Letters from Portugal, Spain,

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1815 Excerpt: ...not always impart a very strong and disagreeable flavor to the liquor; but in general, and especially if the skin be new, the pitchy composition with which its inner side is lined, impregnates the wine with a most powerful and austere taste, common to the ordinary red wine of the country, usually known by the name of black-strap. An agreeable white wine is made from the Malaga grape, which is sweet, stronger bodied, and altogether a cleaner wine than the generality; most of the common white wines being very light and acidulous. I shall now proceed to give you a description of my route to this place. As I slept a night at Vitoria, I had an opportunity of seeing more of the town, and to greater advantage than when I last visited it, as order and regularity had been long re-established, and the inhabitants had become reconciled to their visitors. The town lies upon the side of a steep hill, and possesses extensive suburbs j it appears very populous, and seems, by the profusion of shops, to have a considerable share of trade. It is, I think, inferior to Salamanca, both with respect to size and every other particular, excepting the facility of procuring almost every article of life, --it enjoys a great advantage in the abundance of French goods which are exposed for sale, and it is exceedingly well furnished with hotels, caffes &c. A large and well-stocked market is held during the week days, but every thing supplied is exorbitantly dear: poultry, game &c. though of a very inferior quality, are disposed of at prices, to which even the dealers of Covent-Garden Market are entire strangers, and every species of wine, except that of the country, is nearly as dear as in England. Most of the streets are flagged, and some are open and handsome, with many good ho...