LETTERS FROM SPAIN, &c LETTER I. CADIZ, NOV. 10, 1759. I AM come hither rather fooner than I intended, to fee the feasts for the proclamation of our new king. As I do not recollect any thing more to fay to you about Gibraltar, I will annihilate all the time of my illness to the last day of my being there. I called upon Bucareli, the Spanish commander at St. Rock's, to pay my devoirs, and asked for a licenfe to carry piftols, which he affured me there would be no occafion for, as I had the captain general of Andalufia's permiffion to carry them to Gibraltar. I find that in moft foreign countries fhort fire-arms are prohibited. As for pocket pistols, you would be brought into many difficulties if they were found about you in Spain. Neither are horse pistols allowed, but a license may be obtained to carry them; whereas the others are totally prohibited by law. Any perfon may have guns, and other long fire-arms, that pleases, as well as any fort of steel weapons, except long pointed knives, which are so strictly forbidden, that if they were found about a common man, he would be immediately sent to Ceuta or fome other place to work as a galley flave. But to return to Bucareli. I afterwards requested him to appoint a trooper to accompany us to Cadiz, as a de fence fence from the robbers, a thing which is often done here in Spain, as it is better to fpend a little money, and be in fecurity; but this he refused me. Bucareli's haughtinefs was owing to my having entered Gibraltar without his permiffion, and yet I had been up with him from the garrifon to ask his pardon for the mighty offence. Our governor told me the Spanish commander would invite me to dinner, but at the fame time I promised to refuse his invitation, and return to his lordship, upon account of the captain and officers of a Portuguese ship of war being to dine with him that day, where I could ferve as a fort of interpreter. But we were much deceived, as all Bucareli's answer was, that it was the custom to ask him permiffion to enter Gibraltar, and fo your humble fervant *. I was as expedi • He was afterwards made governor of Buenos Ayres, and was the person who fent the expedition, which difpoffeffed us of Port Egmont, in Falkland islands. tious in taking my leave of him as he feemed to get me away, and having mounted my horfe, went as quick as the poor beast would carry me to Gibraltar, and got but one fall by the way. When I fay as quick as the horse would carry me, you must not imagine it was any thing very speedy, for I believe I might have gone fafter on foot. As for the fall, the poor animal not being much higher than a jackafs, you may think I did not receive much hurt from it, befides, it was upon a deep fand; for the neck of land which unites the peninfula of Gibraltar to the continent of Spain, is a plain flat deep fand, which extends quite till the rock of Gibraltar rifes perpendicularly out of it. Upon my being arrived at Gibraltar, I found it was almost two o'clock, his lordship's dinner time, fo that I was obliged to hurry away to the convent, which I think I have already told you is where the governors of Gibraltar refide. Befides the house, there is a tolera ble |
