leagues; but I wished to see this fine old Moorish city, and it had been arranged that I should rest there one night. We accordingly left the road, and followed a narrow track through the Huerta to San Felipe, where I arrived about two o’clock. I was much pleased with _San Felipe_; and the magnificence and extent of the Moorish remains in its neighbourhood struck me with astonishment, even after having seen the Alhambra. These crown a hill that rises immediately behind the city; the hill is twice the height of that upon which the Alhambra stands, and the ruins at _San Felipe_ are also greatly more extensive; they are not, indeed, like the Alhambra, in preservation; nor do they present the terraces, and arches, and columns, that at once point out its Moorish origin: but they are splendid ruins, covering the summit of a mountain ridge a thousand or twelve hundred feet high, and presenting in fine relief, against the sky, an irregular line not less than two miles in extent, of massive and imposing ruins. I did not climb to the summit, but I ascended about half way to enjoy the prospect, which on every side was picturesque or beautiful. The magnificent ruins behind, and the thick wood of Algarrobos that filled every hollow of the mountain,--the city below, and its green huerta, and convents situated upon projecting points, with rocks behind, and orange groves below, formed the features of the landscape; and at a distance, between the mountains, a vista was caught of the wide and rich plain of Valencia. Descending from the mountain to the posada, I noticed a fountain from which no fewer than twenty-five full streams were flowing; and from other fountains on the paseo, many other streams united with these, and flowed in a brimful rivulet, towards the huerta, to cover it with fertility and beauty. Passing along the street, I observed many signs of Moorish days, more than either in Seville or Granada: in a court-yard which I entered, mistaking it for that of the posada, I noticed that the walls were arabesque; and looking in at the doors of the shops and houses, I scarcely saw a single person seated upon a chair, or even upon a stool; every one was squatted upon a mat. I walked through the cathedral, but saw nothing worthy of observation; and returned to the posada, where I fared well, and found the most delicious wine I had yet tasted in Spain;--how different from the small vin de pays of France. San Felipe has no fewer than ten convents, seven for men, and three for women; and it contains about 12,000 inhabitants, the whole of whom find employment and subsistence from the huerta; for the city contains no manufacture of any kind.