In the present edition I have revised and re-arranged the whole
work, enlarged some parts, and added others, including the papers
originally omitted; and have thus endeavored to render it more
complete and more worthy of the indulgent reception with which it
has been favored.
W. I.
Sunnyside, 1851.
The Journey.
IN THE spring of 1829, the author of this work, whom curiosity had
brought into Spain, made a rambling expedition from Seville to Granada
in company with a friend, a member of the Russian Embassy at Madrid.
Accident had thrown us together from distant regions of the globe, and
a similarity of taste led us to wander together among the romantic
mountains of Andalusia. Should these pages meet his eye, wherever
thrown by the duties of his station, whether mingling in the pageantry
of courts, or meditating on the truer glories of nature, may they
recall the scenes of our adventurous companionship, and with them
the recollection of one, in whom neither time nor distance will
obliterate the remembrance of his gentleness and worth.
And here, before setting forth, let me indulge in a few previous
remarks on Spanish scenery and Spanish travelling. Many are apt to
picture Spain to their imaginations as a soft southern region,
decked out with the luxuriant charms of voluptuous Italy. On the
contrary, though there are exceptions in some of the maritime
provinces, yet, for the greater part, it is a stern, melancholy
country, with rugged mountains, and long sweeping plains, destitute of
trees, and indescribably silent and lonesome, partaking of the
savage and solitary character of Africa.
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