er dinner. I am not selling any, but you'll find plenty of
firms about Mark Lane who will be quite willing to supply you if you
wish.

Well, Jerez is a town of some sixty thousand inhabitants. Don't be
afraid. This is not going to be a guidebook, for Jerez has not a single
public building worth the slightest notice, not even a church of which it
can be said that it is really worth visiting compared with other cities,
either from an architectural or an artistic point of view. It is wanting
in the beautiful and wonderful attractions which adorn many of the
Andalusian towns that surround it. In Jerez there are no glorious
edifices dating back to the occupation of the Moors (except the
Alcazar--now part cinema-show). There are no royal palaces taken from the
Moors by Spanish kings. There is no Seville Cathedral, no Giralda. There
is no Alhambra as there is in Granada. There are only parts of the
ancient walls that enclosed the old city. The Moors apparently thought
little of Jerez; they evidently had not discovered the glories of sherry
white wine.

Jerez seems to have devoted all its energies to the erection of
wine-cellars, the most uninteresting buildings in the world. A visitor,
after a couple of days in Jerez, would be tired of its uninteresting
streets, badly kept squares and absence of any places of interest or
picturesque drives. Probably he would note the presence of the stately
and silent ciguenas, who make their home and build their nests upon the
top of every church steeple or tower. They are not exciting, but there
they have been for years, and there they are now, and it is to be
presumed that there they will remain. Yet, Jerez is a pleasant place to
live in. Although there is only one decent hotel in it, there are
excellent private houses, full of many comforts and works of art, though
their comfort and beauty is all internal. They are mostly situated in
side streets, with no attempt at any outside architectural effects.

The citizens of Jerez are quite content with Jerez. They love to take
their ease, and have a decided objection to hustle. The womenkind dearly
love big families: the bigger they are the better they like them. They
are devoted to their husbands and children, and live for them. The men
cannot be called ambitious, but they are perfectly satisfied with their
quiet lives, and with looking after their own businesses. They love to
sit in their clubs and cafes, sit either inside or at tables on the