The various Constitution builders, who, set after set, have succeeded to the direction of affairs, in this luckless country, have invariably found themselves in the situation of a man who, having pulled down his old house to erect another on the spot, after the model of one he had _read_ of, discovered, that though slate, bricks, and mortar, were all at hand, he could not meet with workmen who understood his plan, so as to put his projected structure together; and thus he was driven to seek shelter in an outhouse. But, besides the absolute want of knowledge of the world that all the ministers of Spain have evinced, from Manuel Godoy to the present day, there is yet another want that has been almost equally conspicuous during the same period--namely, the want of _honesty_. One of the best patriots that the country has produced, since the light of liberalism first broke upon it, declared that this want was the source of all Spain's misfortunes.--"_Somos todos corrompidos_"[26] was his painful confession; and without going to the _full_ extent of that assertion, it seems more than probable this rottenness at the core will not be cured, until Spain produces some great tyrant like Napoleon. A Despot, though not over-scrupulous himself, generally makes his subordinates honest;[27] but I doubt the possibility of any _set_ of men, who have been brought up on plunder, divesting themselves of the habit of _self-appropriation_ when possessed of the distribution of the loaves and fishes. I must no longer, however, delay taking my departure from Gibraltar, or the gates of the fortress will be closed upon me for the night, and frustrate my intention of sleeping at San Roque. CHAPTER II. SAN ROQUE--SINGULAR TITLE OF "THE CITY AUTHORITIES"--SITUATION--CLIMATE--THE LATE SIR GEORGE DON, LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF GIBRALTAR--ANECDOTE ILLUSTRATIVE OF THE CHARACTER OF THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT--SOCIETY OF SPAIN--THE TERTULIA--THE VARIOUS CIRCLES OF SPANISH SOCIETY TESTED BY SMOKING--ERRONEOUS NOTIONS OF ENGLISH LIBERTY AND RELIGION--STARTLING LENTAL CEREMONIES. San Roque is the nearest town to the British fortress, and distant from it about six English miles. A mere village at the period of the last siege of Gibraltar, it has gradually increased, so as at the present day to cover a considerable extent of ground, and to contain a population of upwards of six thousand souls. The title of _City_ has even been vicariously bestowed upon it; all public acts, &c., emanating from its different authorities, being headed in the following singular manner,--"The President and Individuals of the Board of health of the _City of Gibraltar_, which, from the material loss of that place, is established in _this of San Roque_ within its territory, &c."[28] The Corregidor, Alcalde, and other authorities, are also designated as of Gibraltar, and not of San Roque.