BOOK CXXXVIII Lisbon. position of his brother Sancho the Second by the pope, John the First after the extinction of the lawful branch of the Burgundian dynasty, John the Fourth of Braganza after the expulsion of the Spaniards, and Peter the Second after Alphonso the Sixth was declared incapable of reigning. Had every class of the community been represented in the cortes, and had it been made imperative on the sovereign to convoke such assemblies, the people need not have envied the English constitution; but the kings of Portugal have dispensed with them since the year 1687. Such was the state of the kingdom in 1821, when a new constitution, the work of a new cortes, nominated by electors chosen from all the citizens, established a representative government, equal, nay superior in some respects to any of the same sort in Europe. The constitution was abolished in 1823; three years afterwards, Don Pedro, the emperor of Brazil, ascended the throne of Portugal, and granted his subjects a representative government, more monarchical in its tendency than the former, but of such a nature as to satisfy the enlightened part of the nation. Having endeavoured to describe the moral and political state of the Portuguese people, it remains for us to mention the principal towns and others which, although inferior in the number of their inhabitants, merit the notice of the traveller or historian. The statistical tables at the end of the present chapter, may enable the reader to estimate the force and resources of the kingdom. The port of Lisbon, from the magnificent spectacle which it affords, may be compared to any in Europe; mariners consider it one of the best anchoring places in the world. It is defended by fort Bugio, situated on an island at the mouth of the Tagus, and by fort Juliao on the right bank of the same river. The town rises like an amphitheatre on the right bank, and occupies a space about three leagues in length, and more than one in breadth. The large bay formed by the Tagus, affords only a narrow and dangerous passage for ships; indeed, vessels seldom approach it without being provided with experienced pilots, a precaution rendered necessary by the bar which its waters form against the ocean. BOOK Population. It might be supposed from the sight of this large capital, that it contained many more inhabitants than it really does, CXXXVIII but it is well known that the population does not exceed 260,000 souls. It is divided into two towns, the first or the old is formed by many tortuous, narrow and dirty streets, which were not injured during the great calamity in the year 1775; the streets in the new town are broad and straight, and their number is daily increasing. The number of streets in both the towns amounts to 566; there are besides 60 squares, only twelve of which merit the name. The two most remarkable are the Praca do Commercio, and the Praca do Rocio; the first is bounded on one side by the Tagus, and adorned with fine edifices, such as the treasury, the custom-house, the India-house, the admiralty, the royal library and other buildings that are not yet finished. The other or the Praca do Rocio, is smaller than the last; it is situated near the court of the Inquisition, in which are now contained the offices of the different ministers, and the prisons of the holy office. If Buildings. the royal palace in the suburbs of Ajuda was completed according to its original plan, it might be doubtful that there was another in Europe of so large a size. The king of Portugal possesses two other residences in Lisbon, the palace of Bemposta, in which he gives audience, and that of Necessidades, now set apart for foreign princes. The other buildings are the naval arsenal, the palace of Calhariz, now the place in which the academy of sciences hold their meetings, and the theatre of San Carlos, which in point of size at least, may be compared with the secondary theatres in the Italian towns. The principal churches are the cathedral or Basilica de Santa Maria, an old edifice that was repaired after the last earthquake, the church belonging to the convent of Jesus, remarkable for the boldness of its dome, perhaps the finest modern building in Lisbon, and lastly, the church of the martyrs, a monument to the glory of the Portuguese, erected at the place where Alphonso the First defeated the Moors. Lisbon possesses several useful institutions, but the first in point of importance is the naval observatory, an establishment which has contributed to the advancement of BOOK CXXXVIII Scientific celestial physics. Some of the others are the royal naval school, the academies of naval architecture, fortification, artillery and drawing, the school of sculpture, and the college of surgery. We may also mention the commercial school, the royal military college, and an institution dependent on the monastery of St. Vincent de Fora, where the ancient and modern languages, geometry, physics and philosophy are taught. There are, besides these, a royal school of physics and drawing, in which the course of instruction lasts five years, and a musical seminary (Seminario Musical) for the purpose of promoting composition and also vocal and instrumental music. The seminaries connected with religion are the royal college of St. Patrick, a place of education for Irish missionaries, the royal college of catechumens, founded in 1579 for the instruction of converted infidels in the principles and doctrines of Christianity, St. Antony's and St. Peter's schools for orphans and poor children, and other institutions of the same nature under the direction of the clergy or the different monasteries. The royal academy of sciences at Lisbon, holds the first Institutions rank among the scientific institutions in the kingdom. A society for the encouragement of national industry has lately been established in the town. It possesses also public libraries, a botanical garden, a museum of natural history, and different scientific collections, which are much inferior to others of the same kind in the principal capitals of Europe. Police. Neighbourhood It is not more than twenty or thirty years that persons were not safe on the streets of Lisbon, murders were committed in open day, and murderers found protection by flying into the sanctuary; at night passengers were stopped by soldiers who demanded charity, and took by force the money which any ventured to refuse. There were then no patroles, no police to check these disorders; now that the best means are employed to ensure the public safety, murders and even thefts have become very rare. No edifice in Lisbon can be compared with the aqueduct of Lisbon. of Bemfica (agoas livres), by which the water that the inof Bemfica, habitants consume, is conveyed into the city. It has been Aqueduct considered the most magnificent work that has been executed in modern times, and it is not certainly inferior to any ancient work of the same kind. The length of the aqueduct exceeds 56,380 feet, the largest arch is equal to 206 in height, and the opening or breadth to 100. The country round Lisbon is not only agreeable from the fine sites in different directions, historical recollections are connected with it. Oeiras, the country seat given by King Joseph to the Marquis of Pombal, was inhabited by the same monarch in 1775, and the minister availed himself of his temporary residence to change a village-fair into one of a different kind, were the products of Portuguese industry are now exhibited, an ingenious idea, that has been imitated elsewhere, and has excited a salutary emulation in other countries, particularly in France. Cintra is celebrated for the capitulation in virtue of which, the French army left Portugal in 1808. Mafra on the western side of the chain connected with Monte Junto, is remarkable for the convent, church and palace, built by John the Fifth in order to fulfil the vow which he had taken before the birth of his son. These three buildings, the work of a foreign architect, and embellished by painters and sculptors of different nations, form perhaps, the finest edifice in the kingdom. Loires at three leagues from Lisbon, is well known for its plantations, which yield the best oranges in Portugal. Campo Grande is a place of resort for the Portuguese nobility, it stands on a plain surrounded with gardens and trees, where in the summer season, the court and the nobles display their equipages. The different places that have been mentioned, are not privileged towns (citades), but burghs or small towns without municipalities (villas). BOOK CXXXVIII Few other towns of any importance are situated in the Other rest of Estremadura. Leiria, however may be mentioned, Towns. it is not far from the palace of King Denys, on whom the Portuguese confered the title of Great. The convent built by John the First, a noble monument of NormanoGothic architecture, serves to adorn the burgh of Batalha; within the same building may be seen the mausoleum of its founder, and several dirty chapels destined for the sepul BOOK chres of kings. The large burgh of Santarem built on a CXXXVIII hill, and defended by an old fortress, was long the residence Province of imbra. of the Portuguese sovereigns. Lastly, Setubal, although it does not possess the rank of a city, may be considered àn important town. Some antiquaries suppose that Troja, a headland at a short distance from the mouth of the Sado, where several remains of antiquity have been discovered, was the site of a Phenician colony. Coimbra is situated in the province of Beira, on a hill Beira. Co- which commands the Mondego. The interior of the town may be said to be as dismal as the neighbouring country is agreeable. It was a place of considerable importance under the Romans, the Alani and the Moors; it is the capital of the province, the public buildings, the number of useful institutions, together with the celebrity of the university, render it not unworthy of its title. The small town of Aveiro at the mouth of the Vouga, is beginning to recover the maritime importance which it seemed to have for ever lost. The ancient city of Viseu, situated on the mountains from which the Mondego takes its source, is the residence of a bishop, and carries on a considerable trade in cloth and jewellery. Lamego lies at the northern extremity of the province, in a fruitful district between Mount Penude and the river Duero. It was there that the cortes met in 1144, and the same assembly established a constitution by which the royal authority was confined within due limits,that constitution Alphonso the First swore to maintain. Province of ro e Mino. The province of Entre Douro e Mino is smaller than Entre Dou- either of the two last; Braga or the metropolis stands on a height between the Cavado and the Deste. The principal buildings are the archbishop's palace, the seminary and the cathedral; there are besides several imposing remains of Roman grandeur. Porto or Oporto, the second town in the kingdom, rises on a magnificent site at the mouth of the Duero, on two hills called the Se and the Victoria. It consists of the low and high town; it is divided into five quarters, two of which are encompassed with a wall thirty feet in height, the three others are open. Several large squares, fine churches, different public buildings, such as the court of appeal, the town-house, the dio |