o ^ Illusttrated 12 Lian ides WILLIAM H. RAU philaD!:lphia Id'JO A DESCRIPTIVE READING ON PORTUGAL \ ">^ , ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN V v5KCS>Cj>sjiiKi. SLIDES ** WILLIAM H. RAU PHILADELPHIA 1890 Copyright, 1890, by William H. Rau, ILLUSTRATIONS. 1. General View of Lisbon and Harbor. 2. Statue of Don Jose I., Lisbon. 3. BouleVard dos Romulus, Lisbon. 4. Ruins of Groumas, Belem. 5* Sculptures in the Cloister, Belem. 6. Tower of St. Vincent, Belem. 7. Window of the Chapter House, Thomar. 8. Gallery of the Cloister, Alcobaco. 9. Library of the University, Coimbra. 10. Gallery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra. ir. Gate of the Castle of La Pena, Cintra. 12. Gallery in the Castle of Monserrat. PORTUGAL In the southwest corner of the continent of Europe lies a country concerning which, until of late years, the community at large had very vague ideas ; and yet it is a country of many attractions. Its scenery has the charm of newness and freshness, and great variety — craggy mountains, deep ravines, broad slopes of woods, and groves of spreading trees; the olive, the orange, and bright-leaved citron ; long sweeps of the trellised and festooned vine ; steep hills clothed to the summits with shrubs, the foliage varied in tint from the dark shadows of the bay to the tenderest green ; picturesque ruins of Moorish castles, and Gothic monasteries, unite to make Portugal one of the most enchanting spots on earth. F'rom almost every lofty height, many leagues inland, the rugged rocky coast, with its deep sandy coves, may be dis- cerned ; beyond is the wide expanse of the Atlantic — its waves now glowing with opal tints as they reflect the glancing beams of the sun, at other times crested with foam, and rushing impetuously onward to break in cataracts of spray against broken masses of rock, rent into a thousand fantastic shapes. Independently of its beautful scenery, the country possesses the great and permanent charm of a climate generally pleasant and wholesome ; a simple-hearted and primitive peasantry, picturesque and altogether novel in dress and in appearance. Queen indolence (911) 912 PORTUGAL. reigns supreme over the sun-fed population, who, as devotees of ''sweet nothing-to-do," afford another instance of the fact that wherever nature assumes her queenly robes, man is her slave and never becomes her master. 1. General VieAv of Lisbon and Harbor. — For beauty of situation the capital of Portugal disputes the second place among European cities with Naples, acknowledging Constantinople alone as its superior. It extends for five miles along the north and west bank of the Tagus, where the river spreads itself into a lake, and rises almost fairylike from the very water's edge. There are few more beautiful cities in the world than Lisbon. Rising on its many hills,, with its regular rows of tall, stately houses built of a peculiar greyish yellow limestone, which has nearly the appearance of marble, and with everything look- ing bright and clean in the clear southern atmos- phere, the first aspect of the city is very striking. The impression of the visitor will be that it is the cleanest city he has seen. The streets are daily swept and watered, are lighted with gas, and thanks to the well-arranged system of police, are as safe at night as those of any other metropolis. Lisbon has been a capital for several hundred years, and for a long period in the sixteenth century it had almost the monopoly of the world's maratime and commer- cial enterprise. Of all the westward-looking sea- ports, just when 'Svestward-ho" had become the watchword all over Europe, Lisbon was the grandest, the safest, the most frequented. It was the main gate to the East and West Indies. It had the finest PORTUGAL. 913 position outside the Mediteranean, rivalling the beauty of Genoa and Naples, and exceeding the im- portance of declining Venice and enslaved Constanti- nople. 2. Statue of Don Jose I., JLisbon. — In 1775, at the very time that Lisbon had reached the acme of its splendor and commercial importance, the great earthquake took place, causing the death of eighty thousand persons, and shattering to pieces splendid edifices and untold treasures of art. But from the wreck of the past the city has risen more beautiful than before. In the centre of the modern district of Lisbon is located the Praca do Commercio, called by the English, Black Horse Square, one of the grand- est squares in Europe, 585 feet from east to west, and 536 feet from north to south. On the south side, which is open to the river, is a fine quay, with flights of steps leading down to the water, and called the Caes das Columnas from the two marble columns which ornament it. It was at this spot, that at the time of the great earthquake, the ground opened and swallowed up the stone quay then in course of erect- ion, together with a large number of people who had fled to its massive walls for safety. The three remain- ing sides of the square are formed of lofty regular buildings, with spacious arcades below, terminating next the river in a square tower on each side. The buildings are used as offices for the various govern- ment departments. In the centre of the square is the fine equestrian statue of Don Jose I., erected by the inhabitants in gratitude to the king and the Marquez de Pombal for 9 I 4 PORTUGAL. their energy in rebuilding the city after the terrible and sweeping destruction of the great earthquake. The monument was executed by Portuguese work- men, and cast in one piece at the military arsenal. The statue, including the horse, is about twenty-one feet high, and represents the king in fantastic costume, with helmet and plume, a kind of toga over his shoulders, a baton in his hand, and trampling on a number of serpents. The pedestal, which is also twenty-one feet in height, is ornamented by a basso- relievo celebrating royal generosity. On the opposite end, nearest the river, are carved the royal arms and the head of the Marquez de Pombal. 3. Boulevard dos Roiiiiilus, Lisbon. — Before 1755, Lisbon, like Genoa, had no streets, but only hills. But in that year the earthquake did for Lis- bon all the good that a fire often does for Constanti- nople ; it made a gap through the maze of lanes and alleys, it caused a depression between the hills, which was subsequently laid out in the fine streets that sur- round the truly magnificent Black Horse Square, where one fancies himself in some stately quarter about the Paris boulevards. Except in the immediate neighborhood of this square and along the artificially widened quays of the golden Tagus there is no flat ground but what has been smoothed down and ter- raced up by dint of hard work and at a high cost. Prominent among these fine avenues is the Boule- vard dos Romulus, the general meeting place for merchants and seamen. It is surrounded with hotels, cafes and counting-houses, and is one of the finest thoroughfares in Lisbon. PORTUGAL, 915 The old ox cart still groans and creaks execrably through the streets of the capital. They hold their ground wonderfully, for they must be antediluvian ; made after specimens preserved in the ark, and brought hither by Noah when he paid his sunset visit to Portugal. The wheels consist of circular pieces of wood with a hole in the centre; and the sound they make is ear-piercing, a deafening com- pound of a shriek and a groan. The drivers get accustomed to it, and the oxen are said to like it ; moreover it is a sovereign against ghosts, on which account the noise is endured and in some of the rural districts is aggravated by rubbing the parts with lemon juice. 4. Rnins of Cxroiimas, Belem. — Wandering awhile around the streets of Lisbon, nearly every one of which is named after a saint, we finally wend our way to Belem, a suburb of the beautiful capital. Here we stop to admire the ruins of what was once a most stately pile. Notice the niches for statues of the saints, the carved and recessed doorway, the ex- quisitely embellished triple window abovb, and crowning all the alcove, in which part of the statue still remains intact. All these details enable us to form an idea of what the Groumas once was, and in imagination we see it rise pure and stately, in all its original beauty. All along the road are stretched the tables of the market people, with wide-spread umbrellas to keep off the rays of the burning sun. The Portugese merchant is the most polite, sleepy, listless and thoroughly inefficient being in existence. He is apparently quite indifferent as to whether he 9l6 PORTUGAL. sells his goods or keeps them. He would always rather gossip than deal and seems to be in fear that if he diminishes his stock, he will have to bear the trouble of renewing it. He yawns across the table at his customers, and makes a foreigner laugh at the incongruity of a man keeping things for sale and not caring to sell them. 5. Sculptures in tbe Cloisters, Beleni. — Situated just on the outskirts of Lisbon is the magnificent church and monastery of the Jeronymos. On this site once stood a chapel in which Vasco da Gama and his companions passed the night in prayer before setting out on the voyage which led to the discovery of India. The place of their embarkation was also near at hand, the river at that time bathing the walls of the chapel. On this spot, in token of his gratitude to God for the success of the Indian expedition, Don Manoel began the erection of the splendid church and monastery of Belem, which was continued and completed by his successors. The church is con- structed on piles of pine wood, which probably ac- counts for the fact that it was not injured during the great earthquake. It is Gothic- in style and is built of carbonate of lime, which admits of exquisite carv- ing and is very durable ; originally white, it has now acquired a warm rich brown hue. The cloisters are among the finest in Portugal, richly .decorated and striking. Most elaborate and singularly interesting, they are bristling with architectural gems, and are most beautiful specimens of Gothic tracery. The ornament is profuse and one cannot fail to be enchanted with the exquisite beauty of the details. PORTUGAL. 917 The columns are beautifully sculptured, and enriched with the most fantastic and delicately wrought carvings. The cloisters now serve as a covered playground for the five hundred orphan boys who are educated in the convent buildings. 6. Tower of St. Viiiceiit, at Belem. — On the banks of the river stands the beautiful old Torre de Belem; originally built in the stream, it now connects with the shore by a sandy beach to the west. It was projected by Don Joao II., and erected in the reign ofDonManoel. This ancient tower is an exquisite piece of carving and fret-work, and from the Tagus is most picturesque. Together with the Battery de Bom Successo it forms a defense of the river far more ornamental than formidable. It is related that during our late civil war, a vessel belonging to each of the belligerents entered the river. One of them almost immediately steamed off again ; the other instantly gave chase, in disregard of the rules laid down for observance in the port of a neutral power. By order therefore of the command- ant of Belem, a volley was fired from the battery as the frigate Sacramento passed ; but entirely with- out effect, though balls were used. The fire from the battery would have been answered by a broad- side from the frigate, as her captain afterward de- clared, had he not been unwilling that his guns should blow to atoms that pretty toy, the Torre de St. Vincente de Belem, 7. Window of the Chapter House, Thoniar, — Thomar, the ancient Concordia, stands picturesquely 91 8 PORTUGAL. on the Nabao, and is undoubtedly one of the most interesting towns which Portugal can show to the ecclesiologist. Its position on either side of a steep hill that is crowned with the enormous convent of the order of Christ, renders it most imposing. The chief attraction of the town is the convent, which is the most remarkable in the kingdom, and almost un- rivalled in Europe. The Templars who entered Portugal under the reign of Count Offonso Henriques, settled some time afterward at Thomar, erected a strong castle, and successfully repelled the numerous army of Moors which besieged the city in 1190, At the sup- pression of the order of Templars, King Diniz in- stituted that of Christ, which succeeded to the former's property. Passing the Church of St, Joao Baptista and the little Praca behind it, we begin to ascend the steep hill, the convent walls towering over our he^ds. Turning sharply to the left we enter the gate of San- tiago. Close to the walls are the remains of the chapel of St. Catharina. We next ascend a flight of steps and enter the church by the great south door, which is of the richest and most extravagant decor- tion. The plan of the chancel is unique. Opening out of the wide nave is a sixteen-sided choir, sup- ported by a central pier in the form of an octagonal turret, within which is placed the high altar. Under the coro alto is the chapter house, low and well vaulted in two bays, and with lattice work at the west end. This latticed window is most extrava- gantly decorated; the ornamentation is of the Gothic decline ; very exuberant, and somewhat lacking ip 1 PORTUGAL. 919 taste, but redeemed by the novelty and originality of the design. 8. Gallery of the Cloister, Alcobaco. — No one who cares to look at a fine old church will pass by the abbey of Alcobaco. The little town, situated at the junction of the rivers Alcoa and Baca, is cele- brated throughout Europe for its Cistercian monas- tery, the largest in the world. The convent was founded in 1148, by Affonso Henriques, who peopled it with monks sent expressly by St. Bernard at the king's request. The front is plain and unprepossess- ing. In the centre rises the gable of the church, flanked by two towers and crowned with a statue of the Virgin. On each side extend plain, bare wings. The interior is a pure Gothic style, beautiful and simple ; it is the purest example of early Christian architecture in Portugal. Its total length is three hundred and 'sixty feet, and its height is said to be sixty-four, though it is scarcely possible to help be- lieving that the latter is underrated. The cloisters, north of the nave of the church, are among the finest in Europe. They are of the purest transition work with many shaits and beautifully carved capitals. The arches are the perfection of majestic simplicity, and the vistas down the long, narrow corridors are exceedingly grand. 9. Library of the University, Coiiiibra. — Coim- bra is a city dear to the heart of every educated Portuguese, for at Coimbra is situated the university at which has been educated almost every Portuguese who has attained distinction in letters or in law. The 920 PORTUGAL. town lies upon a hillside looking down upon the river Mondego, whose gently flowing stream and pleasant banks have been sung in the verses of nearly all the poets of Portugal, who learned to love them while they were students at Coimbra. The University consists of a series of buildings of great extent standing on the plateau of a hill. There are eighteen colleges in all, and its five faculties — of theology, law, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy, are held in high repute. The collections of natural history, the laboratories, observatory, and other de- partments, are on a large scale, and are admirably conducted. The most interesting part of the University is the library, which is located in one of the most magnifi- cent apartments ever dedicated to literature. It con- sists of a fine suite of rooms with galleries divided into compartments for books of different languages. The decorations are profuse, but there is a pleasant solemnity of tone, in harmony with the purposes for which the rooms are designed — a certain repose that leads to thought and is favorable to study. Those who have attained the Doctorate in any faculty have the privilege of a room to themselves for reading, but no books are allowed to be taken from the library. 10. Gallery of Santa Cruz, Coimbra. — The church and convent of Santa Cruz is the great sight of Coimbra, and is most interesting on account of its historical associations. The bishop, Don Bernardo having, in 1129, permitted the canons to abandon the cloistral life and to hold private property, Don Tello, the archdeacon, and some of his followers. PORTUGAL. 921 refused to accede to such a violation of the ancient discipline, and resolved to continue the canonical under the strict rule of St. Augustine. They ob- tained from Affonso Henriques this site, and the foundation of the monastery was laid by him in 1131. The church was rebuilt by Don Manoel in 15 15. The cloisters, in the late Gothic style are really elegant; the slender shafts are covered with delicate tracery in imitation of trunks of trees. Where the graceful, springing arches meet in the ceiling the in- tersection is ornamented by a beautifully carved rosette. The walls are decorated by finely sculpt- ured mural tablets. A fitting place, these corridors seem, for study and meditation. In the church are the tombs of Affoso Henriques and his son Don Sancho, the first kings of Portugal. 11. Gate of Castle of La Peiia, Ciiitra. — On the edge of the rocky Serra de Cintra, stands the beau- tiful little town of Cintra, the favorite summer resort of the upper classes of Lisbon. The scenery is most charming. Lord Byron exclaims : " Lo ! Cintra's glorious Eden intervenes, In variegated maze of mount and glen ; Ah, me ! what hand can pencil guide or pen, To follow half on which the eye dilates." Southey declares it to be ^^the most blessed spot in the habitable world." Perched, as if by magic, on the lofty peaks above the town is a magnificent Norman-Gothic castle, which was originally a convent built by Don Manoel for the Jeronymite monks, and dedicated to ''Our 92 2 PORTUGAL. Lady of the Rocks." On the suppression of con- vents the Pena was bought by a private gentleman, and was shortly afterwards purchased by the king Don Fernando. By him it was restored with much taste, and has assumed the appearance of a feudal castle. Its monastic character is well preserved in the interior, and the cloister and chapel are retained in their original condition. The top of the mountain immediately below this '* Castle of the Rock " is laid out in shrubberies and gardens, broad walks being cut in every direction through the soft rock. The principal entrance is approached by a winding road and a drawbridge. Everywhere we see towers and turrets carved in most fantastic and capricious designs. Such portions of the convent as remained in a fair state of preservation were retained, and to these were added square tur- rets and cupolas, castellated walls, courts and arched passages. The carvings which adorn every archway and entrance, every projecting window and frame-^ work of the doors, are most elaborate, elegant and full of inventive fancy. 12. Gallery in ( astle Monserrat. — Three miles from Cintra is a most lovely and interesting spot, the luinta de Monserrat, the property of Sir Francis Cook. The gardens are unique for the variety and beauty of their vegetation. Plants from almost all parts of the world here flourish together in the open air. A little glen adorned with tree ferns that have grown to a great size, reproduces the scenery of the warmer parts of New Zealand. The palms of the islands of the Indian Ocean attain full stature and PORTUGAL. 923 ripen their fruits ; while the flowering trees and shrubs of South America and Australia flourish equally well. The situation of the palace is exceedingly beauti- ful. It occupies a projecting mound which com- mands an uninterrupted view of the valley of Collares and the ocean. The decorations and furnishings are of the most costly kind, as well as in excellent taste ; the gallery is a marvel of Arabesque tracery, and contains a valuable collection of works of art. Into the construction has been put all the charm and beauty and romance of oriental luxury. The rich capitals of the columns, and the delicate tracery of the arches are wonders of art. The flower-decked fountain makes music in our ears while we pause to admire the graceful pose of the Venus de Medici, and the lovely Hebe, who still pours out the nectar of the gods.