ge of the river, on the town
side, about a hundred yards below the western bridge--that called after
Saint Martin--at the precise point at which the river quits the town,
and its north bank ceases to be precipitous.

The extreme point of the termination of the high ground is immediately
over the building, and is covered with the ruins of King Roderick's
palace, the outer walls of which descend to the water, and are
terminated by a small roundtower within a few yards of the quadrangular
edifice. The edifice is called the Bano de la Cava, meaning Florinda's
bath, although the native popular tradition, losing sight of the events
of the history, has metamorphosed the heroine of the spot into a Moorish
princess.

In fact, the rocky precipice terminates at this spot,--the last piece
of rock forming part of the foundation of the square tower, immediately
beyond which is a gently descending sand-bank most convenient and
tempting to bathers. This circumstance, added to the situation of
Roderick's residence, immediately above the scene, was delightfully
corroborative of the tradition; and proved sufficiently, had all
investigation ceased there, the identity of the spot with the scene of
the anecdote. Owing to an excess of curiosity a new discovery threw a
doubt over the whole affair.

[Illustration: FLORINDA'S BATH.]

A bridge is too public a thoroughfare to allow of bathing to be
practised in its immediate neighbourhood: and, in fact, the erection of
the neighbouring one of St. Martin is of much later date than the events
of the history in question. Fatal curiosity, however, led me to the back
of the building,--the very bath of Florinda,--where it was impossible
not to discover, even to conviction, that it, the square tower itself,
had formerly been the entrance of a bridge. This is proved by the ruins
of two piers, which appear above the water,--one near to the shore on
which I was standing, the other near to the opposite bank, and both
forming a line with the square tower on looking through its two opposite
arches. The tower possesses other peculiarities which, compared with
those belonging to the bridges actually in existence, fully confirm the
supposition.

Now, although the tradition has christened the spot Bano de la Cava,
which expression is translated "bath of the prostitute," it is certain
that Florinda was the daughter of Count Julian, governor of the Spanish
possessions in Africa, and a personage of sufficient r