introduced in the arms of the city. Hence, also, the cape is frequently called Monte Corvo, and was named by the Moors Kenisata-l-Gorab, the church of the crows. The Franciscan convent was founded in 1516, and at the suppression contained only 6 or 8 friars, who were very poor. See for the History of S., Vincent, Escolano, 'Decadas de Valença,' b. 2, c. 7.: Salorsano, 'Sacrario de Valença,' i., and Cardoso, Agiologio,' i. p. 2-23. In looking over these waters the traveller will remember that they have been the scene of three English victories. On Jan. 16, 1780, Rodney attacked the Spanish fleet, took and destroyed 2 men of war. On Feb. 14, 1797, Jervis, winning his title of Lord S. Vincent, and Nelson, defeated with 15 small ships 27 Spanish men of war. And on July 2, 1833, Sir C. Napier, with six little vessels, got together as he could, beat 10 Portuguese men of war, and placed D. Maria on the throne of Portugal. From the Cape there is a straight road to Villa do Bispo. Probably no person will wish to visit Sagres twice. This is Affonso III. took it in 1250. the most unhealthy place in Algarve, and any one who sleeps here is pretty sure of catching an intermittent fever. Bishop Gomez, seeing the unhealthiness of the place, built a little church a league to the E. to attract the people thither; but it was in vain; they preferred their fevers to the trouble of a change. Near Aljezur is the church of N. S. da Alva, where are preserved the heads of a father and son named João and Pedro Gallego: they are venerated by those who have been bitten by a mad dog. The same barren uninteresting road continues to 2 Carrapateira. On a ridge of sand near the village are the ruins of a battery erected to protect the inhabitants against the constant irruptions of the Moors. Hence for about 1 m. the country is well cultivated; then succeeds high heathy table-land to 3 Villa do Bispo as in the last rte. From Aljezur a tract goes to the 1. to Lagos. The country is as dull as the other way. Benzafrim and Barão de S. João. The adjacent country becomes a sapal in the winter, and is at all times unhealthy. 1 *Lagos as in the preceding rte. ROUTE 11. LISBON TO SAGRES OR LAGOS 27 Odesseixe as in Rte. 2. Just before entering this place we cross the little river Seixe, which separates Alemtejo from Algarve. This is rather a pretty town; the houses stand in gardens well stocked with fruit-trees, and the valley which surrounds it is rich and well cultivated. Immediately on leaving it a steep mountain is ascended; then follows a barren tract of table-land, on which the traveller will neither see house nor tree, and probably neither man nor beast, till he reaches 2 Aljezur, a miserably poor, gloomy town, built of dark-coloured stone, without mortar. It climbs up the side of a sand-hill which is crowned by the remains of a Moorish castle. ROUTE 12. VILLA NOVA DE PORTIMÃO TO FARO BY SILVES. The easiest way to reach Silves from Portimão is by water: the distance is 2 leagues. A boat is easily hired. Start at the beginning of the floodtide. The channel leading to Silves soon narrows; the banks are high hills, stony and barren, and dotted here and there with a kind of pine that exactly resembles an umbrella turned inside out by the wind. distance of 2 m. from Silves it comes in sight: a curious view of it is to be obtained from a steep hill immediately to the 1. The fore-ground is a marshy waste with pools and creeks. The city itself, surrounded by its At a ancient walls, occupies a hill in the middle distance: the Serra de Monchique forms the back-ground, and especially to the 1. Chelb or Silves was the capital of Algarve under its Moorish sovereigns. It is now one of the most desolate and deserted places in Portugal, though still enjoying the title of a city. Herculano gives an interesting account of its capture by D. Sancho I. in 1189, though with that singular bias in favour of the Moors which he always displays. A fleet of crusaders that had sailed from Dartmouth under the command of the Landgrave of Thuringia, the Count de Bar, and the Count de Braine, was persuaded by D. Sancho to assist him in his meditated conquest of Silves. On the 20th of July the armada landed at Portimão. The besieged defended themselves with the greatest valour, and every effort was made by the Moors of Andalusia and Africa to relieve them. On Sept. 1st the water was exhausted, and the inhabitants offered to surrender on condition of safety for their persons and their goods. D. Sancho was desirous of accepting these terms, but he had engaged, as the price of their assistance, to allow the crusaders to sack the city. He now offered them 10,000 gold crusados, an offer which he increased to 20,000, instead of the proposed reward; they refused it, on the pretext that their voyage would be retarded, since it would be necessary to send for the money to Evora. On the 3rd of Sept. the gates were opened. The greater part of the inhabitants had died from want; the streets were full of dead bodies; and the survivors did not amount to 16,000. Of 450 Christian prisoners 12 only were alive. The crusaders seized everything, and the Moors considered themselves happy in being enabled to escape with their clothes, Silves, won with so much labour, was very speedily lost, and not again re covered by the Christians till 1266, when it was taken by D. Paio Peres Correa, the final conqueror of Algarve. The last Moorish king, EbnAfan, in endeavouring to make his escape was drowned in a place now called Pula. The unhealthiness of the situation led to the gradual decadence of Silves. In 1579 the see was removed to Faro. The great earthquake left only 20 houses standing. Of late years some endeavours have been made to restore its commercial prosperity in 1836 a number of mulberry trees were planted in the castle square, with the design of establishing a silk manufactory, which is said to answer. Begin by visiting the castle with its magnificent Moorish cistern, which contains 5712 hogsheads. For a wonder, it has been restored and is now perfect. There are also large subterraneous caverns of the same date, where fruit was stored. The Moorish fortifications are in some places tolerably perfect: the detached towers, with their bridges of communication to the wall, are very curious, and command a good view of the adjacent country. The cathedral, though much disfigured by alterations, contains a great deal of ancient work, and was the original mosque. The The present pop. is 2400. loss of commerce is mainly to be attributed to the change in the river, which formerly was navigable for large vessels up to the town. In the rocks by the water-side where now only the smallest boats can pass, may be seen huge iron rings, to which, in former times, vessels of considerable burthen were attached. SECTION IV. ESTREMADURA. (NORTH OF THE TAGUS.) THIS is the only province in Portugal which does not follow in its limits the natural divisions of mountains and rivers. The Tagus on the S. ought to separate it from Alemtejo, whereas, in point of fact, nearly half the province lies beyond that river. As, however, so far as the traveller is concerned, the two portions are utterly distinct, we shall in this chapter deviate from our usual division, and describe only that part which lies N. of the Tagus; as we combined Estremadura Transtagana with Alemtejo in the second section. In its greatest length the province contains 35 1. in a straight line; in its greatest breadth, 17. The boundaries, however, towards the Estrella have always been very ill defined; and the difference between modern maps in this respect is very great. The name, like that of Spanish Estremadura, is derived either from its being the extreme limit of the Moorish dominions, or from its separating (Estremar in old Portuguese is to separate) the two kingdoms. Next to Minho, Estremadura is on the whole the most beautiful province. The Montejunto, a continuation of the Estrella, forms its back-bone, and ramifies into various branches; the Serra de Cintra, the Serra de Alqueridão, the Serra de Albardos. Excelled by Traz-os-Montes in the quality of its wines, it nevertheless produces some of the best, as Bucellas, Colares, Lavradio, Chamusca, Carcavellos, Barra a Barra, and others, of which the names are scarcely known in England. The vines round Torres Vedras, if properly cultivated, might perhaps be the finest in the world; the new wines, Portuguese Hock and sparkling Estremadura, could the present restrictions on free-trade be withdrawn, would no doubt become very popular; so would also the white wines of Tojal, and the vintages of Palmella and the Inglezinhos. The oranges of Setubal, and the myrtles of Thomar are celebrated everywhere; while near Santarem, and especially about Golega, the soil is so fertile that harvest comes in 8 weeks after seed time. If the Tagus were only made navigable, as it might be, and as in former centuries it was, as far as Toledo, all these productions would find a ready market either at Lisbon or in England. As it is, it can only be ascended as far as Villa Velha, some leagues short of the Spanish frontier, which here is encravado, as the Portuguese say, that is, shoots a long tongue into Portugal. Different attempts have been made from time to time to show the practicability of its navigation. In 1581, the engineer Antonelli embarked on the Jarama, near Madrid, sailed down into the Tagus close to Aranjuez, and reached Lisbon with perfect safety. Encouraged by this, Philip II. had seven vessels constructed with especial reference to this purpose at Toledo, in a place still called the Plazuela de las Barcas, and they came down to Lisbon with a cargo of corn in 15 days. In 1829, the Spanish engineer, Marco Artu, made the passage from Aranjuez to Lisbon; but in consequence of the deteriorated state of the river, the boat had to be carried over land more than once. Bento de Moura, who wrote in the middle of the 18th cent., vainly endeavoured to stir up the apathetic Portuguese court, at a time when the vast treasures pouring in from Brazil would have enabled them to carry out almost any enterprise. The great difficulty arises from the narrow gorge, called the Portas do Rodão, where the river contracts itself to a width of only 150 ft.; the current runs here 12 ft. per second, so that a volume of 7,776,000 cubic feet of water passes through this defile in one day. Hence in floods the country above the pass is inundated. It has been proposed, therefore, either to widen the bed of the river in this place, or, which was the scheme of Bento de Moura, to construct a dam, and form a reservoir 20 1. square, during winter, which would be cultivated in summer; and he showed that every grain of deposit brought down into this gigantic tank would in a few years have yielded ten times its weight of corn. From its vicinity to the capital, there is better travelling in Estremadura than in any other province, except Minho; the inns at such places as Thomar, Setubal, and Leiria, being sufficiently respectable. The ecclesiologist, too, will here find everything that is most worthy seeing in the kingdom: Batalha, Alcobaça, Thomar, Abrantes, Santarem, Belem. We shall first conduct the traveller over the vicinity of Lisbon, and then proceed to the main roads of the province. ROUTE 13. LISBON TO CINTRA AND MAFRA. THE To go to Lisbon without seeing Cintra would be an unpardonable ofence in the eyes of every Portuguese. "Dexar a Cintra, y ver al mondo entero, Es, con verdad, caminar en chapucero." The place, no doubt, owes much of its fame in England to Byron's description; had he, however, been better acquainted with Portuguese scenery, of which he subsequently saw only the least interesting portion, he would probably have modified his excessive praise. To compare Cintra with the generality of landscapes in Minho, or with the banks of the Zezere, or with Monchique, would be about as reasonable as to set up Richmond Hill as a rival to Skiddaw or to Snowdon. However, there is no doubt that the place, more especially in Spring, is excessively pretty, and nothing is easier than to reach it from Lisbon, a distance of about 16 m. An omnibus leaves the city early in the morning, and returns at 4 p. m.; but by far the best way is to ride. Leaving Lisbon by the N. W. road, we soon reach Bemfica, a village containing about 3500 inhab.: on the way, the Aguas Livres and the multitude of windmills are the principal objects. Bemfica is prettily embosomed in orange-groves, gardens, and orchards; and near the Larangeiras stands the once celebrated Dominican convent, the description of which is regarded as the masterpiece of its son, Fr. Luiz de Sousa (whose history see under Batalha). The convent is now a manufactory: the church is preserved, and contains the chapel of the Castros, and the tomb of the great lawyer, João das Regras. The former has, among other monuments, the mausoleum of the ever famous Viceroy of India, D. João de Castro, the friend of S. Francis Xavier, and one of the greatest men whom Portugal can boast (more of him presently). João das Regras was he to whose eloquence at the Cortes of Coimbra the election of D. João I. was principally due. Notice in the church the image of S. Mary, brought from Tunis by the Portuguese squadron sent to the assistance of Charles V. of Spain, under the command of D. Luiz, in the celebrated galleon Botafogo. To the 1. of the road is the quinta of D. Isabel Maria, great-aunt of his present majesty, and formerly Regent. Ascending the hill of Porcalhota, and passing a somewhat desolate country, we reach Queluz, at a distance of 21. from Lisbon, a royal palace founded by D. Pedro III., husband of D. Maria I.; a favourite residence of D. João VI. and of D. Miguel. Here is shown the bed in which D. Pedro IV. expired; the room is called that of Don Quixote, from a series of paintings occupying 18 panels, which represent the adventures of the Knight of La Mancha. The palace is much like other palaces; in the oratory is a monolithic Doric column of agate, found in Herculaneum; it was a present from Leo XII. The gardens, which were modelled on those at Marly, are, in their way, very fine. Hence, over a rough broken country, covered with heath, to Ramalhão, another royal palace, where the Queen D. Carlotta was sent to reside in 1822, in consequence of her refusing to take the oath to the Constitution, and where, in conjunction with D. Miguel, she plotted its overthrow. D. Carlos of Spain resided here in 1832; and his celebrated protest against the recognition of his niece was dated from this place. It is now deserted. Passing the village of S. Pedro, and turning the edge of the mountain, we catch the first view of Cintra, with its crags towering up above the thick foliage, the Cork convent, and the two large conical kitchen-chimneys of the royal palace, which form so curious a feature of the view from all parts. *CINTRA, a town of 4300 inhab., lies on the edge of a granitic Serra, varying from 1800 to 3000 feet in height, the extreme continuation of the Estrella, and itself terminated in the Rock of Lisbon. Hotels: Victor, the oldest and best; Durand, also long established; Hotel de l'Europe, modern; good accommodation can be had at either, The French hotel in the Arrabalde is given up, but the Hotel François, which may be considered as an extension of the Arrabalde, is still kept up. We will first visit the palace, permission to see which is to be obtained from the Almocharife, the resident Superintendant; the retention of this Arabic word is singular. It was the Alhambra of the Moorish kings; and when in after ages Lisbon was made the seat of the Christian Government, it became the favourite residence of its monarchs. D. Duarte added considerably to the edifice, and bestowed many privileges on the town, D. Affonso V. was here born and here died; D. João II. continued, and D. Manoel completed, the building. Here it was that D. Sebastião held his last audience, before sailing on his disastrous expedition; here, also, that the miserable D. Affonso VI. was confined for the last 8 years of his life. The palace is a singular mixture of Moorish and Christian architecture, with its fountains, terraces, gardens, arabesque windows, slender shafts, reservoirs, and towers. The Sala das Pegas, the Magpies' Saloon, is a large apartment, painted all over with magpies, each bird holding in its beak the legend Por bem, "For good." It is said that D. João I. was discovered by his Queen, our Philippa of Lancaster, in the act of bestowing some very questionable mark of attention on one of her maids of honour; and that his only reply, on the principle of "Honi soit qui mal y pense," was "Por bem." In order to show that he was not ashamed of the adventure, and to satirize the gossip of his court, he gave orders for the painting of the Magpies' Saloon. The Sala das Armas, called also the Sala dos Cervos, was built by D. Manoel. On the roof, which is circular, are painted in two concentric circles, the arms of 74 of the Portuguese nobility, each dependent from a stag's head. Two of these, the shields of the families of Aveiro and Tavora, have been erased for their alleged participation in Pombal's plot. That his brazão should exist in the Sala das Armas is the highest genealogical honour which a |