94 A SPRING TOUR IN PORTUGAL. 



church, given in the single page which alone treats of 

 Batalha, in Mr. Fergusson's * Illustrated Handbook of 

 Architecture:' and even this ground-plan is copied from 

 Murphy's book. Of descriptions indeed there are several, 

 the most accurate and exhaustive of which is the admirable 

 account given in the Handbook, to which I beg to refer 

 my readers for more detailed information than I can give. 

 We spent several days at Batalha, whilst F. made quite 

 a large series of photographs of the church, the cloisters, 

 the Founder's Chapel, the Capella wiperfetta, and many 

 other lovely morsels which demanded the attention of the 

 camera, so that we had ample time for examining this 

 wondrous work of art. Moreover, we made our grand tour 

 of inspection under peculiarly favourable circumstances, 

 for on the day of our arrival our excellent friend, Senhor 

 Manoel Grimes Ferreira da Costa, drove over from Alco- 

 baya with two companions and acted as our interpreter, 

 and pointed out to us everything worthy of observation ; 

 and with him and his friends we rambled over every por- 

 tion of the buildings, even to the roof of the cloisters and 

 church and to the top of the spire. Nor were we left to 

 our own unaided investigations when our most kind guides 

 had driven back to Alcoba^a, for hard by the estalagem 

 where we lodged dwelt the architect or engineer in charge 

 of the restoration (for here, too, the liberal, large-hearted, 

 enthusiastic Dom Fernando, the father of the king, is 

 carrying on the work of restoration so far as his limited 

 resources will allow) ; and whenever we required advice, or 

 became hopelessly entangled in the labyrinths of the Por- 

 tuguese tongue, this excellent Paladin, well versed in the 

 French language, was summoned by mine host to the 

 rescue, and well and promptly did he obey the summons 

 and deliver us from our slough of despond. Thus we could 



Society. To this I would refer my readers for admirable details of this 

 very elaborate building. 



