n, the Moorish arches being still
there in decay, but the fort is now very strong. About four or five
hundred fine-looking dragoons were looking after their horses, waiting
for a lull to enable them to embark for France. One of their officers
was wandering in a very solitary fashion over the fort. We had some
conversation with him. He had been at Sedan, had been taken prisoner,
but had effected his escape. He shook his head when we spoke of the
termination of the war, and predicted its long continuance. There was
bitterness in his tone as he spoke of the charges of treason so
lightly levelled against French commanders.

The green waves raved round the promontory on which the fort stands,
smiting the rocks, breaking into foam, and jumping, after impact, to a
height of a hundred feet and more into the air. As we returned our
vehicle broke down through the loss of a wheel. The Admiral went on
board, while I remained long watching the agitated sea. The little
horses of Oran well merit a passing word. Their speed and endurance,
both of which are heavily drawn upon by their drivers, are
extraordinary.

The wind sinking, we lifted anchor on the 24th. For some hours we
went pleasantly along; but during the afternoon the storm revived, and
it blew heavily against us all the night. When we came opposite the
Bay of Almeria, on the 25th, the captain turned the ship, and steered
into the bay, where, under the shadow of the Sierra Nevada, we passed
Christmas night in peace. Next morning 'a rose of dawn' rested on the
snows of the adjacent mountains, while a purple haze was spread over
the lower hills. I had no notion that Spain possessed so fine a range
of mountains as the Sierra Nevada. The height is considerable, but
the form also is such as to get the maximum of grandeur out of the
height. We weighed anchor at eight A.M., passing for a time through
shoal water, the bottom having been evidently stirred up. The
adjacent land seemed eroded in a remarkable manner. It has its
floods, which excavate these valleys and ravines, and leave those
singular ridges behind. Towards evening I climbed the mainmast, and,
standing on the cross-trees, saw the sun set amid a blaze of fiery
clouds. The wind was strong and bitterly cold, and I was glad to
slide back to the deck along a rope, which stretched from the
mast-head to the ship's side. That night we cast anchor beside the
Mole of Gibraltar.

On the morning of the 27th,