is more |