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44 ^ M A G A ^ 1 N 2 of M A A 2 1 N E st,
of the troops, . and the chapel being
converted into a cellar, our soldiers
have wane and strong waters retailed to
them at a very reasonable price. by the
eomnaandant, who^ is the settler of fbo
garrison.
The military duty of this place is
done by a company oS the Ahzior regiment
which, like all the rest os the
troops, is annually relieved. Upona very
high land on the opposite side erf the
htathaur is an Adndain, or a signal hcuSe,
visible Srom the castle.
About ioui miles to the N. W. of
Mercadel, is mount Arada, Surroutided
by many other mountains, which it overl.ooks
; the prospect from hence is
an unbounded track of rude defarts,
and naked rocks on one side ; and on
the other, valies, plantations, and vineyards,
intermixed with hills of an easy
ascent, that are either cover'd with
Sheep, or marked with Sorrows by the
plough.
The mountain is ascended by a gradation
oS rocks that have been heyvn into
a kind of rude and gigantic stasr cafe,
which is rendered very Slippery, by
the Springs that gush Srom Several parts
of it, On the summit is a chapel dedicated
to St. Agaslet, by whoSe intercession
great numbers of women are
si. id to have been cured oS dangerous
diseases in their breasts : and here a
prie.t, attended by many oS thefe votaries,
frequently officiates. In this
place forne floors defended theinfelves
long after they had been driven by the
christians from every other part of the
island, but were at last reduced by famine.
• At the side oS a large harbour to the
eastward os mount Tore, is a farm tasted
Adzia . It is in the form of a theatre,
opera to the port on the east, but
Surrounded on every other side by a
chain of hills that rise gradually to a
^reat height. The mould that is constantly
washed down from thefe hills,
has greatly enriched the soil of Ainin,
which being sheltered from the bleak sN.
winds, enjoys a to.tr prate air, arid
is, by Mr. Armstrong, presorted to every
other fpot in Minorca.
Fcrerias the termino that is united
with Mercade/, is fcarce worth a remark,
and they are together the poorest
and least cultivated part of the
island.
C'ndad/la once the capital of .Minorca,
has since suffered greatly by the diminution
of its trade, its wealth, and
its inhabitants, but it can still boast of
more dons and cavalieros than are to be
found in all the other parts of the island,
and the inhabitants in general are distinguished
by a courtesy and politeness
that are not to be found among the rest
of their countrymen.
Ctndade/ld stands at the head of a fmall
harbour, and is encompassed with a
wall, past of which is of Moorish, and
part of modern architecture. At the
corner of the great parade next the entrance
of the governor's house, stands
the Exchange, an ancient structure
raised on Gothic arches of a great
height ; from the Exchange there is a
passage thro' a postern, arid down a
great number of atone steps to the key,
The governor's house, in which the
.Spanish geovepnors formes ly resided, is
a large irregular building, in the gorge
of a bastion ; the ground floor consists
os offices, and that above it communicates
with the rampart, on which is a
pleasant walk that commands a great
part of the island, an essenfive view of
the sea, and a^asorca at the distance of
ten leagues.
In the center of the town stands she
great church, a noble Gothic pile, the
largest in the country, arid the cathedral
os the island.
Near she Mahon gate is a convent of
Aasteu Sty art, where disputations in
philosophy are sometimes held 1 laero
is also it Frauciscan convent fronting the
parade, in which one ed the fathers
k^eps a school, and another an apothecary's
ihop. The nuns of St. Cletre
have also a convent in this town. Near
the harbour is a chapel dedicated to St.
Assholes, who is the patron of tnole