ALCOBAgA. 85 



walks and terraces were laid out and to what a distance 

 they extended. Hard by stands a small chapel, rich in 

 carving and gilding, and surrounded by a cemetery wherein 

 the servants of the convent were buried, for the monks 

 themselves were interred within the church. 



And now we re-entered the monastery on the south side 

 and ascended to the library, which is one of the finest 

 rooms I ever saw. It is of immense size, lofty, and with a 

 wide gallery running all round ; with a marble floor, an 

 elaborate ceiling, and three roofs, one above another, in 

 order to exclude all possibility of damp from rain. Here 

 too the walls were of enormous thickness, the windows large 

 and admirably contrived for light, but well-fitting, and 

 provided with ample shutters; and all to ensure a dry 

 atmosphere for the books, and at the same time an even 

 temperature for those who used them. Here indeed was 

 an inviting reading-room for the studious monks ! on the 

 sunny side of the monastery, and looking out on the beau- 

 tiful gardens and do^\Ta the green valley, we may imagine 

 as quiet and peaceful retirement as the most fastidious 

 student could desire. The walls were now empty, and 

 only the shelves remained to mark where the treasures had 

 been ; but there was a time when few monasteries could 

 boast so large a catalogue of books and manuscripts, and 

 none could show so large and well-proportioned a room 

 wherein their collections were contained. 



From this provision for ample supplies of food for the 

 mind let us now turn to the place whence daily issued the 

 enormous supplies of food for the body, which even holy 

 brethren needed; and perhaps the kitchen struck us as the 

 most remarkable portion of the monastery, for it appealed 

 to our senses in unmistakable language, and no words 

 were needed to tell on what a colossal scale the preparation 

 of monastic dinners was carried on there. We are told by 

 the statistical Murphy, that it measures one hundred feet in 



