Atx/yAj ^ k/ve 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 PORTUGUESE LIFE. 
 

 1 
 
 
STRE E T .♦$ C E X E IN LISBO JT 
 
SKETCHES 
 
 OF 
 
 PORTUGUESE LIFE 
 
 0 
 
 MANNERS, 
 
 COSTUME, AND CHARACTER. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED BY TWENTY COLOURED PLATES. 
 
 BY A. P. D. G. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR Geo. B. WHITTAKER, 
 
 AVE-MARIA LANE. 
 
 1826 . 
 
LONDON 
 
 PRINTED BY R. GILBERT, 
 
 st. John’s square. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The following sketches were all drawn from life. 
 They lay claim to no merit in composition, beyond 
 that of offering—so far as they go—a faithful 
 delineation of Portuguese manners, customs, and 
 character. The author has been careful only in 
 observing a rigid adherence to facts ; and to the 
 respectable and unprejudiced British residents in 
 Portugal who are acquainted, however superfi¬ 
 cially, with the habits of the people, he appeals 
 with confidence to corroborate the truth of his 
 pictures. 
 
 In apology for the literary defects of the pre¬ 
 sent volume, the author has not a syllable to say: 
 —except that no one can be more sensible of those 
 defects than himself. But he has ventured to 
 believe, that an intimate knowledge of a subject 
 
 a 
 
VI 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 might be considered to redeem numerous imperfec¬ 
 tions of method and style; and he will be forgiven 
 for having felt, that he at least possessed some 
 superior qualifications for his task, over writers 
 
 who, after a mere residence of a few months, 
 
 \ 
 
 weeks, or even days at Lisbon, have without hesi¬ 
 tation undertake^ to describe all the peculiarities 
 of the people and country. To enable the reader 
 to judge of the opportunities thus enjoyed by the 
 author, of long and intimate communication with 
 Portuguese society, he shall take leave to state in 
 a few words the position in which he stood with 
 that nation. 
 
 At the age of twenty, and in the year 1793, 
 the author entered the Portuguese civil service, 
 and continued in it up to 1804: when, unable any 
 longer to resist the torrent of intrigue to which 
 every foreigner in that service is subjected, he 
 
 quitted for a time both his adopted country and 
 profession. But, in 1809, an advantageous situa¬ 
 tion being offered to him in the victualling de¬ 
 partment of the British army then in Portugal, 
 he returned to that kingdom, with advantages 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 va 
 
 possessed by few of his nation:—a good know¬ 
 ledge of the language and the people. It is princi¬ 
 pally from the later experience of this second 
 residence of many years—which terminated only 
 at a recent period,—that he has attempted to 
 describe the state of society in Portugal. The 
 disgust once provoked in his mind by unjust 
 treatment has long subsided; and he is conscious 
 rather of partiality for, than prejudice against, 
 the Portuguese and their country 
 
 To most of the scenes mentioned, the author 
 was himself an eye witness:—but all of them are 
 either in themselves so well known in the country, 
 or must at least be so familiarly recognized there 
 as characteristic, that the author feels, however 
 extraordinary some of his descriptions may appear, 
 no apprehension that their authenticity can be 
 questioned. But if the reader be sceptical, let 
 him refer to any one who has resided in Portugal. 
 
 As the author had at first no other intention 
 than that of illustrating his few drawings by short 
 MS. notices, the volume, into which these have 
 
 a 2 
 
Vlll 
 
 INTRODUCTION* 
 
 gradually swelled, can boast, he fears, of little 
 connection or order; and, as he has had no dispo¬ 
 sition to inflict a longer work on the world, much, 
 he is aware, has been left unsaid on the customs 
 of the Portuguese in private life. But he regrets 
 this omission the less that the subject has been 
 noticed by others ; and he has preferred rather 
 to confine himself to topics, which have been alto¬ 
 gether neglected by former writers. 
 
 Regarding two subjects into which he has en¬ 
 tered, the author desires, however, to be permit¬ 
 ted to offer a few words of explanation in the 
 outset. The fair authoress of some late Letters 
 from Portugal * has in her preface declared her 
 principle, that “ the whole truth should not 
 
 V / 
 
 always be told —a principle fully justified, in her 
 case, by the sensitive and delicate feelings which 
 are the sweetest charm of her sex. But upon the 
 male observer in that country, a similar obligation 
 of silence cannot in an equal degree be imposed. 
 
 * Lisbon in the years 1821, 1822, and 1823. By Ma¬ 
 rianne Baillie. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IX 
 
 He must witness many scenes which the delicacy 
 of an Englishwoman will be spared; he may 
 mark many things, from which she would shrink 
 with aversion and shame; and he can without im¬ 
 propriety enter into details of habits and circum¬ 
 stances, to which modesty will not even permit 
 her to allude. Of the customs of a country like 
 Portugal, no delicate Englishwoman can be a full 
 and exact reporter ;—and the author trusts that 
 the most fastidious reader will not be offended at 
 delineations of manners, which are more gross 
 than the sketches of a female hand, only because 
 they are verily in the same degree more faithful. 
 
 The author’s second point of explanation re¬ 
 lates to a more serious theme. When the Pro¬ 
 testant Christian visits Portugal, he is hourly 
 shocked by witnessing the conversion of all the 
 holiest associations of his faith, into objects of 
 gross and debasing superstition, senseless mum- 
 mery, and atrocious fraud. Our reverence for 
 sacred things revolts from their exhibition in ludi¬ 
 crous colours—still more in blasphemous distor¬ 
 tion ; and, unless justified by the object, even the 
 
X 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 relation of the fact repeats the offence. It is pro¬ 
 bably from some feeling of this kind, that the fair 
 writer above alluded to has formally interdicted 
 herself from entering into any particulars of the 
 state of religion in Portugal. But the author of 
 the following pages has judged otherwise of the 
 duties of his office. At a period like the present, 
 when the militia of the Papal Church have dan¬ 
 gerously renovated their activity, they must be 
 encountered by exposure. The Roman Catholic 
 citizens of these islands merit, perhaps, no re¬ 
 proach for the attempt to remove their civil dis¬ 
 abilities ; but when the champions of their cause 
 endeavour to make light of the distinctions of the 
 reformed faith, as an argument for the purity of 
 their own, it is right that the Protestant should 
 be empowered to judge for himself of these differ¬ 
 ences. Nor can this be done more effectually than 
 by exposing the abominations of the Romish 
 creed, and the conduct of its ministers, in a coun¬ 
 try where both have unbounded sway. With this 
 view, and satisfied of the sufficiency of his object, 
 the author has entered boldly, broadly, and fully 
 into the subject. He holds himself accountable 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 neither for the gross absurdity nor the blasphem¬ 
 ous impiety of the ceremonies which he is called 
 upon to describe: but, sincerely attached to the 
 pure and reformed faith of this happy land, he is 
 anxious utterly to disclaim any design of indecent 
 levity, and earnestly to deprecate the probability 
 of his motives being mistaken. 
 
 It only remains for the author to add, that the 
 drawings in the present volume are all by him¬ 
 self:—with the exception of the three which treat 
 of military and civil executions. Those were 
 given to the author by a gentleman who had re¬ 
 ceived them as a present from a British officer, an 
 eye witness to the facts of which they are de¬ 
 scriptive. The author felt the more happy at this 
 valuable acquisition, from the circumstance of his 
 being able to vouch for their accuracy, he also 
 having been present in the very same scenes; and 
 he trusts that their insertion in this little work 
 will only be viewed by that officer (if it should 
 ever meet his eye) as a testimony of the author’s 
 esteem for his talents. 
 

 
 
 
 
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CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 COSTUMES OF LISBON. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Female Chesnut Roaster—Marine Soldier—Gallego or 
 Water-Carrier—Estimate of the Virtues attributed to 
 that Race—Some notable Instances of their Fidelity 
 and Catholic Scruples—And of their Forbearance also 
 —Groupe in a Balcony—Favourite Portuguese Occu¬ 
 pation—Tendeira or Female Huckster—Soldier sell¬ 
 ing Fish—Ilhavo Fisherman—Lisbon Beggar—Bar¬ 
 ber’s Shop—Monk—Story of Prince Waldeck—Morals 
 of the Portuguese Friars—Their unbounded Influence 
 —Story of a pretended Miracle at Evora—Its Detec¬ 
 tion—Fearful Tyranny in the Interior of Monasteries 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 3 * • • -j . ^ f I * • • • * » • ■ '* ' ‘ ' : * 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Quays and Landing Places—Boatmen of the Tagus— 
 Natives of the Algarves, the most Expert—Description 
 of Boats used on the River—Molettas—Faluas—Their 
 
XIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Grotesque Decorations — Straw Boats — Water-side 
 People—Their infamous Character—Family of Cut¬ 
 throats—Adventure with one of them—Fine Quay of 
 the Terreiro do Pa^o—Custom House—And other 
 Public Buildings—Royal Marine Arsenal—State of 
 the Portuguese Navy—A first rate Ship of the Line 
 —Her curious Outfit—Story of her Voyage to the 
 Brazils • • • .. 29 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Largo do Pelourinho—Caes do Sodre—Embarkation of 
 the French Troops after the Convention of Cintra— 
 Atrocities committed against them by the Populace of 
 Lisbon—Horrible Barbarity of a Woman—Fanaticism 
 of the Lisbon Rabble—Narrow Escape of a Barbary 
 Jew from their Fury—Ribeira Nova—Fish Market— 
 Fishermen of the Tagus—Mode of harpooning Fish by 
 Torch-light—Catraios or Passage-boats—Fowling Par¬ 
 ties on the Tagus—Bathing, a favorite Amusemen! of 
 all Orders in Portugal—Bathing Parties of Ladies and 
 Gentlemen—Description of them—a fortunate Re¬ 
 source—Want of Cleanliness of all Classes in other 
 Respects* ..... 49 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Absence of pictorial and poetical Taste in Portugal— 
 Convent of Alcantara—Disaster of a Nun—Church of 
 S. Amaro, the Patron of the Gallegos—Votive Offer¬ 
 ings to his Shrine—Rope House—Square of Belem 
 —Royal Riding House—Queen’s Gardens—Mana- 
 gerie—Queen’s Palace—Cruel Fate of the Mar¬ 
 quess of Tavora and his Family—Iniquity of the Je¬ 
 suits—Monastery of Belem of the Order of S. Jero¬ 
 nimo—Belem Castle—Health Office—Geographical 
 Learning of its Officers—Church of the Memoria—Its 
 beautiful Situation—Museum—Royal Palace of the 
 Ajuda — Its gigantic Proportions—Impossibility of 
 completing it ....... 69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Buenos Ayres—Limits of this Quarter of Lisbon—Beauty 
 of the Prospect from thence—Grandeur of the Tagus 
 —Signal Station—Sebastianistas—Error of a fair Tra¬ 
 veller respecting that absurd Sect—Story of King Se¬ 
 bastian—His early Reign—His rash Love of Enter¬ 
 prise—His Expedition to Africa—Vain Attempts to dis¬ 
 suade him from undertaking it—Amount of his Forces 
 —His first Operations in Africa—Battle of the Luco 
 —Defeat, Capture, and probable Death of Sebastian— 
 Various Opinions on his Fate—Belief of the Sebas¬ 
 tianistas that he will yet appear on Earth .......... 87 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Church and Monastery of S. Joao de Deos—Exhibition 
 of Saints on the Day of All Souls—Palace of Janellas 
 Verdes—Convent and Church of 0 Cora^ao de Jesus 
 —Grandeur and Magnificence of these Edifices—De¬ 
 scription of them—Hospital of the British Factory— 
 English Burying-ground and Chapel—Monastery of 
 St. Domingos at Bern Fica—Its splendid Endowments 
 —Sepulchre of the Hero, Don John de Castro—His 
 Epitaph—Some Account of his Exploits and Charac¬ 
 ter—His early Life—His Vice-royalty in India—Heroic 
 Defence of Dio—Don John pawns his Whiskers—His 
 Letter to the People of Goa—His notable Piety—Dis¬ 
 covery of the miraculous Cross of Meliapor—Drawing 
 of it sent to Don Sebastian—Close of Don John de 
 Castro’s career—Dying Speech of the Hero ........ 105 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS OF LISBON. 
 
 Church of S. Roque—Cathedral Church of S. Antonio 
 —Veracious Legends of that Saint—His prodigious 
 Reputation at this Day—Curious Treatment which 
 the Saint sometimes receives—Convent of N. S a . da 
 Graqa—Blasphemous Legends attached to it—Pro¬ 
 cession of the Pa 90 s da Graqa—Penitents who ac¬ 
 company it—Entertainments usual after its Passage 
 — Corpos d’agua — Procession of the Corpo de 
 Deos — Its Magnificence — Figure and Equipage 
 of S. George—The Saint a Brigadier in the Portu- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xvii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 guese Service — Procession of S. Antonio—Numer¬ 
 ous Images of Saints which attend it—S. Fran¬ 
 cisco de Paula and his Stigmata—Another goodly Le¬ 
 gend of S. Antonio—Procession of S. Bento—Re¬ 
 markable for the pantomimic Exhibition of the Story 
 of Abraham and Isaac—Procissao do Dessacato — 
 Teredo, or Evening Hymn to the Virgin in the Streets 
 —Fine vocal Music—Procession of our Lady of Pains 
 —Burlesque religious Procesions:—That of the Obse¬ 
 quies of Bacalhao (or Salt Fish) after Lent, and ano¬ 
 ther of the Artisans at Michaelmas—Curious Spirit 
 shewn in these Mummeries....*. 129 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PORTUGUESE EQUIPAGES. 
 
 Low State of the useful Arts in Portugal—Sege, or 
 Chaise, almost the only kind of Carriage in Use—Its 
 clumsy Construction—Digression on Flies—Hackney 
 Sege—Rate of Hire—'Insolence of Drivers—Equipages 
 of the Nobility—Carriage Mules—Royal Breed of the 
 Ra^a d’Alter—Mode of foddering Animals in Portugal 
 —Cruel Custom of obliging them to sleep standing— 
 Peculiar Disease incident to Animals in this Climate— 
 Stable Retinue of a Fidalgo—Numerous Ruffians har¬ 
 boured in noble Residences—Shameless Immunity from 
 Justice—Instance of the Effects of this — Hopeful 
 Education of young Fidalgos—Laquaios and Stable- 
 boys their Companions—Their Equestrian Feats— 
 Costume of a Portuguese noble Dandy—Taste of the 
 
XV111 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Portuguese Nobles for the Fine Arts—Anecdote— 
 Noble Privilege of Aposentadoria—Description and 
 Enormity of the Abuse—King Pedro the Cruel—His 
 rigorous- Impartiality—His strange Administration of 
 retributive Justice—Numerous Households of the Fi- 
 dalgos—Their mean Economy—Their Pride—Pedi¬ 
 gree of the House of Da Costa—Portuguese Titles 
 and Modes of Address ... • • • .... 153 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 S * l I <» * ? * 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE COURT. 
 
 Court of Don Joao VI. at Rio—Days of the Beijamao 
 or kissing of Hands—Account of the Ceremonial— 
 
 The Royal Family of Portugal—Universal Reception of 
 Petitions by the King—Gross Abuse of this paternal 
 Condescension—Devotion of the King—Hypocrisy of 
 his Suitors—Exquisite Music of the Royal Chapel— 
 
 The Patriarch of Lisbon—Account of his State and 
 Dignity—His ^Palace and immense Revenues—De¬ 
 scription of his Equipage—Miracle lately worked by 
 the Virgin to save the Life of the Patriarch •••••••• 173 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 PORTUGUESE MANNERS, FEMALE DRESS, &C. 
 
 Dress of the lower Orders of Women—Their fine Hair— 
 
 Want of Cleanliness—Habits of Seclusion of all Classes 
 of Females—Mode of carrying on amatory Correspon¬ 
 dence—Going to Mass—Coquettish Adjustment of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Dress—Graceful Step-Fine Eyes of the Portuguese 
 Women—Conduct of both Sexes at Mass—Amorous 
 Susceptibility of the Portuguese—Love Affairs—In¬ 
 effectual Vigilance of Parents—Custom of immuring 
 Daughters in Convents—Curious Law in Favor of 
 Lovers—A Love Tale—Fate of the Parties—Street 
 Costumes of Females—The universal Capote—Its 
 convenient Covering—Anecdote of the Capote— 
 Roda, or Foundling Hospital—Infanticide—A Story 
 from Portuguese Life...... • 185 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SOME PORTUGUESE CUSTOMS. 
 
 Accouchement of a Portuguese Lady—The Aid of the 
 Saints solicited—Numerous Families—Disposition of 
 
 Property—Fraternal Affection and filial Piety of the 
 
 / 
 
 Portuguese—Daily Habits of grateful Devotion—As 
 Trindades—Universal Prayer at Noon—Ave Marias— 
 Blessing on Sneezing—Habits of Gallantry and Po¬ 
 liteness—Violent Gesticulations—Charitable Feelings 
 of the People—Beggars—Salutations to Acquaint¬ 
 ances and Strangers—Forms of Address on Letters— 
 Fondness of Portuguese Women for Lapdogs and 
 Parrots—Grossness of the Portuguese in Conversation 203 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PORTUGUESE AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 Gambling—Music — Modinhas—W altzes — Landums— 
 
 The Guitar—Character of the Modinha—Example of 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 one from the famous Composer Vidigal—Eccentricity 
 and Violence of Vidigal—Bontempo, the Portuguese 
 Mozart—Character of his Pieces — Dancing—The 
 English • Country-dance — Quadrilles — Minuets — 
 Game of Forfeits—Enigmas—The Carnival—Its Dul- 
 ness—Carnival Frolics of the middle Classes—Brutal 
 and unmeaning Jests of the Rabble—Waste of 
 Oranges—Ash-Wednesday—Gloom and Fanaticism 
 —Bull Fights—Account of a remarkable one—The 
 Champion a Negro—His Dexterity and Courage—His 
 unfortunate Fate—Absurd Combat between a Cornish 
 Tailor and a Bull—Burricados or Donkey-parties.... 217 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PORTUGUESE FUNERALS. 
 
 Procession of the Host to a dying Person—Joined by all 
 Passengers—Intrusion of the Rabble into the Chamber 
 of the Dying—Beneficent Results expected from this 
 —Bodies laid in State—Ceremony of Interment—Fu¬ 
 neral Service—Chaunt of the De Profundis—Its im¬ 
 pressive Character—Interment of the poorer Classes— 
 Revolting Usage—Pernicious Custom of burying in 
 Churches in so hot a Climate—Funeral Invitation— 
 Bodies of the Poor exposed to collect Alms for their 
 Funeral Expences—Cupidity of the Priests—Office of 
 the Brotherhood of the Misericordia—Contempt of the 
 Portuguese Rabble for burial by Charity ... 235 
 
* 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 xx i 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE ARMY, &C. 
 
 - TAGE 
 
 A Portuguese Soldier under Sentence of Death—Hu¬ 
 mane Treatment of the Condemned—Its Abuse by the 
 Friars—Ceremonial of Executions — Scene of the 
 Kind sketched on the Ground—Portuguese Militia 
 —Soldierlike Appearance of these Corps—Military 
 Punishments—The Pranxada, or Blows with the flat 
 of the Sabre—Military Surgeons—Their former De¬ 
 gradation—Low State of the Surgical and Medical 
 Arts in Portugal—Laws regulating the Profession— 
 Instance of Chirurgical Ignorance—Excellent Cha¬ 
 racteristics of the Portuguese Soldier—Rareness of 
 Crime—Vigour of the military Power in aid of the 
 civil—Inertness of the civil Power—Aggravated by 
 the Reluctance of the People to give Evidence against 
 Criminals Absurd Law of the late Queen forbidding 
 the capital Punishment of Women—Flagrant Instance 
 of its pernicious Effects—Corrupt Administration of 
 the Laws—Examples of this—Religious and Military 
 Orders of Knighthood in Portugal—The most ancient, 
 that of Aviz—Order of S. Jago da Espada—Its De¬ 
 basement—Instance of this —Order of Christ_All 
 
 these Orders exclusively for Catholics—Institution of 
 the Order of the Tower and Sword for Protestants— 
 Ancient Order of Aza—Eagerness of the Portuguese 
 for Chivalric Decorations—Their Abuse—Degraded 
 State of the Portuguese Army before the Reforms in¬ 
 troduced by British Influence 
 
 b 
 
 251 
 
xxn 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE, FURNITURE, GARDENS, &C. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Clumsy Construction of Portuguese Houses—Their Form 
 —Gardens—Ingenious Modes of watering them— 
 Ornamental Architecture—Frescos—Palace of the 
 Marquis of Louie—Its Destruction—Portuguese Fur¬ 
 niture—Fantastic Tiling—Street Saints 273 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 NEGROES OF LISBON. 
 
 Sketch of a Group of Negroes begging Alms for the 
 Feast of the black Virgin of Atalaya—Belief that the 
 Virgin was black—And S. Antonio also—That Saint a 
 Captain in the Regiment of Lagos—-Application of the 
 Clergy for the Saint’s Promotion—Landun or Negro 
 Dance—Extravagant Passion of the Portuguese for this 
 Dance—Description of it, as performed among the 
 higher Orders—Festival of N. S. D’ Atalaya—Negro 
 Sermon—Anecdote of Negro Friars at Rio de Janeiro 283 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 NEGROES OF THE BRAZILS, &C. 
 
 Importation of Negroes into the Brazils—Their miserable 
 Condition—Slave Shop at Rio de Janeiro—A Merchant 
 from the Minas bargaining for Negroes—Anecdote— 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xxiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Cruel Manner of marking Slaves—Runaway Negroes 
 —Good Fortune of Negroes retained for domestic Ser¬ 
 vice at Rio—Policy of the Brazilian Government in 
 promoting Negroes to Dignities—Religious Houses of 
 Negroes—Heterogeneous Mixture of Blood in the 
 Brazils—Women of Colour—Their vindictive Quali¬ 
 ties—Negro Assassins—Cruelty of Negroes to Infe- 
 
 \ 
 
 riors of their own Colour—Frightful Diseases of the 
 Brazils—Humanity of Portuguese Families to their 
 Negroes—Condition of Negroes very different in Por¬ 
 tugal—Nameless Offices imposed on them—Curious 
 and pleasing Instance of the Interchange of Kindness 
 between a Portuguese and a Negro Woman. 295 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SALOIOS OR PORTUGUESE PEASANTRY. 
 
 Going to the Lisbon Market—Delicious Fruits of the 
 Country—Other Articles of rural Produce—Cheese— 
 Cream—Poultry—Game—Market Peasantry, obliged 
 to travel by Night—Habit thus acquired of telling the 
 Hours by the Heavens—Mode of Hawking rural Pro¬ 
 duce about the Lisbon Streets—Saloios returning from 
 Market—Usual Food of the Peasantry—Excellent 
 Qualities of this athletic Race—Superiority of their 
 Character to that of all'other Classes in Lisbon—Sa- 
 loias or Female Peasants—Personal Appearance— 
 Custom of employing them as Nurses—Their trouble¬ 
 some Character—Subsequent Right of Free Quarters 
 —Their Superstition and Love of the Marvellous—• 
 
 b 2 
 
XXIV 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Mischievous Effects upon Children—Costume of the 
 Saloias—Equipages of their market Burros (donkeys) 
 
 —Pastoral Simplicity of the Portuguese Peasantry— 
 Generosity of Heart—Patriotism of the Lavradores or 
 Farmers in the lastWar—Primaeval Rudeness of Portu¬ 
 guese Agriculture—Treading out the Corn—Wine¬ 
 making—Course of the Process—Bullock Cars—Their 
 rude Construction—Abominable Groaning and Squeak¬ 
 ing of the Axle-trees—Partiality of the Peasants for 
 the Sound—Music of the Peasantry—Doleful Love 
 Ditties—Repartee of a Saloia . 315 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PORTUGUESE VILLAGES, PRODUCTIONS OF THE COUNTRY, 
 
 &C. 
 
 Peculiar Appearance of a Portuguese Hamlet—Rural 
 Architecture—Village Churches—Grotesque Images 
 on their Altars—N. S. da Conqei^ao—An Object of 
 universal Worship in Portugal—The Virgin, a great 
 Worker of Miracles—Two curious Samples of these— 
 Veneration of the Portuguese Villagers for the Stork— 
 TheirVirtuesnot attributable to theirPastors—Infamous 
 Profligacy of the parish Priesthood—Instances of this 
 —Aspect of the Country north of the Tagus—And of 
 the southern Provinces—The Oak—The Cork Tree— 
 
 The Olive—Various Fruits—The Portuguese famous for 
 their delicious Sweetmeats—Chilacayota Bolo Podre— 
 Aguardente, the only spirituous Liquor drunk in Por¬ 
 tugal—Lemonade—Capillaire—Attempt to introduce 
 Beer ...... 333 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 xxv 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 POLITICAL CONSPIRACY AT LISBON IN 1817. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Secrecy of State Trials in Portugal—Discovery of the 
 Conspiracy of 1817—Its Particulars never promul¬ 
 gated—Secret Trial of the Offenders—Preparation for 
 their Execution—Difficulty of procuring a Hangman 
 —Impunity of a Wretch convicted of twelve Murders 
 —His Story—A Hangman brought from Oporto— 
 Morning of the Execution—Dress of the Condemned 
 —Procession to the Gallows—Wretched Appearance 
 of the Prisoners—Particulars of their Sentence—Good 
 Feeling of the Portuguese People—General Repug¬ 
 nance to witness the Execution—Sketch of the whole 
 Scene—Pinto, one of the condemned—His Agony of 
 Despair—Revolting Mode of Execution—Cabral, an¬ 
 other Conspirator; his Terror of Death—Tardiness of 
 the Executions—Exhaustion of the last Sufferers—Ap¬ 
 prehension of a Rising of the People—Tumult—Pro¬ 
 cess of burning the Bodies of the Condemned . 347 
 
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Directions to the Binder how to place the Plates . 
 
 No. to face page 
 
 1. Costumes of Lisbon .. 3 
 
 2. Quay at Belem . 31 
 
 3. Straw Boats unloading ... 36 
 
 4. Party bathing in the Tagus* .. 64 
 
 5. All Souls’ Day—Exhibition of Saints in the Convent 
 
 of S. Joao de Deos* ••••••« .. 108 
 
 6. Procession of the Senhor dos Pa 9 ©s da Gra^a • • • • 138 
 
 7. S. Francisco de Paula, in the Procession of S. An¬ 
 
 tonio .... •••••• •••• 144 
 
 8. Sege, or Lisbon Chaise .... 155 
 
 9. Don Joa6 VI.’s Court-Day at Rio Janeiro ••••••#• 175 
 
 10. Party at Rio .... 180 
 
 Modinha of the famous Vidigal..... 221 
 
 11. A Portuguese Funeral ..242 
 
 12. Portuguese Military Execution.. 254 
 
 13. Patrol of Portuguese Cavalry. 264 
 
 14. Negroes begging for the Festival of N. S. d’ Atalaya 285 
 
 15. Slave Shop at Rio de Janeiro. 298 
 
 16. Saloia (female Peasant) hawking Fruit .......... 317 
 
 17. Saloios returning from Market • •. . ... 320 
 
 18. Peasants of Foz de Aronce—Prov. of Beira •••••• 340 
 
 19. Execution of the Conspirators of 1817—No. 1. 349 
 
 20. Execution of the Conspirators of 1817—No. 2..,.. 358 
 
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CHAPTER I 
 
 COSTUMES OF LISBON. 
 
 FEMALE CHESNUT-ROASTER—MARINE SOLDIER-GALLEGO 
 
 OR WATER-CARRIER-ESTIMATE OF THE VIRTUES ATTRIBUTED 
 
 TO THAT RACE-SOME NOTABLE INSTANCES OF THEIR FIDELITY 
 
 AND CATHOLIC SCRUPLES-AND OF THEIR FORBEARANCE ALSO 
 
 -GROUP IN A BALCONY-FAVORITE PORTUGUESE OCCUPATION 
 
 -TENDEIRA OR FEMALE HUCKSTER-SOLDIER SELLING FISH- 
 
 ILIIAVO FISHERMAN-LISBON BEGGAR-BARBER^ SHOP-MONK 
 
 —STORY OF PRINCE WALDECK-MORALS OF THE PORTUGUESE 
 
 FRIARS—THEIR UNBOUNDED INFLUENCE-STORY OF A PRE¬ 
 TENDED MIRACLE AT EVORA-ITS DETECTION-FEARFUL TY¬ 
 
 RANNY IN THE INTERIOR OF MONASTERIES. 
 
 B 
 

 
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 11 • 1 A • r • >. i V -in* 
 
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CHAPTER I. 
 
 COSTUMES OF LISBON. 
 
 As the nature of the following sketches does not 
 restrict me to the observance of any particular 
 arrangement, I shall indulge my caprice by at 
 once setting my reader down in the streets of 
 Lisbon, and introducing him to the group in the 
 accompanying plate. In describing these goodly 
 personages, I shall take them in the order in which 
 they stand, from left to right, with the exception 
 of the monk, whom I shall speak of lastly, having 
 more than one word to say about him and his fra¬ 
 ternity. 
 
 The woman, who is sitting cross-legged holding 
 a distaff and spindle in her left hand, and fanning 
 her earthen stove (fogareiro) with her right, is 
 a chesnut-roasting damsel, in the vicinity of whose 
 post are generally to be seen some lounging gal- 
 legos waiting there for employment, owing to the 
 facility offered them of lighting their segars at her 
 coal fire. There is nothing very particular to be 
 said respecting these females, further than that no 
 people in the world roast chesnuts half so well. 
 
 b 2 
 
4 
 
 MARINE SOLDIER. 
 
 The soldier, who is seen igniting his paper- 
 wrapped segar, belongs to the corps of marines. 
 They are the most unsoldier-like troops in the 
 country, the privates being composed chiefly of the 
 scum of Lisbon: undersized, puny, awkward-look¬ 
 ing fellows, who have been rejected in the enlist¬ 
 ments made for the fine corps of the line. Neither 
 their uniform nor tactics underwent any change 
 during the late war, owing to their never having 
 been under that influence which worked such 
 wonders of amelioration in the army. They can 
 nevertheless boast of having amongst them several 
 officers of no small merit: particularly colonel the 
 Chev. F • • • *, a man of excellent abilities and of 
 highly cultivated mind, to whom Portugal, and I 
 may say the whole of civilized Europe, is indebted 
 for the best surveys of the coast of that country. 
 I have also learned from an officer, who formerly 
 was personally acquainted with the chevalier, that 
 he has very properly been entrusted with the di¬ 
 rection of the studies of the college of nobles, and 
 with the charge of the military archives of the 
 country. 
 
 Next in scenic order to the marine, comes the 
 gallego (water-carrier): a class of people so much 
 
 Ti 
 
 extolled by many of our countrymen who have 
 visited Lisbon, for their great honesty and general 
 
GALLEGOS. 
 
 5 
 
 good character. Had this eulogy been attempted 
 in any other manner than by drawing comparisons 
 betwixt them and the lower orders of Portuguese, 
 I should have said nothing to the contrary; but 
 as it has been done to the great injury and depre¬ 
 ciation of the latter, I shall endeavour to shew, 
 that if the Portuguese rabble have their vices, they 
 are not likely to improve by the importation of 
 their Gallician neighbours, who are perhaps less 
 squeamish in the commission of enormous crimes 
 than the natives themselves. Lest I should be 
 suspected of saying this, merely for the sake of 
 contradicting those who have lauded them to the 
 skies, I shall proceed to cite a few instances in 
 support of what I have advanced, and shall more¬ 
 over shew that the humility which they all exhibit 
 in public, even when insulted and maltreated, is 
 nothing more than the effect of their servile occu¬ 
 pations, and that they are in reality as vindictive 
 and as choleric in their temperament as most in¬ 
 habitants of warm climates. 
 
 They have been described as executing with 
 unequalled fidelity and exactness, whatever busi¬ 
 ness they may be employed in: I agree perfectly 
 with their eulogists, and will add that they are 
 very devout catholics. 
 
 A gallego was sent for by a fidalgo, who aware 
 
6 
 
 GALLEGOS, 
 
 of his fidelity, unburthened his mind to him by 
 saying that a certain individual was obnoxious to 
 him. The good-natured gallego understood the 
 hint; the price agreed upon was a moidore; and 
 Senhor Mendez declared that his excellency’s 
 enemy should not witness the setting of the sun. 
 The fid algo rose from his seat, embraced his Gal- 
 lician friend with rapture, and insisted on his 
 partaking of some “ vacca com arros” on which 
 he was just dining. Mendez recoiled with horror 
 at the proposition, and exclaimed, “ Your excel¬ 
 lency little knows my principles if he conceives me 
 capable of eating beef on a Friday.” 
 
 I was walking one day through the Largo do 
 Corpo Santo, and observed a multitude of people 
 stopping their noses with their handkerchiefs, and 
 looking towards a corner house, under the win¬ 
 dows of which the police had placed a line of 
 burning pitch barrels, with a view of purifying the 
 air, which was strongly impregnated with the 
 miasma arising from the carcase of an unfortunate 
 foreign charlatan, the soi-disant Baron de R. It 
 appeared that his faithful gallego, together with 
 a soldier of the regiment, had been employed 
 to murder him for the moderate price of about a 
 pound sterling each. They were soon detected, 
 and as soon liberated, by the interest of a female 
 
OR WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 7 
 
 relation of the latter, who was a kept mistress of 
 the confessor to the-family. 
 
 A few years previous to the organization of the 
 police cavalry and infantry by the Count de No- 
 vion, (an officer of great merit, and who is at this 
 moment living in a corner of Brittany, neglected 
 by those of whom he deserves a better recom¬ 
 pense) the number of atrocities committed at all 
 hours of the day elicited an order of government, 
 prohibiting the carrying about any species of arms, 
 and empowering the civil patrols to stop and 
 consider as murderers any who should be found to 
 infringe this law. 
 
 An unfortunate man of good family, returning 
 home from playing a rubber of ca^no, had, owing 
 to the loneliness of his road, provided himself with 
 a rapier, which he took care to hide under his ca¬ 
 pote. He had proceeded about half way, when 
 he was attacked by one of those pests of the Lis¬ 
 bon streets, a large dog. He naturally drew his 
 sword in self-defence, and sheathed it in his ene¬ 
 my’s entrails. At that unlucky moment, the pa¬ 
 trol appeared at the corner of the street; and 
 the gentleman, apprehending the consequences of 
 being found with arms upon him, hastened to 
 conceal himself. The guardians of the night, ob¬ 
 serving one who had the appearance of wishing to 
 
8 
 
 GALLEGOS, 
 
 avoid them, followed him quickly; upon which he 
 slunk into a corridor, groped about in the dark, 
 and ascended the staircase to the first floor, where 
 he found a door upon the jar which gave way at 
 his touch. Extreme fear prompted him to enter 
 the room and conceal himself in a corner of it. 
 In the meanwhile the patrol had provided them¬ 
 selves with a lanthorn and followed his footsteps 
 to his hiding place, where to their mutual horror, 
 and to his utter consternation, a murdered woman 
 was discovered in bed in a corner of the room, 
 t Presumptive evidence was so strong against 
 him, being found there with a bloody sword under 
 his cloak, that notwithstanding every effort was 
 made by his friends to save him, he (having no 
 female relation on footings of intimacy with any 
 confessor) was executed. A few years afterwards 
 a gallego, on the point of death in the hospital of 
 S. Jose, acknowledged being the real murderer, 
 and that he had been hired for the purpose at the 
 usual price. : 
 
 One more instance may not perhaps be thought 
 too much (out of a thousand I could cite) to shew 
 the zeal and usefulness of gallegos, whatever be 
 their allotted task. An individual, who had 
 amassed a good fortune in the Goa and Mozam¬ 
 bique trade, was living in the capital with a mu- 
 
OR WATER-CARRIERS. 
 
 9 
 
 latto woman; but her charms ceasing to have 
 their wonted influence over his heart, he paid his 
 addresses to a young lady in that quarter of Lis¬ 
 bon called the Magdalena. Every arrangement 
 was made for his marriage with the new object of 
 his affections, and the day was even appointed; 
 but on the eve of it, the mulatto, actuated by the 
 strongest jealousy, hired a gallego, who, for a 
 reward of five moidores, agreed to set fire to the 
 young bride’s house, which he effected very cle¬ 
 verly. But the circumstance which most asto¬ 
 nished the neighbours was, that the families occu¬ 
 pying the first and second floors had full time to 
 save themselves and even made every effort to 
 awaken their fellow lodgers above stairs, but with- 
 
 t 
 
 out effect: whence it was naturally inferred that 
 the good gallego, from motives of pure humanity, 
 and to spare the mother, daughter, and maid¬ 
 servant the pains of burning, had begun his work 
 by cutting all their throats. This man died also 
 in an hospital; but obtained absolution, having 
 proved that he had applied one moidore of the 
 money thus earned, in causing masses to be said 
 for the souls of his victims. I have one word more 
 to say on the subject of the forbearance of the 
 gallegos ; and then I hope to have done with that 
 class for the present* 
 
10 
 
 GALLEGOS. 
 
 On a winter’s night in 1818 , at the moment 
 when the amusements at the theatre of Boa Hora 
 were just ended, and the spectators were return¬ 
 ing home, a man addressed a gallego, who was 
 coming towards him with a segar in his mouth, 
 and requested permission to light his with it. 
 The water-merchant obstinately refused him the 
 favor, which so incensed the Portuguese that he 
 gave him a slap in the face ; upon which the for¬ 
 bearing gallego drew his knife and thrust it into 
 his unarmed antagonist’s belly. I saw him lying 
 dead in the Belem-square guard-room on the fol¬ 
 lowing morning. An old veteran serjeant com¬ 
 manding the guard, piquing himself upon his ex¬ 
 perience in matters of sword wounds, had at¬ 
 tempted to console the poor creature with assur¬ 
 ances of “ Nao he nada” (it is nothing); then 
 poking in the protruded intestines with his finger, 
 he stitched up the hole with a needle and thread; 
 hut without effect, the principal intestine having 
 
 t 
 
 been divided. After this I trust that gallegos 
 will be allowed to find their own level in society, 
 and cease to be extolled at the expense of those, 
 in whose country they find employment and sup¬ 
 port. 
 
 Our group in the balcony will require very 
 little to be said about it. The occupation which 
 
SOLDIER SELLING FISH. 
 
 11 
 
 we there observe is a favorite one with both 
 sexes (of the lower and middling orders) but par¬ 
 ticularly with the fair, who regard it as one of 
 the greatest possible luxuries; and young chil¬ 
 dren are often seen practising it on dogs and cats, 
 by way of apprenticeship. The woman at the 
 door of the tenda, or grocer’s shop, is of the lower 
 order, and is called a tendeira. Her stock in 
 trade consists chiefly of bacalhao (salt fish) oil, 
 wine, cheese, strings of garlic, &c.: of late years 
 some of her class sell tea, but mustard is still only 
 to be found in the apothecaries’ shops. 
 
 The man who, in a stooping posture, displays 
 to the tendeira the fish in his baskets, is a soldier 
 of the regular infantry, who having paid one of 
 his comrades to mount guard in his stead, is per¬ 
 mitted to follow the avocation, by which he earned 
 his living previous to his enlistment. This cus¬ 
 tom, truly Portuguese in its origin, has not been 
 found at all prejudicial to discipline, and has this 
 advantage, that the common soldiers are always 
 in good circumstances even when the treasury is 
 unable to pay regularly; whereas the officers, 
 most of whom are said to have very little fortune 
 besides their military appointments, are often re¬ 
 duced to great straits. I have even been assured by 
 
12 ILHAVO FISHERMAN. 
 
 individuals who have served in the late Portuguese 
 army that, on some occasions, they have been as 
 much as a twelvemonth in arrears. Notwith¬ 
 standing this, both officers and men are invariably 
 exceedingly well-dressed, and have the most mar¬ 
 tial and soldier-like appearance. However great 
 the distress occasioned by the retardment of pay, 
 no officer was ever known to descend from his dig¬ 
 nity to the commission of a dishonorable action. 
 Indeed I never heard or knew of an instance of 
 swindling in that army:—save one, when the chap¬ 
 lain of a corps absconded with a mule belonging 
 to a friend of mine. This, however, I must con- 
 fess did not much surprise me; he being a monk, 
 and having moreover been some years ago sus¬ 
 pended for a time from saying mass, for having 
 murdered a cadet of infantry, whom he had over¬ 
 heard extolling his mistress. 
 
 The man who, next to the soldier, is walking 
 off with a discontented look and gesture,- is an 
 Ilhavo fisherman, or retailer of fish; but as an 
 amiable authoress has lately described the Ilhavos 
 as interesting in their appearance and classic in 
 their dress, I shall content myself with referring 
 the reader to the representation both of their cos¬ 
 tume and figure, which I trust (having been 
 
LISBON BEGGARS. 
 
 13 
 
 drawn from nature) will enable every one to form 
 his own opinion of them : they certainly are, ge¬ 
 nerally speaking, very fine men. 
 
 I fear I shall create disgust, if I enter into a 
 description of the class to which the hero on the 
 right belongs. It is a numerous class indeed in 
 Lisbon; but less numerous and far less insolent 
 than the thousands who infest our high roads. In 
 this case I am inclined to take the part of the poor 
 Lisbon beggar : he lives entirely by the charity of 
 casual passengers; he has no parish to look to 
 for relief; no workhouse, no poorhouse, no poor- 
 rates, no Lady Bountiful in his neighbourhood to 
 raise subscriptions for him at the expense of her 
 unwilling friends, and for the building of her own 
 reputation for charity. 
 
 The shop door with a green baize curtain is 
 that of a barber, who both shaves, cuts hair, 
 bleeds, applies leeches, and draws teeth. On his 
 shop-door you read “ bixas boas” (good leeches); 
 and on each side of this inscription is seen the re¬ 
 presentation of a jar full of those useful insects. 
 I chose this shop as an excellent specimen of every 
 one which you meet with; not only in the capital 
 but all over the country. They are more easily 
 discovered than others, owing to the long pro¬ 
 jecting pole much like a flag-staff, and which is 
 
14 
 
 BARBER’S SHOP. 
 
 spirally painted red and white. It was long 
 before I could make out the meaning of this 
 ensign, but found it at last to represent the white 
 tape bandage used in phlebotomy and the pole 
 usually given to the patient to hold during the 
 operation. 
 
 The above distinguishing mark of barberism is 
 not confined to Portugal, but is in general use 
 throughout the Peninsula and the continent; and 
 I have been told that it is still to be seen in some 
 remote places in England:—a fact which I suppose 
 leaves us at liberty to infer, either that all barbers 
 were originally bleeders, or that all surgeons ori¬ 
 ginally united the depilatory and tonsorial arts to 
 their other chirurgical operations. 
 
 But to return to Portuguese barbers. I recol¬ 
 lect one near Alcantara renowned for his dexte¬ 
 rity ; and lest what I am about to relate should 
 appear to any one incredible, I beg leave to ap¬ 
 peal to those of my countrymen who may have 
 resided in Lisbon in or about the year 1809 or 
 1810, in whose memory it must be fresh. It 
 happened invariably that when a well dressed man 
 (“ homem de gravata lavada *”) came into his 
 
 * Anglice. A man with a clean neckcloth, alias a gentle¬ 
 
 man. 
 
BARBER'S SHOP. 
 
 15 
 
 shop to be shaved, he would take off his head as 
 well as his beard, let him down through the trap 
 door on which his chair had been purposely placed, 
 and be ready in a trice to repeat the operation 
 on the next customer, whilst his wife was occu¬ 
 pied in disposing of the patient’s clothes. The 
 barber (his wife being old and ugly) was in the 
 sequel executed; but she escaped capital punish¬ 
 ment by virtue of a decree made by the late 
 queen-mother, forbidding its infliction upon fe¬ 
 males. 
 
 Portuguese barbers are like those of every coun¬ 
 try, great retailers of scandal and full of small 
 talk. Having few customers during the first days 
 of the week, they are generally observed sitting 
 at or lounging about their shop doors, playing 
 or rather strumming upon a wire-strung guitar, 
 and scrutinizing the actions of every soul in their 
 neighbourhood. People addicted to chewing to¬ 
 bacco will find it economical to get shaved by 
 them instead of shaving themselves; for, as they 
 smoke myriads of segars, their thumbs are always 
 strongly impregnated with tobacco, and these 
 they never fail to introduce into the patient s 
 mouth, to produce a protuberance in the cheek, 
 and facilitate the operations of the razor. I have 
 
16 
 
 STORY OF PRINCE WALDECK. 
 
 also on many occasions admired the dexterity 
 with which (when hair-cutting), they clip in two, 
 myriads of light horse, whom they discover gal¬ 
 loping through the woody top-knots of their cus¬ 
 tomers. 
 
 Now for the ruby-nosed celibatory who is stand¬ 
 ing immediately under the ensign of “ bom vin- 
 hohe could not have chosen a more appropriate 
 spot to be sketched in, for he and his like are 
 dotingly fond of generous potations. Prince 
 Waldeck, about the year 1800, assumed the com¬ 
 mand in chief of the Portuguese troops at the re¬ 
 quest of the late queen, with a view of restoring 
 them to the discipline, in which they are said to 
 have been under marshal the count de Schom- 
 berg Lippe. The first exclamation which the 
 Prince uttered on arriving at the spot where the 
 troops were paraded, was (addressing himself to 
 the prince regent), “ Your royal highness’s sol¬ 
 diers have the mien of friars, and the latter have 
 
 that which the soldiers ought to have.” So indis- 
 
 • ■ 
 
 creet an observation, made in the presence of some 
 monks, the inseparable attendants on Portuguese 
 royalty, produced the effect which might have 
 been expected: Prince Waldeck died a few weeks 
 afterwards of the cholic , and was interred in the 
 
MORALS OF THE PORTUGUESE FRIARS. 
 
 17 
 
 English factory burying ground; where a superb 
 pyramidal monument has been erected to his 
 memory. 
 
 The monk now before us is a “ Trino” or one 
 of the Holy Trinity. A nest of friars of this order 
 may be seen near the square of Alcantara on the 
 right hand side coming from Lisbon, unless they 
 have since been hunted out, as all such vermin 
 ought to be. For I have seen them almost in 
 open day in full pursuit after dissolute females : 
 no doubt with a view of confessing them. I was 
 assured by a friend of mine that, on one occasion, 
 some foreign merchants, who were walking on the 
 quay of Sodre, disgusted (as well they might be) 
 at such conduct in a minister of religion, could 
 not refrain from expostulating with one of them; 
 upon which the shameless profligate turned round, 
 and replied by a torrent of such language and 
 gestures as I shall be careful not to attempt the 
 description of. 
 
 Affairs connected with the aggrandizement of 
 monks and monasteries so completely absorbed the 
 attention of the sovereign to the exclusion of more 
 useful and more urgent considerations, that, even 
 at the moment of the arrival of the French army on 
 the frontiers of Portugal, he was occupied with a 
 horde of filthy friars in applying every disposable 
 
 c 
 
18 
 
 THEIR UNBOUNDED INFLUENCE. 
 
 fund to the building of a set of magnificent organs 
 for the convent at Mafra; while he abandoned to 
 foreigners the office of repelling the invaders. 
 
 The tyrannical influence, which these men ex¬ 
 ercised to most unlimited lengths over the private 
 concerns and interior economy of every family, 
 was at one period of Portuguese history (not a 
 very remote one) so great, that the father of a 
 family had scarcely a vote in domestic matters. 
 The spiritual director in fact united also in his 
 person the quality of temporal adviser, or rather 
 dictator. 
 
 This evil was not confined to private families 
 alone : it existed also at court. The late queen 
 never undertook any thing without the advice of 
 her confessor, who ruled her even to the deterio¬ 
 ration of her reason *. The present king when 
 regent was likewise under ecclesiastical sway, 
 previous to the invasion of his dominions by the 
 French. A priest or padre called Joao, of suffi¬ 
 cient notoriety, was the only medium through 
 which any thing could be achieved that de- 
 
 * On the 10th March 1702, the prince of Brazil, as pre¬ 
 sumptive heir to the crown, published an edict declaring that, 
 as his mother from her unhappy situation was incapable of 
 managing the affairs of government, he would place his signa¬ 
 ture to public papers, till the return of her health. 
 
THEIR UNBOUNDED INFLUENCE. 
 
 19 
 
 pended on the royal sanction. Unless he chose 
 that it should be noticed, a petition might lie 
 upon the table until it rotted ; and great were of 
 course the abuses arising from the investment of 
 such power in the hands of ignorance, fanaticism, 
 and cupidity. Opposition to such men was vain; 
 and the only way of carrying a point was, that of 
 greasing the palms of these holy usurers, whose 
 only real god is Plutus. 
 
 I have been assured by Portuguese them¬ 
 selves that it is an invariable principle with friars, 
 when young people are placed under their spiri¬ 
 tual guidance, to begin by demoralizing them in 
 every way, for this alleged reason (the real one is 
 their own gratification), that there is no salvation 
 without repentance, that to repent one must have 
 sinned, and that therefore it is necessary to begin 
 by sinning. 
 
 I am happy, however, in thinking that the great 
 awe in which the people stood of these holy 
 tyrants, is in a measure diminishing. A proof of 
 this is, that in 1819 an edict of the cardinal-pa¬ 
 triarch forbidding the eating-house keepers to sell 
 any viands on fast days unless their customers 
 could produce certificates of illness countersigned 
 by a priest, was followed by caricatures at the 
 corners of the streets representing an ox kneeling 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 STORY OF A PRETENDED MIRACLE 
 
 before the patriarch and thanking him for his pro¬ 
 tection. 
 
 It is the duty of every man to unmask impos¬ 
 ture and villainy, wherever he meets with it. I 
 shall therefore take the opportunity, whilst speak¬ 
 ing of monks, to relate a circumstance which hap¬ 
 pened a few years previous to the war, in the 
 episcopal city of Evora, and which two thirds of 
 the present inhabitants must still remember per¬ 
 fectly,^/* they witnessed it: however incredible 
 it may appear to those who have not resided in 
 catholic countries. A nun of S ta Clara, whose 
 conduct made every one regard her as a saint, 
 (for, instead of one confessor from the adjoining 
 monastery, she had three or four) died to all 
 appearances; or rather it was given out she had 
 died. She was laid out, as is the custom, in the. 
 middle of the church; and the people were more 
 than ever convinced of her sanctity as her body 
 shewed no symptoms of seeing corruption. No 
 marks of decomposition manifested themselves; 
 and thousands of course crowded from all parts of 
 the country to witness the miracle. Hundreds of 
 cripples and invalids came to touch her garments 
 and fancied themselves cured; while others, paid 
 by the priests, pretended to be stone blind and to 
 recover their sight on merely touching her habit. 
 
AT EVORA. 
 
 21 
 
 In short, the concourse of pilgrims was so great, 
 that the infantry in garrison at Evora were obliged 
 to furnish a guard to the church door to preserve 
 order. But for this precaution it is probable that 
 the new saint would soon have been stripped of 
 her cloathes, owing to the anxiety of every one to 
 get a scrap of something belonging to her, by 
 way of a relic to guard against witchcraft, agues, 
 fevers, &c. 
 
 On the night of the third day, the sentry on 
 hearing some whispering in the church, the door 
 of which was locked and bolted, had the curio¬ 
 sity to look through the keyhole, and to his utter 
 surprise saw the saint sitting up supported by a 
 friar, whilst two or three others were bringing 
 and administering to her both eatables and drink. 
 On recovering from the surprise occasioned by the 
 unusual spectacle of a dead saint cramming with 
 all the avidity of a living one, the soldier whis¬ 
 pered the discovery to his ensign, who also con¬ 
 vinced himself by ocular demonstration of that 
 which he otherwise would have disbelieved. These 
 two men moreover heard her exclaim in a doleful 
 whisper “ Do for pity’s sake terminate this farce, 
 or I shall die of fatigue, for I feel I can no longer 
 stand it.” The fact of the matter was, that the 
 unhappy nun had been confessing too much to the 
 
22 STORY OF A PRETENDED MIRACLE; 
 
 purpose with these holy miscreants, who in order 
 to avoid the inconvenience and danger which were 
 attendant on their rendezvous with her when in 
 different establishments, had agreed to make a 
 dead saint of her and bury her to all appearances 
 in their vaults ; whereas in reality she would have 
 lived in some remote corner or hidden part of 
 their monastery to satiate their lust. By this 
 arrangement two great objects would be gained: 
 the gratification (without restraint) of their appe¬ 
 tites, and the great honor which would accrue to 
 both the monastery and convent by the production 
 of a saint. 
 
 The scheme was well laid; and, thanks to the 
 stupid ignorance and superstition of the rabble, 
 had so far been attended with success. But a 
 young officer was an unsafe person to get into the 
 secret; and the natural propensity of soldiers to 
 disbelieve miracles led those who were on guard 
 to talk loudly of what they had seen. The pub¬ 
 lication of the story was near being fatal to the 
 young officer; and a less determined character 
 would have been tempted to repent of interfering 
 in the fabrication of a saint: for he was immedi¬ 
 ately placed in confinement for daring to calum¬ 
 niate such godly persons. — The sentry was so 
 terrified with menaces of Autos da fe, sanbenitos 
 
ITS DETECTION. 
 
 23 
 
 covered with devils and flames, slow fires of brim¬ 
 stone preceded by racks, tortures, boiling pitch 
 and lead, and all the materiel in the inquisitorial 
 arsenal, that he absolutely recanted, and moreover, 
 swore that the devil, having taken umbrage at the 
 great piety of those holy men, had tempted him to 
 tell such blasphemous falsehoods. 
 
 Their attempt to carry the same point with the 
 young ensign was not so successful. He agreed 
 to appear in public and seemed ready to subscribe 
 to all their wishes; but how great was their asto¬ 
 nishment and dismay when, instead of an apology, 
 he insisted with vehemence on exposing to the 
 public how much they had been gulled. Instead 
 of tearing to pieces this obstinate blasphemer, the 
 public pitied what they considered his hallucina¬ 
 tion : besides people in Portugal are apt to look 
 twice before they proceed to commit violence on 
 the younger son of a fidalgo; so that it only re¬ 
 mained with the friars to repent heartily of their 
 want of policy, in not having wrested from him by 
 violence in private the recantation which it was so 
 necessary that he should make for their justifica¬ 
 tion. But it was now too late; and one of the 
 monks, perceiving an appearance of momentary 
 indecision upon the countenances of the spectators, 
 and feeling that it was a desperate concern, was 
 
24 
 
 STORY OF A PRETENDED MIRACLE; 
 
 observed to slink away towards the door, and dis¬ 
 appear. This created an universal murmur, upon 
 which the intrepid youth, whom neither the me¬ 
 naced artillery of the Holy Office, nor the teeth 
 and nails of a congregation of fanatics, had been 
 able to intimidate, roared out more lustily than 
 ever for a red-hot brick-bat, which being brought, 
 he applied it to the poor girl’s feet and resuscitated 
 her, thus unmasking the whole villainy of the plot. 
 
 The guilty friars were sent to the Aljuba, a 
 place of confinement for ecclesiastics; but one of 
 their objects having appeared to be the aggran¬ 
 dizement of the church, their imprisonment was 
 little more than a nominal one. It was not so 
 with the poor nun: she was immersed in a dun¬ 
 geon of the Inquisition, where, but for a personal 
 inspection of those dens by the grand inquisitor, 
 she might have passed the remainder of her life. 
 She had on this occasion the good fortune to be 
 thought pretty by this august personage, and was 
 by his order immediately removed to one of the 
 better species of cells on the first floor, most of 
 which were occupied by those females who had 
 the honour of composing his seraglio. Of the lat¬ 
 ter number, many were lovely and virtuous ladies, 
 whose only crime was their beauty. But having 
 provoked the appetite of an inquisitor w ho might 
 
25 
 
 ITS DETECTION. 
 
 / 
 
 have chanced to see them at their window, they 
 were falsely accused of Judaism, torn from the 
 arms of their husbands, and thrust into unwhole¬ 
 some dungeons, until disposed to submit to indig¬ 
 nities, too revolting for mention. 
 
 There was only one instance ever known, of one 
 of these females having recovered her liberty. I 
 shall from motives of delicacy abstain from men¬ 
 tioning her name. Suffice it to say that, although 
 she adored her husband, she never could be pre¬ 
 vailed upon to return under his roof, but took refuge 
 under that of a female relation, and if ever ques¬ 
 tioned on the subject of the Holy Office, would 
 burst into a flood of tears and give no other an¬ 
 swer. 
 
 It must not be inferred from the rule observed 
 by the Romish clergy of upholding one another in 
 cases which become public, that this good under¬ 
 standing prevails in their private concerns, within 
 the precincts of their monasteries. In the former 
 cases, the great end of throwing dust into the eyes 
 of the people unites them all, whatever may be 
 their private hates; but the latter presenting no 
 such immediate object, a scene of holy tyranny is 
 often presented, which would with difficulty be 
 credited had not the late war, by converting many 
 of those retreats into hospitals for the sick and 
 
26 
 
 FEARFUL TYRANNY IN THE INTERIOR 
 
 wounded, unveiled the mysteries of their interior 
 to so many witnesses. 
 
 The convent of Batalha (so well described by 
 Murphy) offered during the war a spectacle of the 
 kind which I have just alluded to. The French 
 troops whilst (according to custom) searching for 
 coin and hidden valuables in the subterranean 
 labyrinths of this stupendous fabric, discovered in 
 a dungeon an unfortunate old monk, whose incar¬ 
 ceration had lasted twenty-one years. It appeared 
 that by some means or other he had incurred the 
 displeasure of his superior; who made the christian- 
 like resolution of revenging himself on the first 
 favourable occasion. The wished for opportunity 
 soon presented itself; and the monk was sent at a 
 late hour of the night to the village to (ajudar 
 a bem morrer) assist at the last moments of a 
 dying sinner. A man had but a few moments be¬ 
 fore been murdered on the bridge over which he 
 had to pass; he imprudently mentioned in his 
 convent the circumstance of having seen the body; 
 and the superior taking advantage of the law by 
 which the first person found near a murdered 
 body is held responsible for his death, immured 
 him for life in the noisome hole in which he was 
 found. Habit had operated so forcibly with this 
 old man that, although restored to light and liberty. 
 
OF MONASTERIES. 
 
 27 
 
 he invariably returned every night to his former 
 prison, declaring that he could sleep no where so 
 soundly. A most intimate and particular friend 
 of mine related this anecdote to me. He belonged 
 to the troops who discovered the monk; and he 
 used to take much pleasure in conversing with 
 this victim of monastic tyranny. 
 
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 CHAPTER IT. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 QUAYS AND LANDING PLACES- BOAT-MEN OF THE 
 
 TAGUS-NATIVES OF THE ALGARVES, THE MOST EXPERT 
 
 -DESCRIPTION OF BOATS USED ON THE RLVER- MO- 
 
 LETTAS - FALUAS-THEIR GROTESQUE DECORATIONS- 
 
 STRAW-BOATS-WATER-SIDE PEOPLE-THEIR INFAMOUS 
 
 CHARACTER-FAMILY OF CUT-THROATS- ADVENTURE 
 
 WITH ONE OF THEM-FINE QUAY OF THE TERREIRO DO 
 
 PAQO-CUSTOM HOUSE—AND OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS 
 
 - ROYAL MARINE ARSENAL - STATE OF THE PORTU¬ 
 GUESE NAVY-A FIRST RATE SHIP OF THE LINE-HER 
 
 GURIOUS OUTFIT - STORY OF HER VOYAGE TO THE 
 
 BRAZILS 
 

 
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CHAPTER II. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Having thus made the reader slightly acquainted 
 with the characteristic qualities of a few of the 
 lower classes of the Lisbon population, I shall pre¬ 
 pare to lead him a long ramble through the quays 
 and streets of the capital. And I shall hope 
 to conduct his attention successively to all objects 
 in the city which are best deserving of notice. 
 Commencing our peregrinations from the Tagus, 
 along its banks, we shall land at one of the nu¬ 
 merous quays of Lisbon. As several of these 
 places of disembarkation have their peculiarities, 
 I shall enumerate them in succession. Their num¬ 
 ber and nomenclature are as follow : 
 
 1. Belem, Rua do Peixe stairs, a small landing 
 place. 
 
 2. Belem Square steps, an excellent and spa¬ 
 cious one. 
 
 3. The beach at Junqueira, opposite the patri¬ 
 arch’s house. 
 
32 
 
 QUAYS AND LANDING PLACES. 
 
 4. Another at Pampulha, called lime kiln stairs, 
 a very bad one. 
 
 5. The packet stairs, so called from its prox¬ 
 imity to the moorings of the Falmouth packets, 
 though its proper name is the rock of the Conde 
 d’Obidos, from the palace of that nobleman which 
 overhangs it. 
 
 6. The Caes de Jos4 Antonio Pereira, called by 
 our sailors the yellow house. 
 
 7. The fish market quay, or Caes da Ribeira 
 Nova, a remarkably fine landing place. 
 
 8. The Caes do Sodr6, where young Mascareu- 
 has was executed for adhering to the French party 
 in 1809, and where all the Lisbon merchants meet 
 in the afternoon, or rather evening, for the pur¬ 
 pose of communicating with each other. 
 
 9. The Caes do Terreiro do Pafo, or black-horse 
 square quay. 
 
 10. The Caes da Ribeira Velha, a very insigni¬ 
 ficant one, to avoid landing on which no one would 
 grudge going a great way round, so completely is 
 it clogged at all times with straw-boats, &c. 
 
 11. Lastly comes the Caes dos Soldados or 
 Caes da Forca, quay of the soldiers or quay of the 
 gallows. The former name is given to it from its 
 being adjacent to the artillery barracks, and the 
 latter from its being the place of execution, and 
 
BOATMEN OF THE TAGUS. 
 
 33 
 
 having in its centre a permanent tripod gallows. 
 It is also very often denominated Caes do Tojo, 
 from constantly having on it great piles of wood 
 for heating the ovens. This fuel is brought over 
 from the forests on the opposite side of the Tagus. 
 Close to this quay is a manufactory of common 
 glass, the only one in Lisbon; the whole of that 
 commerce being engrossed by an English gentle¬ 
 man, the founder of the establishment at Marinha- 
 grande, to whom the late queen granted some 
 great privileges, in consequence of the splendid 
 hospitality with which he received her majesty at 
 the above place. 
 
 The Ribeira velha is the landing place of all the 
 craft that are constantly crossing and recrossing 
 the Tagus with passengers, cattle, and merchan¬ 
 dize. Nothing can exceed the uncouthness and 
 intolerable insolence of the description of men you 
 have here to deal with, who unite with these qua¬ 
 lities the characters of thief and assassin. It is here 
 also that the boats from Villa Franca &c. come; 
 and that sole circumstance, (even were these men 
 a tolerable set before,) would suffice to make 
 devils of them; for the Portuguese themselves re¬ 
 gard as such all the people' called “ da borda 
 d’agua,” water-side folk: meaning those who na¬ 
 vigate the Tagus and inhabit the villages on its 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 ALGARVE BOATMEN. 
 
 banks. They all carry large clasp knives in their 
 girdles, in the use of which they are surprisingly 
 dexterous; and they are respected amongst one 
 another in proportion to the number of times they 
 have stabbed people. They are in general fine 
 muscular looking fellows, strongly built, with an 
 expression of savage brutality in their faces, and 
 with stentorian lungs, from the constant habit 
 which they have of abusing people on the water. 
 Their life is an exceedingly laborious one, particu¬ 
 larly when, plying against the rapid tide, they are 
 obliged to use the pole at their shoulders for six 
 hours together without resting. 
 
 As boatmen, the natives of Algarve have so 
 decided an advantage over the Portuguese in ge¬ 
 neral, that they are always preferred as rowers to 
 the government boats, such as the port admiral’s, 
 the pratique, the custom house, and many others. 
 On board men-of-war, the commander’s boat’s 
 crew are always composed of Algarvians; and the 
 royal launch which transports his majesty in his 
 river excursions is manned by natives of the same 
 province. Their fame is not confined only to 
 their native country, for, in the ports of the Medi¬ 
 terranean, they are invariably preferred; and it is 
 a well known fact that all the public boats belong¬ 
 ing to our garrison of Gibraltar are manned with 
 
MOLETTAS AND FALUAS. 
 
 35 
 
 these people. Their indefatigable qualities at the 
 exercise of rowing cannot be better illustrated 
 than by the following fact. In 1818 a Portu¬ 
 guese frigate was sent round to Leghorn, to take 
 on board the princess Leopoldina of Austria, and 
 convey her to Rio de Janeiro to her betrothed 
 husband, the present Emperor Don Pedro. 
 Whilst lying in the harbour at Leghorn, the boat's 
 crew (all Algarves) became dissatisfied at some 
 breach of promise on the part of their superiors, 
 and determined on going no farther with the fri¬ 
 gate, but on the contrary, returning to their 
 native shores. With a view to this they clubbed 
 together their means, and purchased a good long 
 escaler, with room for as many oars as there were 
 men : then providing a small stock of provisions, 
 they absolutely rowed all the way (coasting it) 
 from Leghorn to Faro in the Algarves. 
 
 The largest description of boats or barques that 
 are seen mooring near this landing place, are 
 calied molettas and faluas: both carry lateen 
 sals, either one or two according to their size; 
 aftd the difference between them consists in the 
 latter being of a more slim and elegant shape than 
 the former. The outline of their keel, from poop 
 to prow, is very similar to that of a crescent 
 rather flattened. These vessels are painted m 
 ' d 2 
 
36 
 
 STRAW-BOATS. 
 
 stripes of the most glaring colours ; the parts 
 nearest the stern have in general the representa¬ 
 tion of a pair of enormous eyes, or a dolphin, 
 dragon, serpent, &c. according to the taste of the 
 owner; and the stern, sides, and rudder, are 
 usually ornamented with daubed attempts at 
 painting Nossas Senhoras of all kinds. The extre¬ 
 mities of the stem and stern commonly terminate 
 in wooden or iron images of the above ladies, of a 
 rudeness of execution that would disgrace the 
 Otaheitans. These figures are moreover con¬ 
 stantly adorned with bunches of ribbons of all 
 colours, as are also the tops of the masts and the 
 extremities of the yards; and at the latter is 
 hoisted a pendant, bearing in large letters the 
 name of the boat’s patron saint. Previous to un¬ 
 mooring, every individual of the crew mahes on 
 his face and breast the sign of the cross, in order 
 to procure a prosperous voyage; but if the wea¬ 
 ther be exceedingly adverse, it is not unusual to 
 hear the boatmen vent their spleen upon tl.eir 
 patron saints in language too bad to mention. 
 
 The expert manner in which the straw is packed 
 on the boats employed in bringing it from Alhan- 
 dra and other places, has always attracted the 
 attention of strangers. I have given a sketch 
 made from nature, of one of the above in the act 
 
STRAW MOAT TNI.OADIN'C * BILACK WOMEN EMPTYING 
 
WATER-SIDE PEOPLE. 
 
 37 
 
 of unloading, as being a better way of convey¬ 
 ing a just idea of the thing than by a written 
 description. 
 
 The families of most of the crews of the molet- 
 tas and faluas that navigate across the Tagus, in¬ 
 habit the little villages on those shores called 
 Seixal, Amora, Coina, Moita, &c. where some of 
 the inhabitants of Lisbon have cottages for the 
 convenience of cock-shooting at the proper season. 
 These places are exceedingly unwholesome; and 
 the inhabitants are so subject to the ague, that in 
 summer time and in autumn a whole village is 
 often seen shut up, as if the plague were amongst 
 its inhabitants. The boys and even the girls of a 
 young age are here found running about stark 
 naked ; and during the summer months they pass 
 nearly the whole of the day in the water, in con¬ 
 sequence of which, and their exposure to the sun, 
 they acquire the copper colour of the Brazilian 
 native tribes. Although stripped in this manner, 
 they invariably are seen wearing round their 
 necks, rosaries, figas and relics of saints: and 
 they never omit crossing themselves previous to 
 diving into the water. By this constant immer¬ 
 sion in the river, they are, as may well be con¬ 
 ceived, excellent swimmers and expert divers, 
 even when very young. 
 
3$ FAMILY OF CUT-THROATS. 
 
 ■ The inhabitants of these places come under the 
 denomination of borda d’agua already spoken of, 
 and are any thing but pleasant people to have to 
 deal with. In the village called Coina there re¬ 
 sided a celebrated cut-throat, who, for his great 
 dexterity at that work, had acquired the surname 
 of Ferragudo or sharp iron: his wife not a whit 
 inferior to him in similar exploits and courage 
 was known by the name of Fragona, a corruption 
 of Fredegonde so notorious in French history. 
 After the death of Ferragudo, his widow used to 
 range through the forests of pines with no other 
 habiliment than a petticoat; and in this trim she 
 would present herself to lonely travellers and 
 excite their jokes on the strangeness of her ap¬ 
 pearance. Then, under the pretence of revenging 
 the affront, she would follow them full as fast as 
 their mules could go, and drawing from her waist 
 a large knife, would sacrifice them to her offended 
 modesty, not forgetting to ease their pockets of 
 what could no longer be of use to them. When 
 this useful member of society died, the waist-band 
 of her petticoat was found to contain a great 
 number of gold pieces. 
 
 This worthy pair left three sons to perpetuate 
 their race. I went once on a shooting party with 
 a couple of friends, one of whom was perfectly 
 
ADVENTURE WITH ONE OF THEM. 
 
 39 
 
 acquainted with the whole of the country on the 
 southern banks of the Tagus. We penetrated 
 into the woods in pursuit of game, and went so 
 far, that to do otherwise than pass the night 
 there, was out of the question. When looking 
 out for a spot for our bivouac, we heard some 
 goats’ bells near us, and saw at a little distance a 
 shepherd and his cabin. We naturally made towards 
 it, but very soon repented of so doing; for one of 
 my companions recognized in the person of this 
 gentle shepherd none other than the eldest son of 
 Senhora Donna Fragona, who was then conceal¬ 
 ing himself in the forest, having only a fortnight 
 before murdered his own uncle. It was too late 
 to retreat, so we craved his hospitality, which was 
 granted with the best possible grace, accompa¬ 
 nied with many regrets that our lodging was not 
 more worthy of us, &c. 
 
 This fellow was six feet at least high, with a 
 sallow pock-marked face, piercing eyes, long black 
 hair and beard of the same colour, and very broad 
 shoulders:—in short his dress and tout ensemble 
 might have afforded a fine assassin subject for a 
 painter. He insisted upon killing a young kid 
 for our supper; but all his own being either too 
 old or too young, he said he would run over to 
 the place where his brothers’ flocks were, and get 
 
40 
 
 ADVENTURE WITH ONE OF THEM. 
 
 one from them. This communicating with his 
 brothers at that hour of the night was in our esti¬ 
 mation worse than no kid at all; so we objected 
 in the strongest terms to his leaving us. It did 
 not escape his penetrating eye, that distrust of his 
 motives induced us to do so, and he repeatedly 
 observed “ You have nothing to fear, I and my 
 brothers are gente de hem , you are in honorable 
 company, &c.” But on observing me step outside 
 the cabin, he very soon followed to see what I was 
 about. He caught me in the act of loading with 
 bullets both my barrels, and asked me why I did 
 so ? Did I fear any thing ? 
 
 “ Yes, I fear the wolves.’* 
 
 “ There are none here.” 
 
 “ The barrels are now both loaded, and I shall 
 not unload them.” 
 
 He left us at about midnight notwithstanding 
 our remonstrances ; and when gone we began to 
 conjecture whether he had escaped, from a fear of 
 our endeavouring to deliver him up to justice; or 
 whether he had gone to get his brothers' assist¬ 
 ance and that of their friends, to make sure game 
 of us. In the midst of these reflections, fatigue 
 ' got the better of our senses and we slept nearly 
 until dawn. Domingos (that was the fellow’s 
 name) soon after returned, saying that his brothers 
 
FINE QUAY OF THE TEUREIRO DO PA 9 O. 41 
 
 / 
 
 had apparently changed their pasturage, for that 
 he had searched for them in vain. 
 
 On our taking leave of him, he asked me if I 
 should return there to shoot; I answered in the 
 affirmative. “ Then,” said he, (he had an old 
 French musket in the cabin) “ will you do me 
 the favor to bring me a pound of English powder : 
 you may possibly not find me, but you can de¬ 
 posit it in the trunk of yonder cork tree, and by 
 so doing you will render me an essential service 
 I promised that I would, upon which he put his 
 hand into his waistcoat pocket, and taking out a 
 dollar, added “ This is I believe the price of a 
 pound, which I beg you to allow me to pay before 
 hand, as I don’t think it likely that you will see 
 me when you come.” This I positively refused 
 to take, being well determined in my own mind 
 never to return to Braba whilst there was a pro¬ 
 bability of its being so inhabited. 
 
 The quay of the Terreiro do pa^o is the finest 
 in Lisbon: it projects about twenty yards beyond 
 the rows of seats, which extend along the water 
 side of this superb square; and terminates in a 
 handsome flight of marble steps of semicircular 
 form. On each side of the projection are also 
 flights of marble steps, descending to low water 
 mark. This quay is built upon the prolongation 
 
42 CUSTOM HOUSE. 
 
 of a line passing through the centre of Don Jose's 
 magnificent equestrian statue, which stands in the 
 middle of the square. On the pedestal of this 
 statue, there originally was a bronze medal of the 
 
 0 
 
 head of the marquis of Pombal, under whose mi¬ 
 nistry it was erected: but on his disgrace, his por¬ 
 trait was removed from the pedestal, and a ship in 
 full sail (the Lisbon arms) substituted in its place. 
 On being informed of this, he is said to have an¬ 
 swered “ It is no wonder; the whole country is 
 driving before the wind.” 
 
 ; The Alfandega (custom house) occupies the 
 whole range of buildings on the eastern side of 
 the square, with the exception of the extremity 
 nearest the water, that being the military trea¬ 
 sury. On the western side are the offices of pub¬ 
 lic works and the royal library. 
 
 Running parallel to, and nearly on the prolon¬ 
 gation of these sides, are Gold, and Silver Streets, 
 communicating with the Ro^io or Inquisition 
 Square. These streets, with others running pa¬ 
 rallel to them and intersecting them at right an¬ 
 gles, are all constructed upon the handsomest 
 possible plan; and are in fact what constitute new 
 Lisbon, having been built since the earthquake. 
 On either side of them are flag-stone walks for 
 foot passengers, guarded by rows of stone pillars 
 
ROYAL MARINE ARSENAL. 
 
 43 
 
 four and half feet high and at about eighteen feet 
 from each other. These are called by the Portu¬ 
 guese frades de pedra , (stone friars); but the 
 knowing ones denominate them reverentes pe - 
 trifle ados . 
 
 From the above quay, descending the river, the 
 first object of notice is the royal marine arsenal 
 and dock-yard; where ships of the line of the largest 
 size are built. The Portuguese ships of war have 
 always been, for the elegance of their construction, 
 the admiration of our naval officers. In 1818 the 
 D. John Vlth was launched : she is a very hand¬ 
 some ship, rated at 120 guns, but capable of car¬ 
 rying many more. She was put into commission 
 in 1819, and ordered to sail for Rio de Janeiro; 
 but such an order was much more easy to give 
 than to execute. To get under sail a vessel of 
 that tonnage, an adequate crew was necessary; 
 and the Portuguese navy had been so much ne¬ 
 glected and so miserably paid, or rather not paid 
 at all, that no seamen would voluntarily serve in 
 it. Press-gangs were accordingly set on foot in 
 all parts of the city; and upon the same principle 
 that in France at certain seasons of the year all 
 dogs are killed who are found unmuzzled, so all 
 young men, seamen or landsmen, servants or jour¬ 
 neymen, nightmen or coachmen, who; were found 
 
44 
 
 STATE OF THE PORTUGUESE NAVY. 
 
 without a certificate of exemption in their pockets, 
 were themselves pocketed, and sent in irons to 
 serve as volunteers on board the Joao Sexto. 
 
 With such a crew it is not surprising that the 
 ship was seven months in moving down from her 
 moorings opposite the city to those off Belem Cas¬ 
 tle. She would perhaps have gone a mile farther, 
 but that a small insurgent privateer appeared off 
 the Tagus ; landed her casks for water near Cas- 
 caes; and did not leave the river’s mouth without 
 sending menaces to this huge leviathan. The 
 captain of this insolent little corsair had even the 
 audacity to land, come up to Lisbon unknown, 
 and go to the theatre one night. Before he re¬ 
 turned to the vicinity of Cascaes, he sent his com¬ 
 pliments to several ship owners, adding that he 
 hoped to have the pleasure of soon meeting on 
 their way to India some of their fine vessels, which 
 he observed were nearly ready to put to sea. 
 
 From the Belem moorings another grand at¬ 
 tempt was made to get the D. John a little nearer 
 to the mouth of the Tagus. The volunteers then 
 imagining that no other hopes of escape remained 
 for them, and that when so far down the river 
 they must needs go farther, no sooner saw them¬ 
 selves opposite S. Jose de Ribamar (about a mile 
 from Belem) than they to the number of seventy 
 
A FIRST RATE SHIP OF. THE LINE. 
 
 45 
 
 leaped into the water and swam on shore. The 
 same night, in spite of the sentries, the remainder 
 of the crew almost to a man followed their, exam¬ 
 ple, so that it was found necessary to get her 
 moored again off Pa^o d’Arcos where she remain¬ 
 ed until 1820. 
 
 I have already spoken of the swarms of polite 
 mendicants who eternally infest the court of the 
 Portuguese sovereign. The immense expanse of 
 ocean that intervenes between Portugal and Rio, 
 was no barrier against these beggars. Every ves¬ 
 sel, great or small, went loaded with them from 
 Portugal; and no sooner did they succeed in im¬ 
 posing upon his most faithful majesty’s easy ge¬ 
 nerosity, than they sought the earliest means of 
 quitting him. It is no wonder then, that the 
 equipment of a 120-gun ship should have occa¬ 
 sioned the pouring in of petitions from all quarters, 
 praying for gratuitous passages to the capital of 
 Brazil. The commanding officer and all his sub¬ 
 alterns had each their proteges, as had likewise 
 almost every petty officer in the ship. The fact 
 is, that by one means or other, no less a number 
 than twelve hundred passengers contrived to smug¬ 
 gle themselves into this floating ark. A new set 
 of volunteers having, with much difficulty, been 
 collected together in the marine arsenal, were sent 
 
46 
 
 STORY OF HER VOYAGE \ 
 
 on board closely guarded, and on the same day 
 (wonderful to relate) the Joao Sexto got fairly 
 past S. Julian’s, and over the bar: not however 
 without strong symptoms of a mutinous disposi¬ 
 tion amongst some of the volunteers, and weeping 
 and wailing amongst others. 
 
 A ship of 120 guns, thus despicably manned 
 and overcrowded with passengers, was as might 
 be expected, so prodigious a time on her passage, 
 that she had been long given up as lost; and much 
 credit is indeed due to the officers who were on 
 board of her, that she ever reached her destination. 
 If ever men deserved reward for a marine exploit, 
 they certainly had a fair claim to one. Many of the 
 passengers above mentioned, relying upon Nossa 
 Senhora and the commanding officer, had embarked 
 without a morsel of provisions; others, pleading 
 ignorance of the nature of the passage, had provided 
 
 themselves with a mere basket full; and in short 
 
 * • 
 
 the greatest number of them, having limited means, 
 had only for object the getting on board, trusting 
 that amongst Christians they should not be suf¬ 
 fered to starve. 
 
 The consequence was that provisions very soon 
 became short, as did likewise the water; so that 
 the whole of this multitude were soon put on half 
 rations of both. Add to this the manner in which 
 
TO THE BRAZILS. 
 
 47 
 
 they were of necessity obliged to be stowed away 
 at night, men, women, and children, all huddled 
 together, in a tropical climate; and without its 
 being possible on their account to scrub the decks. 
 With all this accumulation of misery, in so cir¬ 
 cumscribed a space, and under a vertical sun, it is 
 surprising that a plague was not the consequence. 
 Had they however remained a month longer at 
 sea, they would infallibly have fallen victims to the 
 vermin with which they were all, without distinc¬ 
 tion, covered. The inhabitants of Rio declared 
 that they had never witnessed the arrival of such 
 a ship-load of vermin and beggars. 
 

 
 
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CHAPTER III 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 LARGO DO PELOURINHO-CAES DO SODRE-EMBARKA¬ 
 
 TION OF THE FRENCH TROOPS AFTER THE CONVENTION OF 
 
 CINTRA-ATROCITIES COMMITTED AGAINST THEM BY THE 
 
 POPULACE OF LISBON-HORRIBLE BARBARITY OF A WOMAN 
 
 -FANATICISM OF THE LISBON RABBLE-NARROW ESCAPE 
 
 OF A BARBARY JEW FROM THEIR FURY-RIBEIRA NOVA- 
 
 FISH MARKET-FISHERMEN OF THE TAGUS-MODE OF 
 
 HARPOONING FISH BY TORCH-LIGHT-CATRAIOS OR PAS¬ 
 SAGE-BOATS-FOWLING PARTIES ON THE TAGUS-BATH¬ 
 
 ING, A FAVORITE AMUSEMENT OF ALL ORDERS IN PORTU¬ 
 GAL-BATHING PARTIES OF LADIES AND GENTLEMEN- 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THEM-A FORTUNATE RESOURCE-WANT 
 
 OF CLEANLINESS OF ALL CLASSES IN OTHER RESPECTS- 
 
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CHAPTER III. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Immediately in front of the gate of the royal 
 arsenal, is the Largo do Pelourinho, or pillory 
 square, a name given to it from having in its 
 centre a column crowned with iron pikes and 
 hooks, on which fidalgos enjoy the privilege of 
 having their heads exhibited, after decapitation, 
 when convicted of the crime of high treason. 
 This column is in open work; being composed of 
 four spiral pieces, constructed and put together 
 with such ingenuity and skill, as to excite the 
 admiration of connoisseurs and the cupidity of 
 Junot; who would have had it carried to France 
 but for the arrival of the British. On the east 
 side of the square, stood the beautiful church of 
 S. Julian, which was burnt to the ground in 1818 
 by (it is said) a principal person connected with 
 its accompts who, as they were rather in confu¬ 
 sion, found this the best way of settling them. 
 
 The quay of Sodr£ is, as I have said, the even¬ 
 ing rendezvous of merchants of all nations and 
 
 e 2 
 
52 
 
 CAES DO SODRE. 
 
 costumes. Jews, Turks, and Christians, are here 
 seen crowding together to talk over their affairs. 
 The ground floors- of all the houses have by 
 degrees been converted into coffee rooms of the 
 handsomest kind, and little inferior to those in 
 Paris. 
 
 This place was the scene of embarkation of the 
 French troops after the convention of Cintra. A 
 considerable body of them had been, for many 
 weeks previous to this event, encamped in the 
 adjacent square of S. Paul, where the infection 
 
 .. „ \ . . .. _ * * v.. v y ■ i v . r 
 
 proceeding from their uncleanliness was so great, 
 as to cause many of the inhabitants of the neigh¬ 
 bouring houses to dislodge. The fact was that 
 the irritation of the lower orders of Portuguese 
 against them had become so violent, that they 
 hardly ever dared move out of the camp in any 
 direction ; and those who from curiosity, duty, or 
 the desire of providing something for their voyage, 
 straggled either singly or in small parties from 
 
 » • i 
 
 the main body, were almost invariably murdered. 
 
 Nothing can plead as an excuse for the brutal 
 cruelty of the common people of Lisbon, as they 
 in particular had neither lost property nor expe¬ 
 rienced the least ill treatment from the French. 
 They would nevertheless fall upon the unarmed 
 soldiers unawares; and dragging them into the 
 
HORRIBLE BARBARITY OF A WOMAN. 53 
 
 corridors each satiated his or her vengeance by 
 covering, their unresisting victims with stabs., I 
 observed on one occasion a French dragoon walk¬ 
 ing by himself in the Ro^o: the storm was already 
 beginning to gather round him; men in capotes 
 were seen winking at one another, and forming by 
 degrees a cordon about him ; and a gallego was 
 then deputed to draw him into conversation. His 
 attention being thus diverted, the valentoes (va¬ 
 liant men) were enabled to close in upon their 
 victim unperceived. One, from behind, struck 
 him almost to the ground with a cudgel, whilst 
 another, on his turning round to defend himself, 
 stabbed him with a ferro de gaiola (bird cage awl) 
 in; the back. In short, in the space of a few 
 minutes, this good looking young soldier was 
 reduced to a shapeless mass, and dragged with a 
 rope tied to his leg through the streets until lite¬ 
 rally devoured by the dogs. 
 
 I must cite another instance of brutality, which 
 is still more revolting from its being perpetrated 
 by a female. Many British officers will recollect 
 the circumstance: for many witnessed it on the 
 quay of Sodre; and, but for their manly and 
 humane interference, the number of atrocities 
 committed would have been considerably greater, 
 The French embarked the main body of their troops. 
 
54 
 
 HORRIBLE BARBARITY OF A WOMAN. 
 
 leaving the sick and wounded to follow them with 
 a very feeble escort. At the moment of which 
 I speak, some of these poor wretches were lying 
 upon the quay, waiting for their turn to be trans¬ 
 ported into the boats. One particularly amongst 
 them was in a situation calculated to excite pity, 
 having been wounded in the abdomen. He how¬ 
 ever seems to have provoked quite a different 
 feeling in the mind of the inhuman monster above 
 alluded to ; for she no sooner perceived his help¬ 
 less condition, than she stamped her foot upon 
 him with such brutal violence that his intestines 
 gushed out, exclaiming at the same time “ morra, 
 cao de Francez,” die, you French dog. There is 
 some satisfaction in adding that, agonized as he 
 was, the victim seized a cutlass that lay near him, 
 and inflicted a wound across her legs of which she 
 was likely to feel the effects all her life. 
 
 The catraieiros (shore-boat-men) were not be¬ 
 hind hand on their part in turning to advantage 
 the confusion which accompanied the embarkation 
 of the French troops. Whenever they were em¬ 
 ployed to convey on board the transports two or 
 three individual officers, whose baggage looked as 
 if it contained some enviable spoils or bags of 
 money, they, under pretence of being forced by 
 the violence of the current or upon any other 
 
FANATICISM OF THE LISBON RABBLE. 
 
 55 
 
 subterfuge, would take their passengers into the 
 middle of the Tagus at its widest part, where 
 calls for mercy or help would be alike unheard, 
 and there butcher them. Then, consigning their 
 bodies to the all concealing deep, they would 
 avoid the chance of detection, by landing with 
 their booty on the opposite shores and hiding 
 themselves for a season in the pine forests. 
 
 The picture of the cowardly barbarities of many 
 individuals towards isolated soldiers of the French 
 army would be incomplete, if I omitted to men¬ 
 tion that, on stopping one day at P 090 do Bispo, 
 a place contiguous to Lisbon on the Saccavem 
 side, to take some wine in a quinta, the owner 
 exultingly directed my attention to seventeen 
 French muskets that were ranged in order against 
 the wall, and exclaimed, pointing to a spot in the 
 garden, “ There lie their owners.”—The fact was 
 that this courageous patriot used to entice these 
 confiding wretches into his cellar with offers of gra¬ 
 tuitous swilling, and when intoxicated and asleep, 
 had dispatched them to awaken in eternity. 
 
 The sight of the Caes do Sodre always created in 
 me an association of ideas highly disadvantageous to 
 the character of the common people of Lisbon; and 
 this was not surprising, considering the different 
 scenes of cruel oppression that I had there witnessed. 
 
56 
 
 FANATICISM OF THE LISBON RABBLE. 
 
 Fanaticism is, with the common people, one of the 
 most exalted of virtues ; and the greater the atro¬ 
 city committed against those who dissent from 
 them in religion, the surer in their imagination is 
 their acceptance with the Deity; who, they think, 
 regards such acts as an exuberance of zeal enti¬ 
 tling the author to the highest rewards in para¬ 
 dise. Woe be to any son of Israel who dare show 
 his face in the Lisbon streets on Good-Friday; for on 
 that day the churches are all thrown open, and the 
 pulpits are continually occupied by fanatical and 
 ignorant monks, who relieve one another through¬ 
 out the day, pouring forth the most frantic rhap¬ 
 sodies, comparing all Jews and heretical protest- 
 ants to the impious murderers of our Saviour, 
 and thus exciting the passions of the ferocious 
 rabble against them, as the enemies of God. 
 
 In the course of their ravings, these impostors 
 display all their stores of relics;—a little phial 
 which they affirm to contain some real identical 
 drops of the blessed virgin’s milk, a lock of hair 
 from our Saviour’s head, the parings of Mary 
 Magdalen’s nails, a real fragment of S. John’s goat 
 skin jacket, and, lastly, a bloody rag pretended to 
 have been dipped in the real blood of our Lord. 
 This they exhibit accompanied with the most 
 phrenzied language, calling upon all good Chris- 
 
NARROW ESCAPE OF A BARBARY JEW. £7 
 
 tians to avenge the blood which was shed for their 
 salvation. Worked up to such a pitch of fanati¬ 
 cal enthusiasm, it is not astonishing that the con¬ 
 gregation issue forth in a state of mind resembling 
 that of king Clovis of France, who, after hearing 
 a similar rant from the mouth of St. Remi, ex¬ 
 claimed, " Que n’etois-je la avec mes Francs pour 
 le defendre!” 
 
 I was once walking on the Caes do Sodre, on 
 the anniversary of our Lord’s Passion, just as the 
 congregation were issuing from the church of St. 
 Paul. A Barbary Jew, in his oriental costume, 
 and apparently unaware of his danger, was at the 
 moment walking upon the quay. He was no 
 sooner perceived by the rabble, than they addressed 
 to him the epithets of Pilate, Judas, Jew, dog, &c.; 
 next, from words, they proceeded to blows; and 
 their fanatical brutality carried them so far, that 
 
 4 
 
 some of them held him, whilst others cut off his 
 beard and filled his mouth with handsful of filth 
 which they picked up in the street. Their fury 
 augmented with their excesses, and the poor Is¬ 
 raelite would have ended his days in the Tagus, 
 but for a British officer in Portuguese uniform 
 who, with the flat of his sabre, dispersed the devout 
 cut-throats in the twinkling of an eye. 
 
 At a couple of hundred yards from the Caes do 
 
58 
 
 HARPOONING PISH BY TORCH-LIGHT. 
 
 Sodre is the Ribeira nova. Here is held the fish 
 market under rows of sheds, built at right angles 
 in the most symmetrical manner, with wide flat 
 pavement for foot passengers. The row nearest 
 the city is occupied by fruiterers, most of whom, 
 moreover, sell gold and silver fish in glass recep¬ 
 tacles, parrots, parroquets, and not unfrequently, 
 monkeys. These people, from the circumstance 
 of their dealing with all the seafaring persons who 
 land there for provisions, in general speak tolera¬ 
 ble English. The whole of the other sheds in the 
 square are occupied by fishmongers; and the stock 
 which they exhibit surpasses in quality, variety, 
 and freshness, that of any fish market in Europe. 
 They procure their fish from the Ilhavo fishermen, 
 also from the fishermen who inhabit the crawl 
 
 i 
 
 called a Costa, and lastly from the Catraeiro har- 
 pooners. 
 
 These last are the common shore-boat-men, who 
 towards evening start from the quays to which 
 they belong, and crossing the Tagus to take on 
 board a cargo of dry pine-apples, await the mo¬ 
 ment of the tide being most favourable to begin 
 their operations. Over the stem of the boat, they 
 place an iron basket large enough to contain a 
 dozen fir apples, to which they set fire; a board 
 three feet and a half high is then fixed upright 
 
CATRAIOS, OR PASSAGE BOATS. 
 
 59 
 
 across the bows; and concealed in a measure be¬ 
 hind this wooden parapet, stands the harpooner, 
 waiting the appearance of his prey, which is not 
 long before it approaches, so great is the attrac¬ 
 tion of the light, particularly if the night be dark. 
 When these boats are in great numbers on the 
 river, the effect produced by such a multitude of 
 vivid torches is really beautiful. 
 
 All the fish taken on the outside of the river, 
 or within the bar, is very heavily taxed. When 
 landed at the Ribeira nova, a set of fellows, em¬ 
 ployed in this kind of excise, proceed to count it; 
 and every tenth fish they hook up and cast in a 
 heap apart for the payment of the tax. As these 
 fish go ultimately to the tables of some persons 
 interested in the taxation, it may well be imagined 
 that their satellites take care not to stick their 
 hooks into the smallest. 
 
 Before I proceed any further on my way down 
 the river, I shall say a word on the Catraios or 
 shore-boats, which I have had occasion to mention 
 at different times. The length of these boats is 
 generally about fourteen or fifteen feet; but their 
 shape is not of that elegant kind that might be 
 expected from the characteristic beauty of the 
 larger Portuguese vessels. They are also of a 
 prodigious thickness of timber, very strongly built. 
 
60 
 
 CATRAIOS, 
 
 and consequently very heavy. The mast, yard, 
 and sail, are also very clumsy; so that the meanest 
 little English merchantman’s boat, will out-sail or 
 out-row them invariably. The general colour of 
 a catraio is scarlet, relieved with stripes of blue, 
 white, yellow, or green. A part of the bows near 
 the cut water is white ; and on this is usually 
 painted a pair of eyes of a large size, which gives 
 the boat a singularly animated appearance as it 
 approaches you. 
 
 The number of passengers which the after part 
 of the boat is capable of accommodating is fifteen 
 or sixteen, well stowed, close together; and* to 
 screen these from the sun or rain the boat is pro¬ 
 vided with an awning, such as is represented in 
 the plate of the quay of Belem (vide p. 31). A 
 number of catraios are constantly plying between 
 the fish-market (Ribeira nova) and Belem; and 
 the noise which they make to get passengers is 
 truly deafening, each endeavouring to obtain the 
 preference over his fellows. For this purpose all 
 the avenues to the place of embarkation are clog¬ 
 ged with watermen, looking out for arrivals ; and 
 no sooner does any one appear than they begin a 
 regular scramble to get his custom: carrying their 
 eagerness sometimes even to seizing persons in 
 their arms, and by dint of superior strength con- 
 
OR PASSAGE BOATS. 
 
 61 
 
 veying them, whether they will or not, into their 
 boats. 
 
 In this manner it happens not unfrequently that 
 persons, whose object was not that of embarking, 
 have been compelled to do so in spite of them¬ 
 selves; for as to remonstrating with these heroes 
 it is quite out of the question, neither can they 
 hear you, so great is the noise made by all of 
 them bawling together. The catraios are all 
 marked with numbers on the bows, upon the 
 principle of our hackney coaches. In so lovely a 
 as that of Lisbon and in so brilliant an at¬ 
 
 mosphere, the effect produced by a multitude of 
 these boats, highly coloured, moving in all direc¬ 
 tions, is very picturesque and beautiful. 
 
 The Falmouth packets are, on their arrival, 
 surrounded with them, and the dexterity which 
 they display in eluding the vigilance of the cus¬ 
 tom house officers is really surprising; so that 
 many forbidden objects are often through their 
 medium conveyed ashore for the crews, without 
 the knowledge of the officers of the packets or 
 those of the customs. 
 
 The price usually paid for the hire of a catraio 
 for the whole of a day is eight or nine shillings, 
 provided you make your bargain previous to em¬ 
 barking. • This is an indispensable precaution, for 
 
62 
 
 FOWLING PARTIES ON THE TAGUS. 
 
 the boatmen will otherwise be shameless enough 
 to ask a moidore, or sometimes even a six mil four 
 (36s.) piece. It is very pleasant to embark in one of 
 these boats with a companion or two for the pur¬ 
 pose of shooting gulls and divers at the mouth of the 
 river, where the latter abound; as do also, in the 
 Sardinia season, very large albatrosses. But these 
 are difficult to bring down, without a very long 
 barrel, as they generally keep at a respectable 
 distance. ^ 
 
 Those who are fond of these water excursions 
 usually betake themselves to returning from the 
 mouth of the river, when they perceive that the tide 
 begins to ebb. They are then compelled to keep 
 near the shore, by which they reap two advantages, 
 that of a counter current, and the amusement of 
 shooting massaricos (a large species of sand lark) 
 numerous flocks of which are seen all along the 
 sandy beach giving it a speckled appearance. For 
 individuals whose time is limited, and who are 
 consequently unable to go to such distances from 
 the city as to find the larger species of game, a 
 pleasant day’s sport may be had at a place called 
 Juncal, immediately round Trefaria point on the 
 opposite banks of the river’s mouth. This place is 
 a species of brake, interspersed with little marshy 
 spots, and abounding in most seasons with snipes 
 
BATHING PARTIES OF LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. 63 
 
 and quail: partridges also are not unfrequently 
 found there. 
 
 Before I terminate my account of the catraios, I 
 must not overlook one of the most interesting pmv 
 poses to which they are applied. I mean that, 
 in the summer months, of conveying parties to dif¬ 
 ferent spots in the river for the purpose of bath¬ 
 ing. At an early hour in the morning, whole 
 families are seen moving down to the different 
 quays, followed by servants carrying bundles of 
 linen and other bathing apparatus. At this hour 
 no confusion or noise is perceptible, as it is usual 
 to hire these boats for the whole bathing season. 
 The place most generally resorted to is the beach 
 of Junqueira, opposite to the patriarch’s palace; 
 and hither hundreds of boats from different parts 
 of the city repair at all hours of the morning up 
 to as late as ten or eleven o’clock. 
 
 Here they are moored in four or five feet water, 
 and the awning is lowered and carefully tied down 
 on all sides, so that the females of the family can 
 undress as privately as in their own bed rooms. 
 They thus equip themselves in their bathing 
 gowns, which are made of very thick woollen, to 
 prevent the possibility of the outline of the body 
 being discernible. This is a precaution however 
 
64 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THEM. 
 
 not observed by all, nor even by the greatest 
 number, who for the most part wear a flowing 
 robe of printed calico which is no sooner wet, than 
 sticking close to the skin, it exhibits even the 
 movements of the muscles as clearly as if no gar¬ 
 ments were on them. 
 
 The males of the bathing party undress in the 
 fore part of the boat, and putting on a woollen 
 jacket and breeches leap into the water and swim 
 about, until the ladies announce that they are 
 ready. The gentlemen then receive them, hold¬ 
 ing their hands whilst they descend two or three 
 moveable stairs on the boat’s side, and assist them 
 in jumping off into the water. Here, great sput¬ 
 tering, spattering, squeaking, screeching, sneez¬ 
 ing, and snorting, is heard on all sides. High 
 jokes and low jokes then prevail; the latter are 
 chiefly observable, when a short thick lady of 
 prodigious bulk (a common sight) is descried 
 scrambling up the ladder in her wet cotton gar¬ 
 ment, resembling a porpoise, and nearly capsizing 
 the boat with her weight. 
 
 At the moment when the bathing boats were 
 most numerous along the beach, I have not un- 
 frequently seen the Alcantara regiment of cavalry 
 receive orders to bathe and ride into the water in 
 
BATHUSTd* IN THE TAGFS. 
 

DESCRIPTION OF THEM. 
 
 65 
 
 total nudity, swimming about on their horses 
 through the intervals of the boats to the no small 
 discomfiture of the bathers. 
 
 People who dislike this mode of bathing need 
 only repair to the quay of the Black Horse square 
 or to that of the fish market; off which, at a con¬ 
 venient distance, there are floating baths upon the 
 very best principle and on very moderate terms. 
 But for good swimmers, the best place is the mid¬ 
 dle of the river, or else the beach on the opposite 
 side near Sarmento’s wine cellars, where the 
 water is much clearer, and unsullied with the filth 
 of the city and shipping. Between this spot and 
 the village of Trefaria, is a bed of the finest pos¬ 
 sible description of oysters, totally different from 
 those in general which are found in this climate, 
 having been originally sown there by an English 
 epicure many years ago. 
 
 Persons who dislike bathing from the boats, and 
 whose means are too limited to allow of their fre¬ 
 quenting the floating baths for a whole season, 
 generally repair in the morning early or else in 
 the evening, to any of the beaches that are known 
 to have a good sandy bottom. The best of these 
 are a part of the beach at the packet stairs, the 
 beach of Pedro^os, or if they live at the upper 
 extremity of the city, that of the Cruz da Pedra. 
 
 F 
 
66 
 
 A FORTUNATE RESOURCE. 
 
 In these places there is generally some old man 
 or woman with 9 . tent erected, in which females 
 undress and equip themselves in their bathing 
 gowns. 
 
 I have frequently walked into the water with 9 
 dozen of ladies, and have held their hands whilst 
 . they ducked their heads under water. Ladies, 
 whose garden doors open immediately upon the 
 beach, undress in their summer houses, and walk 
 into the water holding by a rope, one end of which 
 is fastened inside their door. This kind of bath¬ 
 ing cannot of course be productive of sq much 
 good as the sudden immersion by plunging in 
 headlong; but as there is no case in which ladies 
 can indulge in the latter way, the walking in can¬ 
 not be more unwholesome than the manner of 
 entering the water in a floating bath. 
 
 The Portuguese faculty recommend bathing for 
 all kinds of disorders or complaints; and it is well 
 perhaps that they do so. For were this not the case, 
 nine tenths of the females of Portugal would never 
 have experienced an ablution since their baptismal 
 one:—not even a single washing of their faces in 
 the morning with a towel; which latter opera¬ 
 tion they usually perform with no greater rigour 
 than merely by moistening the tip of a hand¬ 
 kerchief or towel in their mouths and rubbing it 
 
WANT OF CLEANLINESS IN ALL CLASSES. 
 
 67 
 
 over their forehead, eyebrows, and nose. I heard 
 a gentleman of rank, who had been in England 
 and imbibed in some measure our habits of clean¬ 
 liness, observe to his daughter, “ My dear, have 
 you washed your face to-day T “ Nao meo Pai, 
 my face is not dirty I believe, therefore what need 
 is there that I should wash it V 
 
 The males have their own peculiar species of 
 uncleanliness, which consists, amongst other things, 
 in seldom shaving oftener than once per week. 
 So that you often see them in company with 
 beards nearly an inch in length, black, bristly, and 
 like clothes brushes. 
 
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 W* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 ABSENCE OP PICTORIAL AND POETICAL TASTE IN POR¬ 
 TUGAL-CONVENT OF ALCANTARA—-DISASTER OF A NUN 
 
 —CHURCH OF S. AMARO, THE PATRON OF THE GALLE¬ 
 GOS-VOTIVE OFFERINGS TO HIS SHRINE-ROPE HOUSE 
 
 -SQUARE OF BELEM-ROYAL RIDING HOUSE-QUEEN’S 
 
 GARDENS—MENAGERIE-QUEEN’S PALACE-CRUEL FATE 
 
 OF THE MARQUIS OF TAVORA AND HIS FAMILY-INI¬ 
 QUITY OF THE JESUITS-MONASTERY OF BELEM OF THE 
 
 ORDER OF S. JERONIMO -BELEM CASTLE-HEALTH OF¬ 
 FICE-GEOGRAPHICAL LEARNING OF ITS OFFICERS- 
 
 CHURCH OF THE MEMORIA-ITS BEAUTIFUL SITUATION 
 
 -MUSEUM-ROYAL PALACE OF THE AJUDA-ITS GIGAN¬ 
 TIC PROPORTIONS-IMPOSSIBILITY OF COMPLETING IT. 
 
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 ■ ! ' -T ■'( :-*o; io y rrJh . *<HVr—v >i?siu*&n r i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 About half a mile below the fish market, on that 
 part of the river side called by the English Bull- 
 bay, stands the mint, of all the Portuguese public 
 edifices the most unworthy of notice; I mean from 
 the meanness of its structure. It is easily recog¬ 
 nized on the street side, from the circumstance of 
 its guard and sentries, furnished by the infantry 
 in garrison, and occasionally by the marines. The 
 court-yard wall of this building is the place of 
 exhibition for the Portuguese taste for caricatur¬ 
 ing ; and nothing under heaven can be more piti¬ 
 ful than their attempts at this or any other branch 
 of drawing. 
 
 No country in Europe has produced so limited 
 a number of poets and painters as Portugal. Of 
 the former, Camoens is yclept the prince ; but he 
 might as justly be termed a plural unit, compris¬ 
 ing in himself prince and subjects, none other of 
 
72 
 
 ABSENCE OF POETICAL TASTE. 
 
 note having appeared before or after him. For 
 we cannot number among the children of pure 
 inspiration, Manoel Maria Bocage, the Piron of 
 Portugal, whose writings, although full of all the 
 fire and genius of a truly poetical mind, are from 
 their nature deserving of being totally excluded 
 from general perusal. Of painters to whom Por¬ 
 tugal has given birth, I shall speak on some other 
 occasion. 
 
 In coasting down towards Alcantara, nothing 
 remarkable farther meets the eye, but numberless 
 corn granaries at the water’s edge. The packet 
 stairs, before alluded to, when enumerating the 
 different places of disembarkation, are the worst 
 of all of them, owing to the high rock of almost 
 perpendicular steepness which it is necessary to 
 descend by a narrow zigzag foot path, unprotected 
 on the side nearest the water, and therefore of 
 course a very dangerous passage at night. 
 
 I recollect the circumstance of a tape selling 
 contrabandista (smuggler) falling over this rock 
 and being killed; and as he naturally had not 
 time to confess himself before he expired, his body 
 was given over for dissection to the hospital of 
 S, Jose. After which, he being a prodigiously cor¬ 
 pulent man, a quantity of human oil was extracted 
 from him beyond any thing before heard of. This 
 
DISASTER OF A NUN. 
 
 73 
 
 is reckoned by the Portuguese faculty an excellent 
 specific for making ladies’ hair grow again, who 
 have lost it in consequence of malignant fevers 
 (febres malinas). It is also recommended to be 
 used by friction on dislocated joints in order to re¬ 
 duce inflammation. In the last instance the Portu¬ 
 guese are not singular, for the French execution¬ 
 ers in all the principal towns make a commerce 
 of pig’s grease in little pots, which they pretend 
 is real human lard, extracted from the carcases of 
 guillotined men. 
 
 Near the mouth of the river of Alcantara, is a 
 convent of nuns, one of whom not long ago was 
 accused of holding commerce with the devil, for 
 which purpose she is said to have frequently passed 
 a good part of the night in a place where the 
 other nuns only remained a few moments at a 
 time. But upon close investigation, when the 
 convent was about to be exorcised, it was disco¬ 
 vered that the evil one used, by means of a silk 
 ladder let down from above, to climb up to the 
 little window overhanging the river, having pre¬ 
 viously assumed the semblance of the girl’s con¬ 
 fessor : a truly diabolical and scandalous expedient, 
 hardly excusable even on the score of love. 
 
 The river, or rather rivulet, or stream, of Al¬ 
 cantara, after passing under the grand arch of the 
 
74 
 
 CHURCH OF S. AMARO, 
 
 superb aqueduct, built by Don Emanuel, to the 
 northward of the city, meanders through a beau¬ 
 tiful valley enriched with orange groves, until it 
 arrives at the bridge called Alcantara and then 
 contributes its mite to the aggrandisement of the 
 majestic Tagus. There is nothing remarkable in 
 it here, or rather nothing that ever attracted my 
 notice, beyond the immense quantities of fine 
 chesnuts, which are brought in boats from Al¬ 
 garve as to a depot, and here purchased by retailers 
 and chesnut roasters. 
 
 With the exception of the ground occupied by 
 the garden of the Conde d’Alva, the whole of the 
 river’s side between Alcantara and the beach of 
 Junqueira is occupied by dockyards belonging to 
 Englishmen; some of Whom have amassed good 
 property, thanks to the number of lame ducks as 
 they term them, which the rough weather in win¬ 
 ter obliges to have recourse to them for repair. 
 The most considerable of these dockyards is that 
 of which a Mr. Shealey is proprietor; a man as 
 remarkable for his hospitality, as for intelligence 
 in his profession. 
 
 Immediately behind this establishment is situ¬ 
 ated, on the top of a small but steep hill, the church 
 of S. Amaro, the ascent to which is by a spacious 
 flight of steps where a fair is held on that saint’s 
 
THE PATRON OF THE GALLEGOS. 
 
 75 
 
 day. S. Amaro is the patron saint of the galle- 
 gos, and other beasts of burden particularly; and 
 his department being a branch of the Esculapian 
 one, that of curing sore legs, bruised legs, and 
 broken legs, it is no wonder that in this class of 
 
 4 
 
 men shotild be found the greatest number of his 
 vbtaries; No sooner does one of these pdor de¬ 
 luded wretches recover the use of a fractured 
 limb, after perhaps three months’ confinement, 
 than he Repairs to S. Amaro’s altar, depositing on 
 the steps of the same a bottle of oil to feed the 
 ever-burning lamp of the shrine; and after at¬ 
 taching to some part of the church a little waxen 
 leg, emblematical of that which has been cured, 
 he prostrates himself for a considerable time be¬ 
 fore the image of S. Amaro with the most earnest 
 thanksgivings for performing so miraculous a cure. 
 
 I need not say what becomes of the bottle of oil, 
 as any one will be sufficiently acquainted by 
 this time with Portuguese priests not to require 
 being told that it is employed in frying their fish 
 and savouring their sallad ; the ever-burning lamp 
 being only lighted a little before the opening of 
 the doors. 
 
 The beach of Junqueira although a catraio sta¬ 
 tion is an exceedingly inconvenient landing place 
 
76 
 
 ROPE HOUSE. 
 
 at all times, but particularly at low water owing 
 to its extreme shallowness. The boatmen are in 
 the latter case obliged to take the passengers on 
 their shoulders, and carry them sometimes two 
 hundred yards to place them on terra firma. I 
 once saw a very fat friar borne along in this man¬ 
 ner : he either sat not properly astride, owing to 
 his cumbersome dress, or else the man was not of 
 an adequate strength to carry such a heap of 
 blubber. I know not which, nor does it signify; 
 but when at a few paces only from the boat, both 
 priest and porter went down together with a pro¬ 
 digious splutter, to the no small amusement of 
 every one who witnessed the scene. Some sol¬ 
 diers passing in a boat at the time kept calling to 
 his reverence “ Abra a boca e tenha f6”—“ open 
 your muzzle and be of good faith.” 
 
 On the lower side of this beach begins the 
 famous rope house, built under the ministry of 
 the marquis of Pombal. It contains besides the 
 rope walk many government work-shops of dif¬ 
 ferent kinds. This place' is also a species of house 
 of correction, or of hard labour for women of the 
 town, who may have been guilty of some remark¬ 
 able excesses; but chiefly for those who by witch¬ 
 craft have undermined the health of some holy 
 
MENAGERIE. 
 
 77 
 
 men and are therefore sent here to expiate their 
 offences, it no longer being practicable to consign 
 them to the dungeons of the Inquisition. 
 
 On that side of Belem square, which is parallel 
 to the quay, is seen the royal riding house, a neat 
 and tasteful edifice; but where the nature of the 
 instruction is so absurd that it is difficult to con¬ 
 sider with any degree of patience the buckram 
 lessons which the pupils receive. Contiguous to 
 the riding house, are the terrace and court-yard of 
 the queen’s gardens, at the entrance of which 
 there is a serjeant’s guard. In this court are dens 
 for different wild beasts, once maintained there 
 for curiosity; and above the court, to the right, 
 to which you ascend by a flight of marble stairs, 
 is a beautiful terrace having on one side of it very 
 extensive aviaries, where there were formerly kept 
 some very fine and rare birds of prey. I say for¬ 
 merly, because after the king’s departure for 
 Brazil, all these poor prisoners were starved to 
 death; the keepers thinking it more expedient 
 that Christians should eat the meat allowed for 
 them plentifully, than that it should be applied to 
 the use of brute beasts. The poor animals thus 
 dragged on for some short time a miserable exist¬ 
 ence, living solely upon the cakes or other little 
 trifles which the curious, who came there to see 
 
 8 
 
78 QUEEN’S PALACE. 
 
 them, usually brought in their pockets, for them, 
 until they ended their career by absolute inanition. 
 Amongst these famished victims, was a very fine 
 lion, a hippopotamus, an elephant, and some smaller 
 beasts, a pair of very fine eagles, a king of the 
 vultures and other birds. 
 
 On the left hand side, at the top of the court, 
 is the door communicating with the gardens, 
 which upon application is opened by a porter 
 who receives a trifling fee for his trouble. This 
 garden is like all others of the kind in Portugal, 
 laid out in a stiff symmetrical manner, which 
 effect is still heightened by the sides of the walks 
 (formed in very high box or laurel) being clipt so 
 as to resemble walls. At the extremity of each 
 walk is a single statue of some appropriate hea¬ 
 then deity; and at the intersections of several 
 walks there are groupes of the same, all in white 
 marble, and very well executed. But although 
 these statues bear the attributes of those whom 
 
 j i 
 
 they are meant to represent, the general igno¬ 
 rance is so great that they are not unfrequently 
 taken for Nossa Senhoras and respected as such. 
 I even recollect a fact at Cintra of a certain old 
 catholic lady having been found on her knees 
 before a Venus de’ Medici in the marquis of Ma- 
 rialva’s garden. 
 
CRUEL FATE OF THE MARQUIS OF TAVORA. 79 
 
 The high trees in the - queen’s garden at Belem 
 consist chiefly of a species called by the Portu¬ 
 guese alfarobeiras from the fruit (alfarobcis) 
 which they bear. This fruit, when ripe, resembles in 
 some measure a dried up bean-pod of a deep ma¬ 
 hogany colour; the pod is the only part which is 
 eaten and it has a very luscious flavour. The 
 bean is exceedingly hard and of a flattened round 
 shape. At the upper extremity of this garden is 
 the palace; which in point of structure hardly 
 deserves the name. During the absence of the 
 royal family, it was converted into government 
 offices; and at a certain time of the year the se¬ 
 cretary of state held his levees there, after hearing 
 mass: an invariable rule with D. Miguel Forjaz, 
 and which together with his general character for 
 devotion procured him, in a certain periodical 
 work, the appellation of the Militar-Theologo. 
 
 A little below Belem square, is a small fruit 
 market. I should not take notice of this place, 
 but for the circumstance of its having in the midst 
 of it a column, marking the spot on which stood 
 the palace of the marquis of Tavora who, with 
 the whole of his family including even the chil¬ 
 dren, was under circumstances of the most horrid 
 cruelty put to death for high treason against king 
 Joseph. His palace was rased, its site ploughed 
 
80 
 
 MONASTERY OF BELEM 
 
 up, salt strewed on the spot, and the present 
 column erected to perpetuate his ignominy* 
 
 When it was afterwards clearly proved that the 
 
 \ 
 
 Jesuits had been the authors of the whole plot 
 (for the destruction of the king), that body with 
 their usual cunning inculpated some innocent and 
 loyal noblemen, whose families were in conse¬ 
 quence exterminated from the face of the earth. 
 
 At about three hundred yards from the above 
 memento of Jesuitical villainy, stands the convent 
 of Belem * belonging to the order of S. Jero- 
 
 * “ The real name of this magnificent edifice is Bethlem 
 which the Portuguese write and pronounce Belem ; it is situ¬ 
 ated in a village of the same name, and there is, on the banks 
 of the Tagus, a fort called Belem. The church seen from a 
 distance has the appearance of a prodigious building, but on a 
 near inspection is a beautiful and regular edifice, worthy of the 
 king D. Manuel, not however so much for its beauty and mag¬ 
 nificence as for the extraordinary nature of the design and 
 execution of it. 
 
 “ Here are the beautiful tombs of king Manuel, and queen 
 Maria, which are of apiece with other noble monuments here 
 found in great numbers, it being the burial place of many 
 kings and queens, princes and princesses, whose tombs are 
 distinguished by resting on elephants and are adorned with 
 crowns and escutcheons. 
 
 “ The convent is of the fathers of S. Jeronimo, and has 
 room for two hundred friars ; the cells are spacious and well 
 aired, with a view of the Tagus in front, and looking in rear 
 upon orange groves, at once enchanting to the eye, and de¬ 
 licious for their fragrance. The revenues of this monastery 
 amouut to nearly eight thousand ducats ; and besides the gar- 
 
OP THE ORDER OF S. JERONIMO. 
 
 81 
 
 nimo, the outside of which offers nothing remark¬ 
 able, being an unseemly wall strengthened by 
 many projecting buttresses, and crowned with 
 some remaining fragments of a battlement com¬ 
 posed of ornamental croix pat6es. A few mise¬ 
 rable little windows, here and there between the 
 buttresses, are rendered still more miserable and 
 ragged in their appearance by a parcel of dirty 
 flower pots heterogeneously fixed about them. 
 The ground floor between the buttresses is let 
 out to owners of grog shops. The entrance, 
 which is at the eastern extremity, is said to be a 
 very fine specimen of gothic architecture: it may 
 be considered as such by those who have not seen 
 our own gothic cathedrals. This was formerly 
 the burial place of the kings of Portugal; but of 
 late they have been interred in the monastery of 
 S. Vicente de Fora. Contiguous to the convent 
 is a beautiful orangery, belonging to the monks, 
 the fruit of which is always bought up at an early 
 season when yet unripe, for exportation. 
 
 In one of the galleries, you are shewn the full 
 
 dens destined for pleasure and recreation, the convent has an 
 extensive park appertaining to it, which provides the monks 
 with corn, wine, and every species of fruits. This park is 
 walled round ; and the convent, church, and dependencies 
 are all built of stone .”—Farm e Souza e Goez f c. 53. p. 1. j 
 
 G 
 
82 /■' BELEM CASTLE. ^ 
 
 length portraits of all the kings of Portugal from 
 the time of D. Alfonso Henriquez. The body of 
 the church is very worthy of attention, particularly 
 the seats of the principal dignitaries, which are made 
 of a finely polished dark coloured wood exquisitely 
 wrought. In another part of the building you 
 are shewn a very curious old manuscript bible. 
 The organ is also very fine; but there are no 
 paintings in this cathedral worthy of notice, 
 v Belem Castle * now stands high and dry ; but 
 I remember the time when at high water even 
 large boats could sail round it. The change is 
 owing to the accumulation of sand occasioned by 
 the situation on which the edifice is built. I shall 
 not enter into a description of this tower, it being 
 already so well known; but I shall confine myself 
 to accounting for a certain gun-shot wound ob^ 
 servable on the front which immediately faces the 
 river. During our late misunderstanding with 
 America, a British frigate and an American sloop 
 
 * “ In the middle of the river is seen a square tower, which 
 may be considered as the citadel of the metropolis, and which 
 all vessels that enter the port must salute, presenting to the 
 commandant their bills of health and passports. It has a well 
 fortified place of arms provided with cannon: conveniences 
 below to serve as granaries when required and others above, 
 where state prisoners are confined.’ e Souza e Goez , 
 c, 53. p. i. . i 
 
HEALTH OFFICE. 
 
 83 
 
 of war were lying in the Tagus. The latter, be¬ 
 ing desirous of sailing, desired that the British 
 frigate should be apprised of the Lisbon port-laws ; 
 which, in cases like the present, enact that no 
 vessel shall leave the Tagus in pursuit of another 
 until eight and forty hours from the time of her 
 sailing. The British commander however followed 
 the American almost immediately after she had 
 dropped down the river; but on arriving abreast 
 of Belem Tower, he was hailed and then fired at. 
 This was no sooner done than (his guns being in 
 readiness tor the American) he returned the com¬ 
 pliment three-fold; two of the shot missed the 
 tower and went into the fields behind, but one of 
 them better aimed inflicted the wound above men¬ 
 tioned. 
 
 On the western side of the tower, on the beach, 
 is the health office, with which all vessels are 
 obliged to communicate on their arrival, previous 
 to being allowed pratique. Here many incon¬ 
 veniences often occur owing to the consummate 
 ignorance and want of education in some of its 
 official people. It once happened that an indivi¬ 
 dual wished to land a box, which had come in a 
 vessel from Marseilles. A contagious fever was 
 known to rage at that time in Malaga. The of- 
 
 g 2 
 
84 
 
 CHURCH OF THE MEMORIA. 
 
 ficer to whom the application was made observed, 
 that he could not sanction the landing of the box, 
 as it came from an infected port; it was in vain 
 represented to him that Marseilles and Malaga 
 were two very distinct places; and even when a 
 map of the Mediterranean was set before him and 
 the points in question clearly shewn, he contented 
 himself with placing his thumb on Malaga and 
 his little finger on Marseilles, adding, “ No, no, it 
 cannot land, ’tis all the same thing, there is only 
 the distance of a span.” 
 
 Having arrived thus far down the river's side, I 
 shall retrace my steps and speak of objects and 
 persons just as they may happen to occur to me. 
 
 Behind the convent of S. Jeronimo is a street 
 leading up along the wall of the queen's garden 
 to the church called the Memoria; erected in 
 commemoration of the king (Joseph)’s escape when 
 attacked by the monkish regicides. The spot on 
 which the edifice is built, is precisely that where 
 the royal carriage was fired at. It is almost 
 solely composed of a circular dome, very similar 
 to that of the new convent, and is built of the 
 same materials, a fine white species of marble 
 brought at considerable expense from the quarries 
 near Mafra. This building commands the finest 
 
ROYAL PALACE OF THE AJUDA. 85 
 
 view imaginable both of the city, the river above 
 and below it, and a great extent of country on 
 the other side of the water. 
 
 Not far from the Memoria is the museum. 
 Here may be seen, as in all museums, a number 
 of curious things, and also the stuffed skins of 
 the poor beasts and birds that were starved by 
 their keeper in the court-yard and aviaries of the 
 queen’s gardens at Belem. Adjoining the mu¬ 
 seum is a small botanical garden for exotic plants ; 
 but in this, as in every other department, the 
 king’s absence at Rio has been productive of no 
 amelioration, and pilfering of every kind has been 
 carried on with impunity. 
 
 The king’s palace of the Ajuda is a most pon¬ 
 derous edifice ; that is, the wing which was nearly 
 finished in 1819. This, like most Portuguese un¬ 
 dertakings, was begun on a colossal scale, and 
 like them also, will probably never be finished. 
 In size, shape, and extent, it resembles Solomon’s 
 temple (that is, the drawings which we see of it) 
 more than any thing I ever saw. Over the grand 
 entrance are some colossal statues, of a taste as 
 clumsy as the brazen gentleman in Hyde-Park. 
 It is impossible to calculate the expense of the 
 building of this palace; and I am convinced that 
 no estimate of the probable charge was ever made 
 
86 IMPOSSIBILITY OF COMPLETING IT. 
 
 previous to beginning it, or it never would have 
 been undertaken. It is, like all other great edi¬ 
 fices in Portugal, constructed with immense masses 
 of marble brought from Mafra; and when we 
 consider the charge of extracting each of these 
 gigantic rocks from the quarries, that of cutting, 
 polishing, and placing them, and lastly the thou¬ 
 sands of bullocks and carts employed in the trans¬ 
 port from Mafra at the average hire of from 
 forty to fifty shillings per diem each yoke, we 
 shall be lost in calculation of the expense. 
 
 There is nothing particular about the internal 
 decorations of the palace, excepting the paintings 
 with which the walls of the apartments are be¬ 
 daubed, and which are remarkable for bad taste 
 and pitiful execution. The situation of this pa¬ 
 lace is much superior to that of the Necessidades; 
 and it commands as fine a view almost as does the 
 Memoria already mentioned, \being pretty nearly 
 of an equal height above the river. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 BUENOS AYRES-LIMITS OF THIS QUARTER OF LISBON- 
 
 BEAUTY OF THE PROSPECT FROM THENCE-GRANDEUR OF THE 
 
 TAGUS—SIGNAL STATION—SEBASTIANISTAS—ERROR OF A FAIR 
 
 TRAVELLER RESPECTING THAT ABSURD SECT-STORY OF KING 
 
 SEBASTIAN-HIS EARLY REIGN — HIS RASH LOVE OF ENTER¬ 
 PRISE-HIS EXPEDITION TO AFRICA-VAIN ATTEMPTS TO DIS¬ 
 SUADE HIM FROM UNDERTAKING IT-AMOUNT OF HIS FORCES 
 
 -HIS FIRST OPERATIONS IN AFRICA—BATTLE OF THE LUCO 
 
 -DEFEAT, CAPTURE, AND PROBABLE DEATH OF SEBASTIAN- 
 
 VARIOUS OPINIONS ON HIS FATE—BELIEF OF THE SEBASTIAN¬ 
 ISTAS THAT HE WILL YET APPEAR ON EARTH. 
 

 
 
 
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CHAPTER V. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Of Buenos Ayres a great deal has been said; it 
 being the place of residence of most English fami¬ 
 lies, and particularly of those of our countrymen 
 and countrywomen who, suffering from pulmo¬ 
 nary complaints, are usually advised by their pro¬ 
 fessional attendants to remove to this climate, 
 when they see no chance of being able to make 
 them drag out their existence many weeks longer. 
 It is difficult to define the boundaries of what 
 people please to call Buenos Ayres; there being 
 but one street of that name, and which is less 
 than any other, considered as such. There is a 
 second street running up out of the main street, 
 and at right angles with it and the river, called 
 Rua de S. F. de Paula; the houses at the top 
 and on the left hand of which I consider to be the 
 western boundary of Buenos Ayres. 
 
 The backs of these frontier houses command a 
 beautiful uninterrupted view of the mouth of the 
 
90 
 
 GRANDEUR OF THE TAGUS. 
 
 river, of Alcantara, Junqueira, the palaces of 
 Ajuda and the Necessidades; while in the distant 
 scenery is included the fishermen’s village of Tra- 
 faria, the isolated fort Bugio in the middle of the 
 entrance, fort S. Julian, Cascaes &c. These 
 houses are, as may be imagined, exceedingly 
 dear, and are chiefly occupied by English. The 
 Rua do Prior running off* from them at right angles, 
 and of course parallel with the Tagus, is just suffi¬ 
 ciently on the brow of the* hill to be screened in 
 rear from the north wind. Almost all the houses 
 in this street are hotels, kept either by English¬ 
 men, or by people who speak English. The ac¬ 
 commodations are very good, in so far as they 
 harbour perhaps a few less bugs than elsewhere; 
 and the view from the houses is for the present 
 unobstructed by any buildings in front, the ground 
 being occupied as a fruit and kitchen garden. 
 
 It appears to me extraordinary how any one 
 could contemplate the majesty of the Tagus, as 
 seen from Reeves’ Hotel, and not be struck with 
 the grandeur of the scene. Can any one who has 
 only seen our rivulets, consider with indifference a 
 river whose breadth opposite the city measures at 
 least ten miles ? That person must be strangely 
 influenced by national prejudice who could do 
 otherwise than confess that our Thames, with all 
 
SEBASTIANISTAS. 
 
 91 
 
 its grandeur, is in comparison with this but a 
 mere ditch. 
 
 The streets above mentioned, together with that 
 of the Sacrament, constitute what is generally un¬ 
 derstood by Buenos Ayres. It is in this place, in a 
 lane at the extremity of Ruo do Prior, that the 
 signals are made on the appearance of any vessels 
 off the bar; and numbers of persons, interested in 
 the arrival of the Falmouth packets or other ships, 
 are continually seen, straining their eyes with in¬ 
 tense anxiety through spy glasses directed on the 
 horizon, and hoping that any speck that becomes 
 visible may prove to be the wished for object. 
 
 Here also a fair traveller declares that she saw 
 what, during a residence of many years, I could 
 never perceive, crowds of Sebastianistas looking 
 out for the arrival of their patron. That there 
 are persons weak enough to believe in the conti¬ 
 nued existence of king Sebastian is undoubted; 
 indeed I have been intimately acquainted with 
 several: but that they push the mania so far as 
 to crowd about Buenos Ayres hill to watch for 
 his arrival, or that they ever make anything con¬ 
 cerning him a topic of conversation, I never was 
 
 \ 
 
 able to observe. I therefore believe that some 
 persons must have misled that amiable and in 
 many points very accurate authoress, into a per- 
 
92 
 
 ERROR OF A FAIR TRAVELLER. 
 
 suasion that every old fashioned Lisbon merchant, 
 with a three pointed hat and bob wig holding a 
 glass in his hand, was an expectant Sebastianist, 
 since that is-the dress which is supposed to dis¬ 
 tinguish that sect, if such it may be called. As 
 it may not be improper here to say something 
 about the Seb'astianistas, and to give a clear idea 
 of the origin of so absurd a sect, I shall for the 
 information of those who may not have taken the 
 trouble to inform themselves on this point of Por¬ 
 tuguese history, give a brief account of Don Se¬ 
 bastian’s reign and disappearance. 
 
 This prince, at the age of three years, suc¬ 
 ceeded to the throne on the death of his uncle 
 John III., on the 6th of June, 1557. During the 
 king’s minority, the reins of government were 
 confided to his grandmother, queen Catherine, 
 who acted with such vigour and prudence, that 
 she compelled the Moors, who had laid siege to 
 Mazagao with an army of 80,000 men, to aban¬ 
 don that enterprise, as well as the attempted re¬ 
 duction of all the other strong places held by the 
 Portuguese on the African coast. Notwithstand¬ 
 ing the illustrious qualities of this queen, the 
 natural aversion which the Portuguese could not 
 help manifesting to the government of a woman, 
 and above all a Spanish woman, became at last 
 
STORY OF KING SEBASTIAN. 93 
 
 so evident, that she voluntarily resigned the re¬ 
 gency into the hands of her brother in law, the 
 cardinal D. Henriquez, great uncle to the king. 
 
 At the age of fourteen, the young monarch 
 took upon himself the government of his king¬ 
 dom, and began from the earliest period to give 
 proofs of the injudicious manner in which he had 
 been educated. So false were the ideas which 
 had been instilled into his mind, that he regarded 
 Christianity as consisting chiefly of a mortal 
 hatred towards Musselmans. I shall pass over in 
 silence the numberless difficulties which accom¬ 
 panied the beginning of his reign, by reason of the 
 bad advice of his counsellors, and the intrigues of 
 that detestable body of men the Jesuits. 
 
 In 1574, the king began to shew his love of 
 enterprise ; for having invited some of his nobles 
 to a hunt, he suddenly embarked and set sail with 
 them, unprovided with necessaries of any kind, 
 for the coast of Africa, whither he had previously 
 despatched the Prior of Crato with a few hundred 
 men. On his arrival there, he sent back orders to 
 the duke d’Aveiro to join him with his people, and 
 to bring with him as many volunteers as he might 
 be able to assemble. This was no sooner done, 
 than he betook himself to a number of small in¬ 
 roads, exposing his person in the most imminent 
 
94 
 
 HIS EXPEDITION TO AFRICA. 
 
 degree, without, however, undertaking any thing 
 of moment. He returned shortly after to Lisbon, 
 after experiencing on his passage the most tem¬ 
 pestuous weather; and his arrival was celebrated 
 with such demonstrations of joy, as must have 
 caused him the most lively satisfaction. 
 
 The fruitlessness of this wild expedition, far 
 from curing the king of his mania, seemed only to 
 augment his desire of conquering all Africa. Such 
 was his infatuation that, to be in favour with him, 
 it was necessary to applaud his projects; and a 
 circumstance soon occurred which favored his ar¬ 
 dent wishes. Muley Mahomet, king of Fez and 
 of Morocco, had been dethroned by his uncle Mu¬ 
 ley Moluco; and in the beginning of the war be¬ 
 tween these two princes the regent of Portugal 
 had sent offers of succour to Mahomet, who re¬ 
 fused them with contempt. But seeing himself 
 beaten, and having solicited in vain the assistance 
 of the king of Spain, he had at last recourse to 
 Sebastian ; and to render him propitious he gave 
 up to him Arzila, which his father had wrested 
 from the Portuguese. Nothing could be more 
 agreeable to the king’s desires. He therefore set 
 off into Spain to solicit the support of his uncle 
 Philip II.; who being unable to dissuade his ne¬ 
 phew from so ill advised an undertaking, concluded 
 
AMOUNT OF HIS FORCES. ' 
 
 95 
 
 the interview by promising to assist him with 
 fifty galleys and five thousand men. He moreover 
 sent the captain Aldava, an officer of consummate 
 experience, to Africa, in order to ascertain exactly 
 how matters stood there; hut notwithstanding the 
 unfavorable report of this envoy, the king of 
 'Portugal’s resolution remained unshaken. 
 
 The old queen and the cardinal Henriquez, for¬ 
 getting their mutual hatred to each other, united 
 their efforts to persuade the king to desist from his 
 purpose. But failing in their attempts, the former 
 died shortly after of grief; and the latter retired 
 to Evora, .refusing to see his nephew or to accept 
 of the regency during his absence. The king 
 moreover received a letter from Muley Moluco, 
 stating that he had dethroned, in the person of his 
 nephew Muley Mahomet, the most unprincipled of 
 tyrants and assassins, and one altogether unworthy 
 of Sebastian’s assistance : adding that if the king 
 of Portugal would desist from his threatened in¬ 
 vasion, he would add to the Portuguese posses¬ 
 sions in Africa a portion of cultivated land of ten 
 miles breadth round each town. Those held by 
 the Portuguese at that time were Ceuta, Tangier, 
 Arzila and Mazagao. To these proposals D. 
 Sebastian gave no answer, but betook himself to 
 laying contributions and taxes of every kind upon 
 
96 , HIS FIRST OPERATIONS IN AFRICA. 
 
 his people, receiving donations from his nobles, 
 and exacting from the clergy, by virtue of the 
 bull regarding crusades, a sum amounting to fifty 
 thousand crusados. He also extorted from the 
 New Christians, two hundred and twenty thousand 
 crusados, in return for which he granted them se¬ 
 veral privileges. 
 
 By means of these funds he levied troops at 
 home and abroad ; and on the 17th June went in 
 procession to the cathedral, where the royal stand¬ 
 ard received the solemn benediction of the arch¬ 
 bishop and was immediately presented by the king 
 to D. Luiz de Menezes, with orders to embark the 
 troops forthwith. These consisted of 9000 Por¬ 
 tuguese infantry; 3000 Germans under colonel 
 Amberg, sent by the prinee of Orange ; 700 Ita¬ 
 lians commanded by Sir-Stukely, an English 
 
 knight ; 2000 Spaniards; and 500 volunteers 
 commanded by Christovao de Tavora, an intimate 
 friend of the king, a man of courage, but desti¬ 
 tute of experience in matters of war. 
 
 The squadron was composed of fifty men of 
 war and five galleys, besides the transports &c. 
 amounting altogether to nearly 1000 sail. The 
 artillery of the expedition consisted of twelve 
 pieces. The king embarked on the 24th June 
 1578, leaving the government of the kingdom 
 
HIS FIRST OPERATIONS IN AFRICA. 97 
 
 during his absence to the archbishop of Lisbon, 
 D. Jorge de Almeida, D* Pero de Alca^ova, Fran*- 
 cisco de Sa and D. Jose Mascarenhas* I shall 
 not speak of the numberless prayers sent in from 
 all parts of the kingdom to dissuade the king from 
 his purpose, for they would fill volumes:. but 
 such was the attachment of the whole country to 
 this romantic sovereign, that hundreds sent their 
 sons to accompany him, who would not sanction 
 his enterprise by appearing in it themselves* 
 
 The flotilla sailed from the Tagus with a favor* 
 able wind, and arrived in a few days at Cadiz, 
 where the duke of Medina Sidonia entertained 
 the king magnificently for the space of a week, 
 using all his endeavours (as instructed by the 
 king of Spain) to engage his guest at least not to 
 hazard his royal person in Africa* But Sebastian, 
 having here been joined by the expected succours, 
 set sail and anchored off Tangier, where he dis¬ 
 embarked with a few troops; having ordered D* 
 Diego de Souza to proceed to Arzila and there 
 to land the rest of the expedition and wait his 
 arrival. This was executed; and the army re* 
 mained at Arzila three weeks, before they were 
 joined by the king. 
 
 Sebastian found Muley Mahomet waiting for 
 him at Tangier, where a council of war was held, 
 
 H 
 
98 
 
 ' BATTLE OF THE LUCO. 
 
 in which it was determined unanimously to begin 
 by taking Larache; and it being his majesty’s 
 wish, it was agreed to march thither by land and 
 to ford the Luco river. The Moorish prince was 
 exceedingly averse to this arrangement; but the 
 army advanced on the 29th July, and encamped 
 at two leagues from Arzila. Here they were met 
 by captain Aldava, who was sent by the duke of 
 Alva to present the king with a helmet, which 
 had belonged to the emperor Charles V., and a 
 letter advising him not to penetrate into the inte¬ 
 rior, but to confine his operations to the reduce 
 tion of Larache. Muley Moluco, notwithstanding 
 a serious illness under which he was suffering, was 
 now approaching the invaders at the head of an 
 innumerable force; and he fixed his camp close 
 to the ford of the Luco, in sight of the Christian 
 army. 
 
 Don Sebastian again held a council, wherein 
 some were for retreating, owing to the apparent 
 impossibility of forcing the passage of the river ; 
 but many gave their vote for the fight, which 
 being most consonant with the king’s taste 
 was adopted. Notwithstanding the objections of 
 Mahomet, who clearly saw that by this he cer¬ 
 tainly could gain nothing and might lose every 
 thing, dispositions were therefore made for giving 
 
BATTLE OF THE LUCO. 
 
 99 
 
 battle on the following morning, the 4th of 
 August. 
 
 The Christian army was, by the direction of 
 Aldava, drawn up in three lines. The first con¬ 
 sisted of the volunteers, having on their right the 
 Germans and Italians, and on their left the Spa¬ 
 niards: the Portuguese regiments composed the 
 second and third lines. The cavalry, to the num¬ 
 ber of fifteen hundred, were divided into two corps: 
 that of the right was commanded by the duke of 
 Aveiro, having with him Mahomet and his peo¬ 
 ple ; while the left corps, in which was the royal 
 standard, was under the order of the duke of 
 Barcellos, with whom were the Prior of Crato and 
 many other first rate noblemen. The king was in 
 the van. 
 
 Muley Moluco likewise disposed his troops in 
 three lines. In his first were the expatriated 
 Moors of Andaluzia; the second was composed of 
 the Elches, or renegados; and the third of the 
 Africans of Fez, Morocco, and Frudante. The 
 whole were drawn up in the form of a crescent, 
 having on each flank 10,000 horse, and in the 
 rear the rest of the cavalry. 
 
 Muley Moluco, although fainting with debility, 
 got upon his horse to witness in person the exe¬ 
 cution of his orders, and at eleven o’clock opened 
 
 h 2 
 
100 DEFEAT, CAPTURE, AND PROBABLE 
 
 f . ‘ 
 
 a fire with the whole of his artillery. The Chris¬ 
 tians returned the compliment, and immediately 
 engaged the enemy with the heat and valour 
 which might he expected from a young and gal¬ 
 lant nobility, inspired by the presence of their king. 
 Don Sebastian, on the first onset, received a wound 
 in the shoulder blade, but took no notice of it; 
 and charging through the first line of the enemy, 
 he put the second in disorder. Here Muley Mo- 
 luco made a desperate attempt to charge in per¬ 
 son, and drew his scimitar for the purpose; but 
 nature being at length exhausted, he fell from his 
 saddle, and but that his attendants caught him, 
 he would have reached the ground. Being car¬ 
 ried to his litter, he almost immediately expired, 
 placing his finger on his lips to signify that it was 
 expedient to keep his death a secret. 
 
 The Christian army were now surrounded on 
 all sides. The king had two horses killed under 
 him ; and fighting by his side were slain Don Al¬ 
 fonso de Aguilar, Don Gonsalvo Chacon and cap¬ 
 tain Aldava, all three Castillians. His majesty 
 was now soon made prisoner, and stripped of all 
 his arms; and as those who took him began to 
 dispute to whom they should deliver him, one of 
 their captains observing it cried aloud, “ What! 
 after God’s granting us such a victory, are you 
 
DEATH OF SEBASTIAN. 
 
 101 
 
 quarrelling like dogs about a prisoner V’ and im¬ 
 mediately gave the king so violent a sabre cut 
 over the right eye, that he felled 'him from his 
 horse. The other Moors, then despairing of a 
 ransom for his person, put an end to his life. 
 
 Such, according to some, was the end of Don 
 Sebastian. Others affirm that he was seen alive, 
 after the time that event is supposed to have taken 
 place, by Luis de Brito who was made prisoner 
 with the royal standard and carried to Fez * : 
 and Don Luiz d 0 Lima declared that he after¬ 
 wards saw the king walking towards the river, as 
 did also Manoel de Souza j\ 
 
 On the following day, Muley Hamet, who had 
 been proclaimed king of Morocco as soon as the 
 battle was over, ordered all the prisoners into his 
 presence. Amongst these was Don Nuno Mas- 
 carenhas the king’s servant, who affirmed that his 
 master was dead and in the manner above de¬ 
 scribed. Some of the captives were then sent to 
 gain information on the subject on the field of 
 battle; and Sebastiao de Resende, a servant of 
 the king’s chamber, returned with a dead body, 
 which was acknowledged by almost all the pri¬ 
 soners as that of their late king. It was then 
 
 * Mendon^a. De Meza, Joumada d’Africa. 
 
 t Faria e Souza. 
 
102 
 
 VARIOUS OPINIONS ON HIS FATE. 
 
 conveyed by order of Hamet to Alca^eaquivir, and 
 deposited in the house of a Jew *. 
 
 Philip II. of Spain forming an alliance soon 
 after with Muley Hamet, this supposed body of 
 Don Sebastian was given up to him and conveyed 
 to Ceuta. From thence it was taken to Portu¬ 
 gal, and deposited amongst the remains of his 
 forefathers in the convent of Belem; where, as 
 well as at Madrid, his funeral obsequies were per¬ 
 formed. Thus ended Don Sebastian, in the twenty- 
 fifth year of his age, and twenty -third of his reign, 
 a victim to the inordinate love of glory. 
 
 Some say that Sebastiao de Resende declared 
 that the body above mentioned was the king’s, in 
 order to,facilitate his majesty’s escape. The fact 
 is, that the Prior of Crato, who was taken pri¬ 
 soner, always affected to speak of the death of 
 his master in very ambiguous terms; and we are 
 assured that, during the reign of the cardinal-king 
 Don Henriquez, his successor, Don Sebastian came 
 to Algarve, and sent a well known person to an¬ 
 nounce his arrival to his uncle. But this prince’s 
 ambition stifled in him any latent affection for his 
 nephew, so far as to induce him to suppress most 
 carefully the promulgation of this news. 
 
 * Mcndon^a. 
 
CREDULITY OF THE SEBASTIANISTAS. 
 
 103 
 
 Every thing connected with the reign of Don 
 Sebastian is extraordinary: but it is much more 
 so that there should still be many persons, in other 
 respects very sensible, who believe that he will yet 
 appear again to ascend the throne of Portugal; 
 and many there are who, in defence of this belief, 
 would undergo martyrdom. This sect or party, 
 whichever you please, are called Sebastianistas; 
 and although they have not printed any thing on 
 the subject, they have nevertheless written num¬ 
 berless papers, in which the most incredible efforts 
 are made to give a colouring of plausibility to 
 their absurd opinions. Lord Tyrawley is said to 
 have exclaimed respecting the Portuguese, “ What 
 can be expected of a nation, one half of which is 
 looking out for the Messiah, and the other half, 
 for Don Sebastian who has been dead for two 
 centuries ?” 
 
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CHAPTER VI 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 CHURCH AND MONASTERY OF ST. JOAO DE DEOS- 
 
 EXHIBITION OF SAINTS ON THE DAY OF ALL SOULS— 
 
 PALACE OF JANELLAS VERDES-CONVENT AND CHURCH 
 
 OF O CORACAO DE JESUS—GRANDEUR AND MAGNIFICENCE 
 
 OF THESE EDIFICES—DESCRIPTION OF THEM-HOSPITAL 
 
 OF THE BRITISH FACTORY-ENGLISH BURYING-GROUND 
 
 AND CHAPEL-MONASTERY OF ST. DOMINGOS AT BEM- 
 
 FICA-ITS SPLENDID ENDOWMENTS-SEPULCHRE OF THE 
 
 HERO, DON JOHN DE CASTRO-HIS EPITAPH-SOME AC¬ 
 COUNT OF HIS EXPLOITS AND CHARACTER-HIS EARLY 
 
 ' \ 
 
 LIFE-HIS VICEROYALTY IN INDIA-HEROIC DEFENCE OF 
 
 DIO—DON JOHN PAWNS HIS WHISKERS—HIS LETTER TO 
 
 THE PEOPLE OF GOA-HIS NOTABLE PIETY—DISCOVERY 
 
 OF THE MIRACULOUS CROSS OF MELIAPOR—DRAWING OF 
 IT SENT TO DON SEBASTIAN-CLOSE OF DON JOHN DE 
 
 Castro’s career—dying speech of the hero. 
 
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CHAPTER VI. 
 
 RAMBLE THROUGH LISBON. 
 
 Returning from the digression in the last chapter, 
 I shall now resume my remarks upon the public 
 edifices of Lisbon. Immediately under Buenos 
 Ayres hill, and in the main street, is the church 
 and monastery of S. Joao de Deos. I never should 
 have noticed this building, but for the extraordi¬ 
 nary exhibition here held on the days of All Saints 
 and All Souls. Nothing can he more dismal than 
 the city of Lisbon on those days: the bells of all 
 the churches resound with the most lugubrious 
 knells, which seem to diffuse melancholy through 
 every bosom. One of these days, being the anni¬ 
 versary of the awful visitation of 1755, does not 
 in a small measure associate ideas of the most 
 painful nature, bringing to the imagination the 
 dreadful scene of havock and general wreck, which 
 worked the desolation of this great city. 
 
 In honour of all our fellow-creatures who have 
 
I 
 
 108 EXHIBITION OF SAINTS. 
 
 passed before us “ that bourn from whence no 
 traveller returns,” and for the repose of their 
 souls, a day in the year is set apart, which in Por¬ 
 tugal is spent in saying and hearing masses. In 
 England we call it All Souls’ day; in Portugal 
 " os defunctos” or day of the defunct. But by a 
 strange contradiction, whilst praying for their re¬ 
 pose, the friars of S. Joao de Deos disturb the 
 remains of a great number, and ranging them 
 along the walls of a vault with branches of laurel 
 betwixt them, exhibit their mouldering carcases as 
 incorruptible saints to the gaze of all the curious. 
 Such a sight is not calculated to render the sen¬ 
 sations of the day more cheerful. Amongst these 
 mortal remains, are seen those of one of the Condes 
 d’Obidos, who has been an inmate of this dreary 
 abode upwards of one hundred and fifty years. 
 His body, which is stuck upright against the wall, 
 is distinguished from the others by his high sta¬ 
 ture. He must certainly have been a very tall 
 man, for when I last saw his remains in this place, 
 he out topped his fellow lodgers, although his feet 
 and tibiae were gone. When the two days are 
 past, these holy, and, as it is pretended, incor¬ 
 ruptible relics, are gathered together, and thrown 
 into the charnel house until the following year. 
 
 It does not belong to me to pass sentence upon 
 
 / 
 
DAT OF AJLTL SOUTHS. IN THE CONVENT OF ST JOAO JOE BEOS. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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PALACE OF JANELLAS VERDES. 
 
 109 
 
 such a custom; hut I leave every one to judge. 
 for himself how far an exhibition of the kind is 
 consistent with decency. How the descendants 
 of the count d’Obidos can suffer the trunk from 
 which they sprung to be thus annually exhumed*, 
 to gratify the gaze of grave hunters and the cupi¬ 
 dity of monks, is an enigma oaly to be accounted 
 for by the supposition, that the latter have per¬ 
 suaded them that he is a saint in heaven and that 
 they know from himself that he approves of it. 
 
 Close to this convent, is the palace of Janellas 
 Verdes or green windows, which for some years 
 was occupied by our ambassador. Sir Charles 
 Stuart. Opposite to it is a very handsome foun¬ 
 tain, with a great number of spouts coming through 
 sculptured dolphins and surmounted with a fine 
 statue of Venus, holding a pair of cooing doves, 
 and having by her side the god of love. This 
 group is not unfrequently mistaken by the lower 
 orders of Portuguese for the Virgin Mary, with 
 the infant Jesus amusing himself with a bow and 
 arrow; and the doves they take for a couple of 
 spiritus sancti. 
 
 .In a country so eminently Catholic as Portugal, 
 the objects which principally arrest attention are 
 the immense number of churches and monasteries * 
 but to go over them all and attempt a separate 
 
110 CONVENT AND CHURCH OF O CORACAo DE JESUS. 
 
 and detailed description of each would be an end¬ 
 less, and after all, in a great measure, an uninte¬ 
 resting office. I shall therefore, whilst on this 
 topic, only mention those peculiarities for which 
 a few of them are distinguished. 
 
 The new convent, built by the late queen, is the 
 most noble piece of architecture which has been 
 undertaken since the earthquake. No paltry bricks 
 enter into the composition of this superb fabric; the 
 whole being built of Mafra marble. It has an area 
 in front, of great width, made of large flat mar¬ 
 ble, which is ascended by two flights of six or 
 eight steps each. The lower steps are protected 
 from the injuries which might result from the 
 wheels of carriages, by marble posts of a very 
 handsome shape. 
 
 The front entrance of the church is by five 
 curiously wrought ponderous iron doors, which lead 
 into a vestibule extending the whole length of the 
 building, on one side; and on the other, as well 
 as in the inside of the vestibule, are beautiful mar¬ 
 ble colossal statues of saints. Those on the out¬ 
 side measure at least twelve feet in height. The 
 whole of the front elevation is in good taste, al¬ 
 though it has an appearance of intricacy, the 
 number of statues which every where decorate it 
 being very great. The centre ornament represents 
 
/ GRANDEUR OF THESE EDIFICES. 
 
 Ill ' 
 
 the heart of our Saviour (crowned with thorns) 
 from which emanates a glory, with the rays falling 
 upon numberless adoring angels. The upper part 
 of the edifice terminates in two fine square steeples 
 and a very majestic dome, much of the same de¬ 
 scription as that of St. Paul’s in London, which it 
 might be thought had served as a model for it. 
 Near the top of this dome, are two superb and 
 spacious balconies; one in the interior which looks 
 down into the church, and the other outside, 
 which commands a view beyond description ma¬ 
 jestic. 
 
 Such is the height of this building in itself, and 
 that of its site above the level of the sea, that 
 it is seen from an immense distance, and served as 
 one of the principal stations in the trigonometrical 
 survey of the province of Estremadura by colonels 
 Franzini, Siara and Falque. The shape of the 
 aisles is that of a cross. In the high parts of the 
 interior are the gratings three deep, provided with 
 projecting pikes, the whole deeply gilt, behind 
 which the nuns place themselves (invisible to the 
 congregation) during the service to chaunt the 
 responses. The intervals of these golden barriers 
 which separate from society many who might be 
 useful members of it, are filled up with richly 
 framed paintings. The number of altars are two 
 
112 
 
 HOSPITAL OF THE BRITISH FACTORY. 
 
 principal and about twelve (at least) smaller ones : 
 of the former the one represents the last supper, 
 and the other the day of general account. Both 
 these are the work of Pedro Alexandrini, an artist 
 of very great merit. 
 
 The convent of nuns adjoins the church on the 
 north side. It is a very extensive building and 
 has a large piece of ground belonging to it for 
 the use of the nuns, which is surrounded by a 
 wall between thirty and forty feet high porcu- 
 pined at the top with broken glass bottles, to 
 scare off the amorously disposed; an unnecessary 
 precaution, since all the nuns of this order are 
 very antiquated virgins. The belfry of this esta¬ 
 blishment has the best assortment of bells perhaps 
 in the kingdom; their numbers and notes being 
 such as enable the ringers to execute any tune. 
 The favourite airs that are invariably played on 
 great festivals are the “ Minuete Afandangado” 
 a fandangonized minuet, or else the vulgar ditty 
 of Piriquito baylar nao sei. I leave the reader to 
 judge how far these tunes are in accordance with 
 the awful name of the building, and that to which 
 it was solemnly dedicated “ o coracao de Jesus,” 
 the heart of Jesus. 
 
 Near this place stands the hospital of the Bri¬ 
 tish factory, easily recognized even at a distance 
 
ENGLISH BURYING GROUND AND CHAPEL. 113 
 
 from the neatness of its structure, from the Eng¬ 
 lish cleanliness seen in every thing about it, and 
 from the high and mournful row of cypress trees 
 in the protestant burying ground which adjoins it. 
 To the latter place apiece of land has lately been 
 annexed, the old burying ground being already 
 completely full. 
 
 In the centre of the new acquisition, has been 
 built a protestant chapel: a place of pure worship 
 so long needed by our countrymen in Lisbon, who 
 until this point was carried were obliged to attend 
 divine service in the house of the British ambassa¬ 
 dor, wherever that might chance to be. Permis¬ 
 sion was granted by the king for the erection of 
 this little temple (called by the natives “ o syna - 
 gogo dos Inglezes”) but not without certain re- 
 
 4 
 
 strictions, among which there were, that it should 
 have nothing like a steeple or tower that could 
 distinguish it essentially from private buildings, 
 and that the service should not be performed with 
 music, to avoid giving cause of scandal to the 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 The factory hospital was built at the expence 
 of Gerard de Visme Esq., as was likewise the 
 building in which the dead are deposited previous 
 to interment. Nothing can be more calculated to 
 inspire serious thoughts than the perfect tranquil- 
 
 i 
 
114 MONASTERY OF ST. DOMINGOS AT BEM FICA. 
 
 lity and mournful silence, which seem to reign 
 amidst these mansions of the dead. Many of the 
 tombs, with which the old burying ground is 
 filled, are of beautiful architecture and very ap¬ 
 propriately ornamented. Amongst the most re¬ 
 markable are those of prince Waldeck, who died 
 of a cholick as a judgment on him for disliking 
 monks; and young Mr. Guildermestre, who is said 
 to have bartered his life at Tangier for a kiss. 
 
 During the time that Junot was master of Lis¬ 
 bon, the factory hospital was the place of con¬ 
 finement for the principal British residents who 
 had not left the country. 
 
 The street in which the above building is situ¬ 
 ated leads to Bern Fica, where there is a monas¬ 
 tery of Dominican friars, celebrated as containing 
 the remains of the famous Don John de Castro, 
 fourth viceroy of India * ; who, to raise money for 
 carrying on the war against his Mussulman ene¬ 
 mies, was obliged to pawn his whiskers. This 
 nobleman having been justly esteemed one of the 
 most renowned heroes that Portugal ever pro¬ 
 duced, a description of the place where his bones 
 repose may not be altogether uninteresting. I 
 say repose , for I never heard that the custom ob¬ 
 served at S. Joad de Deos of exposing the bones 
 
 * In the reign of John III. of Portugal. 
 
ITS SPLENDID ENDOWMENTS. il5 
 
 of saints once a year, ever existed in this monas¬ 
 tery. 
 
 The convent of S. Domingos of Bern Fica is 
 about a mile’s distance from the city of Lisbon, 
 and takes its name from a neighbouring village. 
 The ground about it was formerly the property of 
 the kings of Portugal, who frequented it much, 
 owing to its coolness, and used to retire to the 
 country house which they here had, in order to 
 enjoy the amusements of the chace. King Don 
 John I., “ in gratitude to God for the many vic¬ 
 tories granted to his arms, did amongst other 
 actions of grace make donation of this property 
 with all its appurtenances, consisting of arable 
 land, vineyards, orangeries &c. to the order of S. 
 Domingos on the 2d May 1399, for the founding 
 of this convent,” which not only owed its origin but 
 also its augmentation to royalty. Don John II. 
 endowed it with another estate known by the 
 name of Quinta das Ilhas, without imposing any 
 conditions on the gift calculated in the least 
 degree to diminish its liberality. It would be an 
 endless affair to enumerate the different endow¬ 
 ments and benefits of many kings to this establish¬ 
 ment. But I cannot omit mentioning one, which 
 was presented by queen Catherine; this was no less 
 than a good sized fragment of the true cross. 
 
 i 2 
 
116 
 
 DON JOHN DE CASTRO’S EPITAPH. 
 
 Here then repose the ashes of Don John de 
 Castro of immortal memory, in a sepulchre of re¬ 
 ligious grandeur, situated in a chapel built ex¬ 
 pressly, for him and his family, and communicating 
 with the principal cloister of the convent by a 
 door, over which is seen the escutcheon of the 
 forefathers of Castro. The chapel is of the Doric 
 order, built of polished marble ; and the pavement 
 is also composed of a similar material of various 
 colours. There are six arched recesses separated 
 by clusters of shafts. The sacrario in gilded 
 sculpture containing the Holy Sacrament, is con¬ 
 tinually illuminated with two silver lamps, and 
 above it is a painting of the Lord’s Supper. The 
 ceiling of the chapel is variously ornamented with 
 work in the taste of those times. 
 
 In the first arched recess on the right were de¬ 
 posited the bones of this hero with the following 
 epitaph which still remains. 
 
 D. JOANNES DE CASTRO XX. PRO RELIGIONE IN UTRAQ. MAU¬ 
 RITANIA STIPENDIIS FACTIS, NAVATA STRENVE OPERA THUNE- 
 TANO BELLO ; MARI RUBRO FELICIBUS ARMIS PENETRATO J 
 DEBELLATIS INTER EUPHRATEM, ET INDUM NATIONIBUS .* GE- 
 DROSICO REGE, PERSIS, TURCIS UNO PRELIO FUSIS ; SERVATO 
 DIO, IMO REIPUB. REDDITO, DORMIT IN MAGNUM DIEM, NON 
 SIBI, SED DEO TRIUMPHATOR ; PUBLICIS LACRYMIS COMPOSITUS, 
 PUBLICO SVMPTU PRE PAUPERTATE FUNERATUS. OBIIT OCTAVO 
 ID. JVNII. ANNO 1548. ETATIS 48. 
 
 In the opposite recess lies his son Don Alvaro 
 de Castro, and next to him Donna Anna de At- 
 
SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS EXPLOITS. 117 
 
 tayde his wife. In each of the remaining recesses 
 is an elephant of polished black marble, support¬ 
 ing on his back an urn of the same material, also 
 highly polished but variegated. As many persons 
 may be unacquainted with the history of Don 
 John de Castro, and as there are some curious cir¬ 
 cumstances connected with his life, I hope that a 
 few words on the subject will not be found alto¬ 
 gether devoid of interest. I am, moreover, in¬ 
 duced to give the following brief account of the 
 hero, as affording a characteristic specimen of the 
 qualities of the Portuguese men of the olden time, 
 and enabling the reader to form some comparison 
 between them and their descendants of our days. 
 
 He was of most noble ancestry, being descend¬ 
 ed in the direct line from the Conde de Arrayolos, 
 first constable of Portugal, and brother to the in¬ 
 teresting and unfortunate Donna Ines de Castro, 
 the murdered wife of Don Pedro o cruel. Don 
 John began his military career at Tangier, where 
 he gave no mean proofs of superior courage and 
 skill. Recalled from thence, he went to India 
 with Don Garcia de Noronha. He made a voy¬ 
 age to the Red Sea, an account of which, with a 
 very interesting description of the coasts &c., was 
 written by him and proved of the greatest service 
 to navigators. He returned to Portugal, from 
 whence, after a short interval of repose, he set off 
 
118 
 
 DON JOHN PAWNS HIS WHISKERS. 
 
 to follow the standard of the Emperor Charles V. 
 to Tunis, where his name acquired additional 
 lustre. He was shortly after this sent out as go¬ 
 vernor . and viceroy to India. Here he distin¬ 
 guished himself as a great warrior, a most devout 
 Christian, a geographer, historian, and legislator. 
 
 As a warrior it would take volumes to enume¬ 
 rate his feats, and I shall confine myself therefore 
 to instancing one only, which by itself would suf¬ 
 fice to establish any man’s reputation : I mean the 
 well known and gallant defence of Dio against the 
 Mahometans, during which his son Don Fernando 
 was slain; and after which, seeing that the go¬ 
 vernment funds were so low that it would soon 
 be a difficult thing to carry on the war with desir¬ 
 able vigour, he betook himself to borrow money 
 of the merchants and other inhabitants of Goa. 
 For this purpose he addressed to them a letter, of 
 which the following is a faithful translation. En¬ 
 closed in it were his whiskers, which he cut off and 
 sent as gages for the re-imbursement of the sums 
 solicited. 
 
 Senhores, magistrates, judges, and people 
 of the very noble and ever loyal city of Goa! 
 Some days past I wrote to you by Simao Alvarez 
 citizen of your city, the news of our victory granted 
 me by our Lord against the captains of the king 
 of Cambay a ; and I was silent in the letter, about 
 
HIS LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GOA. 
 
 119 
 
 the great troubles and difficulties in which we re¬ 
 main, in order that your joy and pleasure at the 
 victory might be altogether unalloyed. But now 
 it becomes me to dissimulate no longer, and to 
 give you an account of my difficulties and solicit 
 your assistance, in order to remedy the important 
 cares which I have on my hands. For I have the 
 walls of Dio in the most dilapidated state, not a 
 span of which can I apply to any use; so that not 
 only it will be necessary this summer, to rebuild 
 them entirely, but with such art and dispositions 
 as shall make the king of Cambaya lose all hope 
 of ever reducing this place. Besides this, I have 
 another subject of trouble, equal or superior to 
 the first, which is the want of means to pay my 
 Lascars, who begin to be importunate; and I find 
 myself continually obliged to repeat promises of 
 immediate payment; without which they would all 
 to a man abandon me and leave the garrison, to 
 the great danger of our Indian possessions. For 
 the king of Cambaya, with the remains of his 
 army, is at Suna at two leagues from this, receiv¬ 
 ing daily reinforcements of cavalry and infantry 
 and shewing every disposition to renew the attack. 
 For these reasons I am obliged to solicit of you 
 certain sums of money for the king s service, as 
 becoming your honors and loyalty, and according 
 to your ancient custom and great virtue of always 
 
120 
 
 HIS LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF GOA 
 
 assisting his majesty In urgent necessity like good 
 and loyal vassals; and for the great love with 
 which my very entrails yearn towards you, I ask 
 the loan of 20,000 pardaos ; which I promise as a 
 knight, and make oath to you by the Holy Evan¬ 
 gelists, to repay to you before the expiration of a 
 twelvemonth, even though I should be surrounded 
 by greater difficulties than the present. I gave 
 orders to exhume the body of my son Don Fer¬ 
 nando, killed by the Moors whilst fighting for 
 God and for the king our lord, in order to send 
 you his bones as a surety. But his body was 
 deemed in an unfit state to be for the present re¬ 
 moved ; and thus having nothing left in this world, 
 neither gold, silver, nor any property, excepting 
 the beard on my face, I send it you by Diego 
 Rodriguez de Azevedo to remain with you as a 
 gage, &c, # * * * * * 
 
 Dio 23 d November , 1546.” 
 
 The remaining part of the letter being without 
 much interest, I have omitted. It is unneces¬ 
 sary to add, that the money was not only 
 granted but given. The whiskers were returned 
 with the handsomest compliments imaginable : 
 may be, by reason of their not being an article of 
 commerce. These precious relics are still pre¬ 
 served in Goa by the inquisitor general; having 
 
HIS NOTABLE PIETY. 
 
 121 
 
 been originally delivered over to the person who 
 filled that situation at the time. 
 
 Don John de Castro having invariably in all 
 the battles he fought, invoked the name of S. 
 Thomas, the apostle of India; his historian at¬ 
 tributes his victories to the especial auspices of 
 that powerful patron*; who also to gratify the 
 singular veneration of Don John for the sign of 
 the cross, inspired him to discover that marvellous 
 cross at Meliapor on the Coromandel coast, which 
 was buried almost in the same place as the holy body 
 of the saint. Such indeed was Don John’s excessive 
 veneration for crosses, that wherever he happened 
 to espy one in his way, were it made only of sticks 
 or stones, he always descended from his carriage, 
 palanquin, horse or donkey, and prostrated him¬ 
 self before it. Therefore, as his historian thinks, 
 it is not wonderful that this revelation should have 
 
 v • r* » • « 
 
 been made to him, since the gifts of heaven are 
 not a matter of mere accident. 
 
 From the time of its being ascertained that 
 within the city or ruins of Meliapor, then called 
 Calamina, were contained the remains of the holy 
 apostle S. Thomas, the kings, Don Manuel and 
 Don John burned with pious zeal to renew the 
 work of conversion in the east, which the saint had 
 formerly begun ; and to do this more effectually. 
 
 * Liv. 2. No. 56. 
 
122 
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE MIRACULOUS CROSS. 
 
 the erection of a church was commenced on the 
 spot supposed to be that of the saint’s interment. 
 In digging for the foundation of the building, a 
 cross was found sculptured on a marble slab, four 
 spans in height by three in breadth, spotted all 
 over with drops of apparently recent blood. 
 This cross was in shape similar to that worn by 
 the knights of Aviz; and on the bottom part of 
 the stone were some smaller crosses of the same 
 figure, also sprinkled over with blood. Over the 
 top of the larger cross was a dove; and the whole 
 was encircled with some ancient characters, which 
 no one could decypher. Many wise men were 
 sent for who were unable to determine the mean¬ 
 ing of the letters; but some time afterwards a 
 learned Bramin, happening to come from Nar- 
 zinga, gave them the following signification. 
 
 “ Thirty years after the appearance of the 
 Christian law in the world, on the 21st December 
 died the apostle S. Thomas at Meliapor, where 
 there was knowledge of God, change of law, and 
 destruction of the devil. This God taught twelve 
 apostles, and one of them came to Meliapor, where 
 he constructed a temple; and the king of Malabar, 
 Coromandel, and Pandi, and others of various na¬ 
 tions and sects, subjected themselves voluntarily 
 to the law of S. Thomas. The time came when 
 the saint died by the hands of a Bramin, and with 
 
DRAWING OP IT SENT TO DON SEBASTIAN. 123 
 
 his blood made this cross.” The annexed is a copy 
 of the drawing of this miraculous cross, brought 
 from India to Don Sebastian in 1562. Having 
 been wrought on the marble slab by S. Thomas 
 the apostle himself, it may afford a specimen of 
 the saint’s talent for drawing. 
 
124 CLOSE OF DON JOHN DE CASTRO’S CAREER. 
 
 The discovery of this cross encouraged the 
 workmen to such a degree, that the church was 
 soon finished; and the wonderful slab formed the 
 principal altar piece. But what new marvels were 
 in store for the inhabitants of this city! On the 
 18th December, the day of the “ expectacao da 
 Senhora” whilst the priest was officiating in the 
 celebration of mass, the cross covered itself with a 
 copious perspiration, distilling upon the altar many 
 and large drops. The priest stopped short in the 
 midst of the ceremony; but he had no sooner 
 wiped off these drops with the altar linen, than 
 their place was instantly supplied by a plentiful 
 distillation of blood in the presence of a very nu¬ 
 merous congregation. This was followed by a 
 changing of colour in the cross from its original 
 one of alabaster to a paler tint; it next became 
 alternately jet black, and blue; and it was then 
 
 surrounded by a resplendent glory that lasted 
 
 • / / 
 
 during the whole service, at the termination of 
 which it resumed its natural colour!! 
 
 After a life resplendent with glorious achieve¬ 
 ments, too numerous to find a place in this limited 
 work, 
 
 “ Don John de Castro, less worn out with years 
 than with the toils of continual warfare, fell seri¬ 
 ously ill, and his malady soon shewing indications 
 
DYING SPEECH OF THE HERO. 
 
 125 
 
 of great danger, he hastened to unburthen himself 
 of the cares of the Indian government, the ma¬ 
 nagement of which he entrusted to the Bishop of 
 Goa, Don Joad de Albuquerque, Don Diego de 
 Almeyda Freire, Doctor Francisco Toscano chan¬ 
 cellor of state; Sebastiad Lopez Lobatto his 
 auditor general, &c. Besides these he called 
 together all the other king’s officers, and made the 
 following speech to them. f I am not ashamed, 
 Senhores, to tell you that to the viceroy of India 
 are wanting the common necessaries and conve¬ 
 niences indispensable to one labouring under so 
 severe an illness :—those, in short, which the poor¬ 
 est soldier finds in the hospital. I came to the 
 east to serve and not to trade ; to yourselves you 
 know that I desired to pawn the bones of my 
 son, and that I did pawn the hairs of my beard, 
 because, as security, I had no tapestries or service 
 of plate to give. This very day this house has 
 been destitute of wherewith to buy a fowl to 
 make me some broth; and for this reason, that in 
 all my expeditions the soldiers were sooner pro¬ 
 vided from the purse of the governor than from 
 that of their king. It is therefore not surprising 
 that a father of so many sons should now be poor. 
 I beg of you, that as long as this illness may last, 
 you will assign to me from the royal treasury a 
 
126 
 
 DEATH OF THE HERO. 
 
 mere sufficiency for my household expences and 
 hare subsistence.’ This said, he asked for a 
 prayer-book, and on it swore by the Holy Evan¬ 
 gelists that he did not owe the royal property one 
 single crusade, neither had he ever received the 
 smallest trifle from Christian, Jew. Moor, or Gen¬ 
 tile, under any plea whatsoever during the whole 
 of his career; and that his poverty was so great 
 that he did not possess even wherewithal to pur¬ 
 chase another mattress. 
 
 “ As soon as the viceroy felt his end approach, 
 he communed with Padre S. Francisco Xavier, 
 seeking for so doubtful a voyage, so sure a pilot; 
 who was to him during the remainder of his illness 
 both nurse, intercessor, and director^ Having re¬ 
 ceived the usual sacraments, he rendered up his 
 soul to God on the 6th June 1548, in the forty- 
 eighth year of his age. All the riches which he 
 accumulated in Asia were his glorious deeds. In 
 his desk were found a discipline, with the appear¬ 
 ance of having been much used, and the whiskers 
 which he had pawned. His remains were depo¬ 
 sited for a time in the convent of S. Francisco at 
 Goa. Some years afterwards they were brought 
 over to Europe, and were received with reverent 
 and pious applause. He was conveyed upon the 
 shoulders of four of his grandsons to the convent 
 
DEATH OF THE HERO. 
 
 127 
 
 of S. Domingos of Lisbon, where for many days 
 most sumptuous obsequies were made. From 
 thence they were again translated to the convent 
 of S. Domingos at Bern Fica where (as has been 
 mentioned) his grandson the inquisitor general 
 Don Francisco de Castro built him a suitable cha¬ 
 pel and sepulchre, which in every respect equals 
 a royal one, and is second to none in magnifi¬ 
 cence.” 
 

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CHAPTER VII 
 
 RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS OF LISBON. 
 
 CHURCH OF S. ROQUE-CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. 
 
 ANTONIO-VERACIOUS LEGENDS OF THAT SAINT-HIS 
 
 PRODIGIOUS REPUTATION AT THIS DAY-CURIOUS TREAT¬ 
 MENT WHICH THE SAINT SOMETIMES RECEIVES - CON¬ 
 VENT OF N. SA. DA GRAtJA - BLASPHEMOUS LEGENDS 
 
 ATTACHED TO IT-PROCESSION OF THE PA^OS DA GRA^A 
 
 - PENITENTS WHO ACCOMPANY IT- ENTERTAINMENTS 
 
 USUAL AFTER ITS PASSAGE-COPOS d’aGUA-PROCESSION 
 
 OF THE CORPO DE DEOS-ITS MAGNIFICENCE-FIGURE 
 
 AND EQUIPAGE OF S. GEORGE-THE SAINT A BRIGA¬ 
 DIER IN THE PORTUGUESE SERVICE-PROCESSION OF S. 
 
 ANTONIO-NUMEROUS IMAGES OF SAINTS WHICH ATTEND 
 
 IT - S. FRANCISCO DE PAULA AND HIS STIGMATA - 
 
 ANOTHER GOODLY LEGEND OF S. ANTONIO - PROCES¬ 
 
 SION OF S. BENTO REMARKABLE FOR THE PANTO¬ 
 MIMIC EXHIBITION OF THE STORY" OF ABRAHAM AND 
 
 ISAAC- PROCISSAO DO DESACATO-TER^O, OR EVENING 
 
 HYMN TO THE VIRGIN IN THE STREETS - FINE VOCAL 
 
 MUSIC PROCESSION OF OUR LADY OF PAINS BUR¬ 
 LESQUE RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS :-THAT OF THE OBSE¬ 
 
 QUIES OF BACALIIAO (OR SALT FISH) AFTER LENT, AND 
 
 ANOTHER OF THE ARTISANS AT MICHAELMAS-CURIOUS 
 
 SPIRIT SHEWN IN THESE MUMMERIES. 
 
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CHAPTER VII. 
 
 RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS OF LISBON. 
 
 j i l : . U 
 
 In all Lisbon, the church which is most visited by 
 strangers is that of S. Roque, less from any pecu¬ 
 liar attraction in its general structure, than from 
 the beautiful workmanship of one of the altar 
 pieces, which is in mosaic, representing the saint 
 to whom the edifice is dedicated. Unless this 
 piece of exceeding ingenuity and taste be closely 
 examined, it would be difficult to imagine it to be 
 any thing but a superb painting in oils. 
 
 The artist was an obscure self-taught individual 
 of the most modest and unassuming nature, who 
 in any other country would have been dragged 
 into notice in spite of his reluctance; but who in 
 Portugal was fully indulged in his taste for obscu¬ 
 rity. He possessed a secret of preparing and 
 dying certain kinds of wood for the purpose of 
 mosaic work, which no one could prevail upon 
 him to reveal. He shewed me at his house near 
 Boa Morte several smaller pictures of exquisite 
 
 k 2 
 
132 
 
 CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF S. ANTONIO. 
 
 workmanship. He stated his intention of impart¬ 
 ing his manner of working to his son ere he died ; 
 but like many who procrastinate, he was called 
 away too suddenly to admit of gratifying his wish, 
 and the world is likely to continue in ignorance of 
 a very desirable acquisition to the arts. 
 
 In the cathedral church of S. Antonio, called S. 
 Antonio da See, you are shewn the same identical 
 crow which, many hundred years ago, conducted a 
 vessel into the port of Lisbon after the loss of its 
 rudder in a storm. This wonderful crow was 
 from that time added to the city arms; or rather 
 the arms were from that occasion formed of a 
 vessel in full sail, with a crow on the end of the 
 bowsprit, and another on the stern. These birds 
 were deputed by S. Antonio, to the aid of the 
 distressed mariners, who had invoked his name. 
 The devil, it is well known, had a particular fancy 
 for tempting this saint; and used to set about it 
 in all kinds of ways. Upon one occasion, having 
 followed S. Antonio up into the belfry, the saint 
 to rid himself of such company, began to descend 
 the stone flight of steps; but the devil still con¬ 
 tinuing to pursue him, he turned suddenly round, 
 and describing with his thumb the sign of the 
 cross upon the marble wall, his Satanic majesty 
 evaporated in a trice. As if to commemorate the 
 
■ VERACIOUS LEGENDS OF THAT SAINT. 
 
 133 
 
 event, the saint’s thumb made a deep impression 
 
 in the marble, and the truth of the story cannot 
 
 be doubted, for the very texture of the thumb skin 
 
 is still discernible. 
 
 % 
 
 But of the feats of so celebrated a saint as S* 
 Antonio of Padua, this was far from being the 
 most considerable, as will appear from the follow¬ 
 ing legend which I take at hazard out of many 
 hundreds.—S. Antonio was born in Lisbon; but 
 having been educated at Padua, he was always 
 known by the latter name. Whilst at Padua, it 
 happened that his father was arrested at Lisbon, 
 and accused of the murder of a certain individual, 
 an acquaintance of his. Presumptive evidence 
 was so much against him, that the court of justice 
 after a short deliberation (he being a poor man, 
 and therefore unable to break through the cob¬ 
 webs of the law, as great flies do in every coun¬ 
 try,) condemned him to suffer death as guilty of 
 the crime laid to his charge. But S. Antonio, 
 knowing as all saints know, every thing that 
 passes in every corner of the globe, and ill brook¬ 
 ing his father’s exaltation ad patibulum, made a 
 sudden spring (he had been taught gymnastics at 
 Padua) which brought him in one minute and 
 seven seconds into the presence of the astonished 
 justices. Here, after lecturing them a little on 
 
 / 
 
134 HIS PRODIGIOUS REPUTATION AT THIS DAY. 
 
 their unjust precipitation, he summoned into then- 
 presence the soul of the murdered man and or¬ 
 dered him to name his murderer; when, what 
 words shall express their dismay and surprise at 
 his pointing to one of the sages upon the judges’ 
 bench. A smell of sulphur began to pervade the 
 hall of justice; the air was darkened with a thick 
 mysterious cloud; the rolling of thunder was 
 heard augmenting by degrees until, acquiring an 
 awful loudness, it burst with tremendous violence 
 over the petrified assembly; and, finally, when the 
 air cleared away, not a vestige was to be seen 
 either of S. Antonio, his father, or the guilty 
 judge. It was said and believed that the devil 
 had sunk with his prey through the wide yawning 
 ground ; and that by means of another gymnastic 
 spring the saint resumed his studies at Padua, 
 from whence his absence had been so short that 
 his preceptor had scarcely remarked it. 
 
 Envy and detraction are but feeble opponents 
 
 to real merit, and this was S. Anthony’s case; for 
 
 his reputation blazed forth in Portugal to such a 
 
 degree—after he was dead—that, to this day, a 
 
 clay image of him is seen in every spirit tavern 
 
 and in every grocer’s shop in Portugal: in the 
 
 * 
 
 former, owing to his well known attachment to 
 good liquor; and in the latter, because the mode 
 
CURIOUS TREATMENT KE SOMETIMES RECEIVES. 135 
 
 of preserving figs and almonds is attributed to his 
 inventive genius. The festival of S. Antonio is 
 kept in pretty much the same manner as that of 
 S. John, by the burning of many bonfires on the 
 eve and the letting off of great quantities of fire¬ 
 works ; but the former saint has this difference in 
 his favor, that the boys in every street erect little 
 altars to him and pester to death every creature 
 who goes by, for money to be employed, they say, 
 in defraying the expences of the wax tapers burnt 
 at his shrine. 
 
 Although S. Macario is recognized as the Por¬ 
 tuguese Hymen, and known by the name of S. 
 Macario casamenteiro (marriage maker), it very 
 frequently occurs that young women in particular 
 prefer S. Antonio in these matters. He is there¬ 
 fore consulted, and if things wear a prosperous 
 aspect, his image is honored with a quantity of 
 tapers; but if the contrary be the case, he be¬ 
 comes liable to the grossest possible indignities, 
 and I have even known him plunged into places 
 where his situation must have been any thing but 
 pleasant. It is not with lovesick maidens alone 
 that S. Antonio has often to repent of his too 
 extensive reputation; for mariners, who have 
 prayed to him in vain for propitious breezes, at 
 
136 
 
 CONVENT OF N. S. DA (JRA 9 A. 
 
 
 length lose patience and flog his effigy lashed to a 
 mast. ' ' . 
 
 The convent of N. S a . da Gra$a near the castle 
 of S. George is that which is most frequented 
 during the Lent festivals, for two reasons : first, 
 because the ceremonies are there more splendidly 
 performed, and the altars more richly adorned 
 than any where else; and secondly, because the 
 Portuguese believe this convent to possess the most 
 sacred of all treasures. ’ ‘ 
 
 In explaining the particulars of this belief, I 
 scarcely know how to avoid shocking the good 
 feeling and piety of the true Christian; but the 
 following story is necessary to expose one of the 
 most audacious impostures of the Romish church, 
 and to elucidate the extent of Portuguese super¬ 
 stition and credulity. The convent of the Gra$a 
 of which I have just spoken, and that of S. Roque, 
 have been for a series of years at issue on the fol¬ 
 lowing subject. - ) _ ' /' c-aiil&o 
 
 * R happened, one stormy night, that a beggar 
 knocked at the gate of the convent of S. Roque 
 and craved the hospitality of its inmates, both for 
 food and lodging. The first was afforded him, 
 but the latter was refused; so that being obliged 
 to seek a lodging elsewhere, he directed his steps 
 
BLASPHEMOUS LEGENDS ATTACHED TO IT. 137 
 
 to the convent of N. S. da Grafa, where the friars 
 received him without the least hesitation and gave 
 him a cell for the night. The following morning, 
 as the beggar did not make his appearance, some 
 of the friars went to the cell to inquire after him; 
 when, instead of a beggar, they found a figure as 
 large as life of our Saviour carrying the cross to 
 Mount Calvary and bending under its weight:— 
 the figure, in short, which is in universal venera¬ 
 tion among the Portuguese, as “ O Senhor dos 
 Pa9os da Gra9a” (Our Lord of the passage to 
 Grace). Now it being firmly believed that this 
 figure is our Lord himself in flesh and blood, and 
 that he thus gave himself to the friars of Gra9a 
 to reward their hospitality, those of S. Roque 
 claim a right to it also, on the ground of the beg¬ 
 gar having first knocked at their door, and having 
 received food at their hands. 
 
 This then is the cause of the litigation; and as 
 it does not seem soon likely to end, it has been 
 settled that, in the meanwhile, the Senhor dos 
 pa90s shall pay one annual visit to the monastery 
 of S. Roque during Lent, and return on that day 
 week to the convent of Gra9a. Many are the 
 marvellous stories which all who go to see the 
 figure are told by the holy man who shews it. 
 He relates, amongst other things, that an unbe- 
 
138 PROCESSION OF THE PA$OS DA GRA$A. 
 
 lieving Jewess, after hearing much said on the 
 subject, had determined to convince her inform¬ 
 ants to demonstration by her teeth of their cre¬ 
 dulous folly. Assuming, therefore, the garb of a 
 Christian woman, she knelt before the figure, and 
 approaching her lips as if to kiss its foot, she in¬ 
 flicted on it a tremendous bite. But the blood 
 immediately spirted forth into her eyes and blind¬ 
 ed her ; and this prodigy had such an effect upon 
 her mind, that she forthwith embraced the Chris¬ 
 tian religion. The print of the teeth, and the 
 blood which they drew, are still visible on the foot 
 of the figure, the wound refusing to heal in order 
 to furnish a proof to others inclined to disbelief. 
 
 The annual visits to S. Roque abovementioned 
 are made on the last Friday but one during Lent; 
 and the return home is on Good Friday. On 
 both these occasions, the principal persons in the 
 state walk on either side of the statue as pall 
 bearers. When the king is in the capital, he is 
 the chief bearer. During his absence I have seen 
 all the members of the regency, the secretary of 
 state, the master general of the ordnance &c., in 
 the places of honor. But what in this procession 
 is most worthy the attention of protestant stran¬ 
 gers, is the groupe of persons who dressed in 
 horse clothes crawl on their hands and knees 
 
Pkocessiojn ot’ tie Sesoi dos ?assos m ghaca. 
 

COPOS D’AGUA. 
 
 139 
 
 under the image through mud and mire, all the 
 distance betwixt these two convents. 
 
 This is the highest effort of penitence and vo¬ 
 luntary humiliation; and it is generally performed 
 by those peccant spirits, in the fidalgo world, who 
 are anxious to wipe away past sins, that they may 
 acquire the privilege of renewing them afresh. I 
 have seen a marchioness and a countess perform¬ 
 ing this tour de promenade on their bare bones, 
 and flogging or pretending to flog themselves with 
 the disciplines tied round their waist at every 
 pause which the statue made during its progress. 
 
 A detachment of infantry and a military band 
 close the procession; the windows of the streets 
 through which it passes are crowded on these 
 occasions with company: and it is no small annual 
 expence to a tenant of one of these houses. For 
 so great is the eagerness of both sexes to wit¬ 
 ness the procession of the Senhor dos Passos, that 
 they invite themselves to their friends’ houses, 
 some weeks before hand; and it is evident that 
 after the sight is over, some refreshments must be 
 set before the company. 
 
 These consist of w r hat the Portuguese call copo 
 d’agua, which, literally translated, signifies only a 
 glass of water; but which in reality is composed 
 of trays pyramidically piled up with the richest 
 
140 
 
 PROCESSION OF THE CORPO DE DEOS. 
 
 kinds of sweetmeats. Amongst these are distin¬ 
 guished the trouxas d’ovos, made chiefly of the 
 yolks of eggs and white sugar. I am ignorant of 
 the other ingredients, but this I know, that nothing 
 can be more delicious than these copos d’agua 
 taken altogether. To wash down the sweet¬ 
 meats, the most choice liqueurs are served round: 
 they are chiefly such as France and Italy afford, 
 so that an entertainment of this kind for a couple 
 of dozen of persons cannot well cost less than 
 from fifteen to twenty pounds. 
 
 The procession of the Senhor dos Passos is only 
 remarkable for the image of our Saviour above- 
 mentioned, and for the penance performed under 
 it. But the processions of the Corpo de Deos 
 (the Corpus Christi) and of S. Antonio are in¬ 
 finitely more showy. 
 
 The former, which happens usually about mid¬ 
 summer, causes a great sensation for two months 
 at least previous to the appointed day. Windows 
 are hired before hand at an extravagant price, and 
 persons of respectability residing in the Ro^io or 
 in Gold or Silver street cannot shew a greater 
 mark of attention and favor to their friends, 
 than by inviting them to a place in their balconies. 
 All the latter, as well as the windows of all the 
 streets through which the procession is to pass. 
 
FIGURE AND EQUIPAGE OF S. GEORGE. 
 
 141 
 
 are hung with crimson tapestry and gold fringe, 
 giving to the houses the most splendid appear¬ 
 ance. The streets are also deeply strewed with 
 sand, as it is usual for his majesty and the royal 
 princes to walk with the procession as pall bearers 
 to our Lord's body. 
 
 The procession generally issues at about eleven 
 o’clock in the morning from the church near the 
 Inquisition in the Rotfio. First of all are seen 
 some very rich banners of different convents, fol¬ 
 lowed by all the monks belonging to each of them; 
 then comes the figure of S. George, on a real 
 horse from the royal stables, led by the king’s 
 servants in full royal livery, and very much re¬ 
 sembling the knave of clubs. The saint’s dress is 
 very like that in which Francis I. of France is 
 usually represented; and his velvet hat, adorned 
 with white ostrich feathers, is studded all over 
 with diamonds of a prodigious value. These are 
 the property of the duke de Cadaval *, who lends 
 them for the occasion, and who I believe does not 
 find that they multiply in number for having passed 
 through the fingers of the monks. 
 
 Behind the saint comes his page, also richly 
 dressed, and mounted on one of the royal stud ; 
 
 * Of a branch of the Montmorency family. 
 
142 
 
 FIGURE AND EQUIPAGE OF S. GEORGE. 
 
 and he is followed again by the armour bearer of 
 the belliquous saint, dressed in complete armour 
 of a more than common size ; so that to perform 
 this character the priests are obliged to employ 
 the sturdiest gallego they can find. Then follow 
 all the knights of the different orders, dressed in 
 their robes, and walking in double file with white 
 staves in their hands. These are succeeded by 
 some led horses gorgeously caparisoned. Then 
 comes a band of music, such as was in use in S. 
 George’s time, the principal instrument being a 
 kettle drum. The dresses of the musicians, and 
 the noise which they make, are alike ridiculous in 
 the extreme. After these and a few more eccle¬ 
 siastical personages, is carried the pretended body 
 of our Saviour, laid out on a bier, covered over 
 with a very rich pall,, and screened by a canopy, 
 the poles of which are borne by the most distin¬ 
 guished men of the state : his majesty walking by 
 the side on the right, and the heir apparent on the 
 left &c. 
 
 The rear, as in other processions, is brought up 
 by a considerable detachment of troops and one 
 or more bands of music. The whole of the Ro^io 
 square and the principal streets are lined with 
 troops, who, as well as the people, kneel as the 
 body passes in front of them. After making the 
 
THE SAINT A BRIGADIER. 
 
 143 
 
 usual tour, the procession returns to the church 
 from whence it set off, with the exception of Saint 
 George, who, being a brigadier in the service goes 
 (previous to returning to his quarters) accom¬ 
 panied by his page and armour bearer, to the 
 castle for the purpose of receiving his year’s pay. 
 His arrival there is announced by the firing of a 
 gun and letting off of a rocket. After completing 
 his errand, he also returns to take his station in 
 the church. 
 
 Formerly, when ladies wore their hair turned 
 up like prodigious towers of powder and poma¬ 
 tum, in imitation of the Caffre beauties with their 
 pyramids of suet and brick dust, the coiffeurs 
 were in such request previous to the Corpus 
 Christi procession, that many ladies, nay most 
 ladies, were compelled to begin to submit to tins 
 long operation at an early hour on the eve, and to 
 pass the night on a chair for fear of discomposing 
 their unnatural adjustment. This procession 
 being invariably in the heat of summer, much in¬ 
 convenience results to every one present, as both 
 actors and spectators are compelled to remain un¬ 
 covered. The monks above all suffer a great deal 
 from the burning rays of the sun on their shaven 
 crowns; and these they are seen occasionally to 
 shade with the rolls of vocaljmusic which some of 
 
144 
 
 S. FRANCISCO AND HIS STIGMATA. 
 
 them carry; while the knights sometimes throw 
 the tail of their robes over their heads. 
 
 On the eve of S. Antonio’s day, numberless tar 
 barrels and fire works are burnt in every quarter 
 of the city; augmenting the already insufferable 
 heat of the atmosphere, as this festival likewise 
 happens in summer. The procession of this fa¬ 
 vorite saint and especial patron of Portugal is 
 enriched by the attendance of almost every saint 
 in the city. Here are seen Nossas Senhoras of all 
 sorts, sizes, colours, and dresses : every parish try¬ 
 ing to out do its neighbour in the quantity of tin¬ 
 sel and tawdry finery in which they are decked 
 
 out. . - 
 
 Here attend all the brotherhoods of all the 
 
 parishes, and the monks of every convent in the 
 city. The images, which amount to upwards of a 
 hundred, offer a great variety as may be supposed. 
 Some of the stands are composed of groups ; for 
 instance, a crucifix with the Marys at the foot 
 of it; and another with S. Francisco de Paula 
 kneeling before it, and a red thread or twine 
 issuing from all the wounds of our Saviour, and 
 fixed at the other end, in corresponding parts of 
 the saint’s person, who holds his arms extended. 
 
 This, which is represented in the plate, is de¬ 
 scriptive of what is said to have happened to that 
 

 9 
 
 OIJEOJ.JEV iS flO IOISS3JOW '3IH.L JB.I O 0) § I 3 K VIE $ iS 
 

 .V 
 
 -s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 D 
 
ANOTHER GOODLY LEGEND. 145 
 
 Saint. While he was once in the midst of the most 
 fervent devotion and praying to bear a part of 
 Christ’s pains, the heavens are described as having 
 suddenly opened. The Saviour appeared still 
 nailed to the cross ;> and by excess of sympathy 
 the holy S. Francis felt his hands, feet, and side, 
 pierced through with cruel wounds from blood, 
 which spirted from those of his master. 
 
 The images of S. Antonio which appear in his 
 procession are very numerous and varied, but most 
 of them represent him carrying the infant Jesus 
 seated on a book which he holds on the palm of 
 his hand; the signification of which is this. S. An¬ 
 tonio is described as being a very handsome young 
 saint, of manners so agreeable and gay, that the 
 infant Jesus on many occasions shewed marks of 
 particular favor towards him; and in the case 
 here represented deigned to interfere in his studies* 
 in a manner of which S, Antonio ever after was 
 exceedingly proud. 
 
 The legend relates that the latter was one day 
 poring over some very abstruse subject in a 
 volume of theology, and after much trouble and 
 study was about coming to a conclusive decision 
 on the doubtful question, when suddenly the in- 
 fant Jesus appeared in a cloud and seated himself 
 down on the page, patting S. Antony’s face with 
 
 L 
 
146 
 
 PROCESSION OF S. BENTO. 
 
 his little hands. This depriving the world of a 
 secret, which S, Antony’s profound wisdom was 
 about to unravel, is supposed to be intended as a 
 hint to all Christians, to accord an implicit and 
 humble belief in the mysteries of our religion, 
 without losing and wasting time in metaphysical 
 researches. 
 
 The procession of S. Bento happens during 
 Lent, and it not being a very remarkable one, I 
 should have said nothing about it, but that, in 
 the course of its passage through the streets, a 
 farce is performed, which distinguishes it from all 
 others. This farce is as follows. A group of 
 men in penitents’ hoods very similar to dominos 
 precede a stand, on which are seen three men re¬ 
 presenting Abraham, Isaac, and the Angel: a 
 wooden ram on one side completes the group. 
 At every pause made for the resting of the stand 
 bearers (who are occasionally relieved) Isaac lies 
 down on the altar; Abraham lifts up his arm to 
 strike; and the Angel at the same moment jerks 
 it back by means of a piece of tape, of which he 
 holds one end while the other is tied to Abraham’s 
 wrist. This is done in such a manner, that 
 very devout spectators can scarcely refrain from 
 the most boisterous mirth. The Angel generally 
 tries to give so violent a jerk as almost to upset 
 
PROCISSAO DO DESACATO. 
 
 147 
 
 poor Abraham; and but that they choose for the 
 latter character a poor goodnatured fellow, one 
 might expect to see these angelic practical jokes 
 answered by a good box on the ear. 
 
 The penitents who precede and those who fol¬ 
 low the above group, flog themselves occasionally 
 with the diciplines, but in doing so they generally 
 contrive to hurt themselves much less than the 
 bystanders, whom they hit now and then as if by 
 accident with the knotted end of their rope. This 
 
 i 
 
 they do with more impunity owing to. the conceal¬ 
 ment of their faces, in their purple two-holed 
 dominos. 
 
 Such then are the principal annual processions 
 to be seen in Lisbon. In 1815 a procession of an 
 unusual nature was ordered by the cardinal-patri¬ 
 arch ; and being intended as an expiatory one for 
 several crimes which had been committed by somO 
 sacrilegious monsters in the northern provinces, it 
 was called a Procissad do desacato. The patri¬ 
 arch, it appears, had learnt that robbers had 
 broken into some isolated chapels in the province 
 of Tras os montes; and that, being disappointed at 
 finding that the holy vessels were of pewter (the 
 silver ones had been carried away during the war) 
 they had been exasperated to commit every kind 
 of indignity which the most obscene imagination 
 
 .. . L 2 . 
 
148 TER 90 , OR EVENING HYMN TO THE VIRGIN. 
 
 could devise even to the holy chalice itself, in 
 which was a consecrated wafer. Fearful lest the 
 nation should be visited by some signal judgment 
 for these atrocities, the patriarch deemed it expe¬ 
 dient to make the above procession, which every 
 body was expected to attend barefoot. 
 
 The cortege was certainly a very numerous one; 
 but only one image appeared in it, and that was 
 a Nossa Senhora whose church had been insulted, 
 and to whom the nation thus made an “ amende 
 honorable.” . The patriarch’s desire of appeasing 
 heaven, went still farther: he revived the custom 
 of the Ter^o, which consists of a gathering of the 
 inhabitants of each street, at evening twilight or 
 rather when the Ave Maria bell tolls, which is a 
 little after sun-set. Here they sing the Ter^o, or 
 hymn to the virgin, in front of an image niched 
 in the wall of some house with a lighted lanthorn 
 suspended in front of it. Those of the inhabitants 
 whose houses are adjacent to these images, con¬ 
 tent themselves with coming to their windows and 
 chiming in with the rest. In some streets the 
 singing is really beautiful (in that of the Esperan^a 
 for instance) where there assemble a number of 
 very fine and truly musical bass voices, owing to 
 the neighbourhood of a chafaris or fountain, at 
 which the gallegos leave their barrels at those 
 moments to join in the general chaunt. 
 
PROCESSION OF OUR LADY OF PAINS: 
 
 149 
 
 There is another ceremony called the Terfo 
 which is a species of minor procession, having for 
 its object the collecting of money for the church. 
 A certain number of the brotherhood (Irman- 
 dade *) meet in the vestry at about eight o’clock 
 at night and sally from thence through the streets 
 of their parish dressed in a religious costume, and 
 singing the hymn of Nossa Senhora das Dores :— 
 our Lady of pains or sufferings. One man bears 
 a standard, suspended like a square sail, on whick 
 is painted the figure of Nossa Senhora with no 
 less than seven swords sticking in her bosom—~ 
 emblems of the wounds her heart received at the 
 treatment of her son. On each side of the standard 
 bearer, is another man bearing a l&nthorn at the 
 end of a pole ; while several others, provided with 
 baskets and each carrying a lighted archote (torch), 
 run from window to window to receive what may 
 be thrown from them. 
 
 The silence which, at this hour of the night, 
 
 • * ' ' •• > - • * . )‘i,} '* • .1 Gi. 
 
 * Irmandade—or brotherhood—from Irmao —brother. A 
 certain number of respectable tradesmen in each parish com¬ 
 pose this body : they transact vestry business in rotation, and 
 accompany the Ter^o, as well as the host when it is carried 
 out to the dying. 
 
 The Irmandade da Misericordia have as their particular 
 duty the burial of the poor: they are exceedingly and most 
 unjustly despised. 
 
150 
 
 BURLESQUE RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS, 
 
 usually reigns throughout the city (particularly 
 in winter), when disturbed by the singing of the 
 Ter^o of N. S. das Dores, produces an effect lugu¬ 
 briously disagreeable. But to persons returning 
 home by themselves and on foot, these processions 
 afford a species,, of security; and the numerous 
 torches which are at these times in movement in 
 all directions, have not unfrequently defeated the 
 meditated blow of the assassin at the moment of 
 his emerging from his hiding place. 
 
 A ceremony not less important than those of 
 which I have spoken, and one which is well 
 worthy the attention of travellers, is the funeral 
 procession of Bacalhao (salt fish) on the last day of 
 Lent. Here a number of grotesque personages 
 appear, as if to carry along a corpse for interment; 
 and this semblance of a dead body personifies the 
 Quaresma (Lent), and its emblem salt fish, the 
 chief aliment of most classes during the forty 
 days of self-denial. One of the cortege, ridicu¬ 
 lously dressed, reads at the corners of the streets, 
 the last will and testament of Senhor Bacalhao; 
 and to give this buffoonery an appearance of gra¬ 
 vity, a few soldiers of the police cavalry escort the 
 procession. 
 
 But I must not omit to notice some other mock 
 religious processions which are still more strange* 
 
BURLESQUE RELIGIOUS PROCESSIONS. 
 
 151 
 
 Portuguese labourers of every description begin 
 on Lady-day to enjoy, throughout the summer, 
 the right of indulging in the sesta or meridian 
 nap, from one o’clock until three p. m. This 
 being a comfort to which they attach great value, 
 they have a feast on that day at the chapel of 
 Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres, our lady of enjoy¬ 
 ments ; which is situated near Fonte Santa on the 
 north-west side of the city. At Michaelmas the 
 right of sesta ends, and they celebrate its termi¬ 
 nation by a mock funeral procession, arranged 
 pretty much upon the same order of march which 
 is observed when the sacrament goes to visit the 
 sick. 
 
 r 
 
 In front, are three men; the centre one carry¬ 
 ing a mortar board suspended to a pole like a 
 banner, while the others, carry emchadas (large 
 hoes) upright, in imitation of lanthorns. An old 
 tin water-pot serves for the bellman’s use: and 
 the incense-bearers carry mud baskets suspended 
 by three or four strings. In these they put a few 
 lighted coals; and throwing something upon them 
 to create a smoke* they swing the baskets to and 
 fro as if they were censers. The trowels, pick 
 axes, mallets, &c. all are made to represent some¬ 
 thing connected with church ceremonies ; and the 
 dress of this brotherhood consists of a common 
 
152 CURIOUS SPIRIT SHEWN IN THESE MUMMERIES. 
 
 % 
 
 sack with a hole at the bottom for the head to 
 pass through, and one on each side for the arms* 
 Thus the most catholic people in the world 
 amuse themselves in burlesquing holy things which 
 we heretics, with all the profaneness which they 
 attribute to us, so shrink from regarding with 
 levity, that the very exposure of these mummeries 
 is endured with reluctance, and dismissed with 
 rapidity, . 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 PORTUGUESE EQUIPAGES. 
 
 LOW STATE OF THE USEFUL ARTS IN PORTUGAL-SEGE, 
 
 OR CHAISE, ALMOST THE ONLY KIND OF CARRIAGE IN 
 
 USE—ITS CLUMSY CONSTRUCTION-DIGRESSION ON FLIES 
 
 -HACKNEY SEGE-RATE OF HIRE-INSOLENCE OF 
 
 DRIVERS-EQUIPAGES OF THE NOBILITY—CARRIAGE 
 
 MULES-ROYAL BREED OF THE RA^A d’aLTER—MODE OF 
 
 FODDERING ANIMALS IN PORTUGAL-CRUEL CUSTOM OF 
 
 OBLIGING THEM TO SLEEP STANDING—PECULIAR DIS¬ 
 EASE INCIDENT TO ANIMALS IN THIS CLIMATE-STABLE 
 
 RETINUE OF A FIDALGO-NUMEROUS RUFFIANS HAR¬ 
 
 BOURED IN NOBLE RESIDENCES—SHAMELESS IMMUNITY 
 
 FROM JUSTICE-INSTANCE OF THE EFFECTS OF THIS- 
 
 HOPEFUL EDUCATION OF YOUNG FIDALGOS-LAQUAIOS 
 
 AND STABLE-BOYS THEIR COMPANIONS-THEIR EQUES¬ 
 TRIAN FEATS-COSTUME OF A PORTUGUESE NOBLE DANDY 
 
 -TASTE OF THE PORTUGUESE NOBLES FOR THE FINE 
 
 ARTS-ANECDOTE—NOBLE PRIVILEGE OF APOSENTADO- 
 
 RIA-DESCRIPTION AND ENORMITY OF THE ABUSE-KING 
 
 PEDRO THE CRUEL-HIS RIGOROUS IMPARTIALITY-HIS 
 
 STRANGE ADMINISTRATION OF RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE- 
 
 NUMEROUS HOUSEHOLD OF THE FIDALGOS-THEIR MEAN 
 
 ECONOMY-THEIR PRIDE-PEDIGREE OF THE HOUSE OF 
 
 DA COSTA-PORTUGUESE TITLES AND MODES OF ADDRESS. 
 
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 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PORTUGUESE EQUIPAGES. 
 
 "L V**M#Y ' / » 
 
 In the History of Portugal, vol. I. p. 12, pub¬ 
 lished in Lisbon in 1787, may be read the con¬ 
 fession that “ Nothing which we see in other 
 countries could equal the state of debasement in 
 which, in Portugal, the sciences and useful arts 
 were plunged previous to the last reform of 1772.” 
 
 That improvements were meditated at the pe¬ 
 riod above mentioned is possible, but they no 
 where appear to have been operated; and in no¬ 
 thing is this more apparent than in the object in 
 the plate now before us. It is a correct sketch of 
 a Lisbon vehicle—chaise, hackney coach, or what 
 you will—for no other equipages are to be seen; 
 with the exception of a very few glass coaches be¬ 
 longing to some English residents, and the clumsily 
 built and old fashioned court carriages, heavy as 
 porters’ drays and gaudy as gilded ginger-bread, 
 which, during the king’s absence at Rio, used. 
 
156 
 
 digression on flies. 
 
 together with some servants and soiled liveries, to 
 be let out for christenings to any one who chose 
 to pay the expenses entailed by such borrowed 
 tinsel. 
 
 The sege or hackney coach is drawn by mules 
 or horses, sometimes by one of each. The con¬ 
 struction of the vehicle is so wretchedly imagined, 
 that it is not impervious to rain or dust, having 
 nothing but the leather curtain in front to protect 
 you from either. This curtain is left open in fine 
 weather; although you then get covered with flies 
 who, being disturbed at your approach, rise in 
 thick clouds from the street dunghills, and out of 
 revenge crowd in upon you, bringing with them 
 small remnants of that on which they have been 
 feeding. In some streets, where the uncleanliness 
 is greater than elsewhere, the bodies of the horses 
 and the wheels of the vehicle are literally covered 
 by the disturbed swarms of these disgusting in¬ 
 sects ; and the buzzing noise which fills the air is 
 almost sufficient to drown conversation. 
 
 ; It is impossible, even in the houses, to get rid 
 of this intolerable nuisance. At table, if you let 
 fall your knife, such are the clustering crowds of 
 them, that you will kill at least from twenty to 
 thirty without counting the wounded, who limping 
 away in all directions creep most likely into your 
 
HACKNEY SEGE—RATE Of* HIRE. \51 
 
 plate and thus complete your nausea. Hundreds 
 are the expedients that have been tried to effect 
 a riddance of them. Some place, as is done in 
 England, plates of poison near the windows; 
 others tie bird-limed strings across the top of the 
 room for them to stick to at roosting hours. 
 Bunches of cut paper are hung up in the rooms 
 on which they attach themselves at night, and 
 being then set fire to suddenly, myriads are de¬ 
 stroyed at a blow. 
 
 But all these are ineffectual remedies, and no 
 other alternative remains for a stranger than to 
 resign himself to the evil, and quietly swallow as 
 many of them per diem as the natives, who being 
 accustomed to it, do not feel the inconvenience. 
 In the street, it is of urgent necessity to keep 
 one’s mouth shut; and if speech becomes neces¬ 
 sary, let it at least be articulated without unclos¬ 
 ing the teeth. The mosquitos are also—but I 
 have already made too long a digression about 
 flies, and must therefore return to my subject. 
 
 When a sege is wanted, it is adviseable to ac¬ 
 quaint its proprietor with your wishes the day be¬ 
 fore ; otherwise you are likely to wait until eleven 
 or twelve o’clock before you see it arrive at your 
 door; so slow are they, when unprepared, to put 
 their horses to. For half a day, the price is from 
 
158 
 
 EQUIPAGES OF THE NOBILITY. 
 
 sixteen testoons to two milreis; but if you keep 
 it (or if the postilion can drawl his time out) be¬ 
 yond one o’clock p. m. you are compelled to pay 
 for the whole day which is from three mil, to four 
 milreis besides three or four shillings to the driver. 
 It is seldom or ever that any of these latter fellows 
 are commonly civil, being in all Lisbon, the most 
 insolent people you meet with. I heard one of 
 them, who, on being dismissed by a Portuguese 
 colonel, was not satisfied with his gorjetta, and 
 observed that the colonel was obliged to stoop on 
 entering the door on account of the length of his 
 chaco and feather, exclaim, in the hearing of the 
 ladies “ Tao grandes as tem, q nao lhe cabem 
 pela porta.” Anglice, “ His antlers are too large 
 to get in at the door.” 
 
 The only difference observable between the 
 common seges and those of the fidalgos consists 
 in this, that the arreios (harness) and leather cur¬ 
 tains of the latter are perhaps a little blacker 
 than those of the former, although either will 
 cover with smut the hands of any one who at¬ 
 tempts to buckle them. I say smut, because the 
 name of blacking would be misapplied to that 
 with which they clean or rather dirt those parts 
 of their equipages. No Mr. Warren, with his 
 real japan, is known in this grande cidade, a little 
 
MODE OF FODDERING CATTLE IN PORTUGAL. 159 
 
 vinegar mixed with lamp black or chimney black 
 being regarded as a sufficient substitute for his 
 “ liquid lustrealthough the above spurious imi¬ 
 tation of it is dignified with the name of Graixa 
 Ingleza (English blacking). , 
 
 The mules belonging to the seges of the fidal- 
 gos are also generally speaking in better order 
 than those of the common hackneys; but they 
 rarely approach in excellence of breed to those 
 which are termed of the Ra^a d’Alter, and are 
 almost exclusively reserved for the use of the royal 
 family. As far as mules can be called handsome, 
 these certainly are pre-eminent over any in exist¬ 
 ence; and they are equalled by no other breed 
 either in sleekness of skin, height of stature,—or 
 dexterity and proneness to kick even at those 
 whose sole time is devoted to the care of them. 
 Such is the untoward nature of these shabby sub¬ 
 stitutes for the nobler horse. 
 
 In the months of February and March, it is 
 usual in Portugal to give green forage to mules 
 and horses: this consists of barley nearly full 
 grown and is, as may be imagined, expensive 
 enough particularly in cases where a small ration 
 of grain per diem is also allowed them. It is at 
 this season of the year, and by means of this 
 
160 
 
 CRUEL CUSTOM. 
 
 treatment, that they acquire a beautiful sleekness 
 and embonpoint, both of which begin to disappear 
 towards the end of autumn, when the sticking of 
 the skin to the ribs would be more visible but for 
 the rough hide with which nature provides them 
 on the approach of winter. With the exception 
 of the green forage months, the cattle in Portugal 
 feed on straw, there being no hay in the country 
 owing to the burnt up state of all pasture at so 
 early a period as the end of April or beginning of 
 May. 
 
 ' A custom here exists which is exceedingly re¬ 
 volting to the feelings of an Englishman, and for 
 which, as no good reason is alleged by the natives, 
 we must reproach the laziness of the lacquaios and 
 culpable connivance of their masters. I mean 
 that cruel custom of never allowing their animals 
 to lie down when inclined to sleep or rest;—a com¬ 
 fort so well provided for in our stables, and, one 
 would imagine, so indispensable for the well-being 
 of the cattle. No beds are therefore made for 
 them of straw or of anything else; and whether 
 this is practised from a view to economy, or merely 
 to save the trouble of curry-combing a soiled hide, 
 I will not pretend to determine. But this I know 
 that the cruel custom does exist, and that in order 
 
STABLE RETINUE OF A FIDALGO. 
 
 161 
 
 to prevent their lying down to sleep, their halters 
 are shortened to about the length of ten or twelve 
 inches every night. 
 
 Indian corn is as frequently given to the cattle 
 as barley; and a small kind of bean also. During 
 the months of dry forage, it frequently happens 
 that the roof of the animal’s mouth becomes so 
 enlarged as to project beyond the level of the 
 teeth. In these cases it is scarified with a pen¬ 
 knife or even a nail in various directions, so as 
 to produce a copious discharge of blood; and the 
 mouth is then washed two or three times a day, 
 with a rag tied round a stick, dipped in a mixture 
 of vinegar, pounded onions, and salt. Until this 
 remedy is applied, the animal is unable to chew 
 his food. I have invariably observed that leeches 
 attach themselves much more readily to the mouth 
 of animals thus affected than to others, when 
 drinking. The fountains in Portugal abound with 
 this useful reptile; and it would seem that this 
 circumstance is a provision made by nature to give 
 relief to the mouths of animals so diseased. 
 
 The retainers in the families of the Portuguese 
 fidalgos are very numerous, sometimes amounting 
 to fifty or sixty. Many hang about the stables, 
 whose abode there is altogether unknown to the 
 family; but their object in thus passing*for ser- 
 
 M 
 
162 
 
 NUMEROUS RUFFIANS HARBOURED. 
 
 vants or stable boys is to enjoy the protection 
 which appertains by right to all the dependants 
 of a fidalgo. One of the chief privileges, indeed, 
 of a Portuguese nobleman is the inviolability of 
 his meanest out-houses, in cases where any of these 
 ruffians should take refuge therein to elude the 
 grasp of justice after the commission of murder. 
 
 The numberless laquaios and ruffians seen bask¬ 
 ing in the sun at the stable doors, and in the 
 court, out-houses &c. of a fidalgo, may be re¬ 
 garded as instruments of his revenge on the 
 merest occasions. Unfortunately there are but 
 too many sad instances on record of the truth 
 of this; and every one who has resided for any 
 length of time in Lisbon, particularly previous 
 to the war, must have witnessed or heard of 
 hundreds of atrocities of this nature. It used 
 (not half a century ago) to be quite a favorite 
 amusement at night for the young noblemen to 
 sally forth at the head of a band of their cut¬ 
 throat lacqueys, called by them valentoes, and to 
 way-lay, maim, rob, or assassinate in the most 
 cowardly manner any one who might have in¬ 
 curred their displeasure. 
 
 . A Belgian gentleman, on coming from the opera 
 in 1800 , was pursued by a gang of these heroes; 
 but screening himself suddenly in a part of the 
 
HOPEFUL EDUCATION OF YOUNG FIDALGOS. 163 
 
 0 r » .. ^ 
 
 arch near Isidro’s eating house, they passed the 
 place of his concealment. Failing in their attempt 
 to catch him, they were bitterly upbraided and 
 abused by one of the party; and he heard the 
 others answer, “ It is not our fault if he escaped; 
 your Excellency must have seen that we were 
 
 r- m . r .. 
 
 close upon his heels: but he has disappeared 
 Nossa Senhora knows where.” 
 
 About the time here alluded to, and in most 
 families of fidalgos even in our times, the young 
 heir is seen all day lounging about with these 
 worthless wretches in the stables, tossing up 
 coppers with them in the court-yard, playing at 
 bisca (a game at cards) with them on the flights 
 of steps, and learning to smoke segars in a know¬ 
 ing style, with a whip in the other hand, and the 
 hat, with the true bravo air, cocked up on one 
 side. This, instead of literary pursuits, or in fact 
 of any calculated to improve the mind, is the be¬ 
 ginning, and in many cases the finishing, of a fidal- 
 go’s education. One thing however (I must not 
 forget to say) is never omitted; and that is eques¬ 
 trian instruction. The young nobility usually at¬ 
 tend a riding house, if that name may be given to 
 a place in which they are taught to sit as upright 
 as a poker, not on a saddle but in a box, which 
 comes up as high nearly as the abdomen in front, 
 
 m 2 
 
164 TASTE OF THE PORTUGUESE NOBLES 
 
 and to a corresponding height behind, forming a 
 receptacle for seat and thighs, out of which it is 
 impossible to be thrown. Yet even when securely 
 packed in these wooden cases, the prowest cava¬ 
 liers of Portugal never dare to attempt the mighty 
 hazard of a leap. 
 
 I have endeavoured, as well as the size of the 
 drawing will permit, to delineate this saddle-box, 
 which, as in universal use throughout Portugal, 
 belongs equally to the fidalgo and the postillion. 
 The jack boots, too, worn by the postillion in the 
 plate are in general request; and, as filled by the 
 embryo fidalgos, come (when standing,) half way 
 up their thighs. These, with a high cocked hat, 
 or moon raker, and a long straight whip, complete 
 in their estimation the costume of a knowing gal¬ 
 lant. Such being the leading points in the edu¬ 
 cation of a young fidalgo, it will not surprise any 
 one to be told that, with the exception of a few of 
 the order who are distinguished for the highest de^ 
 gree of mental acquirements and employed in di¬ 
 plomacy at foreign courts, the great mass of them 
 are plunged in brutal ignorance. Of their taste 
 for, and knowledge of the delineating art, I shall 
 just give a sample. 
 
 A foreign officer of rank, and of considerable 
 merit as a landscape painter, had amused himself 
 
FOR THE FINE ARTS. 
 
 j 
 
 165 
 
 by making a beautiful collection of views of the 
 most picturesque parts of Cintra. Hundreds of 
 persons of the highest rank solicited permission to 
 see these productions, and were, with the polite¬ 
 ness characteristic of this amiable and distinguished 
 officer, readily admitted. This however becoming 
 every day more troublesome, and breaking in 
 upon his valuable time, he received them at last 
 “ en peintre” without discontinuing his occupation. 
 On one occasion, a fidalgo of the very first water 
 drove up to his door, and being ushered into his 
 room all covered with stars, expressed his desire 
 to be indulged as others had been. The officer 
 pointed out to him a great portfolio, and begged 
 that His Excellency would arrange the drawings 
 according to his own taste along the chairs, re¬ 
 gretting that the state of the piece at which he 
 was engaged at the moment would not admit of 
 his quitting it to assist him, without endangering 
 the spoiling of his work. The great man betook 
 himself to placing the landscapes in a row, against 
 the light, and almost all of them upside down : 
 then retreating a few paces and bringing his glass 
 to his eye, he exclaimed with great pathos, “ Que 
 hellos mapas.”—“ What beautiful mapsevidently 
 taking the clouds for a troubled ocean, and the 
 horizon for the sea coast. 
 
166 
 
 PRIVILEGE OF APOSENTADORIA. 
 
 Among the great privileges which the nobles 
 enjoy, is that of Aposentadoria, active and passive. 
 The former implies that, if they take a liking to 
 the house of any individual who does not possess 
 the right of passive Aposentadoria, they may turn 
 him out of it sans ceremonie, and install in his 
 place any of their mistresses, servants, or other 
 persons whom they please. This privilege, to a 
 certain extent, belongs also to the military, who 
 can dislodge a citizen by alleging that the prox¬ 
 imity of his house to the barracks renders their 
 occupation of it necessary for the public service. 
 The passive Aposentadoria enables the possessor to 
 hold his house without danger of dislodgement; 
 but the unhappy wight, who has neither the one 
 privilege nor the other, is subject at every moment 
 to be turned out of doors. 
 
 If a Portuguese detects his wife in the actual 
 commission of adultery, he is permitted by law to 
 inflict immediate death upon both the offenders, 
 provided the male party be neither an ecclesiastic, 
 a fidalgo, nor a dezembargador, towards either of 
 whom the infliction would he punishable as 
 murder . 
 
 How different is this administration of justice, 
 from that of which we read as practised by the 
 king Don Pedro; who, instead of being surnamed 
 
ANECDOTE OF KING PEDRO THE CRUEL. 167 
 
 “ The cruel/’ ought to have been termed the 
 just; for owing to the summary manner in which 
 he punished crime, and his total disregard for the 
 birth or quality of the offenders, cases requiring 
 capital punishment became at last exceedingly 
 rare:—a convincing proof that lenity is in many 
 respects mistaken mercy. 
 
 The following facts are mentioned by a Portu¬ 
 guese historian, and appear so much in point to 
 the present case, that I cannot refrain from giving 
 them in the author’s own words. “ A certain 
 ecclesiastic transported with choler, killed a mason 
 who had been the object of it. The king pre¬ 
 tended ignorance of the crime, and waited quietly 
 to observe what would be done in this case by the 
 clergy; but that body considered that the mur¬ 
 derer had been punished sufficiently by his sus¬ 
 pension from the exercise of his functions during 
 a year. The relations of the deceased were ex¬ 
 ceedingly incensed at so slight a punishment; and 
 the king gave secret orders to the mason’s son to 
 kill the murderer of his father. He did so; and 
 in consequence of it was condemned to death; 
 but when the sentence was brought to the king 
 for signature, he asked what trade the young man 
 was of, and being answered that he was a mason, 
 
 ‘ Then,’ said the king, ‘ I condemn him to abstain 
 
168 HIS ADMINISTRATION OF RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE. 
 
 from working at his trade for the space of one 
 year/” 
 
 He afterwards punished with death all capital 
 crimes committed by ecclesiastics ; and on their 
 petitioning him to submit their cases to their 
 superior judge (the Grand Lama of the triple 
 crown), he very quietly answered, that he would 
 content himself with sending them before their 
 
 and his Superior Judge, meaning God. 
 
 * 
 
 His majesty had a procuress burnt for giving 
 up a young girl to admiral Lan^arote Pe^anha 
 and condemned the admiral to he beheaded. And 
 because a porter, who had been sent with a notifi¬ 
 cation to a fidalgo, complained to the king that 
 the latter had struck him and had plucked his 
 beard; his majesty, turning round to the corregi- 
 dor of the court who was present, exclaimed 
 “ Help me Louzen^o Gonsalves, for a man has 
 struck me on the face and plucked my beard 
 upon which the fidalgo was taken up and be¬ 
 headed. Such was in short the inflexibility and 
 impartiality in the manner of this king’s adminis¬ 
 tration of justice, that, at his death, he was sorely 
 lamented by his people, who declared that they 
 never had before seen, and never again expected 
 to witness, such ten years as those of the reign of 
 Don Pedro. 
 
MEAN ECONOMY OF THE FIDALGOS. 
 
 169 
 
 To return to modern fidalgos, and their house¬ 
 holds—At the mention of such sounding numbers 
 as fifty or sixty domestics, an uninformed person 
 might conjecture that the expence incurred in the 
 maintenance of so numerous a suite must be tre¬ 
 mendous ; but this is far from being the case. 
 The major domo (mor domo) and mo<£0 da copa 
 together with one or two aias (female attendants) 
 eat of what comes from the fidalgo’s table ; which, 
 by the bye, has rarely any thing else on it, but 
 vacca com arros, or galinha com arros *, followed 
 
 by some olives and sweetmeats: in the melon 
 
 \ 
 
 season, this fruit being always the first dish on 
 the table, cut up in slices. All the rest of the 
 Tetinue have a ration served out to each by the 
 mo£0 da copa (butler) consisting of bread, rice or 
 feijoes, (dried kidney beans) and a small measure 
 of olive oih Few have any pecuniary stipend, 
 with the exception of the footmen, who having 
 some sort of livery-jacket and pigtail, scramble up 
 behind the carriage, and make faces at every one 
 who looks surprised at the shabbiness of their 
 equipment. 
 
 The Portuguese noble families have the same 
 
 * Vacca —beef— arros —rice— galinha —a fowl. Galinha 
 com arros —a pillau, or fowl boiled in rice. 
 
170 
 
 THEIR PRIDE OF DESCENT. 
 
 ridiculous pride in deducing their pedigree from 
 the most remote antiquity, which in our own 
 country laughably distinguishes the soi-disant de¬ 
 scendants from Llewellyn. The house of da Costa 
 is however, indisputably the most ancient, being 
 descended in direct line from Donna Eva da Costa, 
 our universal grandmother: Eve, according to 
 Portuguese heralds, having taken the above name 
 from the circumstance of her creation from Adam’s 
 Costa or side. 
 
 The mode of addressing the different ranks of 
 persons in Portugal is an observance of critical 
 nicety; for nothing is more easy to foreigners 
 than to make mistakes, which would draw down 
 the irreconcileable hatred of the offended digni¬ 
 taries. To a simple mechanic, you may safely 
 address a Vossa Merce; but it were still more 
 agreeable to him if speaking in the third person 
 you said o Senhor (the senhor). To a homem 
 de gravata lavada (see note, p. 14 .) the treatment 
 pf Senhoria is indispensable. Vossa senhoria vai 
 passear ? Is your Lordship going to walk ? But, 
 strictly speaking, although this title is addressed 
 to every fellow who can pay his washerwoman, 
 it belongs from the rank of baron down to that of 
 colonels of regiments, who nevertheless can only 
 exact it from the individuals of their own regi- 
 
PORTUGUESE TITLES AND MODES OF ADDRESS. 171 
 
 ments, and even that by courtesy. The title of 
 Excellency, although lavished at Oporto and in 
 the northern provinces on every shop keeper s 
 family, is a little more sparingly given in the 
 metropolis, where it is addressed wholly and solely 
 to those who have a right to it; i. e. to counts, 
 viscounts, and from those titles upwards. 
 
 The attributes of the kings of Portugal are, 
 although known to most people, well worth re¬ 
 cording here, since I am speaking of titles. What 
 can be more imposing than “ Don such a one. By 
 the grace of God king of Portugal and the Al- 
 garves, on this and on that side of the sea. In 
 Africa, Lord of Guinea, and of the conquest, navi¬ 
 gation, and commerce of Ethiopia, Arabia, Persia 
 and Brazil.” 
 
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 121 
 
 
 
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CHAPTER IX 
 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE COURT. 
 
 COURT OF DON JOAO VI. AT RIO—DAYS OF THE BEIJAMAO 
 
 OR KISSING OF HANDS—ACCOUNT OF THE CEREMONIAL-THE 
 
 ROYAL FAMILY OF PORTUGAL-UNIVERSAL RECEPTION OF PE¬ 
 TITIONS BY THE KING-GROSS ABUSE OF THIS PATERNAL 
 
 CONDESCENSION—DEVOTION OF THE KING-HYPOCRISY OF HIS 
 
 SUITORS -EXQUISITE MUSIC OF THE ROYAL CHAPEL-THE 
 
 PATRIARCH OF LISBON-ACCOUNT OF HIS STATE AND DIGNITY 
 
 -HIS PALACE AND IMMENSE REVENUES—DESCRIPTION OF HIS 
 
 EQUIPAGE — MIRACLE LATELY WORKED BY THE VIRGIN TO 
 SAVE THE LIFE OF THE PATRIARCH. 
 

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C O IT U T lb AY A T R 10 . 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE COURT. 
 
 At the court of Don John VI. on the days called 
 Beijamao (kiss hand), his majesty sits on his 
 throne at the upper end of an oblong saloon; 
 haying on his left hand her majesty the queen, 
 also seated on a throne. On her left are seen 
 standing up in a row, according to seniority, the 
 princes and princesses of the blood; at a little 
 distance from the latter, and ranged along the 
 wall at right angles with them, are placed the 
 ladies of honor, haying on their left the camaris- 
 tas &c. At each extremity of the side opposite to 
 that of the throne, is a door opening into the 
 saloon, where the nobles are allowed to assemble 
 previous to admission; and beyond which is an¬ 
 other called Sala dos Tudescos. This room is ap¬ 
 propriated for officers of the army, " homems de 
 gravata lavada,” and in short for all the rabble: 
 for this monarch, worthy to be called the father 
 
176 DAYS OF THE BEIJAMAO OR KISSING OF HANDS. 
 
 of his people, admits into his presence the meanest 
 of his subjects and listens to their supplications. 
 
 The inner doors, that is, those communicating 
 from the nobles’ room to that of the throne, are 
 each guarded by two chamberlains (camaristas) 
 from whom every one experiences that civility of 
 treatment, which distinguishes men of polished 
 manners and good breeding. But at the door 
 which opens into the “ sala dos tudescos” stands 
 a brute of a halberdier, who, if he sees amongst 
 the foremost of the candidates for admission, any 
 officer of the army, even crippled in the service, 
 invariably pushes him back to make way for some 
 corpulent friar, adding, “ Stand back senhor offi¬ 
 cial ; enter if you please, most reverend father.” 
 
 The signal being given for the opening of the 
 royal saloon, the court band of music, in their 
 very rich antique costume, begin to play ; and the 
 whole scene assumes an imposing appearance. 
 The nobles file into the throne room, one after 
 the other at a slow pace, and when at a few steps 
 from the throne make a profound inclination, 
 then advance, kneel, and kiss the hand of the 
 sovereign, who extends it to all his subjects with a 
 look truly paternal. This being done, they per¬ 
 form the same homage precisely towards her 
 majesty and each of the royal family. They then 
 
UNIVERSAL RECEPTION OF PETITIONS BY THE KING. 177 
 
 file out in the same order through the other door 
 at the same end of the room whence they entered. 
 
 In proportion as the nobles* room becomes 
 emptied, the tudescos are admitted into it to take 
 their turn; and this ceremony lasts sometimes 
 from eleven o’clock am . to six p.m., to the great 
 fatigue of the princes and princesses who are 
 standing all the time. The eldest of the former, 
 the present emperor of Brazil, is as fine a young 
 man as can be seen ; with a handsome face, manly 
 stature, and a commanding look, bordering per¬ 
 haps a little upon severity, but which sits well on 
 a prince. The princesses are very handsome, and 
 of a beautiful complexion, notwithstanding their 
 long residence in the Brazils. 
 
 Besides these days of Beijamad, his majesty is 
 always very accessible to any one in his realms; 
 and dearly does he pay for his paternal conde¬ 
 scension. I have calculated that the average 
 number of frivolous, worthless, and undeserving 
 petitioners, who pester his majesty every day of 
 his life, is no less than one hundred and fifty; of 
 whom two thirds, notwithstanding their profession 
 of renouncing the pomp and vanities of the world, 
 are friars craving situations of lucre. One of 
 these holy men told me candidly that he had, at 
 the moment he was speaking, no less than four 
 
 N 
 
178 GROSS ABUSE OF THIS PATERNAL CONDESCENSION. 
 
 different petitions inside his habit to present, as 
 circumstances might offer a favorable opportu¬ 
 nity ; all of them having for object to obtain the 
 rents of some chapel in reward for pretended ser¬ 
 vices to the state. It is true that, during the war, 
 he had quitted his convent for the more unre¬ 
 strained life of a soldier, and had always shewn 
 himself foremost in revenging the griefs of his 
 country—wherever a scene of rapine offered itself. 
 But at the close of the war, he, saintlike, took to 
 the more profitable avocation of confessing devout 
 ladies and providing dying men with passports and 
 bills of exchange for St. Peter, receiving in return 
 the property which they must leave behind, but 
 which had better been bequeathed to their chil¬ 
 dren and widows. 
 
 Even French and Italian opera dancers ap¬ 
 peared in the ranks of supplicants, demanding 
 
 pensions for the signal service of having shaken 
 
 v \ 
 
 their limbs in sight of royalty; and by a strange 
 perverseness of things, these barefaced mounte¬ 
 banks were often known to succeed, when unas¬ 
 suming merit remained, “ for want of prominence 
 and just relief,” unrewarded. 
 
 . I have seen individuals soliciting the Foro 
 (rank, privileges, and immunities of nobility,) 
 grounding their pretensions on the circumstance 
 
HYPOCRISY OF THE KING’S SUITORS. 1 79 
 
 of his majesty having, when prince regent, some 
 thirty years before, condescended to alight at 
 their father’s quinta (country house) and partake 
 of refreshments :—and they succeeded; for such 
 is the custom of the country and the right ac¬ 
 quired, when the sovereign condescends to alight 
 and eat at the house of a subject. 
 
 Such was the advantage taken of his majesty’s 
 unequalled goodness of heart, that the very ave¬ 
 nues and corridors leading to the royal chapel 
 were at all times thronged with petitioners of every 
 description. In this place also, a scene often, nay 
 every evening, presented itself of a nature truly 
 ridiculous. I allude to the expedients resorted to 
 by certain well dressed beggars (for the word pe¬ 
 titioner is not sufficiently descriptive) who know¬ 
 ing that his majesty is exceedingly devout, endea¬ 
 voured to insinuate themselves into his good graces 
 by the most barefaced mummery. Remaining 
 prostrate during the whole ceremony of mass, with 
 their lips fixed upon the flag stones of the chapel, 
 or extending their arms " en crucifie” and keep¬ 
 ing their eyes fixed upon some saint during the 
 whole service; they thus hoped to attract the 
 king’s attention, and render him propitious to their 
 preposterous prayers. 
 
 The music of the royal chapel is exquisitely 
 
 N 2 
 
3 80 EXQUISITE MUSIC OF THE ROYAL CHAPEL. 
 
 beautiful; the choir being composed of the best 
 castrati to be found in Italy, who during mass 
 play and sing the most delightful and choicest 
 pieces of music in use on the stage. The salaries 
 of these men are so prodigiously exorbitant, that 
 I shall not mention them lest I should be disbe¬ 
 lieved. Besides the profits accruing to them from 
 their employment as choristers, they amass great 
 property by hiring themselves out to sing at even¬ 
 ing parties. 
 
 I never attended a soiree at Rio without seeing 
 at it one or two of these castrati. Their appear¬ 
 ance is truly disgusting; their complexion is mealy 
 and perfectly colourless; their hair lank, their 
 eyes sunken, and their chin beardless. In conver¬ 
 sation their tones are squeaking, their whole gait 
 announces effeminacy, and their figures are re¬ 
 markable for narrowness of shoulders, width of hip, 
 and an extraordinary development of length in the 
 femur and tibia; so much so that when sitting 
 down their knees are nearly in a level with their 
 chin. It is a curious fact that this great and un¬ 
 natural development of the lower extremities is 
 observable in the capon. The dress of these men 
 when in the choir of the chapel is purple silk. I 
 must not forget to add that most of them use an 
 artificial complexion. 
 
• n K 1 ii iv I£ M V f) V 
 
 •onwf sa ora i*w<« 
 
PATRIARCH OF LISBON. 
 
 181 
 
 The patriarch of Lisbon is the king’s first chap 
 lain: he is a cardinal de jure, and takes prece¬ 
 dence of all the bishops and archbishops in Portu¬ 
 gal. His palace stands near Junqueira, about 
 half way between Alcantara bridge and Belem, 
 and resembles very much an old country chateau 
 in France, having very steep roofs and a square 
 tower at each angle. Between the two towers 
 which form the front of the centre, there is a spa¬ 
 cious balcony lined round to about the height of 
 twelve feet with lazulejos (a species of white var¬ 
 nished brick) ornamented with representations of 
 mythological subjects. Few men can be found 
 who will accept of the situation of cardinal pa¬ 
 triarch, owing to the restraint which it imposes ; 
 for whoever holds it is compelled to abstain from 
 frequenting parties, or any other places of recrea¬ 
 tion. His duties are very arduous, and beyond 
 belief laborious : for they consist in hearing mass 
 every morning at his own chapel; and when he 
 rides in his carriage through the Lisbon streets, it 
 is always with the two forefingers of his right 
 hand erect, with which he bestows his crucial be¬ 
 nediction on the kneeling rabble. Add to all this, 
 that he undergoes the painful necessity of pocket- 
 ting a revenue of about <£35,000 per annum. 
 
 The carriage of the patriarch is precisely simi- 
 
182 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF HIS EQUIPAGE. 
 
 lar to those belonging to the court, but lined with 
 papal purple; of which colour are also his live¬ 
 ries. But it is in the horses which draw his car¬ 
 riage, that there exists so marked a distinction, 
 that by them he may be recognized at least a 
 mile off. The horses or mules which the country 
 produces will, it seems, suffice to transport royalty 
 wherever it may please to go; but to move the 
 dignity and state of a cardinal, something more 
 imposing is necessary. A set of horses called 
 Urcos were therefore brought from Holland for 
 the use of this grand lama of Lisbon. Their 
 colour is a darkish cream, and their stature and 
 shape are precisely those of the dray horses of 
 London. 
 
 ■s. 
 
 The patriarch who died in 1818 had been a 
 
 long time unable to move about the metropolis : 
 
 % 
 
 the consequence was that his successor found the 
 inhabitants rather unused to the benedictory cere¬ 
 mony ; and as he drove up to the palace of the 
 inquisition one day, where the meeting of the go¬ 
 vernors * of the kingdom was held, the officer of 
 the guard there stationed, proceeded with opened 
 ranks to pay the compliment due to such rank, 
 until the holy cardinal lifted his two fingers to 
 
 * The patriarch was one of those during the king’s absence. 
 
 I 
 
MIRACLE LATELY WORKED BY THE VIRGIN. 183 
 
 bestow his blessing on the soldiers. The officer 
 then mistook this for a refusal of military honors, 
 and dismissed his troops accordingly. This so 
 incensed the Lama, that he caused the officer to 
 be summoned before him, and gave him a severe 
 reprimand for what was nothing but a mistake. 
 A few days afterwards, on his return from the 
 above meeting, and passing in front of the marine 
 arsenal, the guard, to shew its devotion, turned 
 out with surprising rapidity; and the drummer 
 beat, it seems, three more deafening ruffles, than 
 the Urcos had ever been used to hear in Holland. 
 For they darted off with such ungovernable vio¬ 
 lence that the carriage was upset, the coachman 
 thrown off his box, and killed, and but for N. S. 
 da Penha de Franca, who worked a miracle upon 
 the occasion, the patriarch would have been killed 
 himself, instead of only receiving numberless se¬ 
 vere contusions. He ever after officially dispensed 
 with military compliments, salutes, and ruffles; 
 and had a little painting of the miracle stuck up 
 in his chapel. Perhaps the poor coachman’s widow 
 might complain, that her husband had been ex¬ 
 cluded by Nossa Senhora from his share in the 
 miraculous preservation. 
 
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CHAPTER X 
 
 PORTUGUESE MANNERS, FEMALE DRESS, &c. 
 
 DRESS OF THE LOWER ORDERS OF WOMEN-THEIR FINE 
 
 IIAIR-WANT OF CLEANLINESS-HABITS OF SECLUSION 
 
 OF ALL CLASSES OF FEMALES-MODE OF CARRYING ON 
 
 AMATORY CORRESPONDENCE-GOING TO MASS-COQUET¬ 
 TISH ADJUSTMENT OF DRESS-GRACEFUL STEP-FINE 
 
 EYES OF THE PORTUGUESE WOMEN-CONDUCT OF BOTH 
 
 SEXES AT MASS—AMOROUS SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE POR¬ 
 TUGUESE-LOVE AFFAIRS-INEFFECTUAL VIGILANCE OF 
 
 PARENTS—CUSTOM OF IMMURING DAUGHTERS IN CON¬ 
 VENTS—CURIOUS LAW IN FAVOR OF LOVERS—A LOVE 
 TALE-FATE OF THE PARTIES-STREET COSTUMES OF FE¬ 
 MALES-THE UNIVERSAL CAPOTE-ITS CONVENIENT CO¬ 
 VERING-ANECDOTE OF THE CAPOTE-RODA, OR FOUND¬ 
 LING HOSPITAL-INFANTICIDE-A STORY FROM PORTU¬ 
 
 GUESE LIFE 
 

 
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CHAPTER X. 
 
 PORTUGUESE MANNERS, FEMALE DRESS, &c. 
 
 The dress of the lower orders of females in Por¬ 
 tugal, when in-doors, is not materially different 
 from that of the same class of women in England; 
 with this exception, that the Portuguese wear no 
 caps, but merely a piece of black ribband or velvet 
 to assist the comb in confining their immense 
 quantity of hair, which is almost always of a jet 
 black colour. This they usually untie about once 
 a month, not so much for the purpose of combing 
 it, as to destroy a part of the crowds of vermin, 
 lest perhaps their heads should otherwise be eaten 
 off their shoulders. Instead of pomatum, they 
 use olive oil, in which they absolutely soak their 
 hair; many, however, treat themselves occasion¬ 
 ally with a little clarified hog’s lard, called by them 
 banha de Cheiro. 
 
 Nothing would be more calculated to put a 
 Portuguese woman into a passion, than to tell her 
 
188 DRESS OF THE LOWER ORDERS OF FEMALES. 
 
 that her hair contained the unwelcome visitors 
 above alluded to; although at the moment you 
 might perceive them galloping about in all direc¬ 
 tions on her forehead. Indeed, when knitting, 
 the Portuguese women may be seen scratching 
 their heads eternally with the long needles used 
 in the work. Nevertheless, as if to attract atten¬ 
 tion to that particular part of their persons, they 
 almost always ornament their hair with a pink, 
 which is their favorite flower. 
 
 During the heat of summer, most of them wear 
 no covering on the bosom, which is consequently 
 exposed to view; but as this is the habit of the 
 country, it attracts no observation. Perhaps the 
 origin of this custom may in some measure be at¬ 
 tributed, not merely to the heat of the climate, 
 but to a certain consciousness of the superiority 
 of form in this particular, which certainly distin¬ 
 guishes the Portuguese females. They are by 
 nature (I speak of the Lisbon women) exceedingly 
 indolent:—a defect which is not a little encou¬ 
 raged by their custom of seldom or ever stirring 
 out of their houses, except on occasions of great 
 moment, or on Sundays and saints’ days, for the 
 purpose of going to mass. Affairs immediately 
 connected with their household seldom compel 
 them to go into the street; as almost every thing 
 
MODE OF CARRYING ON AMATORY CORRESPONDENCE. 189 
 
 of which they stand in need is hawked about at 
 the doors; such as fish, vegetables, fruit, &c. 
 
 Women of other countries, unaccustomed to such 
 habits of seclusion as those which Portuguese ideas 
 of decency compel their females to observe, would 
 but ill brook this confinement. But with them it 
 is a matter of taste as well as habit; their chief 
 pleasure consisting in looking out of their win¬ 
 dows almost all day long, to observe every thing 
 which takes place in the streets or at their neigh¬ 
 bours’, and to converse with the latter, verbally, 
 if sufficiently near, or by means of their hands and 
 fingers, if beyond the reach of the voice. Con¬ 
 versations of many hours’ length are sometimes 
 kept up in this way; certain positions of the fin¬ 
 gers standing for well understood syllables or 
 words. 
 
 Thus, with the aid of expressive gestures, two 
 inaccessible persons are enabled to communicate 
 with all the facility of a written correspondence; 
 and with this superior advantage, that they enjoy 
 the pleasure of seeing each other and interchang¬ 
 ing thoughts, without suspence or delay. Love 
 being the pursuit which, almost to the exclusion 
 of every other, engrosses the mind of the Portu¬ 
 guese people, it may readily be conceived that this 
 digito-telegraphic intercourse is made the vehicle 
 
190 
 
 COQUETTISH ADJUSTMENT OF DRESS. 
 
 of amatory declarations, which the national custom 
 of female seclusion renders it a difficult enterprize 
 to convey in any other manner. 
 
 When these females sally forth to church, 
 their dress assumes quite a different appearance 
 from their in-door costume. No people in the 
 world are so particularly neat about the feet as they 
 are; their stockings are always of the whiteness 
 of snow; and their shoes, made of silk and not 
 unfrequently ornamented with embroidery and 
 spangles, are of very good workmanship. They 
 wear over their dress a cloth capote, and over 
 their heads a muslin handkerchief, both adjusted 
 in an artful and coquettish manner. 
 
 Thus equipped, and improving the effect of their 
 becoming costume by the graceful movement with 
 which they deliberately pick out their way over 
 a dirty pavement, they never fail, if nature has 
 been in the least propitious to them, to create an 
 interest which women of other countries would 
 be much longer in winning. However little ge¬ 
 neral beauty of features a Portuguese young wo¬ 
 man may be able to boast, she is sure to make 
 conquests at first sight, owing to a single attrac¬ 
 tion which she invariably possesses :—a pair of the 
 most lovely eyes in the world, either black as the 
 sloe, or of a clear chesnut, or of a deep hazel hue. 
 
CONDUCT OF BOTH SEXES AT MASS. 
 
 191 
 
 and ever full of expression and intelligence. Such 
 are the soul speaking features which the Moorish 
 bard delighted to celebrate, and was wont to com¬ 
 pare to the eyes of the gazelle. The long dark 
 eyelash and the finely arched eyebrow are likewise 
 the distinguishing marks of a Portuguese face. 
 
 At church, the female part of the congregation 
 sit and kneel on that portion of the ground which 
 has a wooden floor elevated a few inches above 
 the broad flag stones. Here they enter into con¬ 
 versation with whomever of their own sex happen 
 to be near them, with all the affability of a long 
 acquaintance; and this is usually continued, if 
 they meet again in the street, by mutual smiles 
 and inclinations of the head, without entailing the 
 necessity of a closer acquaintance. The conversa¬ 
 tion during the mass is mostly of a satirical nature; 
 and the objects of it, are usually the cluster of 
 young bucks who, ranged along the centre of the 
 church, gaze impudently on the women instead of 
 attending to the service. Indeed very few indi¬ 
 viduals of either sex, generally speaking, are ever 
 observed to pay strict attention to any other part 
 of the ceremony, than that of the elevation of the 
 host. Then, certainly, one and all without ex¬ 
 ception, incline their heads and bodies, and strike 
 their breasts, the devout exclaiming, in a low 
 
192 
 
 LOVE AFFAIRS. 
 
 voice, “ ’tis my fault, ’tis my fault, ’tis my very 
 great fault.” 
 
 But those youths, whom good fortune or great 
 arrangement and foresight have placed near their 
 mistresses, take advantage of that convenient pos¬ 
 ture and gentle murmur to whisper in their will¬ 
 ing ears the passionate protestations of their love; 
 for in the whole course of the week, perhaps, so 
 favourable an opportunity might not again be 
 found. Florian most justly observes of the Por¬ 
 tuguese “ Ils semblent nes pour l’amour: c’est la 
 grande affaire de leur vie: les plus grands sa¬ 
 crifices ne coutent rien des qu’il s’agit de cette 
 passion.” 
 
 What I have said of the habits of seclusion 
 amongst the lower orders of the fair sex, is in a 
 much greater degree applicable to those in higher 
 life. Love is therefore in its origin seldom of any 
 other kind than that which the sight of the indi¬ 
 vidual has inspired, and rarely the effect of a 
 growing habit, from free communication. The 
 cases of the latter nature happen only amongst 
 relations, such as cousins, uncles and nieces, aunts 
 and nephews, &c. for none of these degrees of re¬ 
 lationship are held in Portugal as objections to an 
 intermarriage, provided the money exacted for a 
 papal dispensation can be afforded by the parties. 
 
CUSTOM OF IMMURING DAUGHTERS IN CONVENTS. 193 
 
 As love at first sight is most general, it is asto¬ 
 nishing to what excesses it will carry individuals, 
 who have never exchanged any thing but glances. 
 It is right, however, to observe, that the Portu¬ 
 guese have been in this respect, as if designedly, 
 repaid by nature for the inconveniences which the 
 extreme watchfulness of parents entails upon lovers, 
 no people being so remarkably gifted with the ex¬ 
 pressive language of the eyes. No sooner does a 
 father discover in any way that his daughter’s af¬ 
 fections are rivetted on some object, than, if he 
 disapproves of the alliance, he puts her forthwith 
 into a Recolhimento But if the lover’s inten¬ 
 tions be strictly honorable, the rank of the parties 
 equal, and that any objection on the part of the 
 parents appears only a matter of caprice, then 
 there is a law which, if had recourse to in time, 
 (that is, before the father confines the lady in a 
 Recolhimento) is highly favorable to the lovers. 
 The swain has only to make an application to a 
 certain tribunal, describing how the matter stands, 
 and declaring that his object is marriage. The 
 officers of justice then go with due solemnity to 
 
 * Recolhimento:—a place of religious seclusion. Indivi¬ 
 duals forced into a Recolhimento, or entering voluntarily, do 
 not, as a matter of course, take the veil. There is, however, 
 a body of regular nuns belonging to every house of the kind. 
 
 o 
 
194 . 
 
 A LOVE TALE. 
 
 the lady’s house, and demanding her of her father 
 (who dares not resist the law) convey her to the 
 house of some parent or respectable friend, there 
 to remain unmolested until the necessary arrange¬ 
 ments shall be made for her union with her fa¬ 
 vored lover. This is what the Portuguese term 
 “ estar em depozito,” to be in deposit. In this 
 situation, the young lady may receive the visits 
 both of her father and lover, provided it be in the 
 presence of other persons. But visits from the 
 parents are rare occurrences, as they most fre¬ 
 quently, when these extremities have been resorted 
 to, utterly discard their children : although pater¬ 
 nal affection, here, as in every other country, pro¬ 
 duces in nine cases out of ten a final reconciliation. 
 
 In cases however where the father has taken 
 time by the forelock, it is difficult to surmount 
 the obstacles by which he is enabled to carry 
 his point. And if an elopement has been perpe¬ 
 trated or even attempted, the law then is so much 
 in favor of parental authority, that its rigour to¬ 
 wards the lovers is extreme. About the year 
 1811 or 12, two persons of a civil department of 
 the British army fell in love with two sisters, the 
 daughters of a man, in whom much authority was 
 vested, near Villa franca. As the stores, with 
 which these persons were entrusted, were in part 
 
FATE OF THE PARTIES. 
 
 195 
 
 magazined in a spacious ground floor of the build¬ 
 ing inhabited by the ladies, they contrived with 
 lovers’ ingenuity to make an aperture in the ceil¬ 
 ing for their more easy communication. Unfortu¬ 
 nately, however, the suspicions of the father were 
 excited; and he broke upon their sweet converse 
 one evening. One of the gentlemen was skilful 
 enough to get clear off. with the object of his af¬ 
 fections ; and sailing immediately for England he 
 thus eluded the fate which awaited his companion. 
 The latter had not proceeded far on his flight be¬ 
 fore he was overtaken; his lady was wrested from 
 him, and thrown into a convent; and he himself 
 was confined in the limoeiro, or common jail, 
 from whence he was by particular favor transfer¬ 
 red some time afterwards to the castle of S. George. 
 Numberless were the intercessions made to induce 
 the father to relent, but all were fruitless. It is 
 said that our ambassador interceded in the young 
 man’s favor to obtain his release; but that the fa¬ 
 ther, fearing it would be effected, declared that he 
 would appeal to the general Cortes of the nation 
 to prevent it:—so determined was he to glut his 
 revenge to the utmost limits of the law. At the 
 end of six or seven years, this obdurate and vin¬ 
 dictive wretch died, and the charm being dispelled, 
 the gentleman obtained his release. 
 
 o 2 
 
196 
 
 ANECDOTE OF THE CAPOTE. 
 
 The street equipment of females of the lower 
 orders, called by them “ Capa e len<:o,” is so very 
 becoming, that in the winter season it is not un- 
 frequently adopted by young ladies; and as the 
 weather is seldom sufficiently cold to render fires 
 necessary, the only expedient which they adopt 
 for keeping themselves warm is that of wearing 
 the capote in doors. All classes of women are 
 therefore provided with this article of dress, whe¬ 
 ther they wear it in public or not. 
 
 . Whenever a young lady is indisposed, you see her 
 with her capote on ; and they who are habitually in 
 bad health seldom go without it. In fact this 
 cloak is a covering for all things: with it wrapped 
 round them they might be en chemise without its 
 being discernable ; and in spite of the Argus like 
 precautions of vigilant parents, many a little faux 
 pas is committed, the consequences of which are 
 veiled from observation by the happy invention of 
 the capote, the lady protesting, (and with reason) 
 that she is indisposed, until the critical moment is 
 
 I have in former pages endeavoured to illustrate 
 my subject by some anecdote or other in support 
 of my assertions. I shall therefore do the same 
 in the present case. A lady, an acquaintance of 
 mine, residing on a first floor, observed that a 
 
ANECDOTE OF THE CAPOTE. 
 
 197 
 
 young lady who, with her parents, inhabited the 
 second floor of the same house, had been for seve¬ 
 ral months complaining, sometimes of one ailment, 
 sometimes of another; and was,' it is needless to 
 say, wrapped up constantly in her capote. After 
 a certain lapse of time, she came down stairs to 
 my friend; and throwing her arms round her neck, 
 sobbed out a confession of her real situation, im¬ 
 ploring her aid, as she imagined that the period 
 long dreaded was at length arrived. 
 
 My friend embarrassed how to act, but yielding 
 at last to compassion for the unhappy girl, sent 
 up a request to her parents that their daughter 
 might be allowed to remain with her for a day or 
 two in order to assist her in some preparations of 
 linen &c. for charitable uses, which she feared she 
 should not otherwise be able to finish in time. 
 This was immediately granted. A sage woman 
 was sent for, and a carrotty headed little fellow 
 soon made his appearance : when the mother ex¬ 
 claimed, “ Oh how like his father! that tall red 
 headed Irish friar my confessor.” 
 
 The poor bantling was deposited at the Roda 
 (foundling hospital) and the young lady soon after 
 left off her capote, and resumed her dress as a 
 “ Senhora de Corpo an expression, by the way^ 
 which corresponds with our term of lady, and 
 
198 
 
 INFANTICIDE. 
 
 which is equivalent in rank to that, in the other 
 sex, of “ homem de gravata lavada.” 
 
 The Roda, above alluded to, is the vulgar 
 name for an establishment called “ Hospital dos 
 Emgeitados” or Foundling Hospital. But the 
 Roda is strictly speaking a species of turn-about, 
 similar to those fixed in the grate of a nunnery, 
 for receiving articles to and fro. To the found¬ 
 ling hospital, are brought all the fruits of illicit 
 amours, and silently deposited in the Roda. The 
 receptacle thus humanely provided has, in some 
 measure, the effect of checking infanticide; al¬ 
 though I have myself, at three several times in 
 Portugal, seen dead infants lying on dunghills, 
 where they had apparently been concealed and 
 had been scratched out by dogs. 
 
 One of these instances occurring in a dead 
 angle opposite to my own house, I had an oppor¬ 
 tunity of witnessing every thing connected with 
 it. A parcel of children were playing on the 
 heap of rubbish, and accidentally uncovered the 
 body of a new born child, which had the appear¬ 
 ance of having been very recently secreted there. 
 Some of the neighbours remembered having, at a 
 late hour on the preceding evening, seen a man 
 and woman in capotes apparently busied with 
 something which lay on the ground. The child 
 
A STORY FROM PORTUGUESE LIFE. 
 
 199 
 
 was allowed to remain on the same spot until the 
 arrival of some officers of justice; and who hav¬ 
 ing come to the number of three, turned over the 
 child with their feet to ascertain if there were any 
 marks of violence. 
 
 They then committed their observations to 
 paper, had a hole dug on the spot by a man who 
 accompanied them, and had the body thrown 
 into it: no other kind of burial being permitted 
 to a being, on whom it was not likely that any 
 monk had ever described the emblem of salvation. 
 For it is a firm article of belief among the Roman 
 Catholics, that a child who dies before baptism 
 perishes like a dog, without a soul; and even the 
 most enlightened among these people imagine that 
 the child who thus dies goes into Limbo, a place 
 of their own creation. 
 
 As I became acquainted with another circum¬ 
 stance, of a nature similar to that which I have 
 above related, regarding the convenience of ca¬ 
 potes, I shall mention it before I am led into any 
 further digressions. A Portuguese gentleman, 
 returning one night to Lisbon from Sacavem, 
 heard, as he was passing near a vineyard, the 
 moans of a female in apparent suffering. He im¬ 
 mediately proceeded to the spot, where he found 
 a young and apparently lovely female in labour. 
 
200 
 
 A STORY FROM PORTUGUESE LIFE. 
 
 who implored his assistance, which he unhesitat¬ 
 ingly afforded to the best of his power. She 
 afterwards conjured him by every thing that was 
 sacred to carry the- new born to the Roda in the 
 city. To this he also consented. The darkness 
 of the night, and the care which she had taken to 
 conceal her features in the best way possible, pre¬ 
 vented his being able to recognize her positively. 
 
 But his curiosity however was so much excited, 
 that he followed her at a convenient distance un¬ 
 perceived, and saw her enter a gentleman’s quinta 
 not far off. He concluded therefore that she was 
 the daughter of the house ; and he was not mis¬ 
 taken. The interest which she had excited, in 
 him was so intense,—for his nation are not fastidi¬ 
 ous in these matters,—that for a long time he 
 made that road his favorite ride, in order to enjoy 
 the happiness of seeing her at her window. She 
 had not the most distant idea that he was the 
 person who had rendered her so essential a ser¬ 
 vice ; and she therefore concluded that no being 
 was acquainted with the shame to which, as it 
 afterwards appeared, the villainy of her confessor 
 had exposed her. 
 
 The gentleman’s addresses were therefore fa¬ 
 vourably received, and she was soon afterwards 
 united to him. About a twelvemonth after their 
 
A ST011Y FROM PORTUGUESE LIFE. 
 
 201 
 
 marriage, she was about to present him with the 
 first pledge of their love; and every anxious pre¬ 
 paration was made for the event. But her caprices 
 were so many and so great that they out-ran 
 the tenderest solicitude; and after having in vain 
 endeavoured to satisfy every strange fancy and 
 whim with all the devotion which the most indul¬ 
 gent of husbands could evince, he was at last pro¬ 
 voked beyond patience to exclaim that " she had 
 been much less scrupulous when he assisted her 
 in the vineyard.” This indiscreet and unlucky 
 sarcasm at so critical a moment had a fatal effect: 
 
 *—it threw her into violent convulsions under 
 which she expired, leaving him long to lament the 
 imprudence and rash irritation of a moment. 
 

 
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CHAPTER XI 
 
 SOME PORTUGUESE CUSTOMS. 
 
 ACCOUCHEMENT OF A PORTUGUESE LADY- THE AID 
 
 OF THE SAINTS SOLICITED-NUMEROUS FAMILIES-DIS¬ 
 POSITION OF PROPERTY - FRATERNAL AFFECTION AND 
 
 FILIAL PIETY OF THE PORTUGUESE-DAILY HAPITS OF 
 
 GRATEFUL DEVOTION - AS TRINDADES - UNIVERSAL 
 
 PRAYER AT NOON-AVE MARIAS-BLESSING ON SNEEZ¬ 
 ING-HABITS OF GALLANTRY AND POLITENESS-VIO¬ 
 LENT GESTICULATIONS-CHARITABLE FEELINGS OF THE 
 
 PEOPLE-BEGGARS -SALUTATIONS TO ACQUAINTANCES 
 
 AND STRANGERS - FORMS OF ADDRESS ON LETTERS - 
 
 FONDNESS OF PORTUGUESE WOMEN FOR LAPDOGS AND 
 PARROTS-GROSSNESS OF THE PORTUGUESE IN CONVER¬ 
 
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CHAPTER XI. 
 
 SOME PORTUGUESE CUSTOMS. 
 
 At the accouchement of Portuguese women, it is 
 usual for the persons who are present to be telling 
 their beads all the time; whilst some of them 
 make promises of various offerings to the different 
 saints, if they will grant a happy delivery to the 
 lady. I was in the house of a friend of mine, a 
 Portuguese field officer, who had married his 
 young niece, by virtue of fifty moidores given to 
 the usurer of the triple crown. His lady was at 
 the moment of my arrival “ en couche;” and 
 my friend received me in the drawing room, which 
 communicated with her bed room or alcove by a 
 glass door. He was in great distress of mind, 
 having in vain made every kind of promise to 
 Nossa Senhora to procure a happy moment for his 
 beloved wife. 
 
 r _ 
 
 The situation of this lady was becoming every 
 instant more critical, and the doctor entered the 
 
206 
 
 NUMEROUS FAMILIES, 
 
 parlour shaking his head with looks foreboding 
 danger, when an old nurse of the family came for¬ 
 ward and said to the colonel, “ Wherefore should 
 we despond ? Have we not next door to us the 
 convent of S. Francisco de Paula ? Is it not well 
 averred that the truss of that saint is of the most 
 precious efficacy in cases like this ? Send for it, 
 and I promise you that all will go well” 
 
 A Portuguese young gentleman who was with 
 me did not wait to hear the end of this discourse; 
 but set off at the first hint to the convent next 
 door, and in a few moments returned with a friar 
 bringing with him with due solemnity St. Francis’s 
 greasy truss, which being laid upon the bed so 
 that the lady could see and touch it, she was soon 
 after safely delivered. Such was the virtue in the 
 truss, or the powers of the imagination operating 
 as in prince Hohenlohe’s easy miracles; or such 
 were the operations of nature, which would have 
 been the same if no truss had been procured. 
 This success seemed to excite no sensation of sur¬ 
 prise in my friend, or in any one else who was pre¬ 
 sent, it being looked upon as a matter of course. 
 
 The Portuguese females are exceedingly pro¬ 
 lific ; and the number of children in a family is 
 usually as great as in our clergymen's domestic 
 circles. I knew a lady of quality (the viscountess 
 
FRATERNAL AFFECTION AND FILIAL PIETY. 207 
 
 of R* * S* *) who had, for her share, brought into 
 the world no less than thirty-four children in per¬ 
 fect health. In families not noble, the division of 
 property on the death of the parents is equal. 
 But, with the fidalgos, the case is much the same 
 as in our own country, where property is entailed. 
 The eldest son, called the morgado , inherits the 
 whole ; and all the others are dependent on him. 
 The nature of the Portuguese renders this less 
 hard and more supportable than among us; for 
 no people are so distinguished for fraternal affec¬ 
 tion as they are. Indeed, they cherish to perfec¬ 
 tion every feeling connected with consanguinity. 
 
 A war of such long duration as the last, and 
 the consequent contact with strangers whose man¬ 
 ners and customs are so different, has naturally 
 been productive of considerable change in the Por¬ 
 tuguese customs, and perhaps not much to their 
 advantage. But in the old families who adhere 
 pertinaciously to ancient usage, and who are deno¬ 
 minated even by themselves “ pes de boi,” bullock's 
 feet, from their slow movements even towards im¬ 
 provement, when sons or daughters of any age 
 eome into a room, however full of company it may 
 be, they walk up in the first place to their father 
 and mother, and kneeling down receive their bles¬ 
 sing ; after which they hasten to salute the com- 
 
208 
 
 DAILY HABITS OF DEVOTION. 
 
 pany, who, far from looking upon them as fool¬ 
 ishly old-fashioned, highly approve of this demon¬ 
 stration of filial piety. 
 
 . The Portuguese observe many little customs, 
 trifling in themselves, but calculated to promote 
 a tendency to devotion, and a continual feeling of 
 gratitude to the Supreme Being. For instance, 
 in the morning early, just as day begins to peep, 
 the bells toll three distinct strokes, which in the 
 convents are a summons to matins ; and labourers 
 on their way to their occupations invariably un- 
 
 N 
 
 cover themselves at this signal (called by them 
 “ as Trindades”), make the sign of the cross upon 
 their breasts, and then pour forth a brief but ear¬ 
 nest prayer. At midday, the same signal is given; 
 and people of all classes in the streets uncover 
 themselves, make the sign of the cross, and pray. 
 The same custom is observed also at sunset, when 
 thanksgivings are offered up for preservation 
 during the day: this latter knell is termed the 
 Ave Marias. However interesting the conversa¬ 
 tion in which they may have been engaged, it is 
 immediately suspended at this invitation to prayer. 
 
 The Portuguese have another custom, the non- 
 observance of which, in other countries, carries 
 almost with it an appearance of neglect and un¬ 
 kindness to a person who has long resided with 
 
BLESSING ON SNEEZING. 
 
 209 
 
 the Portuguese :—at least I have sometimes been 
 foolish enough to feel it so. I mean the never- 
 failing salute elicited by a sneeze. If you chance 
 to sneeze in the street, whilst passing several per¬ 
 sons deeply engaged in conversation, you will ob¬ 
 serve them all move their hats to you, accompany¬ 
 ing this civility with “ Dominus tecum.” In a 
 room full of company, if one person sneezes, all 
 the rest make him a profound inclination, and ex¬ 
 claim as above; or else “ Viva meu Senhor, or minha 
 senhoraor not unfrequently to a lady, “ Flore^e 
 minha Senhora neste peito.” “ Prosper fair lady in 
 this breastor “ Reverdece minha Senhora.” 
 
 This last is very pretty in Portuguese, but its 
 translation into English is impossible without 
 losing its beauty; and rendered literally it is 
 perhaps any thing but a compliment, as it would 
 imply that the lady is old .—“ Grow green again 
 my senhora.” 
 
 I happened to be one day in the college of no¬ 
 bles, at the time when the studies in mathematics 
 * were going on. There were, I suppose, about 
 eighty students present, and the professor hap¬ 
 pening to sneeze, all these gentlemen rose up 
 and bowed to him with respectful “ vivas.” If, 
 however, the sneeze immediately follows a pinch 
 of snuff, a difference is made, as no compliment is 
 
 p 
 
210 HABITS OF GALLANTRY AND POXITENESS. 
 
 then required; and to prevent it, the snuff taker 
 exclaims, after his first sneeze, “ Nao fa9a cazo, 
 he rape .”—“ Take no notice of it, it is snuff; after 
 which he might sneeze his nose off without being 
 saluted. 
 
 It is also customary in Portuguese company, if 
 a lady rises for any purpose, that all the gentlemen 
 rise also, and do not resume their seats until she 
 does ; this is also observed towards superiors, even 
 in the best societies. In the levee rooms of a mi¬ 
 nister, whenever a gentleman comes into it, all 
 those who happen to be there already rise and sa¬ 
 lute him, which he returns, begging them to re¬ 
 sume their seats ; but when the rank of the person 
 who enters is that of a general officer, it were in 
 vain to expect others to sit down, until he sanc¬ 
 tions their doing so by taking a seat himself. 
 Here also if, in the heat of argument, one of the 
 latter personages should in the course of his ges¬ 
 ticulations make the movement of rising, the whole 
 company, as if pulled by a string, start up like¬ 
 wise. 
 
 These are refinements of politeness unknown 
 in our climate ; but to balance their absence we 
 have as proportionate a share of cleanliness and 
 decency, qualities which in some respects are al¬ 
 together unknown in Lisbon. What would an 
 
VIOLENT GESTICULATIONS. 
 
 211 
 
 English gentleman say if his company indulged 
 themselves in expectorating all over his carpet; 
 yet this is nevertheless the case iri Portuguese 
 society, as every soul who has frequented it in 
 Lisbon must have observed with disgust. The 
 floors, as may be imagined, bear testimony of this 
 filthy habit. . T • ■ _ 
 
 The habit of gesticulating is also common to 
 the Portuguese, and the most trivial subjects of 
 conversation are always accompanied with actions 
 of the head, body, and extremities, so that stran¬ 
 gers on their landing in Lisbon conclude immedi¬ 
 ately that they are amongst a very passionate and 
 quarrelsome people. The Portuguese are remark¬ 
 able likewise for talking exceedingly loud, and all 
 of them at the same time, with an eagerness be¬ 
 yond any thing known in other countries. 
 
 Napoleon in his Russian campaign had four or 
 five regiments of Portuguese, who had been forced 
 from their country by the French army. These, 
 with the characteristic courage of Portuguese 
 troops, were always amongst the most effective 
 and bravest of his army; but such was their habit 
 of vociferating loudly, that the place of their bi¬ 
 vouac was always to be traced by the sound of 
 their voices at many miles’ distance. Of this I 
 have been assured by some of the officers of those 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 BEGGARS. 
 
 corps, who declared that, from the distance of a 
 league in circumference round the Portuguese 
 camp, they could always find their way to it, were 
 the weather in the least fine, by marching upon 
 the sound of the voices, even when many thou¬ 
 sands of soldiers of other nations were bivouacked 
 in the neighbourhood. 
 
 The Portuguese are exceedingly charitable in a 
 small way. In the course of the day they give to 
 a number of beggars; the gift seldom exceeding 
 a five reis bit, which is rather less than a half¬ 
 penny. If, however, they are not inclined to give 
 anything, their manner is exceedingly humane 
 towards the petitioner, and calculated to reconcile 
 him to his disappointment, as they move their 
 hats saying, “ Deos o favorece irmaozinho.” “ God 
 favour you my brother,” upon which the beggar 
 replies, “ Seja pelo amor de Deos.” “ Be it for 
 the love of God,” and continues his way. 
 
 These beggars are sometimes insolent as well 
 as in other countries, and ungrateful also. I re¬ 
 member giving a trifle to one of those who are 
 always seen at a particular corner of the street, 
 exhibiting some wound, sore, or deformity, and 
 making a most lamentable appeal to the compas¬ 
 sion of passengers. On receiving my donation he 
 put on a very thankful look, saying, “ Nossa Sen- 
 hora o pagara,” “ Our Lady will repay youbut 
 
FORMS OF SALUTATION. 
 
 213 
 
 I had hardly gone two steps, when winking to his 
 neighbour he added “ not I.” 
 
 In Portugal people invariably salute each other 
 if they meet beyond the limits of the city, however 
 unacquainted they may happen to be; and fo¬ 
 reigners are easily recognized in the country by 
 their non-observance of this civil custohi, the omis¬ 
 sion of which is regarded as a proof of ill breed¬ 
 ing. Ladies sitting at the windows of their quintas 
 in the country are invariably saluted by every one 
 who happens to pass. The peasants always ac¬ 
 company this civility by the benediction “ Guarde 
 Deos a vossa merce.” “ God preserve you, or 
 have you in his holy keeping.” 
 
 This last phrase is also the termination of all 
 official letters, the last word varying according to 
 the rank of the person who is addressed ; and the 
 addition of “ muitos annos” (many years) is very 
 frequently made. The superscriptions of letters 
 are also very much in this style ; for instance, a 
 son writing to his father, who may be a magistrate 
 in a country town, would direct his letter thus: 
 
 AO 
 
 Illustrissimo Senhor Manoel Maria Fulano de tal 
 muito meo Senhor e Pai 
 dignissimo Juiz de Fora da villa de Borba 
 a quem D s - Gde muitos annos 
 deste seu obed le - filho em Borba 
 
 subd to ’ e venerador 
 Jose Maria das Bolas. 
 
214 FORMS OF ADDRESS ON LETTERS. 
 
 There is a set style for the beginning of a letter 
 which is seldom or ever departed from, excepting 
 it be in an official one. It runs thus 
 
 Ill mo Sfen T Manoel de Souza 
 meo am°- e sen r * 
 
 Estimarei q’ esta achara a V.S 2, desfrutando hua 
 perfeita saude em companhia da Ill ma S ra D. Fufia 
 muito m 3, S ra - a cujas plantas obede^o. &c. 
 
 The literal translation of which is as follows 
 
 Most Ill® Senr* M L de S. 
 my friend and Senr. 
 
 I hope that this may find your Senhoria in the 
 enjoyment of perfect health in the company of the 
 most Ill 8 . S ra . Donna Fufia, very much my S r \, to 
 whosejfe^* I protest obedience. &c. 
 
 In speaking of a deceased father, a Portuguese 
 will always move his hat and add in a parenthesis 
 “ Que Deos haja” whom God keep. In speaking 
 of the king, a similar mark of respect is shewn 
 thus “ **** Sua Magestade (a quern Deos 
 guarde)” “ **** His majesty (whom God pre¬ 
 serve)” and the head is at the same time uncovered. 
 If a Portuguese is under punishment, or in any 
 way so circumstanced as to be compelled to make 
 an earnest supplication, he always says, “ Seja 
 
 
 (Plantas , pedestals.J 
 
FONDNESS OF THE WOMEN FOR LAPDOGS, &c. 215 
 
 pelas almas de seu pai e de sua mai, seja pelas 
 cinco chagas de Christo, Senhor nosso” “ Be it for 
 the soul’s sake of your father and mother, be it for 
 the five wounds of Christ our Lord.” 
 
 When the Portuguese meet in the street a per¬ 
 son of their acquaintance whom they have not 
 seen for some time, they invariably throw their 
 arms round him and lift him off the ground, de¬ 
 claring how rejoiced they are to see him, and pro¬ 
 testing that he has grown fat, although he be as 
 lean as a lizard. 
 
 Portuguese females of all ranks have a decided 
 partiality for lapdogs, monkeys, and parrots; of 
 the latter of which great numbers are brought 
 from the coasts of Africa and America by their 
 traders, and their education is usually begun by 
 the sailors during the passage. Some teach them 
 improper language ; but the most common words, 
 and those which are heard repeated by every par¬ 
 rot, are “ Papagaio real, para Portugal, quern 
 passa ? he el rei q’ vai a ca£a” followed by a 
 screech: the signification, if it has any, being 
 “ Royal parrot, for Portugal, who passes ? ’tis the 
 king who’s going a hunting.” In this nonsense 
 there assuredly appears nothing either droll or 
 witty. 
 
 The Portuguese are not very delicate in their 
 
/ 
 
 216 GROSSNESS OF THE PORTUGUESE IN CONVERSATION. 
 
 v / 
 
 mode of describing any indisposition with which 
 they may have been troubled. I recollect hearing 
 a fat gentleman, in a room full of the best com¬ 
 pany,, excuse himself to the mistress of the house for 
 not having been able to come sooner to pay his 
 respects, as he had been for many weeks much 
 troubled with hemohrroids. I thought I should 
 have dropped off my chair with inclination to 
 laugh; but perceiving that no such effect was visi¬ 
 ble on the rest of the company, I composed myself 
 to hear the lady’s answer which was to enquire 
 “ whether they were internal or external”—and 
 this with a naivete which was quite amusing. 
 
 r 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 PORTUGUESE AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 GAMBLING-MUSIC-MODINHAS-WALTZES-LANDUMS 
 
 -THE GUITAR-CHARACTER OF THE KODINHA- EX¬ 
 AMPLE OF ONE FROM THE FAMOUS COMPOSER VIDIGAL- 
 
 ECCENTRICITY AND VIOLENCE OF VIDIGAL-BONTEMPO, 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE MOZART-CHARACTER OF HIS PIECES 
 
 -DANCING-THE ENGLISH COUNTRY-DANCE-QUAD¬ 
 RILLES-MINUETS-GAME OF FORFEITS-ENIGMAS-THE 
 
 CARNIVAL-ITS DULNESS-CARNIVAL FROLICS OF THE 
 
 MIDDLE CLASSES-BRUTAL AND UNMEANING JESTS OF 
 
 THE RABBLE-WASTE OF ORANGES-ASH-WEDNESDAY- 
 
 GLOOM AND FANATICISM—BULL FIGHTS-ACCOUNT OF A 
 
 REMARKABLE ONE-THE CHAMPION A NEGRO-HIS DEX¬ 
 TERITY AND COURAGE-HIS UNFORTUNATE FATE-AB¬ 
 
 SURD COMBAT BETWEEN A CORNISH TAILOR AND A BULL 
 —BURRICADOS OR DONKEY-PARTIES. 
 

 
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CHAPTER XII. 
 
 \ . 
 
 PORTUGUESE AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 In the evening societies of the fidalgos, the chief 
 amusement is gambling, which they carry to the 
 highest pitch. Their games are principally Rondo 
 and Loto, both of which are so well known that I 
 shall merely say of them that they are played to 
 excess amongst the fidalgos and those rich citi¬ 
 zens, whose purse is their passport into circles 
 where they are otherwise despised as com¬ 
 moners. In the soirees of the genteel classes, 
 music and dancing are the usual amusements. 
 The former is chiefly vocal, accompanied by the 
 guitar, or else the piano, the harp not being 
 much in use. 
 
 The airs sung are Italian or Portuguese; but 
 they would do best to confine themselves to their 
 modinhas, which are really beautiful and national. 
 
220 
 
 THE GUITAR. 
 
 rather than attempt to sing in a language which, 
 with their pronunciation, becomes the most dis¬ 
 gusting of all sounds. Nothing can be more of¬ 
 fensive to the ear than the Portuguese pronuncia¬ 
 tion of any other tongue than their own. Even 
 the Spanish, which in point of fact has so great a 
 resemblance with theirs, when spoken by them 
 loses all its majesty. There are Spanish words 
 which no Portuguese could ever articulate rightly: 
 the word “muchacha,” a girl, for instance, they 
 cannot pronounce otherwise than mushasha:— 
 a downright treason towards a language, which 
 Charles V. used to say was fit to bespoken to the 
 gods. 
 
 The music which the Portuguese play, on their 
 wire strung guitar, consists principally of waltzes, 
 landums, and the accompaniments of their modin- 
 has. The waltzes are chiefly of their own compo¬ 
 sition, and are generally very pretty, and strongly 
 tinged with the national languishing expression. 
 The landums are more particularly Portuguese 
 than any other music. Their guitar seems made 
 for this sort of music. To be well played it is 
 necessary that there should be two instruments, 
 one of which plays merely the motivo or thema, 
 vwhich is a beautiful and simple species of arpeggio. 
 
Vedegal’s modinha 
 
 of 
 
 “Cruel saudade ” 
 
 Vo z 
 
 Guitar 
 
 ra 
 
 2 
 
 Suho aos montes 
 Desco aos vales 
 La rre perseg-ue 
 La me vai ter 
 Milhor me fora \ 
 Antes morrer ) 
 
 Bis 
 
 Tenho perdido 
 A dore esperanra 
 Do Atr rrmdanca 
 No mtu padVer 
 M:lhor rue fora ^ 
 Antes mor rer \ 
 
 Bis 
 
 Mesmo dormindo 
 Por entre sonhos 
 Cases medonhos 
 Me vem tracer 
 Milhor me fora'* 
 Antes morrer Jj® ,s 
 
CHARACTER OF THE MODINHA. 
 
 22 i 
 
 whilst the other improvisoes the most delightful 
 airs upon it. In these, full scope is given to the 
 most musical and richest imagination possible, 
 and they are occasionally accompanied by the 
 voice; in which case it is usual for the words also 
 to be improvisoed. . c 
 
 This kind of music is always of an amorous, 
 melancholy nature; to such a degree indeed, that 
 I have seen it draw tears on many occasions from 
 those hearers, whose hearts were at all tender, or 
 who found in the words of the musician something 
 analogous with their own situation. It is custo¬ 
 mary that, in an improvisoed modinha, strictly 
 speaking, the words as well as the music should 
 begin with a motivo, to which all the rest shall 
 have reference. To give a better idea of my 
 
 meaning, I have given a modinha of the famous 
 
 •- 
 
 Vidigal on the opposite page. 
 
 There was a time when this man could have 
 made a considerable fortune, so great was his 
 talent, and so much was he sought after by the 
 best company; but unfortunately, although an 
 excellent natural bard, his talents were con¬ 
 fined to music exclusively, and, as if to balance 
 his extraordinary share of this gift, he was to¬ 
 tally destitute of that most necessary of all 
 
222 
 
 BONTEMPO, THE PORTUGUESE MOZART. 
 
 qualities, common sense. To whatever company 
 he might be asked, professionally, if the most 
 profound silence did not prevail in the room, if 
 any one even breathed too loudly, his harmony 
 would become discord; and rising in a violent 
 passion, he would quit the company, after calling 
 them all brutes. 
 
 On one occasion, a lady who was troubled with 
 a severe cough, and who to enjoy the pleasure of 
 listening to his improvisoes, had been suppressing 
 it even to her great pain, at length burst forth, 
 when Sen r . Vidigal, although he must have been 
 aware of the cause, rose in a passion, and beating 
 the guitar to atoms on the back of his chair, left 
 the room, muttering maledictions on her interrup¬ 
 tion. Such singular behaviour naturally led to 
 his exclusion from good company; and he was 
 at length obliged to live by getting up concerts 
 occasionally, which were usually very well at¬ 
 tended. 
 
 The Portuguese piano music is chiefly that of 
 Bontempo, the Mozart of Portugal. Although 
 many opinions are entertained as to his composi¬ 
 tions, his powers of execution are indisputably 
 very great. Marcos Antonio Portugallo has 
 composed some very fine pieces, amongst which 
 
THE GAME OF FORFEITS. 
 
 223 
 
 his sinfonias of II ritorno di Xerxe and II 
 morte de Mithridate stand very high, and, when 
 well played by a good orchestra, have a very fine 
 effect. 
 
 In many societies, particularly in the provinces, 
 the English country dances are still in use; al¬ 
 though as in our own country, they are gradually 
 discarded to make room for the more elegant and 
 less fatiguing quadrille. Minuets are still much 
 in use, particularly with antiquated belles and 
 beaux, who are always anxious to shew how much 
 more graceful were the solemn paces of their time, 
 than the livelier motions of our days. The gavotte 
 generally follows the minuet. In the frontier 
 towns most of the young people learn of their Spa¬ 
 nish neighbours the bolero, but they have as 
 downright an incompatibility for performing it 
 properly, as they have for speaking Spanish. The 
 Portuguese in fact, to appear to advantage, must 
 confine themselves to their own language, music, 
 dances, and peculiar manners. 
 
 The game of forfeits is very common in societies 
 of young persons (the parents being present) and 
 this is usually preceded by solutions of enigmas 
 &c. One of these I thought so naif that I cannot 
 help recording it. It was this, “ Branco he, ga- 
 
224 
 
 THE CARNIVAL. 
 
 linha o poem”—anglice “ White it is, the hen 
 lays it,” and this puzzled exceedingly a young gen¬ 
 tleman (of no great vivacity to be sure) to whom 
 it was proposed and who solved it at last by “ a 
 pair of white pantaloons.” 
 
 The time of year when amusements are most 
 frequent is that of the Intrudo or Carnival, which 
 lasts for about a fortnight before the commence¬ 
 ment of Lent. In the higher classes of society 
 there is, on these occasions, much gaiety, dancing, 
 and playing at round games; but with the exception 
 of a few masks who chance to appear in the course 
 of the soiree, nothing particular distinguishes it as 
 a season of carnival. These masks are more cal¬ 
 culated to create gloom than to excite gaiety ; for 
 they stalk awkwardly into the room without even 
 an attempt, however wretched, to support the 
 character which they have assumed; and if any 
 children be present they are sure to get pulled to 
 pieces; for children it must be observed, instead 
 of being sent early and wholesomely to bed as in 
 England, are on the contrary initiated into com¬ 
 pany at the most tender age, are taught to punt 
 at bank, to play at rondo, to enter into every con¬ 
 versation, and to do in every respect as full grown 
 people. The consequence is that both girls and 
 
BRUTAL AND UNMEANING JESTS OF THE RABBLE. £25 
 
 boys have the most when and worn otft, pale; 
 meagre, vigil-like aspects imaginable. 
 
 In the middling classes, the frolics of the cafnir 
 val consist in throwing hair powder and water in 
 each others’ faces, and over their clothes; and 
 pelting the passengers in the streets, with oranges, 
 lemons,, eggs, and many other missiles, besides 
 throwing buckets of water on them. Ladies are 
 not unfrequently seen hiding behind a balcony or 
 window shutter with a huge syringe in their 
 hands, watching the approach of a gentleman, 
 who may be coming along the street, in prder to 
 squirt its contents into his eyes. Many, instead 
 of using the latter projectile, provide themselves 
 'with small bottles made of India rubber, having an 
 ivory pipe at the end, which, when the bottle is, 
 squeezed, projects the water contained in it, to a 
 . great distance. > 
 
 Amongst the rabble there is no low beastly 
 contrivance left untried in order to vex and plague 
 each other ; and this is what they consider as ad¬ 
 mirable sport. A blackguard boy will be seen 
 with a long hollow cane in his hand, filled with 
 hair powder, walking behind some poor peasant 
 woman with a basket of fruit on her head, then 
 tapping her on the shoulder with one end of the. 
 cane to make her look round, and applying his 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 WASTE OF ORANGES. 
 
 mouth to the other, he blows its contents into her 
 face and eyes, giving her a most sepulchral look 
 which excites the merriment of every one but 
 herself. Other fellows have a stuffed glove 
 smeared over with grease and chimney black, at 
 the end of a long stick, with which they tickle the 
 ears of passengers who, if they happen to look 
 round, receive from it a slap in the face. 
 
 A circumstance which happens to almost every 
 person who dares to walk the streets on the three 
 last days of the intrudo, is having a long cut paper 
 tail hooked on to his dress behind, which is no 
 sooner done than a cry of “ rabo leve”—“ he has 
 a tail*’ is set up on all sides and will follow him 
 every where, until he becomes aware of the cause 
 of it. 
 
 Another common trick is to cut out of a piece 
 of old hat the figure of an ass with very long ears, 
 which "being rubbed over with whiting and slap¬ 
 ped upon a man’s back, leaves a good and dis¬ 
 tinct asinine impression, and never fails to excite a 
 hearty laugh at the expense of the bearer. 
 
 At S. Ubes, properly called Setubal, the quan¬ 
 tity of oranges scattered about the streets on these 
 occasions by being thrown at people, would suffice 
 at least, I am convinced, to load five or six vessels 
 of two hundred tons burthen. None but eye- 
 
BULL FIGHTS. 
 
 227 
 
 witnesses of the fact can form an idea of the waste 
 of this delicious fruit in the brutal manner above- 
 mentioned. In all the towns of the Alemtejo the 
 same custom is observed; and the whole of Portu¬ 
 gal I may safely say, presents during those three 
 days a scene revolting and disgusting to any civi¬ 
 lized being* 
 
 On Ash Wednesday, a sudden transition takes 
 place from excessive licence, to fanaticism as ex¬ 
 cessive and sombre. People with black dresses 
 and penitent downcast looks, are seen prowling 
 about from one church to another amidst the frag¬ 
 ments of the eve’s debauch, with heaps of which 
 the streets are covered, thus exhibiting a scene of 
 mingled folly and bigotry. But before I digress 
 from the subject of Portuguese amusements, I 
 must speak of one which formerly stood very pro¬ 
 minent, and which, although in a measure disused 
 during the war, has been of late revived since the 
 return of his majesty from Rio de JaneiroI 
 mean the Toiros or bull fights* These generally 
 took place at the celebration of the feast of some 
 saint in the vicinity of Lisbon* Nossa Senhora 
 do Barreiro, on the side of the Tagus immediately 
 opposite the city, is always honored with a spec¬ 
 tacle of this nature on the day of her anniversary. 
 
 Two or three days beforehand, a number of 
 
 q 2 
 
228 
 
 ACCOUNT OF A REMARKABLE ONE. 
 
 persons cross the Tagus to get the best accommo^ 
 dations which the village can afford, and to survey 
 the building of the circus and other preparatory 
 arrangements. The bull fights at this place used 
 formerly to be very well attended, as the royal 
 princes almost always honored them with their 
 presence; and some have even been known to 
 enter the lists against the bulls. Much dexterity 
 and a fair proportion of courage were necessary 
 qualifications for a bull-fighter of the olden time ; 
 but now a days the chief merit seems to consist 
 in tormenting the poor animal, and giving him as 
 little chance as possible of being able to retaliate. 
 Their manner of plaguing him consists in throw¬ 
 ing darts at him; and these being stuck in his 
 flesh and provided with a store of squibs and 
 crackers, ignited by means of a fusee which is set 
 fire to previous to throwing the dart, the poor 
 beast is so tortured that he is incapable of follow¬ 
 ing up his enemies methodically, so that they are 
 more easily enabled to avoid him. 
 
 A bull fight took place at the feast of N. S. de 
 Barreiro in 1792, the denouement of which made 
 it a subject of conversation for some time. A 
 negro having, for the first time in his life, witnessed 
 one a few days before, undertook to tire out the 
 most ferocious bull previous to killing him: the 
 
THE CHAMPION A NEGRO. 
 
 229 
 
 man moreover engaging during the whole combat 
 that his sole weapon should be a poignard, to be 
 used only at the conclusion of the fight. The 
 proposal was universally derided; and the chair 
 lenger was only allowed to try his skill, from the 
 pleasure which the spectators promised themselves 
 at the sight of a negro mauled to death in single 
 combat with an enfuriated bull. 
 
 On the day appointed, the black man entered 
 the arena, and bowed to the spectators, who re¬ 
 turned his salute with hisses and execrations. The 
 bull was then turned in, and the negro attracted 
 his attention by clapping his hands and bellowing 
 in imitation of him. Nothing farther was neces¬ 
 sary to put the animal into a fury, and occasion 
 Jiim to make several charges at the negro, which 
 were dextrously avoided, and therefore only served 
 to augment his rage. After thus amusing the 
 spectators for a short time, the black prepared 
 for more serious business, and receiving the bull's 
 charge full on his chest, twisting his arms at the 
 same time round the horns, he turned head over 
 heels, and in the twinkling of an eye was seated 
 on the back of the animal, who gallopped and 
 plunged in the most desperate manner. The pub¬ 
 lic feeling, which at first had been so much against 
 the negro, now changed suddenly in his favor; 
 
230 
 
 ABSURD COMBAT BETWEEN 
 
 and cries of “ viva o negro” rent the air on all 
 sides. 
 
 The bull at length becoming tired as the negro 
 had promised, many voices were heard to cry 
 “ basta,” at which he drew his poignard, and at 
 one blow felled his antagonist to the ground and 
 leaped off his back. Then did the Portuguese 
 nobility, with the generosity and profusion which 
 distinguished them at that time , shower money 
 down into the arena to recompense the valour of 
 the negro, few being observed to throw in less than 
 a single gold piece, and many whole handfulls. 
 
 The negro remained looking at the bull, and 
 appeared unconscious of what was passing around 
 him. He had one hand resting on one of the 
 horns of his fallen antagonist, when the latter, 
 whom every one had thought dead, made a sudden 
 and last spring, which, as it announced his own 
 end, caused also that of the gallant negro, whose 
 very heart was pierced through.by the horn which 
 he had just been contemplating as harmless and 
 deprived of its power of doing mischief. 
 
 A Cornish tailor who happened to be present, 
 fired with the glory gained by the negro, and 
 fearless of his melancholy end, offered to treat the 
 natives on the next day with a spectacle of a na¬ 
 ture entirely novel. He proposed vanquishing the 
 
A CORNISH TAILOR AND A BULL. 
 
 231 
 
 bull in a manner until then unheard of, and was 
 therefore indulged in his wish to exhibit. He 
 entered the arena provided with a couple of plan¬ 
 ters of some glutinous stuff, of about a foot in 
 diameter, and being informed that the bi^ll was 
 about to appear, he laid himself down on his back 
 immediately opposite the entrance, drawing his 
 knees up to his chin; he placed the plaisters one 
 on each foot, with the glutinous side outwards. 
 
 In this atttiude he proposed awaiting the ap¬ 
 proach of the enemy, concluding that the latter 
 would of course make directly at him, and that 
 he would then be enabled to execute his project 
 of applying the two plaisters with his feet to the 
 bull’s eyes, who, deprived of their use, would fall 
 an easy victim to snippish ingenuity. It would 
 be impossible to describe the roaring, laughing, 
 and the cracking of jokes, which shook the whole 
 building while this son of the scissors was “ en 
 garde” awaiting his antagonist, who at last made 
 his appearance, and seeing so unusual a sight as 
 that which was presented to him, seemed unde¬ 
 cided for some moments what line of conduct to 
 pursue. At last walking deliberately up to the 
 tailor, he absolutely seemed to have guessed his 
 trade, and some assert that he laughed as heartily 
 as any of the spectators; but at length annoyed at 
 
232 
 
 BURRICADOS, OR DONKEY PARTIES. 
 
 the audacity of the hero (who by the bye knew 
 not now which way to turn, as the bull did not 
 stand in front of him) he tumbled him over with 
 his snout, and kept turning him over and over, 
 till, being near the spikes of the arena, he pitched 
 him in amongst the spectators. A failure such 
 as this would have entailed great inconvenience 
 upon the individual, had it not been produc¬ 
 tive of so much amusement; and snip got well 
 off with a few black bumps about his body and 
 the loss of his plaisters. 
 
 Burricados, or donkey rides, are favorite diver¬ 
 sions with all classes of Portuguese at Lisbon, a1* 
 though I never could find out that they were pro¬ 
 ductive of any real amusement. A party being 
 made up, it is agreed that the ride shall either be 
 on this or on that side of the river. In either 
 case some provide a part of the eatables, whilst 
 others undertake to defray the expences of sallad, 
 bread, and wine, the latter articles being always 
 more conveniently procured at the places proposed 
 to be visited, than transported to them in so warm 
 a climate. Orders are then sent to the burrow- 
 man to prepare a number of these beasts, and to 
 have them ready at such a house at a certain 
 hour, those intended for ladies, to be provided 
 with a cadeirinha (chair) strapped on over the 
 
BURRICADOS, OR I&NKEY PARTIES. 233 
 
 albarde or pack-saddle. The latter are usually 
 covered with either scarlet or green cloth, and, if 
 sat upon sideways, are a very comfortable seat, 
 but astride they are far from being so, owing to 
 their great breadth across, and the consequent 
 distention of the rider’s legs. Every burro pro¬ 
 prietor has some little ragged boys, whom he em¬ 
 ploys to accompany and never lose sight of his 
 animals. 
 
 The gentlemen of these parties generally en¬ 
 deavour to create a laugh at each other’s expence 
 in order to amuse the ladies; this they do by 
 tickling the donkeys under the tail, and making 
 them plunge and throw their riders. When par¬ 
 ties of burrinhos are made up for this side of the 
 river, they seldom go beyond Lumiar or Loures. 
 The former is the usual haunt, as the beautiful 
 gardens (quinta) of the marquis of Angeja are 
 situated there, and permission is freely granted by 
 that nobleman to the public to amuse themselves 
 on his grounds. This it must be confessed to his 
 credit, is carried to an extent somewhat different 
 from the selfish argus-like vigilance which even 
 scares away the looks , as much as the footsteps, 
 of indiscreet intruders on private grounds in our 
 land of liberty. 
 
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CHAPTER XIII 
 
 PORTUGUESE FUNERALS. 
 
 PROCESSION OF THE HOST TO A DYING PERSON - 
 
 JOINED BY ALL PASSENGERS-INTRUSION OF THE RAB¬ 
 BLE INTO THE CHAMBER OF THE DYING-BENEFICENT 
 
 RESULTS EXPECTED FROM THIS-BODIES LAID IN STATE 
 
 - CEREMONY OF INTERMENT —- FUNERAL SERVICE - 
 
 CHAUNT OF THE DE PROFUNDIS-ITS IMPRESSIVE CHA¬ 
 RACTER —• INTERMENT OF THE POORER CLASSES - RE¬ 
 
 VOLTING US A G E — PERNICIOUS CUSTOM OF BURYING IN 
 CHURCHES IN SO HOT A CLIMATE - FUNERAL INVITA¬ 
 TION-BODIES OF THE POOR EXPOSED TO COLLECT ALMS 
 
 FOR THEIR FUNERAL EXPENCES ■— CUPIDITY OF THE 
 PRIESTS—OFFICE OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE MISE- 
 RICORDIA—CONTEMPT OF THE PORTUGUESE RABBLE FOR 
 BURIAL BY CHARITY. 
 

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 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 PORTUGUESE FUNERALS. 
 
 When any one in Portugal is so ill that his life is 
 considered in danger, notice is sent to the curate 
 pf the parish, who repairs immediately to the sick 
 person with the holy sacrament which the Portu¬ 
 guese call Nosso Pai (our Father) owing to their 
 conviction of the real presence of God in the con¬ 
 secrated wafer. Notice being likewise given to 
 the sexton or sacristan, he rings one of the church 
 bells in a particular manner, which being heard 
 all over the parish, those of the brotherhood who 
 can possibly quit their occupations, repair forth¬ 
 with to the vestry room to meet the curate. 
 
 Here the latter puts on his robes of white da¬ 
 mask, embroidered with gold, or else ornamented 
 with gold lace and fringe, and takes in his hand 
 the holy chalice containing a consecrated wafer; 
 over which is thrown a silk napkin having on it a 
 cross of gold and bound round with gold fringe. 
 
 
238 PROCESSION OP THE HOST TO A DYING PERSON. 
 
 The men of the brotherhood put on their red 
 cloaks; and each provides himself with that which 
 it falls to his lot to carry. 
 
 A bellman marches in front, ringing occasionally 
 to announce the approach of the sacrament. At 
 the head of the procession is a silver-cross bearer, 
 supported on either side by lanthorn bearers; be¬ 
 hind these comes the cushion and book bearer; 
 then some of the brotherhood, carrying long wax 
 tapers, and sometimes lanthorns, when the wind 
 is high; next is the priest’s assistant in a black 
 gown and white lace, and a sleeveless spencer, 
 carrying the censer, which he continues swinging 
 backwards and forwards to prevent the coals from 
 going out; and last of all comes the priest him-# 
 self* sheltered under a canopy of white damask 
 and gold fringe, which is borne at the end of poles 
 by six or eight of the Irmandade in red cloaks. 
 
 As it is a mark of ^devotion to accompany Nossa 
 Pai in these visitations, numbers of persons follow 
 the procession, vociferating Aves Marias to a very 
 agreeable tune. At the appearance of the sacra¬ 
 ment, all carriages and horses stop; their riders 
 dismount and kneel as the procession passes them; 
 and excepting the noise made by the hymn- 
 chaunting followers, a dead silence reigns through¬ 
 out the street. .The inhabitants of ground floors 
 
INTRUSION OF THE RABBLE. 239 
 
 come out of their doors* and kneel in the street;' 
 whilst the inmates of the upper stories prostrate 
 themselves in the windows and balconies. When 
 the sacrament goes out at night, all the inhabit¬ 
 ants who happen to have a light in the house illu¬ 
 minate their windows as a mark of devotion. 
 
 When the procession arrives at the sick person's 
 door, the canopy arid lanthorns are rested against 
 the wall, and every One goes into the room, hofc 
 excepting even the rabble who, more Out of curio¬ 
 sity than devotion, have followed the host. For 
 such is their incontestible right; and thus are the 
 sufferings of the dying exposed to the gaze of an 
 uncompassionating mob. It is true that the Por¬ 
 tuguese see this in a very different point of view' 
 from that which we take, when we attach ideas of 
 decency to dying peaceably and quietly. They 
 deduce very advantageous consequences from a 
 numerous collection of persons round the sick 
 bed; as they conclude that, however scanty the 
 prayers of each may be, every little aids *, and no 
 one is therefore excluded. 
 
 The holy wafer being administered and iii cases 
 beyond recovery the santOs olios (holy oils) being 
 applied, the patient has then a right to finish his 
 career without further molestation. During the 
 whole of the time that the host is out on these 
 
BODIES LAID IN STATE. 
 
 240 
 
 errands, the bells of the church from which it is¬ 
 sued continue ringing until its return. 
 
 Portuguese funerals are differently conducted 
 according to the wealth of the family of the de¬ 
 ceased, or to the sum which they may be disposed 
 to disburse for the interment, As .soon as the 
 bf eath is out of the body, if it be that of a military 
 man, he is invariably dressed in full uniform, with 
 sword, sash, and every trapping complete; if a 
 civilian, he is dressed in the habit and cowl of 
 some order of monks, with a discipline round the 
 waist, and (sometimes) a rosary in his clasped 
 hands, or else a little cross. If a lady, she is not 
 unfrequently dressed in a nun’s habit, or else in a 
 white habit like a shroud, every where adorned 
 with artificial flowers, tinsel, ribbands, gauze, and 
 spangles. 
 
 The body thus equipped is laid out in state in 
 a room hung round with black cloth, covered with 
 representations of sculls, thigh bones, and tears. 
 At the head and feet are placed church candle¬ 
 sticks with wax candles in them; and near the 
 body is a little silver or pewter bowl containing 
 holy water, which visitors sprinkle with the sign 
 of the cross on the body by means of a little brush 
 which is lying in the bowl for the purpose. After 
 shewing this mark of respect, the visitors proceed 
 
CEREMONY OF INTERMENT. 
 
 241 
 
 to the room where the family, seated in tearful 
 sorrow, receive their visit of condolence. All this 
 time the rabble of the neighbourhood are going 
 up and down the stairs to see the body, it being 
 customary not to prevent their doing so. 
 
 At the hour of the night appointed for the fu¬ 
 neral, the community of monks, bespoken for the 
 occasion, are heard as they come along the street 
 chaunting mournfully. Each monk bears a lighted 
 taper; and nothing can be more dismal and melan¬ 
 choly than the sensations which their appearance 
 creates. They continue to mutter their cantuxad 
 (funeral dirge) as they ascend the staircase ; and 
 the sound of their feet and voice announces to the 
 afflicted relatives of the deceased that his remains 
 are about to quit them for ever. An overwhelm¬ 
 ing gush of sorrow ensues, in which the assistants 
 are often more inclined to join than to offer conso¬ 
 lations that would be even impertinent at such a 
 moment. The body is then placed in a gay co¬ 
 loured coffin, ornamented with angels’ heads and 
 other devices, together with innumerable white or 
 yellow headed nails. ~ ^. 
 
 The Portuguese coffin is not of the same shape 
 as ours, nor adapted to the human form by being 
 made smaller at the head and feet than at the 
 shoulders: it is of equal breadth in all its length, 
 
 R 
 
242 CHAUNT OF THE DE PROFUNDIS. 
 
 and is provided with a lock and key, besides being 
 lined on the inside with some gay coloured silk. 
 It is left open on its way from the house to the 
 church, so that people from their windows have a 
 full view, of it by the help of the torches: the 
 monks recite some Latin prayers all the way. 
 
 < Before the arrival of the body in the church, 
 there has been previously prepared in the middle 
 of the aisle a sort of stand covered over with a 
 costly pall, on which the coffin is placed with huge 
 candlesticks arranged symmetrically around it. 
 The monks place themselves in two lines one on 
 each side of the coffin ; and the officiating priest 
 in his most costly garments (if paid proportion- 
 ably) is stationed at the feet or head of the body, 
 according as the different parts of the service may 
 require, with one or two censer bearers. In one 
 part of the service he takes holy water, which is 
 handed to him in a little silver machine with holes 
 in it, and sprinkles it crucially as he walks round 
 the body, bending the knee whenever he passes in 
 front of any altar. He also takes the incense and 
 goes through the ceremony of purifying the body 
 with it on all sides ; after which he prays, and the 
 monks chaunt the responses. 
 
 Nothing can be more impressive than the De 
 Profundis, chaunted by a numerous community of 
 
AN IFT F, 31 M IF. N T 
 


 ITS IMPRESSIVE CHARACTER. ~ 243 
 
 monks : their full and deep toned voices mingling 
 with the prolonged and swelling notes of the organ, 
 and the whole solemn cadence pealing along the 
 vaulted roof and long drawn aisle. The concen¬ 
 trated blaze of light falling on the peculiar figures 
 
 ** < • • • . r • 
 
 of the monks, and the mournful pomp of the as¬ 
 semblage, the place, the occasion, the ceremony, 
 all conspire to overpower the mind with awe 
 stricken and saddened feelings. The service being 
 
 r - T *■ r 
 
 ended, the priests and monks disperse and dis- 
 appear; none then remain but the friends of the 
 deceased, who have been invited to the interment> 
 and who during the service have each held a lighted 
 wax torch. These mourners generally remain to 
 witness the “ earthing up” of the grave; after 
 having given their torches to the sacristan who 
 extinguishes them. 
 
 A large flag-stone under which hundreds have 
 been buried is lifted up, and some preceding te^ 
 
 «• » r • 
 
 nant is dislodged to make room for a fresh onei 
 
 — r , • y 7" v "•»—** 
 
 The- old bones are removed to the bone-house. 
 The coffin is laid alongside of the grave; the 
 sexton fills it with quick lime; and then shutting 
 it, he gives the key to the nearest relation present, 
 
 » r * f r >• 
 
 or to such of the friends of the family as may have 
 
 •I • t , » . • f - e « v « » 0 
 
 been named to receive it. 
 
 r 2 
 
244 PERNICIOUS CUSTOM OF BURYING; IN CHURCHES. 
 
 Such is the mode of interment of persons of 
 gentility not noble:—the only difference, in the 
 funerals of very rich or noble persons, consists in 
 the body being conveyed in a carriage to the 
 church, and being escorted by many torches, be¬ 
 sides having a greater train of monks to chaunt 
 the De Profundis. The burial of the poor is, as 
 may be imagined, attended with none of the above 
 pomp: they are thrown without coffin into a 
 grave, when a basket full of lime is cast over 
 them; and then to accelerate their decomposition 
 or consumption, the sexton—such is the revolting 
 custom—maules them with a pick axe. 
 
 In Lisbon, owing to the heat of the weather, it 
 is found necessary to inter the dead on the even¬ 
 ing of the day on which they die. This custom 
 has been attended with some fearful consequences, 
 as persons who have only been apparently dead, 
 have often been buried alive. I recollect the cir¬ 
 cumstance of an infant being buried in the ceme- 
 try of N. S. da Lapa, who on being struck on the 
 head with a pick-axe emitted a dreadful cry; it 
 was however too late, this blow having terminated 
 its sufferings. A few churches have, after the 
 manner of N. S. da Lapa’s, a covered cemetry ad¬ 
 joining the church, thus obviating the necessity of 
 
FUNERAL INVITATION. 245 
 
 \ 
 
 continually adding to the putrid miasma, with 
 which the churches are generally filled. The 
 greatest number of them however have no such 
 convenience ; and the general feeling amongst the 
 Portuguese is against it. They prefer the idea of 
 being buried in the body of the church; and” to 
 attain this object for their own remains, are will¬ 
 ing to endure a pestilential odour all their lives. 
 
 The invitations to the funeral are of course sent 
 round as expeditiously as possible, immediately 
 on the person’s death: they are usually of the fol¬ 
 lowing tenor. 
 
 “ Dou Parte a V.-q’ foi Deos servido Ievar da 
 
 “ vida presente O Ill" 10 . Sen r . Fulano de tal meo ma- 
 “ rido e Sen r . q’ devendo ser sepultado hoje 18 do 
 “ Corrente pelas 8 horas da noite; rogo a VS a queira 
 
246 bodies of the poor exposed to collect alms. 
 
 ^honrar desua presen^a estes Obsequios, na Fre- 
 “ guezia dos Martyres au Loretto. 
 
 u A O 111“*°. Sen r . Joaquim Jose 
 
 &c. &c. &c, *--— (Signature.) 
 
 * ; » ^ y 
 
 > T / I i.’: , 4 ‘y " V .7* flf OtrSfTO 1 
 
 " I beg leave to inform your Senhoria that God 
 “ has been pleased to take from the present life (my 
 4t husband, father, or brother) whose remains will 
 
 “ be interred in the church of-parish of- 
 
 “ at-o’clock at night. I therefore request that 
 
 “ you will honor these obsequies with your pre- 
 46 sence. God preserve your Senhoria.”—Date, &c. 
 
 When an individual dies of sheer poverty, and 
 leaves nothing convertible into sufficient money to 
 satisfy the cupidity of his priest, he remains un¬ 
 buried until the neighbours, being fairly stunk out, 
 make a collection amongst themselves to have him 
 taken away. Many are seen laid out just in the 
 state in which they died, with an earthen bowl 
 upon their bodies, to receive the alms of the peo¬ 
 ple who may chance to pass the way. The same 
 is observed towards those, who being drowned, 
 happen to float on shore: they are dragged to 
 the nearest church door, close to which there is 
 generally a large stone slab of six feet by three, 
 having at its head a cross also of stone inlaid in 
 the wall. On this slab the bodies remain,, until 
 
I 
 
 CUPIDITY OP THE PRIESTS. 247 
 
 the money thrown into the cup be sufficient * to 
 pay the priest. • 
 
 At the door of every church or chapel, and in 
 many other places about each parish, are fixed 
 alms-boxes ; and it is usually understood that the 
 money collected in them shall not only be applied 
 for the saying of masses for the souls of the de¬ 
 ceased, but also for relief in cases of real and ex¬ 
 treme distress. It is, however, I very much fear, 
 like all other monies which happen to fall into the 
 clutches of the Romish priests, applied to their 
 own private ends. 
 
 I recollect a poor fellow who was a serjeant of 
 infantry during the campaigns, but who being 
 over anxious to get his discharge from the service, 
 and thinking to do better as a civilian, at length 
 obtained it; and then, like many others, was soon 
 at a loss for employment, and plunged into the 
 deepest distress. He had moreover a wife, sister, 
 and mother, to support. Under these trying cir¬ 
 cumstances, one of his old officers made shift to 
 find him employment as his amanuensis; but the 
 army being much in arrears, and the serjeant be¬ 
 ing persuaded that his officer was but ill able to 
 continue such assistance, he absented himself under 
 some pretext for several days. 
 
 *- The officer sent at last his servant to enquire 
 
248 CONTEMPT OF THE PORTUGUESE RABBLE 
 
 after him, when he was found lying in the middle 
 of a room totally destitute of furniture, and nearly 
 exhausted from sheer want, and his wife, mother, 
 and sister, in situations very similar, weeping over 
 him. Assistance was immediately given; but the 
 servant, thinking very properly that the curate of 
 the parish might and ought to contribute in some 
 degree to relieve these persons, addressed him on 
 the subject. The Levite answered that it was no 
 business of his. Notwithstanding every effort to 
 recover the serjeant, he died of inanition. A se¬ 
 cond application was sent to the curate for the 
 purpose of getting him buried. This the priest 
 refused to do, until he received the money before¬ 
 hand from the above mentioned officer, as pay¬ 
 ment for his trouble. 
 
 Among the poorer orders of the people, nothing 
 is so much dreaded as the circumstance of being 
 buried by the misericordia. This happens when 
 the family are only able to muster up sufficient 
 money to pay the priest, who, instead of accom¬ 
 panying the body, goes directly to the cemetry 
 and awaits its arrival; and then contents himself 
 with mumbling a few words over it as it is thrown 
 in, without a coffin, and often in the same dress 
 in which it died. As the misericordia men pass 
 through the streets with the bier on their shouh 
 
FOR BURIAL BY CHARITY. 
 
 249 
 
 ders, covered over with a piece of coarse black 
 cloth, the lower orders of the people hoot and cry 
 after it “ miao, miao gatos pingados,” the mean¬ 
 ing of which it would be difficult to render in Eng¬ 
 lish ; it will however suffice to know that the imi¬ 
 tation of the voice of a cat implies contempt of the 
 mode of burial; although in nine cases out of ten 
 it is precisely that which awaits the criers them¬ 
 selves. 
 
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 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 ’ — " C . * /. J . • . . . < J. . ) 
 
 -l ± - * - - W- ■ : : j : ! • l . ■ • * ) % I /. ! d .t;.;! 
 
 '• - - . — • * - i • - 4 * « - . > i - • - 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE ARMY, &c. 
 
 SlO’i 
 
 A PORTUGUESE SOLDIER UNDER SENTENCE OF DEATH 
 
 —HUMANE TREATMENT OF THE CONDEMNED-ITS ABUSE 
 
 BY THE TRIARS-CEREMONIAL OF EXECUTIONS-SCENE 
 
 OF THE KIND SKETCHED ON THE GROUND - PORTU¬ 
 GUESE MILITIA-SOLDIERLIKE APPEARANCE OF THESE 
 
 CORPS-MILITARY PUNISHMENTS-THE PRANXADA, OR 
 
 BLOWS WITH THE FLAT OF THE SABRE-MILITARY SUR¬ 
 GEONS-THEIR FORMER DEGRADATION-LOW STATE OF 
 
 THE SURGICAL AND MEDICAL ARTS IN PORTUGAL LAWS 
 
 REGULATING THE PROFESSION-INSTANCE OF CHIRUR- 
 
 GICAL IGNORANCE -EXCELLENT CHARACTERISTICS OF 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE SOLDIER — RARENESS OF CRIME VI¬ 
 GOUR OF THE MILITARY POWER IN AID OF THE CIVIL 
 
 _INERTNESS OF THE CIVIL POWER-AGGRAVATED BY 
 
 THE RELUCTANCE OF THE PEOPLE TO GIVE EVIDENCE 
 
 AGAINST CRIMINALS-ABSURD LAW OF THE LATE QUEEN 
 
 FORBIDDING THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT OF WOMEN- 
 
 FLAGRANT INSTANCE OF ITS PERNICIOUS EFFECTS- COR¬ 
 RUPT ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAWS-EXAMPLES OF 
 
 || is——RELIGIOU S AND MILITARY ORDERS OF KNIGHT¬ 
 HOOD IN PORTUGAL—THE MOST ANCIENT, THAT OF AVIZ 
 —ORDER OF S. JAGO DA ESPADA—ITS DEBASEMENT-IN- 
 
252 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 STANCE OF THIS—ORDER OF CHRIST—ALL THESE ORDERS 
 
 EXCLUSIVELY FOR CATHOLICS - INSTITUTION OF THE 
 
 ORDER OF THE TOWER AND SWORD FOR PROTESTANTS- 
 
 ANCIENT ORDER OF AZA—EAGERNESS OF THE PORTUGUESE 
 FOR CHIVALRIC DECORATIONS - THEIR ABUSE- DE¬ 
 
 GRADED STATE OF THE PORTUGUESE ARMY BEFORE THE 
 REFORMS INTRODUCED BY BRITISH INFLUENCE. 
 
 
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CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 C * ■ - - 
 
 THE PORTUGUESE ARMY, &c. 
 
 /■ 
 
 When a Portuguese soldier is to suffer death by 
 the sentence of a court-martial, he is, immediately 
 after the confirmation of that sentence, conducted 
 to the nearest oratorio or chapel, for the purpose 
 of there passing three days in the company of a 
 friar, whose duty it is to shrive him of his sins, 
 and “ smooth his path from earth to heaven.” He 
 is however permitted during this period to glut 
 himself, if such be his taste, with the choicest 
 viands; and with these the captain of his com¬ 
 pany is in duty bound to supply him. 
 
 A custom so much in contradiction with the 
 object proposed by seclusion in a place intended 
 for meditation, must have originated in the glut¬ 
 tony of the priest; and it is usually at his sug¬ 
 gestion that the unhappy culprit makes requisi¬ 
 tions in which his own appetite has no share. The 
 truth of this is evident from the emaciated state in 
 
254 
 
 A MILITARY EXECUTION 
 
 which the prisoners are invariably found when 
 brought out for execution, and from the contrast 
 there offered between their attenuated forms, and 
 the bloated rotundity of their fanatical and igno¬ 
 rant consolers. 
 
 At the expiration of the time thus allotted to 
 the criminal for religious preparation, the troops 
 (if in a fortified town) are usually paraded in the 
 ditch; and at the hour appointed by the governor, 
 the brotherhood of the misericordia, accompanied 
 by a certain number of friars, proceed to the pri¬ 
 son door to receive the culprit. The procession 
 then moves forward to the ditch in the following 
 order. A detachment of the troops on duty; the 
 banner of mercy with its usual supporters ; a 
 crowd of friars, canons or quartanarios da see; 
 the bier used for the interment of the poor; and 
 then a large crucifix turned backwards and con¬ 
 sequently facing the sufferer (pade^ente) who fol- 
 
 * r r . r ? • • 
 
 lows it closely, gazing upon it and imploring its 
 
 * r * ' • r ^ # * 
 
 mercy, holding also a small crucifix in his joined 
 
 • * r * _ * r 
 
 hands, and supported by his ghostly comforter of 
 perhaps by two priests. The rear is closed by 
 
 « » • r T.\ r -w , - ^ 
 
 another detachment of troops, who are followed 
 
 • r 9 * r . r» ** * 
 
 by all the rabble chaunting an inharmonious 
 “ miserere.” 
 
 The accompanying plate, which was sketched 
 
AS SKETCHED ON THE SPOT. ~ 255 
 
 on the ground, represents the execution of a de* 
 serter from the artillery, in the ditch of Elvas $ 
 and the disposition of the different groups being 
 copied with the greatest attention to truth, the 
 reader will thus see sufficiently what happens 
 after the arrival of the procession in the ditch; 
 The ordinary on this occasion was a decent look-* 
 ing young man (a rare occurrence) who performed 
 his part in a manner highly creditable to his feel-* 
 ings and calculated to spare the sufferer many 
 moments of suspense. For he very adroitly gave 
 the signal, evidently before it was expected, and 
 thus abbreviated the poor fellow’s agony.. 
 
 The troops, which are seen drawn up parallel 
 with the works, are the militia of Alcajjer do sal, 
 who were doing garrison duty at Elvas; and the 
 firing party was likewise furnished by the same 
 corps. They were a very fine body of men, par¬ 
 ticularly their first grenadier company, and of an 
 appearance highly military, notwithstanding the 
 circumstance of their being incompletely clothed 
 at that time, as may be seen by the squad ordered 
 for the firing duty, every man of whom was 
 sketched as correctly as possible during the exhor¬ 
 tations &c. of the priest. : 
 
 When the execution was over, the priestly part 
 of the procession marched off, chaunting the De 
 
256 THE PRANXADA, OR BLOWS WITH THE SABRE. 
 
 Profundis ; whilst the body was allowed to lie in 
 the posture in which it fell until the whole of the 
 troops had marched past it in open order and in 
 slow time, to enable every man to have a good 
 view of the consequences of desertion, the band 
 playing a solemn and pathetic air. But as soon 
 as the troops had filed through the postern, they 
 took the route to their different casemates to the 
 air of some popular and lively quick-step. The 
 corpse was put into the bier, and then transported 
 by the brotherhood of mercy to the place of in¬ 
 terment. 
 
 Before I dismiss this subject of military punish¬ 
 ments, I must observe that the practice of flog¬ 
 ging with the cat o’nine-tails is not in use in the 
 Portuguese army. That which stands in lieu of 
 it is the Pranxada or blow with the flat of the 
 sword; and this is considered less degrading than 
 the application of any instrument of punishment, 
 not military, to the back of a soldier. Forty of 
 these blows is the maximum allowed to be inflicted 
 at a time, according to the Regulamento of the 
 Conde La Lippe, which has ever since his time 
 continued in vigour. Inconsiderable as this may 
 appear, compared with the high sounding hun¬ 
 dreds of lashes in use in our army, it is infinitely 
 more severe; and when the sentence is carried to 
 
LOW STATE OF THE SURGICAL AND MEDICAL ARTS. 257 
 
 its utmost extent, few are observed to recover en¬ 
 tirely from its effects. 
 
 During the infliction of corporeal punishment, 
 a surgeon is in attendance, as is the custom in our 
 army. This class of men, before the organization of 
 the Portuguese army according to the British sys¬ 
 tem, were exceedingly despised, and did not rank 
 as officers. They were, it is true, in most cases 
 taken from the occupation of barbers, who (at that 
 time) united the practice of phlebotomy, the ap¬ 
 plication of leeches, and tooth-drawing, with the 
 goodly arts of shaving and hair-cutting. They 
 were, whilst in their shops, dignified with the title 
 of “ Senhor Doutorbut when removed into re¬ 
 giments they were not so much respected, and 
 there still exists in the Regulamento of the Conde 
 La Lippe, a paragraph which enacts that “ cap¬ 
 tains of companies shall not oblige the surgeon to 
 cut each man’s hair oftener than once a month, 
 
 4 r _ f . 
 
 nor to shave him oftener than once a week.” 
 
 The present race of Esculapians are so tender 
 on the subject of these duties of their predecessors, 
 that no fee will induce any one of them to per¬ 
 form the office of “ sacca molas,” or tooth drawer, 
 which is held by them in the most sovereign con¬ 
 tempt. Bleeding having also belonged to the 
 barber department, is but unwillingly performed 
 
 s 
 
258 INSTANCE OF CHIRURGTCAL IGNORANCE. 
 
 even at the present moment, when their elevation 
 to respectability by a powerful and wise hand 
 might have been expected to have abolished such 
 prejudices. 
 
 Those who in civil life exercise the office of sur¬ 
 geons, and whose studies have been confined to 
 Lisbon alone, are mostly excessively ignorant. 
 Amongst the physicians more knowledge is to be 
 found, as they have mostly studied in France; 
 nevertheless an English professional man is inva¬ 
 riably preferred to them even by the natives. The 
 physicians are termed Medicos, and their fees are 
 generally great, the Portuguese being proverbial 
 for their liberality. There is a law which, for the 
 protection of the surgeon and patient, makes the 
 fee of the former three testoons per visit. This is 
 the greatest payment which litigation can pro¬ 
 cure; but of course no one gives so little, the 
 lowest fee to a surgeon being two crusados novos. 
 Women of the town cannot be compelled by law 
 to pay more than two testoons. I am not aware 
 of any law respecting the fees of physicians. 
 
 An instance of ignorance in a Portuguese ope¬ 
 rator, which I witnessed, struck me so forcibly 
 that I must relate it. The patient’s case was a 
 severe and extensive fracture of the skull, a part 
 of which was fairly beaten in. The youngest stu- 
 
RARENESS OF CRIME. 
 
 259 
 
 dent in any other country would have had re¬ 
 course to the trepan; but this man contented 
 himself with cramming the hole full of tow, and 
 saying “ Nad he nada, nad he nada.”—“ It is no¬ 
 thing, it is nothing.” 
 
 During the late war, courts martial were seldom 
 or ever convened, but for the trial of deserters: 
 insubordination or cowardice being altogether 
 unheard of amongst soldiers, in whom a high 
 feeling of honor and the coolest bravery seem to 
 be innate qualities. To these characteristics the 
 Portuguese soldier joins the most unequalled 
 sobriety, fortitude under the severest privations, 
 and a strong attachment to his officers. 
 
 The cases of desertion, to which I have above 
 alluded, were invariably of recruits or rather con¬ 
 scripts, who deserted from the drill-squad within, 
 the first month after compulsory enlistment, and 
 in whose rustic hearts the attachment to rural oc¬ 
 cupations pleaded more forcibly than the baguette 
 of the drill serjeant. Older soldiers seldom or 
 never left their corps; and the same national feel¬ 
 ing prevented a single instance being on record of 
 a Portuguese soldier passing over to the enemy. 
 Even the number of recruits who, from extreme 
 youth, clownish ignorance, and attachment to their 
 pastoral or agricultural pursuits, were convicted of 
 
 s 2 
 
260 reluctance of the people to give evidence. 
 
 the above crime, was comparatively very inconsi¬ 
 derable, when it is remembered that these were 
 periods at which Portugal brought upwards of one 
 hundred thousand men into the field, including 
 her militia. . 
 
 The promptitude with which the military laws 
 were carried into execution during the war, was 
 strongly contrasted with the want of vigour ex¬ 
 hibited by the civil power on every occasion, 
 wherein decided and wholesome measures would 
 have been attended with the most beneficial ef¬ 
 fects. Every assistance was afforded by the former 
 to the latter authority to enable it to cleanse the 
 country of those swarms of assassins, who infested 
 not only her forests and high roads, but even the 
 streets of the metropolis :—but without effect. 
 
 This glaring defect in the enforcement of the 
 best possible code of laws, may in a measure be 
 traced to the miserable and inadequate stipend 
 allotted to those to whom their execution was 
 entrusted. Being compelled to keep up a style 
 of respectability, for which all legitimate means 
 were absolutely withheld from them, they were 
 naturally exposed to the temptations of bribery. 
 Join to this, the difficulty in Portugal of procuring 
 evidence sufficient for conviction, even of the most 
 public and most atrocious crimes: while the fear 
 
ABSURD LAW OF THE LATE QUEEN. 
 
 261 
 
 of revenge operates on one hand, and on the other 
 the full persuasion that any testimony, however 
 false, is meritoriously given, if it have the design 
 of saving a poor sinner from a painful and de¬ 
 grading end. . 
 
 This feeling in the lower orders is carried to 
 such a pitch, that the natural exclamation of a 
 Portuguese on seeing one man stab another in the 
 street (or prick him as they simply term it) is 
 “ poor fellow, he has had the misfortune to kill a 
 man.” Every effort is made to screen the assassin 
 from justice; whilst the dead or wounded man, 
 far from exciting pity or receiving assistance, will 
 be shunned carefully as a dangerous object; it be¬ 
 ing one of the laws in these cases to consider as 
 the murderer, and to confine as such, the first 
 person who has been known to touch a dead body. 
 
 A law made by the late queen-mother, forbidding 
 the execution of females, did not a little contribute 
 to swell the annals of crime. An instance of this, 
 and of the corruption of those to whom the subject 
 ought naturally to look up for the protection of 
 life and property, will be found in the following 
 case which took place at Elvas in 1816, during 
 my residence in that city. A gunner of the artil¬ 
 lery, on his return home at night from labour, 
 was seized upon by his wife and two dragoons of 
 
262 
 
 CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAWS. 
 
 the 3d regiment, her paramours, (whom she had 
 concealed in the house), lashed to the table, and 
 bled to death in the throat like a pig, after which 
 he was thrown upon the dunghill of a house far¬ 
 ther down the street. His two children, who 
 were witnesses of the murder of their father, were 
 threatened with similar treatment if they dared 
 betray the secret. The soldiers retired to their 
 barracks; but on the opening of the town gates 
 next morning, they deserted into Spain, a thing 
 so easy to effect, that the most horrid crimes are 
 on both sides of the frontier as frequent as the 
 commonest occurrences of life. 
 
 The woman was seized and interrogated ; but, 
 as may be supposed, denied any knowledge of the 
 fact. The children however, revealed the story 
 with all its details; and from their age their tes¬ 
 timony was fully admissable. Their diabolical 
 mother was condemned to perpetual imprison¬ 
 ment ; but her beauty pleaded so much in her 
 behalf, that, after being kept by the C—d—r 
 for some months, he finally gave her in marriage 
 to the gaoler. 
 
 I went to the spot where the murder was com¬ 
 mitted ; and much pains were taken by the by¬ 
 standers to persuade me, against the evidence of 
 my own senses, that the blood which upon the 
 
EXAMPLES OF THIS. 
 
 263 
 
 first incision had spurted up against the opposite 
 wall, had trickled into the similitude of a u Senhor 
 crucificado.” 
 
 Another instance of flagrant corruption in the 
 protectors of the law, was exhibited at Lisbon in 
 1816. A gallego was observed at early dawn to 
 place a heavy box upon one of the quays (Caes da 
 Forca) with the evident intention of precipitating 
 it into the water; but on perceiving that he was 
 seen by some soldiers, who had risen early as well 
 as himself, he abandoned his charge and ran away. 
 The soldiers, imagining the box to contain con¬ 
 traband goods, eagerly opened it, and found, in¬ 
 stead of what they expected, a very pretty girl of 
 about seventeen years of age with a rope round 
 her neck, with which she had evidently been 
 strangled. Her legs were sawed off at the hips, 
 and half sawn through the knees, for the greater 
 facility of packing; and she was entirely naked 
 but wrapped up in a clean sheet. 
 
 I saw her remains myself, and could not help 
 admiring the beauty of her features, even changed 
 
 as they were by the cruel manner of her death; 
 
 % 
 
 and I well remember that her jet black hair curled 
 naturally all over her head. A sham search was 
 instituted after her diabolical murderers; but 
 which, like every thing else of the kind, came to 
 
264 CORRUPT ADMINISTRATION OF THE LAWS. 
 
 nothing. But it was every where confidently as¬ 
 serted that the authors of the crime were well 
 known—their names even were whispered—and 
 that a bag of fifty moidores had been quite suffi¬ 
 cient to choke up the fountain of justice. 
 
 Many soldiers have assured me that the duty 
 upon which they went with most reluctance was 
 that of assisting the civil power. It happened 
 almost invariably that they succeeded in securing 
 the objects of their search; who, being soon bought 
 off by their associates, became the most inveterate 
 enemies of their captors, and sought every means 
 of satiating their revenge upon them. A villain of 
 this description infested for a long time the road 
 between Elvas and Badajos, committing every 
 kind of atrocity, and retiring for repose to the 
 ruins of a dismantled windmill. 
 
 The last crime which he committed was the 
 murder of a poor widow of a farmer, who lived in 
 a sequestered cottage, and whose grey mare this 
 hero coveted in order to carry on his profession 
 on a more extensive scale. Some relation of the 
 woman complained to the corregidor, and pointed 
 out the hiding place of the ruffian. The colonel 
 of a regiment of cavalry in garrison at Elvas was 
 requested to furnish a detachment for the purpose 
 of securing him, which was executed in a manner 
 
F(0>]RTir©U]E S E IDE. AOOOIS. 
 
EXAMPLES OF THIS. 
 
 265 
 
 highly creditable to the serjeant commanding the 
 little party. 
 
 The ruffian was seized whilst sleeping in the 
 ruin; his head resting on a pig-skin full of wine, 
 his carbine by his side, as well as his good knife, 
 and a bag of dollars; and the grey mare was tied 
 up in a corner of the same enclosure. The party 
 bound his hands behind him and drove him before 
 them to the garrison, notwithstanding his tempt¬ 
 ing offers to induce them to permit his escape; 
 and with the scrupulous exactness which so 
 strongly characterizes the Portuguese soldier, they 
 deposited every farthing of the money thus found 
 into the hands of the authorities. The fellow was 
 however soon after liberated; and the dragoon who 
 related this fact to me, having belonged to the 
 party, was in daily apprehension of reaping the 
 reward of his zeal and integrity from the revenge 
 of the ruffian. 
 
 The ecclesiastics who surrounded the source of 
 temporal power in Portugal, directed the stream 
 at their will and pleasure, to the sacrifice of justice 
 and of every barrier which had been erected for 
 the protection of life and property. In 1800 a 
 dissolute young man, residing in the Rua dos Ca- 
 pellistas, murdered (under circumstances of the 
 greatest brutality) the author of his being, who 
 
266 RELIGIOUS AND MILITARY ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD. 
 
 had refused to furnish him with the means of grar 
 tifying his taste for debauchery. A friend of mine, 
 of the regiment of Vieira Telles, was ordered to 
 attend the execution with his company; but on 
 his way to the spot, a messenger met him an¬ 
 nouncing the prince’s pardon of the offender. It 
 appeared that a person interested in preserving 
 the life of the parricide had found the means of 
 buying (no difficult matter) the intervention of the 
 court confessor, who persuaded the sovereign that 
 he ought to forgive, if he hoped himself for pardon 
 hereafter. 
 
 As I had originally destined this chapter to 
 military subjects, a few words relative to the 
 orders of knighthood in Portugal may not be 
 altogether irrelevant; particularly as every per¬ 
 son who has mixed in Portuguese company must 
 have met with hundreds of individuals, so studded 
 over with crachats and crosses, as to present the 
 appearance of ambulatory jewellers exhibiting 
 their stock in trade. To know the origin of these 
 badges of distinction may not, therefore, be alto¬ 
 gether without interest. 
 
 The oldest military and religious order now in 
 existence in Portugal is that of Aviz, which de¬ 
 rives its name from a town in the province of 
 Alemtejo, and was instituted by king Alfonso 
 
ORDER OP S. JAGO DA ESPADA. 267 
 
 Henriques in 1147, on his beating the Moors at 
 Evora in that year. The decoration of the knights 
 is a cross fleurs-de-lis vert; and that of the com¬ 
 manders is the same in the centre of a star or 
 crachat. The grand crosses wear besides the star, 
 a cross upon an enlarged scale, pendant from a 
 broad green wavy ribbon round the neck. 
 
 This order was embodied with that of Cala- 
 trava in Spain in 1213 ; but has subsequently be^ 
 come independent of it. Officers who have served 
 twenty years without blemish are eligible for 
 knighthood; but the higher degrees are bestowed 
 on generals and other great men. This of all the 
 
 i 
 
 old orders has best preserved its respectability, 
 there being no instance of its degradation. S. 
 Benedict is the patron; and when spoken of it is 
 called the order of S. Bento de A viz. None but 
 Catholics can become members. 
 
 The next in rank and in seniority is the order 
 of Saint Jago da Espada. Dennis I. of Portugal 
 instituted it, and endowed it with privileges, 
 which have since almost totally disappeared. The 
 institution of this order was owing to the king’s 
 attributing to S. Jago’s especial protection a sig¬ 
 nal victory which he had obtained over the Moors 
 in 1310. Their ensign is a cross of similar shape 
 to that of Aviz, but of purple colour, hanging by a 
 
268 
 
 ORDER OF CHRIST. 
 
 ribbon also purple. The investiture of this order 
 became of late years so general and promiscuous, 
 that at length no person of respectability thought 
 himself honored by having it conferred on him. 
 
 I cannot give a better idea of its degradation 
 than by observing that, on a particular festival 
 being celebrated at the new convent church at 
 Lisbon, I saw a sentry pushing back the crowd; 
 and upon enquiring why the rabble were exclud¬ 
 ed, was informed that his orders were (in conse¬ 
 quence of the numerous attendance of persons of 
 rank who were expected to fill the whole church) 
 to impede the entry of raggamuffins, men in ca¬ 
 potes, and knights of S. Jago. Most of the negro 
 officers of the Brazilian army are decorated with 
 the cross of S. Jago; and it is not unusual to see 
 a bearer of it accost you in the streets of Lisbon 
 soliciting charity with hat in hand. 
 
 The third is the order of Christ, which was also 
 instituted by Dennis I. in 1317, to engage the 
 nobility to assist him with the whole of their 
 means against his Moslem enemies. Numberless 
 are the commanderies and revenues annexed to 
 this order; but it is nevertheless in great debase¬ 
 ment at present, and during the war a few mil 
 reas given or lent to the crown sufficed to procure 
 admission to its knighthood. 
 
ORDER OF THE TOWER AND SWORD. 
 
 269 
 
 In consequence of the impossibility of confer¬ 
 ring on Protestants the honors of knighthood in 
 orders so eminently catholic as the above, and the 
 vows of which, on profession, are so opposite to 
 the doctrines of the protestant church, the sove¬ 
 reign of Portugal deemed it expedient to institute 
 a military order without the obligation of any 
 oaths opposed to~the reformed faith. Accordingly 
 he created that of the Tower and Sword. The 
 colour of this order is blue; on one side of the 
 cross is the likeness of the sovereign; and on the 
 reverse is a sword passed through a wreath of 
 laurel and surmounted by a golden tower. The 
 motto is “ valor e lealdade.” This order has for 
 the present been granted to persons of rank only, 
 with the exception of a very few individuals the 
 weight of whose purse has obtained it for them ; 
 and it is likely to preserve its respectability, if the 
 precautions taken to secure that end, are acted 
 up to. 
 
 Since the peace, and about the year 1819, an¬ 
 other order of knighthood was instituted in honor 
 of Our Lady of Conception, whose name it bears ; 
 but, although so recently created, it is already un¬ 
 worthy of notice, owing to the indiscriminate man¬ 
 ner in which it has been conferred. 
 
 There was formerly another chivalric institu- 
 
270 EAGERNESS FOR CHIVALRIC DECORATIONS. 
 
 tion in Portugal, called the order of Aza (the wing), 
 created by Don Alfonso Henriques. But as no 
 revenues were annexed to it, it very soon died a 
 natural death. The king instituted it, from hav¬ 
 ing seen a winged arm in the heavens whilst 
 fighting the Moors at Santarem. The creation 
 took place at Alcoba^a, where the king remained 
 a month after his victory. The decoration was a 
 golden cross, surmounted with a purple wing. 
 The patron saint was S. Michael, as the king de¬ 
 clared that he had recognised the wing and arm 
 as belonging to that angel. The prelate of the 
 order was (as long as it lasted) the prior of Alco- 
 ba£a; and the principal duty of the members was 
 the guarding the king’s person in battle. 
 
 Decorations and badges of distinction have also 
 been granted to military men of all ranks in the 
 army ; and so great is the thirst for these honors, 
 that there have been instances of men alleging 
 that they had fought in no less than fifty-four 
 general actions during the last war, in order to 
 obtain them! 
 
 I shall terminate my observations upon the 
 Portuguese military, by translating from the na¬ 
 tional history a page or two, which present a correct 
 idea of the state of organization of the army but a 
 few years ago. Hence some idea may be formed 
 
DEGRADED STATE OF THE PORTUGUESE ARMY. 271 
 
 of the difficulties which must have been overcome 
 to bring this army to a degree of perfection such 
 as it at present enjoys, and which has made it su¬ 
 perior to most, and equal to any body, of the con¬ 
 tinental troops. 
 
 “ * # * But as a long peace succeeded the bus¬ 
 tle of war, and the resources of the state were 
 exhausted, the military spirit degenerated to such 
 a degree, that the young nobility disdained serving 
 in the army. For this reason, no officers could 
 be found in it, but those whose ignorance and in¬ 
 subordination tended to create abuses and the 
 total subversion of discipline: in short, the disor¬ 
 der went so far, that regiments were officered from 
 amongst the lacqueys of illustrious families. It 
 was no extraordinary sight to observe an officer of 
 cavalry driving a chaise, or a footman with the 
 rank of captain of infantry, whilst the colonel pro¬ 
 prietor w r as snoring in his little cradle, &c. * * 
 
 “ To correct these abuses it was found necessary 
 to call in the aid and experience of a German gene¬ 
 ral, the Count of La Lippe, to whom unlimited 
 powers were given during the last war with Spain. 
 
 “ A curious incident, worthy perhaps of notice, 
 is recorded as having happened on his arrival.— 
 The Count La Lippe on going to dine one day 
 with the Conde dos Arcos, a Portuguese general. 
 
272 REFORMS INTRODUCED BY BRITISH INFLUENCE. 
 
 observed a servant of the house, in the uniform of 
 an officer, about to wait at table, and recognizing 
 him to be a captain of the Alcantara regiment of 
 cavalry, of which the Conde dos Arcos was colonel, 
 he rose immediately from his seat and compelled 
 the servant to place himself at table between him 
 and the master of the house, who thus saw his 
 pride humbled. 
 
 “ After this the Count La Lippe, wishing no 
 doubt to inspire in his officers a proper military 
 feeling, encouraged duelling, declaring openly 
 that he would despise and cashier any officer 
 who, under pretence of religion or of the regu¬ 
 lations, should refuse to give or receive satisfac¬ 
 tion when offence had been offered. This anec¬ 
 dote is more extraordinary than the former one, 
 and perhaps unique of its kind; and the manner of 
 thinking of this general, was worthy of the age of 
 Louis XIII.” 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE, FURNITURE, 
 
 GARDENS, &c. 
 
 CLUMSY CONSTRUCTION OF PORTUGUESE HOUSES- 
 
 THEIR FORM-GARDENS-INGENIOUS MODES OF WATER¬ 
 ING THEM-ORNAMENTAL ARCHITECTURE-FRESCOS- 
 
 PALACE OF THE MARQUIS OF LOULE-ITS DESTRUCTION- 
 
 PORTUGUESE FURNITURE-FANTASTIC TILING—STREET 
 
 SAINTS. 
 
 T 
 

 
 ft 
 
 
 * 
 
 'i ' . . i t l. 
 
 
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 .. . :>■: 
 
 •* 
 
 • cav> 
 
 * 
 
 ■ ■ " • 
 
 • $ Vifo #IftlgJt 
 
 • r V ■»!» / * 
 
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 T 1 i — ; . i n * . .. • 
 
 •: • ' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■ 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 PORTUGUESE ARCHITECTURE, FURNITURE, 
 
 GARDENS, &c. 
 
 To persons accustomed to English architecture, 
 the private houses in Portugal have a singularly 
 clumsy appearance. The reason of this is easily 
 accounted for. When a Portuguese builds a 
 house, it is usually on his own freehold ground; 
 and as he intends that it shall be of use beyond his 
 own term of existence, he gives to the whole of the 
 edifice a solidity calculated to make it durable, and 
 looks upon beauty and lightness as very secondary 
 considerations. Since the earthquake of 1755, 
 people who undertake to build, are restricted by 
 law to a particular principle of construction. The 
 whole house is run up in wooden frame-work and 
 this is clothed with masonry afterwards, so that 
 an earthquake may make it rock considerably, but 
 the concussion must be great indeed and of some 
 duration to bring it down. 
 
 t 2 
 
276 INGENIOUS MODE OF WATERING GARDENS. 
 
 In the houses of persons who keep their carri¬ 
 age, the ground-floor is chiefly taken up by the en¬ 
 trance or porch (very badly paved like the streets), 
 the stables, and lacqueys’ rooms. The gardens, if 
 any, are communicated with directly through the 
 porch, or descended into from spacious balconies 
 on a level with the first floor, by flights of stone 
 steps. The parapets of these balconies are usually 
 ornamented with vases of marble or of porcelain, 
 containing the most beautiful species of creepers 
 or other flowers, y 
 
 The gardens are too symmetrically laid out to 
 be pretty, and there are usually many busts and 
 statues in different parts of them. When a gar¬ 
 den is large enough to entitle it to the name of 
 Quinta, it is usually provided with a Nora for the 
 convenience of watering it during the summer 
 months when little or no rain falls. These Noras 
 are deep wells, with a very simple machinery, by 
 means of which the water is brought up in earthen 
 pots, fastened to thick bristly ropes, and emptying 
 their contents into a wooden trough in proportion 
 as they arrive at the top. The wheels are kept 
 in motion by an ox or a burro, who is yoked to a 
 lever, and keeps walking continually round the 
 parapet of the well until the garden is sufficiently 
 watered. 
 
ORNAMENTAL ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 277 
 
 Gardens of this description are mostly taken 
 care of by Genoese or Maltese, who are exceed- 4 
 ingly dextrous in conducting the water in all di¬ 
 rections through their vegetables, &c. with the 
 emchada or large hoe. It does not speak much 
 in favor of Lisbonian industry, that these foreigners 
 
 should be allowed to monopolize so interesting a 
 % 
 
 branch of employment. The Nora whilst at work 
 makes a jarring creaking noise, precisely like that 
 
 of a bullock cart; and this is not a matter of ac- 
 
 ... 
 
 cident, for the natives [are fond of the noise, and 
 dislike those vehicles which do not produce it. 
 
 In the Portuguese houses the balconies, the 
 walls of the staircases, and those of the apartments, 
 to the height of three feet, are wainscotted with 
 small square bricks of common earthenware, glazed 
 white, and painted all over in blue, either with 
 arabesques, stag hunts, boar hunts, bird catchers* 
 with nets, or fishing scenes. These things are, 
 however, beginning to be omitted in the construc¬ 
 tion of modern houses, as well as the old painted 
 tapestry, which still ornaments the chambers of 
 many ancient mansions. For these are substituted 
 paintings in fresco, which certainly are a great 
 improvement, not only on the score of beauty, but 
 likewise in cleanliness, as they are not calculated 
 
278 
 
 PORTUGUESE FURNITURE. 
 
 (as is the case with tapestry) to harbour bugs; 
 which, by the bye, swarm to such a degree in al¬ 
 most every house in Lisbon that, if the window 
 shutters are slammed violently, a shower of them 
 is seen to detach themselves from every creak and 
 corner in the ceiling, window shutters, and sashes. 
 
 Some of the palaces of the nobility are beauti¬ 
 fully painted in fresco. That of the marquis of 
 Louie at the Graf a stood pre-eminent in this re¬ 
 spect ; and the execution of it must certainly have 
 been directed by an artist of consummate taste. 
 Amongst the arabesques with which one of the 
 saloons was ornamented, were introduced very 
 highly finished portraits of all the most celebrated 
 warriors and statesmen that Portugal ever pro¬ 
 duced. I had the mortification of seeing this 
 beautiful palace burnt to the ground in 1817, 
 owing to the negligence of some lacquey. It 
 seemed as if this blow was the only one wanting 
 to complete the affliction of its amiable proprie¬ 
 tress, the lady Eugenia de Louie, on whose mind 
 the sentence pronounced upon her husband (who 
 had followed the French army) had long been 
 preying. 
 
 The furniture of the fidalgos’ palaces is usually 
 rich but very clumsy. In many houses belonging 
 
PORTUGUESE FURNITURE. 
 
 279 
 
 to ancient commoners, are to be seen quantities of 
 rich vases of real china and other articles from 
 that country, particularly large mirrors, with cu- 
 rious Chinese scenes painted on the lower parts of 
 them. 
 
 The furniture coming into more general use at 
 present is of a much lighter nature. Chairs, for 
 instance, instead of being cushioned or backed of 
 painted leather, fastened on to the frame with 
 huge round nails, are now bottomed with split 
 bamboo in wicker work, the frame being made of 
 the wood of the enormous boxes in which sugar is 
 brought home from America. The backs are usually 
 ornamented with some little device, as a bird, a 
 sportsman, a flower or a landscape. The backs, 
 legs, &c. have stripes of gilt and black, alternately, 
 from whence these chairs derive their names of 
 doiradinhas. A few old family portraits or some 
 badly painted saints, crucifixes, relics in frames, 
 and tinsel work, are the only decorations seen 
 hanging from the walls of an apartment. 
 
 Fire-places there are none, so that, when the 
 weather is unusually cold, the only means of pro¬ 
 curing warmth is by sitting over a brazeiro (from 
 Braza a lighted coal), a brass pan full of lighted 
 coals or ashes from the bakers’ ovens. This, to- 
 
280 
 
 FANTASTIC TILING. 
 
 gether with the eternal capote, is found sufficient 
 to resist the most rigorous cold, of which the de¬ 
 lightful climate of Portugal is susceptible. 
 
 The roofs of all the houses in Portugal are tiled, 
 and care is taken to paint in bright scarlet the 
 under part of those which project, and to give a 
 fantastical shape to the projecting angular tile. 
 This bright colour contrasted with the whiteness 
 of the walls, has a very agreeable effect, if we 
 overlook the injury which the latter may be ex¬ 
 pected to produce on the eyes; although it does 
 not appear to affect those of the Portuguese, who 
 have the finest in the world. Some part of the 
 exterior of almost every house is ornamented with 
 representations of saints painted in blue, on white 
 lazulejos, some of which are even honored with a 
 lanthorn hanging before them. 
 
 The saint most commonly seen on the walls is 
 
 i 
 
 saint Marf al, who is supposed to possess consider¬ 
 able influence over conflagrations. He is always 
 represented in the dress of a bishop with a mitre 
 on his head, holding up his right hand and point¬ 
 ing upwards with his two first fingers; while in 
 the back ground are to be seen some houses on 
 fire, a contradictory kind of emblem of his efficacy. 
 The other favorite street saints are Santa Barbara, 
 
STREET SAINTS. 
 
 281 
 
 with a tower on her head by way of night cap, 
 and another in her hand; and S. Sebastian, tied 
 to the trunk of a tree, and made use of as a target 
 to teach young infidels “ how to shoot” arrows. 
 The flight into Egypt is also a very common street 
 picture; and as for souls in purgatory, they are 
 to be seen at the corner of every street and lane. 
 
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CHAPTER XVI 
 
 NEGROES OF LISBON. 
 
 SKETCH OF A GROUP OF NEGROES BEGGING ALMS 
 
 FOR THE FEAST OF THE BLACK VIRGIN OF ATALAYA- 
 
 BELIEF THAT THE VIRGIN WAS BLACK-AND S. ANTO¬ 
 NIO ALSO-THAT SAINT A CAPTAIN IN THE REGIMENT 
 
 OF LAGOS - APPLICATION OF THE CLERGY FOR THE 
 
 SAINT’S PROMOTION-LANDUN OR NEGRO DANCE-EX¬ 
 
 TRAVAGANT PASSION OF THE PORTUGUESE FOR THIS 
 
 DANCE-DESCRIPTION OF IT, AS PERFORMED AMONG THE 
 
 HIGHER ORDERS - FESTIVAL OF N. S. d’ ATALAYA - 
 
 NEGRO SERMON—ANECDOTE OF NEGRO FRIARS AT RIO 
 
 DE JANEIRO, 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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FOR TELE FESTIVAL OF JN",vS.DATALArA. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 NEGROES OF LISBON. 
 
 The Lisbon negroes keep all their church festivals 
 with the greatest possible rigour, and with as much 
 burlesque mummery as those whose imitators they 
 are. 
 
 The plate before us represents a deputation of 
 the brotherhood of Nossa Senhora d’ Atalaya, in 
 the act of raising the wind for the feast of that 
 saint. One of the troop carries an image of the 
 
 infant Jesus, seated on a chair and ornamented 
 
 * 
 
 with tinsel and ribbons. This he tenders to the 
 by-passers, who almost invariably kiss its feet, hav¬ 
 ing first taken off their hats, and then drop a cop¬ 
 per donation into the bag. The image is often 
 
 handed all over every house in the streets through 
 % 
 
 which the troop passes: most individuals, parti¬ 
 cularly the females, being anxious to shew their 
 pious devotion for the sacred original, in thus 
 caressing his infantine similitude. 
 
 i 
 
286 BELIEF THAT THE VIRGIN WAS BLA.CK, 
 
 The reader will observe that the child is of the 
 same colour as he who carries it about to cater for 
 its mother’s feast:—this is easily accounted for. 
 The same feeling, which induces Europeans to 
 attach ideas of superiority and advantage to those 
 of their own colour, operates with negroes in favor 
 of theirs; so that not only cannot they persuade 
 themselves that the Deity would condescend to 
 assume any earthly form but that of a negro, but 
 they also fully believe that the devil is of our 
 colour, and they represent him accordingly. 
 
 The lower orders of Portuguese have pretty 
 much a similar feeling regarding the birth place 
 of our Lord. They would be ready to tear any 
 individual to pieces who should tell them that 
 Jesus wore the earthly semblance of a Jew; or that 
 Bethlehem was not somewhere or other in Portugal. 
 So gross and universal, but a short time since, 
 was the ignorance of all classes that I am not 
 quite clear whether, in the days of the Inquisition, 
 that tribunal would not have pursued with its ut¬ 
 most rigour any one who had dared to attribute 
 Jewish extraction to the Saviour of mankind. 
 
 The virgin, in the character of our Lady of 
 Atalaya, is painted also black, but for this the 
 negroes imagine an excuse in the book of Canti- 
 
AND S. ANTONIO ALSO. 
 
 287 
 
 cles * ; and they are not singular in this portrai¬ 
 ture, since many French Catholics agree with 
 them, and believe that the Virgin was by birth an 
 Ethiopian. But I cannot account for their attri¬ 
 buting that colour to the Bacchus of the papal 
 church:—that bonvivant and patron of jolly fel¬ 
 lows, saint Antonio de Lisboa; who besides being 
 a thorough bred Portuguese, is still moreover 
 borne upon the staff of the national army, 
 however incredible the absurdity may appear, as a 
 captain in the 2ndor Lagos regiment of infantry. 
 The thirst for accumulation of riches, which so 
 strongly characterises every department of the 
 Roman catholic church, induced the clergy of La¬ 
 gos to petition government not long since to pro¬ 
 mote S. Antonio to the rank of field officer, in 
 order that the revenue of his chapel might be 
 augmented by this increase of pay. But the go¬ 
 vernment had too many live sinners to support to 
 have any thing to spare for dead saints ; and not¬ 
 withstanding the important services alleged to 
 have been rendered to the state by the 2nd regi- 
 ment under the patronage and heavenly influence 
 of S. Antonio, the petition was rejected. 
 
 * Nigra sum sed formosa, filia Jerusalem &c. See in the 
 Vulgate. Cant. Canticorum Cap. I. v. 5. 
 
288 
 
 LANDUN OR NEGRO DANCE. 
 
 Toproceed with our plate, the big drum and 
 fiddle attract the attention of the house’s inmates, 
 who hasten to the verandas and windows to re¬ 
 gale themselves with a sight of the lascivious and 
 even frantic Landun, danced by a negro and ne- 
 gress, whose very gestures and looks would to 
 more delicate people serve only to create the ut¬ 
 most sensations of disgust; but the Portuguese 
 are themselves so fond of this dance, under certain 
 decent modifications, that they never fail to con¬ 
 template it with pleasure, even when carried to 
 extremes by its original inventors. 
 
 As this dance was originally a negro one* I 
 trust I may not be considered as guilty of a very 
 culpable digression if, before returning to the sub¬ 
 ject of the plate, I take the opportunity of saying 
 a few words about it. 
 
 The Landun was formerly danced in the best 
 societies of Lisbon by persons of both sexes ; but 
 now it is seldom performed in the higher circles, 
 except by two females, one of whom represents a 
 male partner. It consists of graceful cadences, 
 the steps being generally the same throughout, 
 and the chief beauty of the whole depending less 
 upon the movements of the feet, than on the 
 graceful elegance and expressive attitudes of the 
 arms and body. 
 
AS PERFORMED AMONG THE HIGHER ORDERS. 289 
 
 The parties placing themselves at opposite ends 
 of a room, and the gentleman holding a white 
 handkerchief, they advance towards each other with 
 measured steps and wooing mien, and the lady ap¬ 
 pears disposed to sympathise with her admirer. But 
 at the moment when he imagines her favorable to 
 his suit, she turns away from him with a smile of 
 contempt and astonishment at his presumption; 
 he likewise turns away, but with far other feel¬ 
 ings ; the handkerchief now finds its way to his 
 eyes ; and with disappointment in every feature, 
 he measures back his steps, looking occasionally 
 behind him as if to excite compassion. 
 
 His reiterated solicitations make her at length 
 relax in her severity and appear pleased at his at¬ 
 tentions ; which he no sooner perceives than he 
 treats her with disdain. She in her turn becomes 
 the suppliant, and receives from him the same 
 handkerchief, a token of grief, which she uses with 
 the most fascinating gracefulness. This panto¬ 
 mimic representation of a love-scene ends in the 
 lady’s throwing the handkerchief over the neck of 
 her partner, as an emblem of her conquest and 
 their mutual reconciliation and union. When 
 this is well danced, it never fails to elicit the most 
 thundering applauses. What I have just endea¬ 
 voured to describe is the landun of the better 
 
 u 
 
290 EXTRAVAGANT PASSION FOR THIS DANCE. 
 
 orders ; but when danced by the canaille it is far 
 from being either graceful or decent. 
 
 The common people in Portugal are so fond of 
 the landun, that even at an advanced age they ex¬ 
 perience a strong sensation of delight on hearing 
 the measure played on the guitar. I shall never 
 forget having once seen a mummy-like old woman 
 of eighty years of age rise from the floor which 
 she was scrubbing, on hearing a barber strike up 
 the tune, and begin to accompany the air with 
 contortions, to which age had left no other cha¬ 
 racter than unmingled disgust. 
 
 I have been assured that both negroes and 
 Portuguese have been known to dance themselves 
 into a state of phrenzy and even into convulsions. 
 I have myself often seen a negro, for want of 
 some one to dance with, lay a stick upon the 
 ground, and substituting it in his imagination for 
 a real partner, dance himself out of breath. We 
 cease however to be astonished that the sons of 
 Africa should be so fond of this exercise, when we 
 are assured by a creditable traveller that, from 
 the moment the sun has set, the whole of that vast 
 continent is one scene of dancing. 
 
 In the national theatre of Rua dos Condes the 
 landun is frequently introduced in after-pieces; 
 and on these occasions the house is always best 
 
FESTIVAL OF N. S. D’ATALAYA. 
 
 291 
 
 filled, so great and powerful is the attraction. It 
 is usually danced by a lacquey and a soubrette, 
 who, although they confine themselves to. very 
 few gestures, and their whole performance does 
 not perhaps last more than two or three minutes, 
 have, nevertheless, so much the art of conveying 
 significance in the merest looks and movements, 
 that the performance is applauded with vociferous 
 “ vivas” and “ bravos.” 
 
 But to return to my subject: when the day’s 
 contributions have been deemed sufficient, the 
 dingy collectors very naturally apply the well 
 known text of “ being worthy of their hire,” and 
 adjourn to the nearest tavern to carouse at the 
 expense of the credulous. The man who carries 
 the image leads the van, and extending it before 
 him at arm’s length, as he enters the tavern door, 
 never fails to exclaim “ Quern vai a diante paga.’’ 
 Anglice, “ he who enters first pays the piper.” 
 
 The festival of Nossa Senhora d’ Atalaya is kept 
 at her chapel near the village of Aldea Gallega, 
 on the southern banks of the Tagus, immediately 
 opposite the city of Lisbon ; and on that day 
 hundreds of blacks are seen crossing the Tagus in 
 catraios (shore boats). The beginning of the day 
 is spent in hearing mass, which is followed by a 
 sermon. But no sooner are these ceremonials 
 
 u 2 
 
292 
 
 ANECDOTE OF NEGRO FRIARS 
 
 over,, than a scene of debauchery follows, which 
 would make even the ancient votaries of Bacchus 
 blush. 
 
 The sermon here alluded to is preached by a 
 negro priest, the only one I believe who resides in 
 Lisbon, the Brazils being the chief residence and 
 domains of the black ecclesiastics. Negroes thus 
 admitted into holy orders receive an education, 
 still more superficial, if possible, than their white 
 fellow labourers; and the blunders which they 
 commit, when they attempt to expound the Scrip¬ 
 tures from their pulpits, are worthy of those com¬ 
 mitted by the Barbadoes black methodist divines. 
 
 It must not however be inferred that these 
 saints “ of the retreating forehead and depressed 
 vertex” are a jot less ingenious than the European 
 friars in the profitable knack of applying scriptu¬ 
 ral texts to their advantage: this the following 
 anecdote will prove. In the refectory of a black 
 community at Rio de Janeiro, the same abuse ex¬ 
 isted as in those of European friaries: the supe¬ 
 rior and the elder brethren of the house applying 
 to their own use the choicest viands and most de¬ 
 licate morsels, and leaving the hungry novices at 
 the nether end of the table, to break or keep their 
 fast upon the mere scraps and bones of the repast. 
 
 On one of these occasions a junior brother (with 
 
AT RIO DE JANEIRO. 
 
 293 
 
 whom I was afterwards personally acquainted) re¬ 
 ceived as his portion a hollow bone without a ves¬ 
 tige of any thing on it. This he immediately 
 applied to his lips, and as if converting it into a 
 wind instrument, raised a hideous yell through it. 
 The superior, highly scandalized at such conduct, 
 insisted upon knowing the reason of it, “ Holy 
 father/’ answered the novice, “ I have read in the 
 Revelations that at the sound of the trumpet the 
 flesh will be reunited to the bone; and I have been 
 trying to verify the prophecy upon this bone to 
 save myself from starvation.” 
 

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CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 NEGROES OF THE BRAZILS, &c. 
 
 IMPORTATION OF NEGROES INTO THE BRAZILS-THEIR 
 
 MISERABLE CONDITION - SLAVE SHOP AT RIO DE JA¬ 
 NEIRO - A MERCHANT FROM THE MINAS BARGAINING 
 
 FOR NEGROES-ANECDOTE—CRUEL MANNER OF MARKING 
 
 SLAVES—RUNAWAY NEGROES—GOOD FORTUNE OF NEGROES 
 
 RETAINED FOR DOMESTIC SERVICE AT RIO-POLICY OF 
 
 THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT IN PROMOTING NEGROES 
 TO DIGNITIES-RELIGIOUS HOUSES OF NEGROES-HETE¬ 
 ROGENEOUS MIXTURE OF BLOOD IN THE BRAZILS - 
 
 WOMEN OF COLOUR-THEIR VINDICTIVE QUALITIES- 
 
 NEGRO ASSASSINS-*—CRUELTY OF NEGROES TO INFERIORS 
 
 OF THEIR OWN COLOUR-FRIGHTFUL DISEASES OF THE 
 
 BRAZILS-HUMANITY OF PORTUGUESE FAMILIES TO THEIR 
 
 NEGROES-CONDITION OF NEGROES VERY DIFFERENT IN 
 
 PORTUGAL-NAMELESS OFFICES IMPOSED ON THEM-CU¬ 
 
 RIOUS AND PLEASING INSTANCE OF THE INTERCHANGE 
 OF KINDNESS BETWEEN A PORTUGUESE AND A NEGRO 
 
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 •V 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 NEGROES OF THE BRAZILS, &c. 
 
 It is interesting to take a review of the vicissitudes 
 in the lives of those negroes, to whose lot it has 
 fallen to be slaves in the Brazilian settlements. 
 On their arrival, they are disembarked with a 
 rag of cotton round their waist, a scarlet cap 
 on their heads, and their skin so thickly studded 
 with itchy eruptions, as to resemble more nearly 
 the hide of a rhinoceros than a human cutis. 
 They are immediately driven in flocks from the 
 slave vessel to the slave fair, which is held in a 
 particular street set apart for that purpose exclu¬ 
 sively. Here they are huddled up together with¬ 
 out distinction of sex, in rooms or rather stables 
 on the ground floor, until purchased either by the 
 inhabitants, or else by men who come from Minas 
 for the express purpose. 
 
 I was in one of these stables, when a slave mer¬ 
 chant from the latter place came in and enquired 
 
298 
 
 SLAVE SHOP AT RIO DE JANEIRO. 
 
 what sort of stuff was on sale. The shopman, 
 anxious to transact business immediately, took a 
 sack of arrow-root (farinha de pao) and placing 
 about a dozen little handfuls of it here and there 
 on the ground, made signal to the slaves to come 
 and eat, just as we see done by a servant to call 
 together the fowls in a poultry yard. The slaves 
 made a rush at the little heaps, and squatting 
 down on their haunches, just like monkeys, began 
 to eat with avidity. 
 
 The Minas merchant then singled out a young 
 girl of about twelve years of age, and having 
 turned and twisted her limbs in every direction to 
 ascertain if she was sound, asked the price of her, 
 which being told him, he declared it was too 
 much. The owner on his part swore it was exceed¬ 
 ingly moderate, pointing out the eligibility of her 
 age and other inducements, just as we see brought 
 forward in the sale of a young cow. The poor 
 girl was all this time in suspense; and those who 
 think that modesty is not inherent in these unfor¬ 
 tunate beings as well as in our happier females, 
 are much mistaken. I observed her more than once 
 adjusting her scanty dress with the utmost con¬ 
 fusion in her looks, at the brutal and unfeeling 
 manner in which her useful qualities were set 
 forth by her interested owner. 
 
SLAVE SHOP AT MIO.A Ml NAS MERCHANT BARGAINING. 
 
ANECDOTE. 
 
 299 
 
 Rapacity and intense interestedness are not the 
 attributes of professed slave merchants exclusively: 
 they are unfortunately to be met with in a sphere 
 of life, where one would least expect to see them. 
 The execution of a negro for murder, was about 
 to take place at Rio de Janeiro, and slave masters 
 ordered the attendance of their negroes, that by 
 witnessing the punishment of their countryman, 
 they might be deterred from committing the same 
 crime. An English acquaintance of mine, who 
 had but three days before purchased, of an ex¬ 
 governor of Mozambique, a negro whom he had 
 brought with him from that place, sent him like¬ 
 wise to the scene of execution that he might pro¬ 
 fit by the warning. 
 
 When the execution was over, the master ques¬ 
 tioned his slave on the subject, in hopes of finding 
 that a due impression had been made ; but to his 
 astonishment the negro’s attention seemed to have 
 been rivetted on the awkward manner in which 
 the executioner had done his duty, adding that 
 he would have done it much better himself. 
 “ How V said the master, “ were you ever a 
 hangman ?”—“ Yes, Senhor, I was hangman at 
 
 Mozambique, but governor- being ordered 
 
 home, sent word to the gaol desiring that I and 
 all the prisoners should appear before him. We 
 
300 
 
 CRUEL MANNER OF MARKING SLAVES. 
 
 no sooner arrived on board than he set sail, and 
 has sold us all since his disembarkation here.” It 
 luckily happened that this trust-worthy ex-gover¬ 
 nor had not yet set off for Europe, so that my 
 acquaintance recovered his money, by threatening 
 to reveal the truth to government, if the bargain 
 were not immediately cancelled, he having agreed 
 for a good slave, and not a hangman. 
 
 The people at the slave market, who own these 
 depots, are obliged to be exceedingly careful in 
 ordering the diet of the slaves immediately after 
 their landing. Fruit of any kind, unless taken with 
 exceeding moderation, has been found almost in¬ 
 variably fatal, after a long voyage and salt pro¬ 
 visions. The slaves are therefore only allowed 
 the use of it gradually, and are chiefly fed with 
 dry arrow-root, without other beverage than wa¬ 
 ter : care being also taken not to cure their cuta¬ 
 neous eruption too suddenly, as the disease is apt 
 (to use their own term) to turn inwards and be¬ 
 come exceedingly dangerous. 
 
 The manner of marking the slaves when pur¬ 
 chased, so as to be able to identify them if neces¬ 
 sary, is effected by long and deep incisions on the 
 cheeks, forehead, shoulders, breast or back, and 
 sometimes in all the above places; which opera¬ 
 tion must necessarily be attended with much pain. 
 
RUNAWAY NEGROES. 
 
 301 
 
 for I have seen few of these slits that had not the 
 appearance of having penetrated the skin through 
 and through. The consequence is that, in heal¬ 
 ing they never are completely closed but present 
 the appearance of so many mouths. 
 
 The fate of the negroes who are sent to the 
 mines (Minas-geraes) I am little acquainted with ; 
 but I believe that those who are sold for servants 
 in the city have a far more fortunate lot. In the 
 beginning of their captivity, they frequently de¬ 
 sert, particularly the grown up men, who find it 
 irksome to learn a new language and acquire 
 habits of domesticity and servitude. In these 
 cases the owners apply to an individual called the 
 Capitao (captain) who is perfectly acquainted with 
 the topography of the neighbouring country, and 
 consequently with those places which are most 
 likely to be their haunts. 
 
 Whilst in these forests the runaways support 
 life easily, owing to the prodigious quantity of 
 bananas, cocoa-nuts &c. found in them; but the 
 capitao seldom fails to bring them back sooner or 
 later, when they are taken to the city gaol to re¬ 
 ceive a number of lashes proportioned to their 
 time of absence. If their fault has any circum¬ 
 stances of aggravation connected with it, they are 
 
302 
 
 RELIGIOUS HOUSES OF NEGROES. 
 
 chained for a certain time to other delinquents; 
 and with an iron collar, furnished with spikes round 
 their necks, they are compelled to labour at the 
 public works. 
 
 Those negroes, however, who are easily recon¬ 
 ciled to their loss of liberty, and become useful 
 and faithful servants, recover not unfrequently 
 their freedom either by purchasing it (if they have 
 been taught a trade) with their leisure-hour earn¬ 
 ings, or by virtue of the testament of their mas¬ 
 ters. There are churches and religious houses in 
 Rio de Janeiro, the whole of whose dignitaries are 
 chosen from amongst the progeny of these affran¬ 
 chised negroes; and the policy of the Portuguese 
 government has gone so far in making it the in¬ 
 terest of a portion of the black community to 
 keep the immense numbers of their countrymen in 
 order, by shewing them that the road to prefer¬ 
 ment is not exclusively open to white men alone, 
 that, in the Brazilian troops, black and white offi¬ 
 cers are seen serving indiscriminately together. 
 Many of the former are very high in rank; and I 
 have seen some field officers amongst them deco¬ 
 rated with no less than three different orders, 
 those of Christ, S. Bento de Avis, and S. Jago da 
 Espada. After this statement, I believe that it 
 
WOMEN OF COLOUR. 
 
 303 
 
 will no longer be disputed which has the greatest 
 advantages, the negro sent to our colonies, or he 
 who is sold to the Portuguese. 
 
 It is true that the negroes thus exalted are de¬ 
 signedly never chosen from amongst those who 
 evince any spirit or any talent: the motive being 
 purely political, and having for its end to gild the 
 pill which the others are forced to swallow. The 
 consequences resulting from this species of policy 
 are such as we carefully guard against in our colo¬ 
 nies. So great has been the intermixture of 
 blacks and whites that scarcely an individual is to 
 be seen (amongst those who are born in the Por¬ 
 tuguese settlements) who has not woolly hair and 
 something of the mulatto cast in his countenance. 
 
 These men of mongrel breed seem moreover to 
 have united in their persons, whatever there might 
 be of ugliness in either parent, to the utter exclu¬ 
 sion of every good feature; and the baboon like 
 regiments which have been formed of them by the 
 new emperor of the Brazils, Don Pedro I. present 
 such an exhibition of excessive ugliness that, were 
 their valour any way proportioned to it, they 
 might soon conquer the whole world. 
 
 The women of colour in the Rio de Janeiro are 
 remarkable for their jealous and vindictive tem¬ 
 per ; and death alone is capable of glutting their 
 
304 
 
 NEGRO ASSASSINS. 
 
 revenge for the infidelity of those with whom they 
 have cohabited. Murders are therefore exceed¬ 
 ingly frequent; and although, in the absence of 
 an active periodical press, few of these occurrences 
 are made public, I have known even thirty to 
 have been committed in the space of a month: 
 most of them from motives of jealousy, and at the 
 instigation of mulatto women. 
 
 For the office of assassin, the very lowest order 
 of negroes are hired; and these wretches under¬ 
 sell the Lisbon gallegos completely; a glass of 
 cacha 9 a (a species of rum) being with many a suf¬ 
 ficient incentive. * Their manner of setting to 
 work is worthy of remark. They need no sti¬ 
 letto, ferro de gaiola (bird cage awl), or any other 
 weapon. In lieu of all these, they use only the 
 head ; and with it they butt like bulls at the chest 
 of their victim. I saw a field officer who had been 
 murdered in this manner, and thrown over the 
 wall into his own garden, where his family found 
 him in the morning: the upper part of the body 
 was flattened, as if the implement of death had 
 been a mallet. 
 
 I had an opportunity of observing the dexterity 
 with which negroes effect the work of murder, 
 whilst standing talking to a friend near the resi¬ 
 dence of the pope’s nuncio. A carriage was drawn 
 
NEGRO ASSASSINS. 
 
 305 
 
 up at the door of the house, and the coachman 
 and lacquey were lounging against the stone 
 posts on either side of the door. A negro slave 
 going along the street passed betwixt the house 
 and the carriage. So good an opportunity of 
 mortifying a poor half naked negro was too good 
 to let slip, and the coachman gave him a very 
 severe cut with his whip over the hare shoulders, 
 which raised a welt as thick as my finger. The 
 poor creature writhed with pain, upon which the 
 blow was repeated; and the footman then seized 
 the whip, and amused himself in a similar manner. 
 
 I could not help expressing my astonishment at 
 the negro’s remaining there under such evident 
 suffering, instead of attempting to escape, and 
 but for the fear of Popish vengeance, if I had dared 
 take the part of a negro against domestics of the 
 grand Lama’s representative, I should certainly 
 have interfered. Blacky had however his reasons 
 for thus appearing passive ; he was watching his 
 moment, and having found it, a flash of lightning 
 is not more prompt than were his movements. 
 With his head crouched low, he butted at the 
 coachman’s stomach, who having the wail imme¬ 
 diately behind him was settled in the twinkling of 
 an eye ; then turning suddenly at the lacquey the 
 negro gave him with the sole of his foot a kick in 
 
 x 
 
306 CRUELTY OF NEGROES TO EACH OTHER. 
 
 / 
 
 the stomach with such force and dexterity that he 
 stretched him lifeless. Leaving both his victims, 
 he then took to his heels with the swiftness of a 
 deer, to our no small satisfaction at seeing such 
 gratuitous and unprovoked brutality receive its 
 due reward. 
 
 Instances of oppression of this kind are some¬ 
 times to be seen; but not so frequently as those 
 from negroes whose condition has been bettered, 
 towards their more needy countrymen. For it is 
 strange but true, that the cruelty which they dis¬ 
 play towards their fellows, when vested with the 
 smallest degree of power, stands unrivalled. The 
 epithets which they bestow on each other when 
 irritated are worthy of remark, the most common 
 being that which we should least of all expect to 
 hear from their lips, that of “ nasty black negro.” 
 It is also impossible to describe the contempt they 
 manifest towards their newly imported country¬ 
 men, a feeling which appears to be grounded 
 upon their own superiority. 
 
 At every step we take in the Brazils, we meet 
 with objects exhibiting the dreadful consequences 
 of neglecting the proper treatment, which the dis¬ 
 eases incident to the climate absolutely require on 
 their first appearance. In some negroes, the feet 
 are seen either shockingly mutilated, or else en- 
 
FRIGHTFUL DISEASES OF THE BRAZILS. 
 
 307 
 
 tirely reduced to mere stumps by the ravages of 
 the Chigoes y the extraction of which, if not timely 
 performed, entails on the sufferer the loss of a 
 limb. All ranks of persons are liable to this evil, 
 owing to the diminutive size of the insect, and the 
 facility of its introduction into the skin. The 
 negroes are in general the most expert hands at 
 extirpating them, and the present king of Portu¬ 
 gal was compelled on his arrival in his Brazilian 
 capital to have recourse to one of his black sub¬ 
 jects for the performance of this office on his own 
 royal toes. 
 
 Other objects still more revolting if possible, 
 but arising from other causes, are as frequently 
 offered to our offended sight : I mean, neglected 
 cases of hydrocele. Even professional men, who 
 have not visited those regions, will perhaps find it 
 difficult to believe what nevertheless I can assure 
 them of having been an eye-witness to:—a negro 
 in whom the developement had become so mon¬ 
 strous, that it rested on the ground whilst he V/as 
 standing upright, doing the only office which was 
 ever exacted of him, that of sweeping out the 
 stable. I need not add that his under garments 
 were of necessity similar to those of the other sex. 
 
 Portuguese of respectability are remarkable for 
 their humanity and kindness to their slaves. They 
 
 x 2 
 
308 
 
 CONDITION OF NEGROES IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 even carry their feelings so far, as to allow their 
 servants to join in the conversation of the company 
 upon whom they are waiting at table, and to per¬ 
 mit them numberless other indulgences. The 
 black offspring of these slaves become almost in¬ 
 variably the toys and playthings of the female 
 part of the family, who dress them handsomely, 
 and delight in having them near their persons in 
 saloons full of company. I have seen a little black 
 girl caressed by every person in the room, and 
 then seat herself for the rest of the evening on her 
 mistress’s foot-stool. 
 
 What I have said of the dignities to which the 
 blacks are susceptible of arriving in the church 
 and army, regards exclusively the Brazils. In 
 Portugal, where such political precautions are un¬ 
 necessary, the negroes are invariably the very 
 dregs of society; and their occupations are such 
 as a Portuguese would spurn at. To omit more 
 disgusting instances, if a horse, dog, or any other 
 animal happens to die in the Lisbon streets, its 
 carcase would remain in the same spot until na¬ 
 ture had completed its work of decomposition, if 
 the alternative were its removal by a Portuguese. 
 This office therefore falls to the lot of a rtegro, 
 whose reward is the animal’s hide. The occupa¬ 
 tion of whitewashing the interior and exterior of 
 
NAMELESS OFFICES IMPOSED ON THEM. 
 
 309 
 
 houses is also theirs; an employment which is as 
 much held in contempt by the natives as the re¬ 
 moval of carrion. 
 
 The houses in Lisbon* with the exception of the 
 very small number occupied by English people, 
 are entirely destitute of certain conveniencies 
 which are alike indispensable for decency, clean¬ 
 liness, and comfort. Hence they are compelled 
 to convert some small room or cupboard into a 
 temporary magazine, provided with a long brown 
 earthen jar about thirty inches high, which is used 
 as a receptacle for perhaps a whole week’s con¬ 
 tributions. When this cornu-copiae is brim full, 
 its contents are soused into the street upon the 
 head of some unfortunate passenger (after ten 
 o’clock at night) to the cry of “ agoa vai,” (Edin: 
 garde loo) which, instead of serving as a warning, 
 is, in its effects, no better than the report of a 
 gun, which follows the shot instead of preceding it. 
 
 The few inhabitants who object to this horrible 
 mode of getting rid of such accumulations, as they are 
 likely to remain for months under their windows in 
 the streets until the heavy rains sweep them away, 
 have recourse to a black woman, who carries the 
 jar away on her head; and as she walks down 
 the street towards the shores of the golden Tagus, 
 
 v 
 
 a column of balsamic effluvia curling upwards 
 
310 
 
 NAMELESS OFFICES IMPOSED ON THEM. 
 
 from its unstopped orifice, regales the olfactories 
 of the window-decking beauties. The weight is 
 not often inconsiderable, and the distance these 
 women have to carry their burden is sometimes 
 great. It therefore frequently happens that they 
 are compelled to rest themselves, which they must 
 do without unburthening, for who would assist 
 them in replacing the brown jar on their heads ? 
 They usually sit down for the purpose of taking 
 rest on the stone steps of some door way, confer¬ 
 ring upon the inmates of the house (if the win¬ 
 dows be open) all the benefits above mentioned. 
 
 Numberless are the menial offices which, owing 
 to the intolerable pride of the natives, devolve 
 upon the negroes and gallegos. A common Por¬ 
 tuguese journeyman is, in his trade, termed an 
 officer (official sapateiro, official carpinteiro, &c.) 
 and if by any means obliged to carry a small par¬ 
 cel in his hand through the streets, will take every 
 precaution to hide it in his capote, so derogatory 
 would it be to his dignity to do the office of a gal- 
 lego, negro, or (as these are sometimes termed) 
 besta de cargas. 
 
 The distinction made between an officer, cobler, 
 tinker, mason, &c. and an officer in the army, is 
 by calling the latter “ official de banda,” or an 
 officer of the sash: hence the great respect asso- 
 
CURIOUS INTERCHANGE OF KINDNESS. 
 
 3J1 
 
 ciated with this part of the uniform, and the great 
 umbrage given to the Portuguese military at its 
 being worn by non-commissioned officers in our 
 army. 
 
 I must not conclude my references to negroes 
 and the relation in which they stand with their 
 Portuguese masters, without recording an anec¬ 
 dote equally creditable to both the parties who are 
 the subjects of it. 
 
 Sebastia6 Jose de Carvalho, Conde de Oeiras, 
 marquez de Pombal, was justly esteemed the 
 greatest minister that Portugal could ever boast 
 of. He flourished, as is well known, in the reign 
 of Joseph I. and the country has ever since felt 
 the benefit of his wisdom in the numberless im¬ 
 provements which he effected. He was the en- 
 courager of every useful invention, and the Portu¬ 
 guese invariably regret his not being still in exist¬ 
 ence, when they see ingenuity or merit neglected. 
 But like all great men he had his foible, which is 
 said to have been vindictiveness. A certain De- 
 sembargador (a magistrate, as before mentioned, of 
 the supreme courts invested with the privileges of 
 nobility) called Seabra, who was highly distin¬ 
 guished for his virtues, but whose politics differed 
 from those of the minister, incurred by some 
 means his displeasure, and was ✓by his order kid- 
 
312 CURIOUS INTERCHANGE OF KINDNESS BETWEEN 
 
 napped, conveyed to the coast of Africa, and from 
 thence to the place of banishment for the worst of 
 criminals, called by the Portuguese Pedras Negras. 
 This place, being a few leagues in the interior, 
 and peopled with savages, the object of sending 
 criminals to it was, that they might be destroyed 
 by the natives ; and this was often done as an 
 evasive commutation of the sentence of death. 
 Abandoned by his conductors, the unfortunate 
 Seabra wandered about for the space of two days, 
 until overcome with fatigue, hunger, heat, and the 
 acuteness of his grief, he dropt senseless at the 
 door of a negro’s hut, towards which he had di¬ 
 rected his steps. 
 
 The master of the hut was absent at the mo¬ 
 ment, but his wife compassionating the miserable 
 condition and emaciated looks of the poor old 
 man, dragged him into her habitation, and was 
 endeavouring to restore him to his senses when 
 her husband arrived. At the sight of a white 
 man, he was about to transfix him to the ground 
 with an arrow, when his wife’s interposition ar¬ 
 rested his fury. She effected still more, she com¬ 
 pelled her husband to assist her in recovering her 
 patient:—a proof that petticoat governments may 
 exist where no petticoats are worn. 
 
 Seabra, on coming to himself, found that he 
 
A PORTUGUESE AND A NEGRO WOMAN. 
 
 313 
 
 was attacked with a burning fever, and gave him¬ 
 self up for lost, concluding that recovery in such 
 a climate was next to impossible. His host how¬ 
 ever determined on curing him after the manner 
 of their country, and digging a sort of grave in 
 the ground, buried him in it up to the neck. In 
 this inhumation he remained three days and nights, 
 swallowing the simple medicines administered by 
 his sable physicians, and was very soon completely 
 cured. 
 
 How strange are the vicissitudes of this life ! to 
 what a variety of fortunes is a man often yet destined 
 who has thought his career terminated, and how 
 rapid is the fall of many who perched on the pinna¬ 
 cle of earthly honors think themselves secure from 
 reverses. It was at about this period that the mar- 
 quez ofPombal’s power began to decline. The in¬ 
 trigues of his enemies soon after effected his removal 
 from court; and the family of the dezembargador 
 Seabra, hoping that there might be a chance of their 
 relation’s continuing to exist, obtained a repeal of 
 his sentence, and dispatched in quest of him the 
 same persons who had been his conductors into 
 banishment. 
 
 Words cannot depict this poor fellow’s joy at 
 the prospect of being restored to his family, but 
 he could not reconcile to himself the idea of never 
 
314 
 
 CURIOUS INTERCHANGE OF KINDNESS. 
 
 again seeing his worthy and kind hostess, and 
 therefore used every kind of entreaty to engage 
 her to accompany him to Lisbon. She at last as¬ 
 sented, although no entreaties could induce her 
 spouse to be of the party. 
 
 On his arrival at Lisbon, Seabra was received 
 into favor at court, and continued so to the end 
 of his life. His adventures in Africa were long 
 the subject of conversation, as was likewise the 
 marked kindness he ever manifested towards his 
 benefactress; who, from the moment of his resto¬ 
 ration to his family, never sat any where but at 
 the head of his table, even when persons of the 
 highest distinction were present. His gratitude 
 was even manifested in his will, he having left her 
 a very handsome provision. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 SALOIOS, OR PORTUGUESE PEASANTRY. 
 
 GOING TO THE LISBON MARKETS-DELICIOUS FRUITS 
 
 OF THE COUNTRY - OTHER ARTICLES OF RURAL PRO¬ 
 DUCE -CHEESE-CREAM -POULTRY-GAME-MARKET 
 
 PEASANTRY, OBLIGED TO TRAVEL BY NIGHT - HABIT 
 
 THUS ACQUIRED OF TELLING THE HOURS BY THE HEA¬ 
 VENS-MODE OF HAWKING RURAL PRODUCE ABOUT THE 
 
 LISBON STREETS - SALOIOS RETURNING FROM MARKET 
 
 -USUAL FOOD OF THE PEASANTRY-EXCELLENT QUA¬ 
 LITIES OF THIS ATHLETIC RACE—SUPERIORITY OF THEIR 
 CHARACTER TO THAT OF ALL OTHER CLASSES IN LISBON 
 -SALOIAS OR FEMALE PEASANTS —PERSONAL APPEAR¬ 
 ANCE-CUSTOM OF EMPLOYING THEM AS NURSES-THEIR 
 
 TROUBLESOME CHARACTER-SUBSEQUENT RIGHT OF FREE 
 
 QUARTERS - THEIR SUPERSTITION AND LOVE OF THE 
 
 MARVELLOUS - MISCHIEVOUS EFFECTS UPON CHILDREN 
 
 -COSTUME OF THE SALOIAS-EQUIPAGE OF THEIR MAR¬ 
 KET BURROS (DONKEYS)-PASTORAL SIMPLICITY OF THE 
 
 PORTUGUESE PEASANTRY - GENEROSITY OF HEART - 
 
 PATRIOTISM OF THE LAVRADORES OR FARMERS IN THE 
 LAST WAR-PRIMAEVAL RUDENESS OF PORTUGUESE AGRI¬ 
 
 CULTURE—TREADING OUT THE CORN—WINE-MAKING — 
 
316 
 
 CONTENTS, 
 
 COURSE OF THE PROCESS—BULLOCK CARS—THEIR RUDE 
 CONSTRUCTION-ABOMINABLE GROANING AND SQUEAK¬ 
 ING OF THE AXLE-TREES-PARTIALITY OF THE PEASANTS 
 
 FOR THE SOUND—MUSIC OF THE PEASANTRY—DOLEFUL 
 LOVE DITTIES—REPARTEE OF A SALOIA. 
 
S AliOlA 1I1AILOG JFJRITIT. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 SALOIOS, OR PORTUGUESE PEASANTRY. 
 
 At an early hour of the morning, every avenue to 
 the city of Lisbon is thronged with the peasantry, 
 called Saloios , of whom this drawing is descrip¬ 
 tive; their burros (donkeys) or mules groaning 
 under the weight of the delicious fruits with which 
 they are laden. These consist of water melons, 
 melons, oranges, lemons, (sweet and sour,) figs of 
 the most delicious kind, and in short all that the 
 best of climates and richest of soils are capable of 
 producing. 
 
 Besides fruits, those who come from Cintra or 
 its neighbourhood bring a kind of little white 
 cheeses, known by the name of queijadas , and 
 made from the milk of goats. Another species, 
 much more agreeable to the taste, are those called 
 requeijoes ; they are larger than the former, and 
 are neither salt nor sour, but of a flavour more 
 resembling that of cream. Some few Saloios 
 
318 
 
 MARKET PEASANTRY OBLIGED 
 
 bring to their favorite customers small saucers full 
 of cream, which for its delicious flavour stands 
 unrivalled even by that of Devonshire and Corn¬ 
 wall. Poultry and game of every kind, in great 
 abundance, form likewise a part of their cargo; 
 but the former is usually very tough and extrava¬ 
 gantly dear. 
 
 The peasantry who reside many leagues off are 
 obliged to set out from their homes on the eve, 
 and travel until midnight; when they are com¬ 
 pelled for the sake of their loaded animals, to rest 
 a little. In winter, they take shelter upon these 
 occasions in some estalagem ; but in the fine sea¬ 
 son they unload their beasts under the starry 
 canopy, and tie them with good length of rope to 
 a tree, so that they may graze whilst they them¬ 
 selves enjoy a nap. 
 
 These people, from the habit of midnight tra¬ 
 velling under the clear and silent heaven, become 
 in some measure like the wandering Arabs, obser¬ 
 vant of the constellations, and learn to count the 
 waning hours by their position. Of the truth of 
 this I once witnessed an example: having one 
 night left Lisbon to go to Cintra, I missed my 
 route by keeping too far to the eastward, and was 
 fairly on the way to Mafra, when I observed a 
 group of Saloios stretched on the ground near the 
 
TO TRAVEL BY NIGHT. 
 
 319 
 
 road side. These people informed me of my mis¬ 
 take adding that, as for cutting across the coun¬ 
 try as I proposed doing in the dark towards Cin- 
 tra, it was out of the question, owing to the ex¬ 
 treme ruggedness of the mountains. I therefore 
 took their advice, and tying my horse to a furze 
 bush, laid myself down amongst them to await the 
 dawn. After some time, on my asking one of 
 them what hour he conceived it might be, he rub¬ 
 bed his eyes, and surveying the heavens for a mo¬ 
 ment said, “ We are within an hour of the Trin- 
 dades (Matins) for I see that the flock is far 
 advanced, so is the wolf; the crook is already 
 perceptible, and the shepherd will soon appear 
 upon which he aroused his companions, the loads 
 were replaced on the animals’ backs, and they all 
 moved on again towards the ‘ Grande Cidade.’ 
 
 The roads being exceedingly unsafe, the Saloios 
 are obliged to travel in numerous bodies. On 
 their arrival in the metropolis, many of them who 
 are satisfied with smaller profits and more expedi¬ 
 tious sales, take their stock to the fruit market, 
 called Pra^a da Figueira, adjacent to the Rojpio or 
 Inquisition Square, where by disposing of it in 
 the gross to the retailers, they are enabled to re¬ 
 turn home at a much earlier hour than they could 
 after retailing it themselves. 
 
I 
 
 320 SALOIOS RETURNING FROM MARKET. 
 
 This is mostly done by those who reside at 
 great distances; but the Saloios of the villages in 
 the immediate neighbourhood of Lisbon, from the 
 moment of their arrival, begin to hawk about the 
 streets whatever they bring and continue doing so 
 until a late hour in the evening. On the return 
 home, the same precaution is observed of going 
 in bodies ; but so great is their exhaustion in most 
 cases that, with the exception of those who go on 
 foot, the rest are usually sound asleep upon their 
 albardas (packsaddles) abandoning to their ani¬ 
 mals and waking “ pietons” the care of conduct¬ 
 ing them. 
 
 The objects with which they return provided to 
 their houses, consist chiefly and I may say invari¬ 
 ably of a small quantity of Bacaihao (a kind of 
 salted ling) and some salted Sardinhas. These, 
 with the aid of a few olives, garlic, onions, bread 
 made of Indian corn, and on rare occasions a little 
 wine, compose their bill of fare all the year round. 
 Veal is out of the question, it being a contraband 
 article even in the capital, and beef or rather old 
 cow, is so rarely to be had, or so much above the 
 reach of their small means, that if they can afford 
 to eat a little on Christmas day or on Easter Sun¬ 
 day, they account themselves supremely blest. 
 
 The Saloios are a very fine race of men, active. 
 
I 
 
 GOING HOME FK ()M THE LISBON MAHKET. 
 
EXCELLENT QUALITIES OF THIS ATHLETIC RACE. 321 
 
 athletic, and generally speaking, well made. 
 Their complexion, although dark, is advantage¬ 
 ously mixed with a good share of brickdust co¬ 
 lour ; their eyes are very fine; their hair falls in 
 ringlets upon their brawny shoulders ; their dress 
 is becoming, and their whole appearance highly 
 picturesque and rustic. They look more to ad¬ 
 vantage with their hats on, owing to the custom 
 of cropping close the hair on the crown and fore¬ 
 head. The whole aspect of a Portuguese peasant 
 is manly in the highest degree; and his dress at 
 once graceful and appropriate to his condition in 
 life, is always characteristic, and never varied by 
 that awkward mixture with the costume of other 
 classes, which gives to our labouring people so 
 unpicturesque and heterogeneous an appearance. 
 
 The Portuguese peasant is remarkable for using 
 with surprising address the weapon called cctjado. 
 It is a long pole or cudgel, measuring about seven 
 or eight feet, having a heavy knob or leaden 
 charge at one end. The most dextrous handlers 
 of the cajado are termed campinos or valent oes ; 
 and it is not unfrequent to hear of one or two of 
 these heroes emptying a fair of the whole of its 
 company, and even felling to the ground the 
 police cavalry, a detachment of which attends 
 every fair to preserve order. 
 
 Y 
 
322 
 
 SALOIAS, OR FEMALE PEASANTS. 
 
 The charge of indolence and slothfulness has 
 been indiscriminately laid against the whole of the 
 people of Portugal, by persons who have precipi¬ 
 tately drawn their conclusions from the samples 
 of the lower orders seen in Lisbon; but any one 
 of common judgement ought to be aware, that the 
 meagre and bloated inhabitants of a capital can 
 never offer a just criterion whereby to form an ac¬ 
 curate idea of the physical or moral peculiarities 
 of any nation. What opinion might we form of 
 that man’s sense, who, landing in London from 
 abroad should conclude, without looking any far¬ 
 ther, that all Englishmen resembled the cockney 
 specimens before his eyes ? 
 
 The Portuguese peasantry may justly repel the 
 charge of indolence, for their distinguishing cha¬ 
 racteristics are industry, patience under privation, 
 intrepidity, and courage. They only stand in 
 need of a government calculated to call forth in a 
 greater degree their natural good qualities. I 
 would not advocate as warmly, or in fact at all, 
 some other classes of Portuguese: I mean the 
 priests, and magistrates, for whatever measure 
 of corruption in every respect this world can 
 contain, is to be found to superfluity in those 
 orders. 
 
 The Saloias, or peasant women, are generally 
 
CUSTOM OF EMPLOYING THEM AS NURSES. 
 
 *323 
 
 of a stature rather taller than the female inhabi¬ 
 tants of the towns; their complexions are like 
 those of the men, of a healthy dark colour, but 
 not sallow or swarthy. They have exceedingly 
 fine eyes, full of expression. When young, many 
 of them are extremely pretty, and in general they 
 have very agreeable faces; but their beauty is of 
 short duration. The crow’s foot makes its first 
 impression at the early age of twenty; their per¬ 
 sons afterwards become flaccid, and their faces and 
 hands grow tough and wrinkled; so that at the 
 age of thirty they begin to assume the likeness of 
 living mummies. These women nevertheless often 
 live to a very advanced age. 
 
 People of respectability who reside in Lisbon, 
 and particularly the English, prefer these Saloias 
 to any other women to fill the office of wet-nurse, 
 from their well known healthfulness and their pro¬ 
 verbial attachment to the children, whom they 
 have suckled. The same inconvenience, however, 
 is experienced in employing these females for the 
 above office, which exists regarding any others; 
 for although they live miserably under their own 
 roofs, they are intolerably difficult to please in 
 their diet, when in the house of a gentleman. No 
 sooner, also, do they perceive that their presence 
 has from any circumstance become indispensable, 
 
 y 2 
 
324 
 
 THEIR TROUBLESOME QUALITIES. 
 
 than they bring forward a thousand pretexts for 
 leaving you, in order that their stay may be pur¬ 
 chased by rich presents. 
 
 But when their functions are oyer, and the 
 child weaned, they affect to feel such intense at¬ 
 tachment for your offspring that it is next to im¬ 
 possible to rid yourselves of them; and this can 
 only be effected for a time, as they make it a point 
 to come unceremoniously to your house once a 
 year, take up their quarters in your kitchen, and 
 shew their affection for your children by eating 
 you out of house and home. 
 
 I knew an English lady who, having reared 
 nine children in Lisbon, had employed as many 
 nurses; and I have sometimes seen her kitchen and 
 dining room thronged with these women and 
 their several progeny, together with their cousins 
 and relatives to the twentieth degree, whom they 
 had introduced to be treated at her expence. 
 They mostly bring with them presents of little 
 cheeses, strings of dried apples, some melons, a 
 roasting pig, or any other produce of their coun¬ 
 try ; and this establishes a kind of right to your 
 hospitality which it is awkward not to acknow¬ 
 ledge. 
 
 The love of the marvellous which these Portu¬ 
 guese nurses possess in the most extravagant de- 
 
COSTUME OF THE SALOIAS. 
 
 325 
 
 gree, and the practice which they have of enter¬ 
 taining young children with stories of feite$eiras, 
 (witches,) ghosts and hobgoblins, robbers, &c. all 
 of which they believe to be true, is one of the 
 greatest possible objections to employing them. 
 Moreover they dabble in religious matters from 
 motives of conscience ; and being unable to lecon- 
 cile to themselves the idea that their foster child 
 is a little heretic, they please themselves with the 
 illusion of its conversion by attaching to its little 
 neck, rosaries, crosses, veronicas (brass medals 
 with saints heads on them), or figas. Thus orna¬ 
 mented they are better able to resist the malign 
 influence of both feite^eiras and the devil. 
 
 The dress of the Saloias is quite unique in its 
 kind; and pretty women will in that as in every 
 other costume continue to look pretty, but to 
 those who have no pretensions to beauty, 01 
 whose prime of life is past, it is any thing but be¬ 
 coming. On their heads is worn a muslin hand¬ 
 kerchief folded corner-wise, and tied or pinned 
 under the chin, in the same manner as that worn 
 in towns. This is surmounted by a velvet peaked 
 cap of the shape and size represented in the plate; 
 resembling a Prussian grenadier s cap in minia¬ 
 ture. The jacket which they wear is of woollen. 
 
326 PASTORAL SIMPLICITY OF THE PEASANTRY. 
 
 and the favorite and most general colour scarlet ; 
 theii petticoats are made of coarse woollen, manu- 
 fa cl aied in Portugal; and their boots are precisely 
 similar to men s jack boots, only that they have 
 very high heels to them of the same shape as 
 those worn by ladies a century ago. 
 
 The harness of their burros has also its pecu¬ 
 liarity: the head piece being made of a very 
 coarse imitation of that which we use to hold by 
 in the interior of our vehicles, the brighter the 
 colours the better; and to this a mere rope is 
 affixed, which stands in lieu of all the unnecessary 
 paraphernalia of bit, snaffle, bridle, &c. In front 
 of the albarda or packsaddle, and covering the 
 animal's breast, is a band of the above broad stuff 
 with fringe pendent from it, and a similar quantity 
 is fixed to each side of the albarda in rear, which 
 passing under the ass’s tail completes his trap¬ 
 pings. Over the albarda is thrown the alfores, or 
 panniers, which are destined to contain the* cargo j 
 these are made of strong matting. 
 
 The farther removed from the city and its so¬ 
 phistications, the more does the real character of 
 the Portuguese peasantry appear in its proper 
 light; and certainly there are no people who rea¬ 
 lize more nearly than themselves the descriptions 
 
PATRIOTISM OF THE LAVRADORES OR FARMERS. 327 
 
 which poets have so often imagined of rural virtue 
 and pastoral simplicity. If a stranger appears 
 amongst them, they make him, quite unsoli¬ 
 cited, a tender of every thing he may stand in 
 need of for his refreshment. There does the 
 sportsman pursue his prey through vineyards full 
 of delicious grapes, and melon fields covered with 
 that fruit, without other barriers to protect them 
 than mutual confidence.-No boards with ap¬ 
 
 palling inscriptions of steel traps and spring guns 
 annoy the sight and disgrace the national charac¬ 
 ter of generosity, by holding out to you in terro- 
 rem the prospect of immediate death if you climb 
 over a hedge to pick up your game. 
 
 It is with no such apprehensive selfishness that 
 the Portuguese countryman guards his property. 
 I never coasted along a melon field in my life, 
 but the proprietor, if within sight, although un¬ 
 known to me, would come forward and solicit 
 my making choice of the ripest and best fruit, 
 without the least feeling of interestedness :—nay, 
 he would have felt indignant if a remuneration 
 had even been proffered. 
 
 Nothing could be more noble than the conduct 
 of the lavradores (farmers) during the war: with¬ 
 out a prospect of indemnification they contributed 
 
328 
 
 PRIMAEVAL RUDENESS 
 
 with all their means to facilitate and assist the 
 transport and other commissariat branches of the 
 service. I have seen some, who had only a pair 
 of oxen left, give them up to the exigencies of the 
 war without a murmur. 
 
 In a country where the useful arts have expe¬ 
 rienced little or no improvement for many cen¬ 
 turies, it is not surprising to see every thing con¬ 
 nected with agriculture in a state of primaeval 
 rudeness. The plough and harrow here made 
 use of are of the most uncouth kind, and worked 
 with bullocks, no other animal being capable of 
 moving such clumsy apparatus. This is not the 
 fault of the peasantry, but that of the government 
 and higher orders of society, who neglect the 
 most interesting part of their duty, and pass over 
 unnoticed the different degrees of improvement 
 which they cannot help seeing effected in every 
 other country but their own. But instead of 
 adopting any of those useful inventions, to which, 
 if they could see clearly, their own interest would 
 prompt them, they shrug up their shoulders, 
 and content themselves with saying, “ our fore¬ 
 fathers got on very well, and why should we wish 
 to do better ?” 
 
 The old patriarchal custom of “ treading out 
 
OF PORTUGUESE AGRICULTURE. 
 
 320 
 
 the corn” with oxen in order to shell it, is still in 
 use in Portugal; and each animal has a woman 
 walking immediately in his rear, following with 
 outstretched hands to receive that which, if it 
 reached the ground, might defile and conglome¬ 
 rate whole heaps of grain. 
 
 In the making of wine neither presses by means 
 of steam (a thing unknown in Portugal) nor ma¬ 
 chinery of any kind are used. Our delicate females, 
 who sip with such winning grace the juice of the 
 Douro grape, are to know that in the very liquid 
 which they receive through their lips, human feet, 
 the trotters of the rude peasantry, have soaked; 
 for no other machinery is here used in the process 
 of wine making. 
 
 The carts made use of in Portugal for every 
 kind of purpose are heavy and clumsy beyond 
 conception. The wheels are immoveable on the 
 axletree; the diameter of the former, which are 
 solid, is usually but three feet; and their greatest 
 thickness is towards the centre, the circumference 
 of the wheel being comparatively narrow and 
 
 bound round with iron, which is fixed on with 
 
 .. - * 
 
 huge nails. The axletree is of wood, and from 
 ten to twelve inches thick; and this and its wheels 
 move together with an abominable squeaking and 
 
330 
 
 MUSIC OF THE PEASANTRY. 
 
 groaning under the clumsy body of the cart, which 
 is shipped (not fixed) on it. 
 
 As an apology for the hideous noise just men¬ 
 tioned, the peasants allege that without it the 
 oxen would not draw so well or perhaps at all. 
 This may indeed be true, for it is possible to ac¬ 
 custom animals even to greater absurdities. The 
 car-man places himself in front of the bullocks’ 
 heads, touches or pricks them with his agulhad 
 (goad), and, speaking to them at the same time, 
 thus puts them in motion. The equipment would 
 not be complete, if the beasts’ heads were una¬ 
 dorned with figas and veronicas; and the cart 
 itself, to keep off spells, invariably displays on some 
 part of it that well known specific, a horse shoe. 
 This same emblem of a good kick seems to have 
 operated as a bug-bear on the supernatural per¬ 
 sonages of every country in Europe. 
 
 When going along the road, the Portuguese 
 male peasants are invariably heard singing. Love 
 is generally the burthen of their doleful ditties, 
 for such they indeed are, and of a most intolerably 
 drawling kind. The women also tune up their 
 trebles to no better effect than their spouses ; no¬ 
 thing being so monotonous as their airs, or so 
 discordant as the execution of them. The women 
 
REPARTEE OF A SALOIA. 
 
 331 
 
 are however by no means wanting in wit or re¬ 
 partee : for on a friend of mine seeing a saloia 
 going along on a burro, followed by a string of those 
 animals, and addressing her with “ Adeos mai dos 
 burros,” “ adieu, mother of assesshe answered 
 immediately, “ Adeos, meo filho,” with the utmost 
 coolness and composure. 
 
 i 
 

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 v* • v l-’< ' 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 PORTUGUESE VILLAGES, PRODUCTIONS OF THE 
 
 COUNTRY, &c. 
 
 PECULIAR APPEARANCE OF A PORTUGUESE HAMLET 
 -RURAL ARCHITECTURE-VILLAGE CHURCHES-GRO¬ 
 TESQUE IMAGES ON THEIR ALTARS-N. S. DA CON9EIQAO- 
 
 AN OBJECT OF UNIVERSAL WORSHIP IN PORTUGAL-THE 
 
 VIRGIN, A GREAT WORKER OF MIRACLES-TWO CURIOUS 
 
 SAMPLES OF THESE-VENERATION OF THE PORTUGUESE 
 
 VILLAGERS FOR THE STORK-THEIR VIRTUES NOT AT¬ 
 TRIBUTABLE TO THEIR PASTORS-INFAMOUS PROFLIGACY 
 
 OF THE PARISH PRIESTHOOD—INSTANCES OF THIS-AS¬ 
 PECT OF THE COUNTRY NORTH OF THE TAGUS-AND OF 
 
 THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES-THE OAK-THE CORK TREE 
 
 -THE OLIVE-VARIOUS FRUITS-THE PORTUGUESE FA¬ 
 MOUS FOR THEIR DELICIOUS SWEETMEATS-CHILACAYOTA 
 
 -BOLO PODRE-AGUARDENTE, THE ONLY SPIRITUOUS LI¬ 
 QUOR DRUNK IN PORTUGAL-LEMONADE-CAPILLAIRE- 
 
 ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE BEER. 
 
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CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 PORTUGUESE VILLAGES, PRODUCTIONS OF THE 
 
 COUNTRY, &c. 
 
 Portuguese hamlets and villages have a very pe¬ 
 culiar appearance. The houses are covered with 
 red tiles as in the city; no such a thing as thatch 
 being known in the country. The walls of these 
 dwellings are of amazing thickness, and seem cal¬ 
 culated to last for ever. The beams which form 
 the frame-work of the roof are of proportionate 
 solidity, and appear intended to survive many a 
 generation. 
 
 Very few houses in the villages have more than 
 the ground-floor; and if one of two stories is seen, 
 it may safely be conjectured to be the habitation 
 of the curate. The churches are very neatly kept 
 in their interior; although the images on the altars 
 are in general such miserable specimens of wooden 
 sculpture, and so ridiculous are their unmeaning 
 faces, that the ignorant bumpkin himself, if not 
 
336 
 
 GROTESQUE IMAGES ON THEIR ALTARS. 
 
 accustomed to see them from his infancy, would 
 be unable to refrain from laughing at them, in¬ 
 stead of feeling the veneration which they excite. 
 So easy it is to pervert man’s judgment, if you 
 only begin the work in his infancy. 
 
 These apologies for saints have nevertheless 
 their share of gilding, or rather the remains of it; 
 for all those which I have seen in the country 
 churches were very old, several without noses, 
 and others wanting an arm or a leg. These 
 little deficiencies were however not known to af¬ 
 fect their power of working miracles. 
 
 The manner in which the menino Jesus (infant 
 Jesus) is dressed, would appear offensive to fo¬ 
 reigners, if it were not at the same time too pre¬ 
 posterously ridiculous to alarm the most sensitive 
 piety. He wears a bob wig well powdered, with 
 a queue of adequate length, and bow of ribbons ; 
 and the rest of his equipment is precisely similar 
 to the men’s court dresses of the last century, 
 with satin knee-breeches, silk clock-stockings, 
 knee-buckles and shoe-buckles, studded with mock 
 diamonds. A silver or else tin glory is fastened 
 on at the back of the wig ; and to complete the 
 whole, he wears the insignia of a hniglit of the 
 order of Christ at his button hole. 
 
 His mother is also invariably seen dressed in a 
 
THE VIRGIN A GREAT WORKER OF MIRACLES. 337 
 
 corresponding costume, with an enormous head¬ 
 dress well powdered; fine ear-rings, necklaces, 
 chains and crosses, hoop petticoats with flounces 
 and furbelows, clock stockings, and high-heeled 
 embroidered satin shoes. The surrounding at¬ 
 tributes differ according to the peculiar character 
 under which she is adored. For instance, N. S. 
 da Co^eicao is represented standing upon a cres¬ 
 cent, under which is seen writhing an enormous 
 serpent. This it was which in some measure, in¬ 
 duced modern sceptics to ascribe to this lady an 
 astronomical origin, as being emblematical of the 
 descent of the serpent Pytho on one side of the 
 horizon, on the appearance of Virgo and the child 
 Horus on the other. 
 
 N. S. daCon^e^ao is an object of almost universal 
 worship in Portugal: to her are addressed the prayers 
 of women in labour or in any other circumstances 
 of difficulty and danger; and to her are made on 
 those occasions all kinds of promises of reward, 
 in order to render her propitious, such as pounds 
 of wax candles, bottles of oil, &c. The miracles 
 which she works are certainly very great; but 
 being thus well paid for her trouble, the obliga¬ 
 tion is greatly cancelled. 
 
 N. S. da Penha de Franca has also unbounded 
 celebrity : besides waxen legs, arms, eyes, breasts. 
 
 z 
 
338 
 
 TWO CURIOUS SAMPLES OF THESE. 
 
 and buttocks, with which her altars are fringed 
 round, the walls of her sanctuary are decorated 
 all over with little pictures in oils (in a style wor¬ 
 thy of . the subject) illustrative of some of the 
 myriads of miracles and cures performed by her. 
 
 Things are conceived to be miraculous in pro¬ 
 portion to the difficulty of achieving them : to give 
 therefore a good idea of the generality of these, I 
 will cite a couple which most attracted my obser¬ 
 vation. On a piece of board, of about six inches 
 by eight, was represented a man falling from a 
 four-pair of stairs window, and N. S. in a cloud, 
 looking straight before her like a doll; while un¬ 
 derneath were written these words. “ Milagre q’ 
 fez N. S. da P a de F ca &c.” “ Miracle performed 
 
 by our Lady of P. F. on Manoel &c., who falling 
 from a four-pair of stairs window only broke one 
 of his legs, when he might very easily have frac¬ 
 tured both.” 
 
 Placed near this painting was another of similar 
 dimensions, and apparently serving as a fellow to 
 it. It exhibited a lady lying in bed, and N. S. in 
 a cloud up in a corner of the room, looking, as in 
 the former, any where but at the patient. The 
 inscription imported as follows. “ Milagre q’ fez 
 &c.” “ Miracle performed by N. S. de P. F. on 
 
 Donna Fufia de tal who, being confined to her bed 
 
VENERATION OF THE VILLAGERS FOR THE STORK. 339 
 
 of a fever, took some medicine with great faith in 
 the above lady and was cured.” 
 
 These it will be allowed are not very miracu¬ 
 lous miracles, any more than that which is always 
 her accompanying mark of distinction; I mean 
 the man who in her portraits is invariably seen re¬ 
 presented as sound asleep at her feet with a la- 
 garto or enormous lizard close to his ear, from the 
 mortal bite of which she is said, by her presence, 
 to have saved him. Now it is well known to 
 every one in the least acquainted with the natural 
 history of Portugal and Spain, that the reptile, so 
 common in the southern climates of those coun¬ 
 tries, called guana by the Spaniards and lagarto 
 by the Portuguese, is the most inoffensive of all 
 creatures. It is perfectly innoxious, and very easy 
 to tame and to instruct in many odd tricks. I have 
 done so with many, and can therefore vouch for the 
 truth of the assertion. 
 
 In many parts of Portugal, as in Holland, the 
 stork takes up his abode on the church towers in 
 the villages, and is held in great veneration as 
 God’s own bird. Great offence would be given to 
 the villagers by the destruction of any of these 
 useful and inoffensive creatures. It is impossible 
 to account for the feeling of superstitious awe 
 
 z 2 
 
340 INFAMOUS PROFLIGACY OF THE PARISH PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 which attaches to this bird in particular, other¬ 
 wise than by the ideas associated with the spot on 
 which he decidedly prefers to construct his abode. 
 Hundreds of generations have been bred in the 
 same nest on some of these steeples to the com¬ 
 plete effacement of the walls whose surfaces are 
 thickly incrusted with their excrement; nay on 
 the top of some an artificial steeple has been pro¬ 
 duced by the accumulation of it, offering, at a dis¬ 
 tance, much the appearance of the real one. 
 
 I have already implied that the Portuguese 
 peasants are some of the best creatures breath¬ 
 ing : they in fact unite in their characters every 
 thing which constitutes a virtuous people. The 
 men are laborious and brave, and the women are 
 chaste. For these good qualities they are solely 
 indebted to Providence, and not in the least to 
 their clergy, most of whom employ their leisure 
 in devising means of debauching their female pa¬ 
 rishioners. Such are the advantages of the vow 
 of celibacy. I could cite instances which I have 
 witnessed from one end of Portugal to the other, 
 and likewise in Spain and France, in support of 
 this assertion, but will confine myself to a few. 
 In a certain city in Portugal, I was lodged for se¬ 
 veral weeks in the house of a Franciscan friar, whose 
 

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INSTANCES OF THIS. 
 
 341 
 
 convent had been temporarily converted into an 
 hospital. This man lived in incestuous commerce 
 with his own sister. 
 
 In the aldea (village) of S. B., I slept one night 
 in the house of the curate. Previous to retiring 
 to rest we had a glass of wine together, when he 
 proposed to my companions and myself the choice 
 of all the females in his parish, offering his imme¬ 
 diate services to procure them. At about mid¬ 
 night I was awakened by a noise of footsteps in 
 my room, and perceived by the light of the moon 
 the two nephews (not to call them the illegitimate 
 sons) of this holy man busily engaged over my 
 canteen, in emptying the contents of my brandy 
 bottles into an earthen jar for the pastor. 
 
 On my return through the same aldea about 
 two months afterwards, I found written (with 
 chalk upon the curate’s door) by a friend and 
 countryman of mine who had preceded me by two 
 
 days, “ Dear -dont billet yourself here, for 
 
 the rascal has stolen our silver spoons 
 
 * The effrontery of the Portuguese clergy proceeds from 
 their consciousness of impunity. A lavrador near Lisbon ob¬ 
 serving that the curate of his parish was indefatigable in his 
 endeavours to debauch his wife or daughter (I am not sure 
 which) accosted this holy man, who, under the pretence of 
 going a shooting, was hovering about the house, threatening 
 that unless he desisted from his purpose, steps would be taken 
 
342 ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY SOUTH OF THE TAGUS. 
 
 The country to the northward of the Tagus is 
 exceedingly mountainous and rugged; and the 
 pine abounds in most parts, furnishing the in¬ 
 habitants with a delicious fruit (pinhoes) which 
 they sell in Lisbon in strings like rosaries, having 
 at their extremities small crosses made of the same 
 kernels. Here the olive tree is not so common, 
 nor its fruit so fine as in the southern provinces. 
 The country south of the Tagus is, with the ex¬ 
 ception of that part of it nearest the river, chiefly 
 covered with oak and cork trees; and the under¬ 
 wood for many leagues together is composed of 
 the gum cestus. It is with this shrub that the 
 bakers at Estremos and throughout the Alemtejo 
 heat their ovens ; and the smell of it, which every 
 where prevails, is truly delightful; although to 
 some strangers it is at first very overpowering. 
 
 There are two kinds of acorn produced by the 
 oak with which the latter province abounds ; and 
 both serve as food for numerous herds of swine. 
 
 to compel him to do so. “ I’ll take good care to prevent that,” 
 was the answer of the priest, accompanied by a discharge of 
 his fowling piece into the farmer’s brains. The holy murderer 
 was, it is true, confined for his offence in the castle of S. 
 George, but that was the whole extent of his punishment. 
 But in relating instances of depravity in this class of men, 
 which have come under my own observation, I might proceed 
 for ever. 
 
VARIOUS FRUITS. 
 
 343 
 
 which, for the sweetness of their flesh, and the pe¬ 
 culiar taste given to it by this description of food, 
 are esteemed the best in Portugal. The sweet 
 species of acorn are very pleasant to the taste; 
 and it is not unfrequent to see them form a part 
 of the dessert at provincial tables. 
 
 The cork tree is of various essential uses to the 
 natives. At certain periods they separate the 
 bark in cylindrical pieces from the trunk, and thus 
 obtain a vessel which joined at top and bottom by 
 small wooden pegs, serves two purposes : for bee 
 hives, and receptacles for those olives which are 
 prepared for the table. A corti^o (cork vessel) 
 full of olives is sold in the Alemtejo for about a 
 pound sterling:—that is when the fruit is of the 
 best kind ; and it may not be out of place to re¬ 
 mark that the olives are so fine and large in the 
 vicinity of Elvas, that they are almost invariably 
 made to pass for those of Seville, not only in Lis¬ 
 bon, but in other countries. 
 
 I never saw apples of so large a size, or of such 
 excellent flavour, as those of Montemor o Novo in 
 the Alemtejo. This town is remarkable for the 
 immense quantities of apples and quinces which 
 abound in the whole of its neighbourhood; and 
 of these fruit trees the hedges are formed. The 
 
344 
 
 DELICIOUS SWEETMEATS. 
 
 species of the former called “ bem postas” are of 
 deserved celebrity. 
 
 A few leagues from Evora in a northwest di¬ 
 rection is a small village called Alcacovas de 
 Rosas from the quantities of beautiful moss roses 
 growing wild about its hedges in every direction. 
 They are as numerous as the black berries in our 
 own hedge-rows. 
 
 The plums, which grow at Guimaraens in the 
 north of Portugal and are preserved by the nuns 
 in round flat boxes ornamented with paper curi¬ 
 ously cut, are justly esteemed superior to the 
 dried fruit of any country. The Portuguese are 
 famous for their sweetmeats of every description; 
 quince marmalade, candied pears, and above all 
 
 that delicious sweet called by them chilacayota; 
 
 _ • 
 
 which I believe is made principally of the abobra, 
 a long white kind of pumpkin or gourd. 
 
 Besides these exquisite sweetmeats, they make 
 particularly in the Alemtejo, a cake called by them 
 “ bolo podre,” the principal ingredients of which 
 are the flour of maize or Indian corn, oil and 
 honey. It is really delicious ; and I never met 
 with an Englishman who did not find it so, until 
 told that oil was a principal ingredient, and then 
 it would have been unnational not to call it detest-' 
 
AGUARDENTE. 
 
 345 
 
 able. I have witnessed the same prejudice with 
 respect to dishes prepared with garlic. 
 
 The figs in the Algarve * form a chief part of 
 the commerce of that province, or kingdom as it 
 is termed. Besides those which are exported in 
 ceiras (round baskets), great quantities are mixed 
 up with sweet almonds, and made into the shape 
 of rabbits, birds, &c. to be brought upon table at 
 dessert. This mixture is of a very delicious fla¬ 
 vour. 
 
 Great quantities of marinated atum (a fish 
 caught in the bay of Cadiz) is prepared and ex¬ 
 ported in small barrels by the Algarvians :—it is 
 too oleaginous and rich to eat much of. 
 
 The spirituous liquor most generally fabricated 
 and consumed by the natives of Portugal is 
 aguardente d’Erva doce, or brandy of aniseed. 
 Of this the people drink great quantities, and 
 strangers very soon arrive at liking it, although it 
 may not at first appear inviting to the palate. 
 The use of any light beverage such as beer or 
 cider is unknown. If a Portuguese enters a 
 “ loja de Bebidas” to quench his thirst, he asks 
 for a lemonade or a glass of capillaire, the former 
 of which they have a particular knack of well pre- 
 
 * In Moorish, Algarbia, which signifies fertile country. 
 
346 
 
 ATTEMPT TO INTRODUCE BEER. 
 
 paring, which is I believe attributable to their 
 sweetening it with capillaire instead of sugar. 
 
 Many individuals have however tried, and with 
 some degree of success, the speculation of opening 
 cellars for the sale of bottled-beer in some of the 
 principal streets of the metropolis, where fo¬ 
 reigners, particularly Germans, are constantly seen 
 playing at draughts, chess, or backgammon, smok¬ 
 ing segars and drinking beer. This manner of 
 spending a leisure moment became quite the fa¬ 
 shion in Lisbon immediately after the war; but it 
 is difficult to bend the palate to a fashion, however 
 willing we may be to do so for mode sake ; and I 
 have frequently observed a group of young Lisbon 
 bloods sit down with great courage to bottled 
 beer and segars and strive with all their might to 
 swallow their potations without exhibiting by their 
 faces how repugnant it was to their tastes. Such 
 are the painful sacrifices of folly to fashion! 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 POLITICAL CONSPIRACY AT LISBON IN 1817. 
 
 SECRECY OF STATE TRIALS IN PORTUGAL-DISCOVERY 
 
 OF THE CONSPIRACY OF 1817 -ITS PARTICULARS NEVER 
 
 PROMULGATED-SECRET TRIAL OF THE OFFENDERS- 
 
 PREPARATION FOR THEIR EXECUTION-DIFFICULTY OF 
 
 PROCURING A HANGMAN-IMPUNITY OF A WRETCH 
 
 CONVICTED OF TWELVE MURDERS-HIS STORY-A HANG¬ 
 MAN BROUGHT FROM OPORTO-MORNING OF THE EXE¬ 
 CUTION-DRESS OF THE CONDEMNED -PROCESSION TO 
 
 THE GALLOWS - WRETCHED APPEARANCE OF THE PRI¬ 
 SONERS - PARTICULARS OF THEIR SENTENCE - GOOD 
 
 FEELING OF THE PORTUGUESE PEOPLE- GENERAL RE¬ 
 PUGNANCE TO WITNESS THE EXECUTION - SKETCH OF 
 
 THE WHOLE SCENE-PINTO, ONE OF THE CONDEMNED- 
 
 ? 
 
 HIS AGONY OF DESPAIR-REVOLTING MODE OF EXECU¬ 
 TION- CABRAL, ANOTHER CONSPIRATOR; HIS TERROR 
 
 OF DEATH-TARDINESS OF THE EXECUTIONS-EXHAUS¬ 
 TION OF THE LAST SUFFERERS - APPREHENSION OF A 
 
 RISING OF THE PEOPLE—TUMULT-PROCESS OF BURN¬ 
 
 ING THE BODIES OF THE CONDEMNED. 
 
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EXECFTlOm OF Til C0:SS FI® ATOMS . P3LAT® 1 st 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 POLITICAL CONSPIRACY AT LISBON IN 1817. 
 
 In devoting my concluding chapter to the melan¬ 
 choly scene which forms the subject of the two pre¬ 
 sent drawings, I shall confine myself to a simple 
 statement of those facts which were permitted to 
 meet the public eye. State trials in Portugal, as 
 well of those of other descriptions, being conducted 
 in perfect secrecy, all attempts to explain what 
 we do not know would only tend to lead into 
 error. 
 
 In 1817 a conspiracy was discovered to have 
 been formed to overthrow the existing order of 
 government; and the parties concerned in it were 
 arrested, on the eve of the day appointed for the 
 commencement of their operations. 
 
 The trial of the whole of the conspirators, 
 amounting in number to about five and twenty, 
 was as usual kept so secret that nothing was 
 known, even by the families of the offenders, of 
 
350 
 
 DIFFICULTY OF PROCURING A HANGMAN. 
 
 the fate which awaited them. Only one execution 
 for treason having been known to take place for a 
 great number of years, the unusual nature of the 
 crime, and the confidence reposed in the king’s 
 character for lenity, tranquillized the minds of all 
 those connected with the offenders and prevented 
 apprehension for their lives. 
 
 The day however arrived when each criminal 
 was to be made acquainted with his impending fate. 
 That some were to suffer was well known for 
 about a fortnight before the day of execution, by 
 reason of the difficulty said to exist of procuring a 
 couple of executioners ; one not being deemed suf¬ 
 ficient, and the place of the head one not having, 
 since his demise, been filled up. It was custom¬ 
 ary in Portugal that the hangman should be a 
 culprit under sentence of death, respited during 
 pleasure for the performance of these functions. 
 
 The Limoeiro or common jail, was at this mo¬ 
 ment filled with men so circumstanced ; but every 
 one of them refused to accept of the situation, 
 which was offered in this moment of necessity. 
 One wretch in particular had been in the Limoeiro 
 thirteen years. On his entrance into it, he was 
 condemned to death for his twelfth murder; and 
 the place of hangman being vacant he volunteered 
 to fill it. This was refused him, but such is the 
 
A WRETCH CONVICTED OF TWELVE: MURDERS. 351 
 
 slovenly manner of dispensing justice in Portugal 
 that they had forgotten to hang him ; and he had 
 thus remained, as I have above said, thirteen years. 
 He would have still been unnoticed, hut that in 
 rioting with a fellow prisoner he happened to stick 
 his knife into his comrade’s heart; and this re¬ 
 minded the justices of what they had before for¬ 
 gotten. The place of executioner was offered him 
 now, as an only alternative by which he might hope 
 to prolong his days; but this he spurned at, say¬ 
 ing that when he had thought it worth having, it 
 was refused him, and that now that he had been 
 so long in prison, he preferred (if equally agree¬ 
 able to them) being hanged. 
 
 He was accordingly gratified in his wishes, more 
 out of spleen at his refusal, than as a fair reward 
 for his misdeeds. This man’s first murder was 
 committed under the following circumstances. 
 He was wandering about in the woods between 
 Aldea Gallego and Montemor o novo; when ob¬ 
 serving a substantial looking lavrador coming along 
 the road on his mule, he threw himself down on 
 the ground and began to moan in the most pite¬ 
 ous manner, pretending to have been taken seri¬ 
 ously ill from hunger and want. The good lav¬ 
 rador had compassion on the impostor and offered 
 to take him to his own house, which was not many 
 
352 
 
 HIS STORY. 
 
 miles distant: and with his assistance the villain 
 was at last seated behind him on his mule. This 
 was the fellow’s object and they had not proceeded 
 far, before he stabbed his benefactor through the 
 heart and rode off with his money and mule. He 
 was however soon taken up and thrown into jail, 
 but his uncle coming forward with a little of that 
 which prevails more or less in every country and 
 in every case, the fellow was released. 
 
 As he was well aware of the cause of his re¬ 
 lease, an idea occurred to him that had never en¬ 
 tered his head before, which was, that his uncle 
 must be possessed of money, since he came down 
 with it so readily to save a nephew whom he had 
 scarcely ever seen. His resolution was soon taken; 
 and on his uncle’s birth day, under pretence of 
 paying him the customary congratulations, and at 
 the same time to express how grateful were his 
 feelings for the late signal service rendered him, 
 he went to his house in the country. Whilst em¬ 
 bracing the good man, he observed that, with the 
 exception of a child, there was no one else in the 
 house. He therefore stabbed his uncle through 
 the back, and robbed the house quite leisurely, 
 having first secured the doors. When such men 
 as these are fourteen or fifteen years trying to get 
 hanged, when twelve murders are hardly sufficient 
 
MORNING OF THE EXECUTION. 
 
 353 
 
 to attract the serious attention of justice, an idea 
 may be formed of the nature of its administration 
 in Portugal. 
 
 This wretch, as I have above stated, having re¬ 
 fused to become hangman, and no one else being 
 found who chose to take upon himself that office, 
 it became necessary to send to Oporto for that 
 city’s executioner, who having at length arrived, 
 measures began to be taken for the speedy en¬ 
 forcement of the sentences. The public still con¬ 
 tinued in ignorance of what was to take place, and 
 only were able to conclude that some were to suf¬ 
 fer, from the circumstance of the unusual sight of 
 a gallows being erected on the Campo de S. Anna, 
 and several corps of troops being ordered to repair 
 to the ground at a certain hour in the morning, 
 whilst others were directed to form near the Li- 
 moeiro and await the arrival of the civil power. 
 These at length arrived, with the brotherhood of 
 the misericordia carrying the banner of our lady 
 and five biers, and accompanied by a number of 
 monks, as confessors and comforters of those whose 
 sentence it was to suffer. 
 
 The whole of the accused were then drawn out 
 of their dungeons, and collected in the passage, 
 from whence they were called according as they 
 stood on the magistrate’s list, to have theiT sen- 
 
 a a 
 
354 
 
 PROCESSION TO THE GALLOWS. 
 
 tences read to them. Here some, who least ex¬ 
 pected it, learnt that they were released; others 
 that they must embark forthwith fer Pedras Ne- 
 gras; one, a foreigner, was sent out of the coun¬ 
 try ; whilst twelve were informed that they were 
 within a few hours of terminating their career by 
 an ignominious death. The latter were then im¬ 
 mediately stripped of the clothes they had on in 
 prison, and equipped in a white cotton gown, with 
 a hood to it for the purpose of drawing over the 
 face. Each had a rope of several yards in length 
 tied round his waist with a large coil of it behind. 
 They were all barefoot, and had their heads unco¬ 
 vered. 
 
 As soon as the sufferers were thus prepared, two 
 or three monks took possession of each, in order 
 to shrive him of his sins; and the procession moved 
 slowly and mournfully towards the place of execu¬ 
 tion. It was nearly twelve o’clock when they ar¬ 
 rived there, although they had started at about 
 ten, and the distance was scarcely more than a 
 mile and a quarter: so loth are we to quit life, 
 and so great is our hope even to the last moment. 
 It was found necessary to allow the condemned to 
 sit down every now and then, such was the ex¬ 
 hausted and emaciated state of most of them :— 
 indeed I never recollect having seen such misera- 
 
PARTICULARS OF THEIR SENTENCE. 
 
 355 
 
 ble spectre-like looking beings as these men. 
 Their beards had grown to a prodigious length; 
 owing to their having been refused the use of 
 razors during their imprisonment. Their dress 
 being excessively scanty, their heads and feet bare, 
 the day exceedingly cold, and their feelings not 
 calculated to revive them much, all these circum¬ 
 stances tended to augment the sadness of their 
 appearance. 
 
 The five biers above mentioned were for the 
 purpose of carrying away for private interment the 
 bodies of those whose sentence did not extend to 
 being burnt. Of the twelve sentenced only eleven 
 were executed here; the twelfth being incarcerated 
 in Fort S. Julian, was executed in the morning 
 early of the same day on the ground opposite to 
 that fort, his body was burnt, and his ashes being 
 thrown into the Tagus, the executioners then re¬ 
 turned under escort to Lisbon, and joining the 
 cortege at the door of the Limoeiro, marched with 
 it to the Campo de S. Anna. 
 
 The sentence of those six for whom biers were 
 not brought, was, that after being hanged they 
 should be decapitated, burnt, and their ashes 
 thrown into the river. A pile of pitch barrels, 
 underwood, and other combustibles had therefore 
 
 a a 2 
 
356 REPUGNANCE TO WITNESS THE EXECUTION. 
 
 been erected during the same night, within a few 
 paces of the gallows. 
 
 In any other country the prospect of a scene 
 like this would have attracted crowds of people ; 
 and places and windows would have been let at 
 extravagant prices ; but to the honor of the Por¬ 
 tuguese nation, a feeling diametrically opposite 
 was evinced on all sides. From the moment that 
 the hammers of the artificers were heard erecting 
 during the night the necessary preparations for the 
 dismal scene of the following day, every family re¬ 
 siding in the Campo de S. Anna betook itself to 
 retire into the country in order to avoid witnessing 
 it. I was on the ground at an early hour, and 
 did not leave it until a very late one, and can there¬ 
 fore affirm that of all the houses in the Campo de 
 S. Anna there was not one single instance of a 
 window being otherwise than closely shut up, both 
 sashes and shutters. The few persons who ap¬ 
 peared on the ground were entirely of the canaille, 
 as I did not observe a well dressed individual 
 amongst them. Even the greater part of these 
 were women of the lowest orders. 
 
 The troops formed a square enclosing a consi¬ 
 derable space ; they were as follows ; the 16th regi¬ 
 ment of infantry, called by the Portuguese Vieira 
 Telles from the name of its old commanding of- 
 
SKETCH OF THE WHOLE SCENE. 
 
 35 7 
 
 ficer; several companies of police infantry; a 
 squadron of police cavalry; and a squadron of the 
 Alcantara regiment of cavalry. 
 
 Immediate round the gallows stood the suf¬ 
 ferers, their monks, the brotherhood of mercy, and 
 the officers of justice. One of the latter, who was 
 provided with a list, called out the name of the in¬ 
 dividual whose turn it was to suffer, upon which 
 the executioner and his assistant who were stand¬ 
 ing at the foot of the ladder came forward to as¬ 
 sist the unwilling culprit to mount it. Here it 
 became evident that they had all entertained hopes 
 of pardon up till the last moment; and when these 
 suddenly vanished, they exhibited an agony of de¬ 
 spair which it would be vain to describe. Pinto, 
 an ensign of the 16th foot (then on the ground) 
 was the first who ascended: it is impossible to 
 form a just idea of this man’s countenance when 
 ordered by the executioner to end his devotions, 
 and on seeing the monk prepare to descend the 
 ladder. The same rope with which each indivi¬ 
 dual came provided served to hang him. When 
 seated at a convenient height near the top of the 
 ladder, the rope was loosened from their waists; one 
 end of it formed into a noose round the neck, and 
 the other fastened to the gallows. Whilst the 
 hangman, was doing this, his assistant was tying 
 
358 CABRAL, A CONSPIRATOR, HIS HORROR OF DEATH. 
 
 the offender’s feet together, (his hands were tied 
 on leaving the prison) and the confessor, holding a 
 crucifix before his eyes, urged him to leave none 
 of his sins unrevealed. When all was ready, the 
 executioner made sign to the monk to have done; 
 then drawing the hood over the culprit’s face, he 
 placed his left foot between his wrists as in a stirrup, 
 and giving a signal to the assistant below to detach 
 the man’s feet from the ladder, both sufferer and 
 hangman swung off together, the latter riding on 
 the neck of the former. By this means death is 
 much more expeditious than in our mode of hang¬ 
 ing, however revolting the manner of it may ap¬ 
 pear to nations unused to it. 
 
 One individual in particular, named Cabral, 
 evinced the greatest terror at death. When his 
 prayers were over, and the executioner became 
 impatient, this poor young wretch begged in 
 the most piteous language to be allowed to say 
 only one more act of contrition, which being 
 granted, he begged for another and another; then 
 prayed for leave to breathe one minute more; and 
 when at last the hangman drew down his cap and 
 prepared to swing off with him, such was the con¬ 
 vulsive agony of the sufferer, that notwithstanding 
 his emaciated state, and the pondrous weight of 
 the hangman, he fairly lifted the latter up, and 
 
Execution of tie Conspirators Plate.? J r . n 
 
EXHAUSTION OF THE LAST SUFFERERS. 
 
 359 
 
 bursting the ligature of his bands, and seizing the 
 noose which began to tighten round his neck, it 
 was with difficulty they could detach his fingers 
 from it. 
 
 Some of the prisoners were so weak and 
 exhausted, that it was found necessary to procure 
 chairs for them. Each execution took about half 
 an hour, so that it may well be imagined that the 
 last must have been pretty well exhausted with 
 cold, hunger, fatigue, and horror. The monks 
 appeared to me to do their duty on this occasion 
 with much credit to themselves, and with more ap 
 pearance of real feeling than I could have expected 
 to see in men of their abandoned lives. All that 
 I heard them say appeared to be very much to the 
 purpose; and when after their entreaties, the 
 dying sinners made avowals of the heinousness of 
 their projected crimes, the former urged them to 
 speak out in order that the world might hear them 
 confess the justice of their sentence. Each of them 
 in his turn acknowledged that the object of the 
 conspiracy was not only the subversion of the ex¬ 
 isting order of things; but that it was also di¬ 
 rected to other views which, if they had succeeded, 
 must have been productive of the greatest possible 
 confusion. They begged pardon of their sove¬ 
 reign, and of every individual in the state, and 
 
360 
 
 TUMULT. 
 
 those who left families implored the compassion of 
 their countrymen towards the helpless and forlorn 
 condition of their wives and children. 
 
 As the government did not appear to be alto¬ 
 gether without its apprehensions as to the tran¬ 
 quillity of the people during the execution of the 
 law on the above persons, the Campo de S. Anna 
 was chosen in preference to any other spot, owing 
 to it being fully commanded by the castle of S. 
 George, on the opposite hill which completely sees 
 into it. The officers commanding the troops were 
 also exceedingly vigilant, and this feeling of dis¬ 
 trust of the people seems to have prevailed 
 amongst the troops, for at about half-past nine at 
 night a murmur was heard in rear of the 16th 
 foot, from some cause which was never properly 
 explained; and as it continued to encrease and to 
 be attended with some movement and bustle, the 
 troops without waiting for instructions faced to 
 the right about and charged the rabble. 
 
 The confusion which this produced is inconceiv¬ 
 able : every one being then suddenly convinced 
 that there was a rising amongst the people, the 
 officers of justice took to their heels, the monks 
 followed their example, the banner of Nossa Sen- 
 hora da misericordia was thrown away by its 
 bearer; the lanthorns were knocked to pieces and 
 
 
TUMULT. 
 
 361 
 
 the patibulum abandoned by every one excepting 
 the hangman, his assistant, and a poor wretch sit¬ 
 ting at the top of the ladder with the moon shin¬ 
 ing full in his face, in which I could perceive a 
 glimmering of hope that the confusion might be 
 productive of an alteration in his destiny. 
 
 It may be asked how I could have made this 
 observation, seeing that there everywhere reigned 
 such consternation; to this I will answer, that 
 although I had at the first impulse done as I saw 
 others do, that is, take to my heels, I no sooner 
 heard the voice of the brigadier calling out “ nao 
 he nada”—nothing is the matter, than I lost no 
 time in resuming my post, not to let a single op¬ 
 portunity elapse of making my observations. By 
 degrees tranquillity was restored, the fragments of 
 our Lady’s lanthorns were picked up, some of the 
 monks and justices resumed their places, and the 
 poor wretch at the top of the ladder was turned 
 off. 
 
 It was now ten o’clock at night, and the foot of 
 the gallows was one complete heap of dead bodies. 
 Those who were allowed burial were removed in 
 the biers, that is, the five first that came to hand, 
 for I did not observe that any choice was made, 
 and it then became necessary to get the other six 
 up on the platform of boards placed over the pile 
 
362 
 
 PROCESS OF BURNING THE 
 
 of combustibles. This operation was not an easy 
 one, for both the executioners had been working 
 since the morning without taking any refreshment, 
 and were consequently very much exhausted and 
 weakened. 
 
 The night began to darken, the clouds occa¬ 
 sionally intercepting the light of the moon. It 
 therefore was necessary to procure torches which 
 were given to some galley slaves to hold, who 
 were chained by the leg two by two. It was also 
 attempted to get them to drag the bodies up on 
 the pile, but the attempt was not only fruitless 
 but productive of still greater inconvenience; for 
 these cut-throat looking rascals considered the 
 proposal of their touching an “ enforcado” (a 
 hanged body) so derogatory to their dignity and 
 honor, that all with one accord threw down their 
 torches in the most violent rage, swearing that 
 they should now consider themselves disgraced if 
 they even contributed to light up such a scene. 
 To compel them was out of the question: they 
 swore it was not their duty; that they were gal¬ 
 ley slaves but not hangmen or hangmen’s assist¬ 
 ants ; and without waiting for further orders they 
 walked off the ground with the feeble escort that 
 guarded them, consisting of a few old veterans. 
 
 Bread and wine were therefore procured for the 
 
BODIES OF THE CONDEMNED. 
 
 363 
 
 hangman and his assistant who, having gathered a 
 little more strength, succeeded at last in dragging 
 the six bodies by the heels up the little ladder 
 and placing them in a row on the platform. This 
 done, they unsheathed their long knives and per¬ 
 formed the operation of amputating the heads 
 with astonishing dexterity. Nothing now re¬ 
 mained to be done but the burning of the bodies. 
 The pile being set fire to on all sides, soon blazed 
 up with much violence. 
 
 At first I observed nothing particular about the 
 bodies; but, no sooner were the strings consumed 
 which tied the hands together, than both arms 
 sprung up and remained stretched out; the fin¬ 
 gers dropping off one by one. The same thing 
 happened to the lower extremities. These effects 
 of fire upon dead carcases were construed by 
 some of the ignorant bystanders into superhuman 
 proofs of the innocence of men, whom they had 
 just before heard making a full confession of re¬ 
 bellious stratagems. Some exclaimed “ See how 
 he extends his arm to attest his innocence in the 
 sight of heaven.” 
 
 The pile being entirely consumed, some cinders 
 were gathered out of mere form and scattered by 
 the hangman in the Tagus; after which he was 
 reconducted to his dungeon previous to his return 
 
364 BURNING THE BODIES OF THE CONDEMNED. 
 
 to Oporto :—for it must be understood that the 
 hangmen in Portugal are always in close confine¬ 
 ment for life, although in other respects they are 
 well off, being paid and fed, besides having certain 
 perquisites on occasions where their ministry is 
 required. 
 
 The sketch, from which these two drawings 
 were made, was taken on the spot. The second 
 is precisely similar to the first with the sole differ¬ 
 ence of the lapse of time of two or three minutes. 
 The same culprit who in the first is sitting on the 
 ladder is in the second already turned off; and a 
 similar progress of time will be observed in all the 
 other personages. The process of hanging here 
 described is that which is in use all over Portugal 
 when offenders are sentenced to death. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Printed by R, Gilbert, St. John’s-square, London. 
 

 
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