The friars and nuns at all the convents I have visited behaved with the greatest politeness. It often excited my pity for so many poor unfortunate women, who might have lived in the world and proved an ornament to Society, but, alas! doomed by their parents from superstitious bigotry to be secluded from the world and live entombed in a vile prison, like common felons or miscreants, not fit to be at large. The monks and priests of different orders live and prey upon the vitals (if I may use the expression) of the people; they endeavour to keep up that superstitious bigotry, which enables them to exercise their extortions to the greatest degree upon the deluded and infatuated multitude. The most miserable hovels in the country must have six or eight painted images, dressed out in the most whimsical and fantastic manner, imitating Jesus Christ, etc., a variety of saints more calculated to excite laughter than convey any idea of the Deity. It is through these wooden dolls they worship the Almighty, but it is my opinion one half of them worship the images or saints they stick up. At a certain hour in the day, sometimes twice or thrice, a bell rings, the people off with their hats and chatter over a little prayer, which, if their conscience pricks them, or they have committed a slight irregularity, they repeat ten or a dozen times and feel perfectly satisfied. Our present quarters are truly miserable; on all sides stupendous mountains; the people wretched in the extreme, clothes hardly sufficient to cover themselves, and positively not a degree above savages—I mean as to their method of living. Of a morning they will turn out of their wretched cabins and are to be seen sitting in rows upon the ground in the sun picking lice off themselves and out of each other's heads; they do not mind, or endeavour to hide themselves from your view. At first it disgusted me, but from habit I stand by and joke them about the number they have killed, which they take in great good-humour, and tell you, so many that they could not keep account! Their houses are built of rough stone, generally 7 or 8 feet high (some exceptions to this rule), with no outlet for smoke; the fire is made by the wall side, and consists generally of mountain heather or broom, which produces a most intolerable smoke, and gives a person who is not well seasoned, a copious flow of tears. The family sit on the ground round it; the house is entirely enveloped in smoke, and every side of the wall is like a chimney, which they never take pains to sweep clean. The people never wash themselves, and seldom comb their heads. The women have an immense quantity of long black hair, and never wear bonnets, and seldom shoes and stockings. Garlic, oil, and dark brown bread of Indian corn and rye is principally their food; they certainly stared to see us eat beef, pork, etc., in such quantities, and drink wine so freely.