The Sun.
London, England, 1810-03-08 00:00:00

DASCRIPTION OP GI.PRALTA4 ITS

PRSE,AT: STATE.

Gibraltar is 5200 vargs -(yards), long, and 1500
broad, in tire widest part; the perpendicular height
is'.s:oo, and. thecircutnierenCe, inclndingttre,Moles,
angles, and bays, t a,200. the rock is completely,
beset batrerie4,:thrown up:at all points where
they could' not render' the ascent completely iliac-
cessible ;- so that' fitril-.Europa
_Point,. which ad-
vances•farth-est into the sea on the south, side,'
the highest•part•Of the rock, which is that of the
nOrth,_,•(abont two miles distant from the other),
there:is. not as:single point which has pot been. put
in. a defensible' condition. On nearest:
. side neareS
Spain, the interipl fortilicatiobs„ made since the
time Gibraltar was besieged.by ,the combined armies-
of France and and,Spain, are astonishing...- These.
ituprovements . are due to . General -0' liara, • the
late Governor ; a great number of workmen were
employed about- it for eight years, and doubt-
less with immense expence. To give an idca
of the labour, it w,li be._ sufficient to mention that
the excava,lol.o, etfeCied by .the force ,of guh-.
poWder in.. the centre of the mountain, and -the
solid reek, form. vaults of such height" and extent,
that,-during a siege, they. cati contain the whole,
garrison.
These caverns, the most Considerable of whichis
the hall Of St*.'George, communicate with the other
batteries„ established all .alung' the moOntain, by
u u ding 1-0(.1; and passable throughout' on horse-
back, which Must have cost:an immense sum of
inon9y.. It is irnpoisble to res/rain your
Lion at the execution., of so holtl,l may addadd;_so use-
less, an undertaking, Since (14e lower batteries, si-,
tuated onithe sante point, - the exterior of the
rock, area sufficientAefence,,without this collection
of cannons suspended in the. air' in the higher bat-
teries, the fire-of-• whiCh enfilade all the approaches
of the -enemy „along the ground, while the others
(Urea their
.1-ire. from. a height, and do but little
execution. •

-Op returning towards Europa Point,,as yen enter
the' town, _your attention is 'again .struck by consi-
derable fortifications,' barracks, magazines,.and bat-.
teries,, placed- every where that the nature of the
ground wili..admit. On the highest point of land,
the. tower of .St. 'George' was. built, 'under the di-
rection of .General O'Hara.. HiS. intention was to:
raise it to a suffic;ent height to'command the whole
of Cadiz, and...observe all that passed in that port ;
but the English Government did not approve of the&
Undertaking,' which is therefore left in an unfi-
nished state, and °Tiara:has heen ()bilged to defray
theexpences-already incurred out of his own pocket..,
.AtOng, the,mountain you perceive, seVeral
_grottos,
or natural excravatious ; that of S.t. Michael is the
most famous; the height of tbegnitancel;437
rai abov,e the level of the , Tice" cavern belOw
is, at least 70 feet, a rope is tastoried round your body-
as you descend ; .it' coritaiusColnrrins pf..crystalliza-
tion and stalactites, imitating all, the. orders ofareiii-
tectUre. The wJer filteting on all sides,. has form-
ed-On-the walls, and around, a, :profusion of °lna-
nients.of every KA t. _ .

. .
A hundred paceS- from its gate is 'another beauti-
ful cavern, sixty-tivew• Vams, squsre, and the, . vault
-
twenty one varas high.... :On the'right is au opening,
or second excava;ion, adorned with the same ca-
prices of natur:,.., hut. with so. inc.ch regularity, that
it lias apileafpnoeA a temple.. Perhaps it was
formerly nude use of:for constAtirtg.some 'oracle,
Oropably that' of 1-lereuleS,,*ho was the, principaldivinity Of theylace;:as <vell as of the cave in the
prc;im'grtory-ol• AmpOusiQ,.orithe coast of Africa.
From 'the. entry: of this cavern yoti .discover the
whole of the bay I.of Qibraltar ; you''c.orntriand
of the Couorty houses, the 'and'kitofien
gardens, which the inhabitants have formed, one
above the other on the sideofthe.mountain; up to
We royal road and the pOblic walk, extending. for
_about half.aintile'from the town of-Gibraltar to the
hew town on the south: . _

It is impossible to, do justice to the taste and rnig-
.
nificence of the
,Engli9h,,on.seeing the care with
which they have embellished .the.rodk.; they have
Spared nothing to cover itr.With treesand floweri, to
support the earth with walls.
,and to-cut a
number of roads throith. the solid rock, and make
them passable on horseback, and. in carriages up to
the top; they have even *sown' some artificial mea-
dows tor their flocks; an excellent ex.arnple to the
Spaniards, who could-obtain, with: More facility, the
Same advantages intheir fet tile Country: Froul 'the
grotto -of St. Michael you discover the maga-
zines, the, butteries, and the new town ;"on the
south, the marine hospital, a handsome and Coin-
thodious building. The view ektends over a number
ofcountry houses, to some of which beautiful gar-
dens are attached ; in time these new buildin,...;s will
form a town, as considerable as that.Of Gibrkiitar.7-7.
Near, there are' eight - magnificent cistern,' large
enough to contain 40,000 tons. of water. Thcse
cisterns are bomb-proof; they xeceive all the water
which flows, down tke side of .the Mountain, pre;
Viously phrified.in. coppers .ereaed for the purpose.
The'Eoglishh'ave formed a project of building over
these cisterns an edifice. to keep every thing neces7
sary for Victualling 'ships .and, • the hospital, as
well as the artillery-park,- being near, they could
then ,instantly refit• a squadron' with every thing it
Might want. . '
BefOre you arrive the south: gate, you. observe
a
largeand handsome square, surrounded with trees,
now called the Of -Mars, formerly the Red
Sand; the.*size'iS such, that the6ooo men,.of which
the garrison commonly consists, Cali perform their
inanceitvres without inconvenience. It is there the
gnard..always musters, and on Sundays and holidays
they.make it the grand
.parade. The EnglisbiroopS
carry .neatness and, military precision tb such excess,
that it appears inconvenicnt.and ridiculous to • those
who have served in armies less. particular in these
respects. It is the same With the regularity of their
buildings, and the useless labour of their defensive
works,; they
,have.more the appearance of the park
and'palace of a sovereign, than a' fOrrified town ; the
lines, ,embrasures, and' keys of the arches
,are cut
with incocceivable 'regularity, 'in large and lat'd
blocks of stone, and. all the military 'utensils'are• brought to similar perfection. 'Notwithstanding
the multiplied means Of defence in Gibraltar, the
place is not impregnable on
_the sea Side ; and the
. King's Bastion, on which. M. D'Arcon directed his
foaling batteries, seems to be the true point of,attack.