I left Lorca about mid-day, passing through a very spacious paseo, surrounded by gardens; and after fording the river Gudalentin, and traversing a long suburb, the road skirted the range of hills which bounds the vale on the left; and about a league distant from Lorca, we began to ascend, leaving the vale and fertility behind, and passing through an uncultivated and unpeopled tract of land, to the village of Totana. Here I was again greeted with the sight of orange trees, the first I had seen since leaving Granada; and magnificent aloes and prickly pear, shewed what the land is susceptible of. But the village seemed very miserable; great part of it was in ruins, and most of the children I saw, were clothed--if clothed it can be called--in ragged shirts. Yet, this miserable village supports a convent of monks, of the order of St. Jago. I saw one of their number walking in the neighbourhood of the village, and might have pitied his forlorn situation, but that I knew the minds of most friars to be devoid of those feelings which would render a lot like his, intolerable to a man of refined and cultivated understanding. In this wretched place the price of labour is only two reals, less than 5_d._ Beef is rarely seen, but when brought to market, it is sold at only five quartos per lb., about 1½_d._; mutton sells at eight and nine quartos; and pork at twelve; but the pork is excellent. After dinner, two village musicians introduced themselves: one played the violin, the other the guitar; and thinking it a pity that no use should be made of the music, I invited all the inmates of the posada to my _sala_ to have a dance; and excellently well they danced their fandango--snapping their fingers as a substitute for the castanet, and displaying a grace in their movements and limbs, that would surprise the audience in any of our minor theatres.