Leaving Port St. Mary, I passed through an almost uncultivated country, towards Puerto Real, skirting the edge of the bay; the country on the land side being covered with furze, and intersected by hedges of magnificent aloes and Indian fig; and with wild olives thinly scattered over the soil; and farther back, were seen the outer ridges of the Sierra de Ronda. As we proceeded, a singular spectacle was presented on the side towards the bay: immense lagunes lay between the road and the sea, thickly sprinkled with white pyramids, and assuming the exact representation of an extensive encampment. These were pyramids of salt: the sea is admitted into shallow reservoirs excavated in the soil, and the salt is formed by evaporation. Nothing can be more uninteresting than the road round the bay, till we enter the Isle of Leon, which is separated from the main land by a drawbridge. Soon after, I reached Isla, which is certainly one of the prettiest towns in Spain; I never saw a cleaner or prettier street, than the principal street of Isla. Every house is of the purest white, and every range of windows on every house, has its green veranda. Isla is a sadly fallen town: the great naval school, and extensive docks of Caraccas, in its immediate neighbourhood, once gave employment to thousands, and life and prosperity to Isla; but now, there is not a ship on the stocks, and not an _eléve_ in the college. Soon after leaving Isla, I entered upon the long and narrow tongue of land which connects Cadiz with the mainland; the tongue becomes narrower as we approach Cadiz, and during at least a league, it varies from two to three hundred yards broad, including a part of the sands, which are covered at high tide: the causeway itself is not one hundred yards broad. About a mile and a half from Cadiz, I passed a magnificent fortress, called the Cortadura, because it cuts the tongue of land across. This fortress was built in the year 1812, and it entirely covers the approach to Cadiz on the land side; presenting a formidable range of batteries, mounting one hundred and forty guns. Before entering Cadiz, another strong battery must be passed, so that Cadiz may be considered impregnable on the land side; at all events, not to be reduced without immense sacrifices. CHAPTER XV. CADIZ, AND JOURNEY OVERLAND TO GIBRALTAR. Peculiarities of Cadiz; a Fête; the Ladies of Cadiz; curious Whims and Usages; Morals; the Religious Bodies; Murillo’s last Picture; Mr. Brackenbury’s Pictures; Remarks upon Consular Remuneration; the two Cathedrals; effects upon the Commercial Prosperity of Cadiz, from its having been created a Free Port; State of the Road between Cadiz and Gibraltar; Departure from Cadiz; Chiclana; Morning Scenes; a Venta; the African Coast; Wild Scenery; Dangers of the Road; Suspicious Circumstance; Tariffa; another Venta; Journey through the Mountains to Algesiras; View of Gibraltar; Arrival.