LISBON. CINTRA. 239 
. à Spanish or Portuguese windmill (they are alike), it is difficult to 
understand Don Quixote’s adventure: they are low and equipped 
with very broad sails, which, when set in motion, make the most 
extraordinary, hideous, howling noise, like the voice of a wild beast, 
which is heard half a mile off—a truly unearthly sound ! 
Our excursion to Cintra, however, gratified me, because of 
the scenery, where woods, castles, and convents, contrast pleasingly 
with the saw-edged (serrated) Sierra, its summits wrapped in the 
clouds, which rise from the adjacent Atlantic Ocean. The plain 
‘was covered with low bushes of Genista and Ulex, all out of flower ; 
but many Orchidee had pushed their shining green leaves above 
the soil. The coolness and verdure of the hills contrasted 
agreeably with the scorching plains, and we enjoyed our ascent 
through avenues of Cork-Oak and Ilex, which lined the road. 
Many points reminded me of Madera, but not to the advantage of 
Portugal. The rocks are by no means so fine, and Cintra lacks 
the luxuriant. growth of Fuchsias, Geraniums and China Roses, . 
which adorn every cottage in Madera. Chestnuts, too, are few ; 
and I noticed no large trees of any kind. The rocks were, how- 
ever, grey and green with Lichens and Mosses; while, here and 
there, grew Cotyledon Umbilicus, Grammitis Ceterach and Adiantum 
—all plants, characteristic of a western European vegetation. 
Whilst the rest of the party, mounted on donkeys, visited the 
convent of Nossa Senhora das Penas (Our Lady of the Rocks), 
I climbed the rocky hills above the village of Cintra. I was re- 
warded with a splendid view, which comprehended the buildings 
below, the groves of Chestnut, Oak, Cork, Lemon, Orange, and 
Pomegranate, and many miles of the grassy undulating plains of 
Portugal, where I distinctly saw the lines of Torres Vedras, 
Mafra, and other places of scarcely less note in the Peninsular 
war, described by Napier. The sea is visible in two directions, as 
well as the widened Tagus above Lisbon. I was surprised at 
finding so. much mist and cloud, at such a comparatively low 
elevation, about 2,000 feet, and at first I thought it must be acci- 
dental; but the multitude of Lichens which coated the granite 
rocks, as thickly, though not with such fine species, as in the 
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