There are several religious houses in this city, one of Franciscans, another of Dominicans, a third of Augustins, and a fourth of Capuchins; besides some nunneries, and a fifth convent called the _Mercy_, being founded for the redemption of Christian slaves. There is likewise an hospital, named the _Hospital of St. John of God_; where we saw a large and decent infirmary for sick and wounded persons, whether natives or foreigners. There is nothing much remarkable in these places, besides the altar pieces of their chapels, which are every where gaudily and richly furnished; but those particularly of the cathedral church, and Dominican convent, are adorned with tables of wrought and massy silver. On the walls is seen abundance of painting and imagery, the device of which is for the most part offensive, or ridiculous. An instance of the latter was the picture of _St. Michael_, with a pair of scales in his hand, weighing the merits of departed saints: of the former, the pourtraiture of _God the Father_, in the shape of an _old man_; with many other blasphemous representations of the _Trinity_. Either in their vestries, or their chapels, there is commonly the _Saint_ of their order pourtrayed at large, in a gaudy habit, and inclosed in a case of glass. Other lesser images of Saints they expose in holes of the wall, where it faces the town; and to these the devouter part of the people pay their several occasional oraisons, as they pass the streets. This large multitude of altars and saints, which every where appears at _Cadiz_, could not but remind me of what the priestess in _Petronius_ sais: _Utique nostra regio tam praesentibus plena est numinibus, ut facilius possis deum, quam hominem invenire_[144]. But not to tire your patience with the many odd pieces of superstition, which occur in every corner of the city, I shall give you a relish of the whole in the two following instances.