The Sun.
London, England, 1808-08-12 00:00:00

31),41.:Y.

(Cordatied from our Palo' of Yesterdaj)

It has beetepretty generally said that the. Spaniards
are lazy; but on what is this assertion .founded?
(.)n the tittle tiCtivity observed among the Castilians.
Go into Galicia, and: there you will learn that 6°,000
GaliClans yearly quit their province, and:spread as
• far as Andaltisia. They set out in May, and return
in Septembers some bringing back fro:ai four to tire
pounds sterling. Thirty thousand likewise go year-
ly into Portugal, to labour in the harvest and vint-
age; they also bring back the earnings of •their la-
bour. TheireOuntry.is enriched with their industri-
ous periodical emigrations: Visit Biscay,. Navarre,
ArteigonS'Catalonia, Valentia, Andalusia, and in ge-
neral the mountainous ' provinces in Spain, with all
those contiguous to the sea, and then charge their
aelive and industrious inhabitants with idleness • and
indolence if you can. The native of Castile is in-
dolent, his national character is ()titan cum dignitaie;
but Castile is but one among many ; it ought not to
be taken for the whole, when you wish to by a fair
and impartial judge. The aboriginal Spaniard is
active, and apt to. labour and industry. I confess
that the Spaniard who deScends from the Visigoths
has not that ardour and aptitude which distinguishes
the native Spaniard. The Castilian is lazy,- it is
true, but his indolence and laziaess proceed rather
from his partiality to antient customs ; a ridiculous
partiality, indeed, -since it 'proves prejudicial to the
good of. society. From an immemotial lapse. of
time, the most arduous labours, those of agricul-
ture, are, inCaStile, allotted to that sex which nature.
has destined tnalleViate the moral and physical pains
of luau; you seethe women in 'the fields ploughing
and sowing the ground', while the men, wrapped up
in their cloaks, • are basking in the an in. public
places (lo viand() el sol) ; and this is their onlysoccu-•
patien., •
To encourage women in the practice of these agri-
cultural labours, the ancient Castilians instituted a
distribution of prizes, which took place yea' lie with
which those who had distinguished themselves 'by
exertions'were crowned. They thus out of pride
recompensed 'that diligence which enpouraged their
indolence and slosh., This festival is abolished, but
the Castilians are still lazy. •
The celebrated author of the Cart= Maruccas„
Colonel Don 'Josef De Cadahalso, in a critique. on
his countrymen, says, " There are a great many of
them who rise late, take their chocolate very hot,
and drink cold water afterwards ; dress, go to mar-
kes, purchase a couple of chickens,- hear mass,-
turn to the market-place, walk about for a short
time, enquire the chit-chat news, return home, dine
very slow lyetake their afternoon nap (siesta), rise
again, walk in the fields, return home, take refresh-,
ments, go into company; play, return at night,,,say.
their prayers, sup, and go to bed.r
But what 'country has not its loungers, such as
those who at Paris frequent the Tliuilleries, the-
Champs Elysees, the Palais Royal ; in London, New
Bond-street, St. James's-street, Piccadilly;pc. whose
chief morning occupation is a-consultation with the
bout-maker, or tailor, and whose evening employ-
ment is, at Paris, the play-house, Frescati, and Rous
lette ; in. London, the tavern, the theatres, houses.
of ill-ames or gaining dubs. Of those three modes-
of idling away time the Spanish is the least perni-; ‘;
cious but 'who would think of judging the-English
or the Fiebch from these particular instances ? There
are in every country persons who consume their
days in futile occupation, and kill time in every way
they possibly can.
The Spaniard is said to be ignorant. - It-has been
pretty well ascertained that Spain has' produced her
list of literati and learned persons in various branches.
As to the lower classes, you very seldom meet with.".
an individual. of the lowest extradion hut who knows
how to read or write; and we doubt much whether
among persons selected throughout all Spain an ins
stance of such ignorance could be found as that ex-
hibited by a Deputy to. the French Legislative Al-
sembly ; who, in one of his enthusiastic fits on. the
means of prosperity France possessed, independent
of her colonies, exclaimed with an emphasis, " Have ,
we not the Orleans_ sugar !" Had this exquisite
legislator spoken in Spain, he might have said, with
more reason, " Have we not the Malaga sugar !"
Three-fourths, perhaps, of the persons who read
this account are ignorant that on the Continent of'
Europe, on 'the southern coast of Andalusia„ in short,
at Velez Malaga, the sugar canes prosper, and yield'
as good and as tine sugar as those of Jamaica or of
St. Domingo.
We have said that -the Spaniard's thargteristje
features were as strongly marked as those of 'Eng-
lishtned; we mentioned, for example, -the attach-
ment which he has preserved for all his antient cus-
tonis .and usages ; a period fatal to humanity gave
us an incontestable proof of the truth of this. At the
time when the cause Of God was joined with that of
kings, the enthusiasm among the,Spaniards to sup
port the views of their sovereign became general;
forty thoitaand monks offered to take arms and march
to the frontiers, but the coutt would not accept their
offer. .It.k Catalonian Curate placed himself at the
head of his parishioners, and discharged his duty
during the war with much distineion. Several
grandees solicited leave to raise corps at their own
expence. The Dukes of Medina Celi, and
lnfan-
tado, were the only noblemen who obtained that
faVour. -

Ought we not to mention as a Charaeteristic proof
of the national spirit, that Organization of the smug-
glers oftbe. Sierra Morena, who served in the army
of Navarre during the whole war. Übeda, their
chief, on learning that war was declared against
France in. 1783, wrote to Don Ventura Caro, Gene.;--
ral of the array of Navarre, whose life 'he.had saved
in a. journey, which Don Ventura' had undertakidii '
while he was Colonel of .the, Saguntu.dragoon
On returning from the camp at Gibraltar to Madrid,
Don Ventura was stopped in the Sierra Morena by
a band of smugglers, at the head of which .was Übe-
da. The cool intrepidity he evinced on this critical',
occasion , pleased the Chief of the banditti So well
that he gave him a pass to preserve bin) from, further
molestation on the road. In fact, Don Ventura
reached Madrid in perfea safety, and utterly forgot
Übeda and his band. On receipt of he smugglers'
oilers of service, be mentioned them ibe,court :
and after the king's answer, he accepted Oleir,ser-
vices, and. sent them passports. Übeda :irriyed at