COIMBRA. ir? 



hood the museum of Coimbra will he in a short time very 

 considerably increased ; and with the advance of scientific 

 taste, we may hope that most of the wretched and grotesque 

 deformities which at present represent the various branches 

 of the animal kingdom will be abolished, and more correct 

 specimens be substituted in their stead. For certainly, 

 from the present examples the student in natural history 

 could carry away nothing but erroneous notions ; and as 

 to anatomical structure, that must have been wholly 

 ignored, and lost sight of by those who arranged the col- 

 lection as it now stands. 



From the museum we descended the hill, by a suc- 

 cession of staircases, to the church and convent of Santa 

 Cruz, which ecclesiologically stands at the head of the 

 churches of Coimbra. It is indeed a quaint old build- 

 ing, rebuilt by the French in flamboyant style, with an 

 imposing front; and internally is remarkable, not only 

 for two superb royal tombs, for which see the Hand- 

 book; but also for the strange arrangement of a deep 

 gallery at the west end, which contains the coro alto, 

 and which, though in reality of considerable dimensions, 

 and fitted with admirably carved stalls, lecterns, and 

 other furniture for service, involuntarily reminds one of 

 the old-fashioned western galleries, which we have been 

 at so much pains to abolish from our churches at home. 

 Some of the carved wood was very antique, very quaint 

 and expressive, and had originally been gilt. But our 

 guide was eager to hurry us on to what he evidently con- 

 sidered more attractive treasures ; and leading the way 

 to the sacrarium, triumphantly handed for our inspection 

 case after case containing an infinity of relics ; the tooth 

 of one saint, a small bone or portion of bone of another, 

 and all labelled, like so many specimens of rare fossils. 

 One small glazed frame, measuring a foot square, must 

 have contained relics of fifty saints, all in separate com- 



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