66 A SPRING TOUR IN PORTUGAL. 



pression of solemnity and even of imposing grandeur, all 

 of which is in no way marred by the incongruity of the 

 furniture of side chapels, which so generally occupy Eoman 

 Catholic churches, and where tawdry ornament and gaudy 

 tinsel so often offend the eye of the man of taste. But if 

 the rest of the building depends more on its admirable 

 proportions, its considerable height, and its general archi- 

 tectural features for its claims to our notice, the choir may 

 well challenge a critical inspection for the rich decorations 

 with which it is provided. It is literally lined and roofed 

 with polished marbles of great variety, many of which are 

 of no little rarity as well as exquisite beauty ; this is more 

 especially the case with regard to the columns of marble 

 at the east end, and the marble figures which form a 

 spirited group admirably executed by no ordinary sculptor. 

 And even the picture over the high altar, which has been 

 so unfortunate as to attract adverse criticism from certain 

 connoisseurs, appeared to me of very great merit; but 

 here I would speak with difiidence becoming one who is 

 venturing on dangerous ground, and who does not feel 

 equal to run a tilt with fastidious art critics. In short, 

 the general impression with which I left the building 

 amounted to this, that it was a cathedral of no ordinary 

 interest ; and that while making no great pretensions to 

 merit, either as regards the architecture of the building or 

 its decorations, it combined a harmony of detail, an ele- 

 gance and a finish, and in the choir a richness of material 

 and a display of artistic skill, which might be searched for 

 in vain in many more renowned churches. 



Hard by the cathedral, upon which indeed it abuts, 

 stands the palace of the Archbishop, and into it I was con- 

 ducted by a verger through a side door from the cathedral 

 itself; my object being to see the library of his Eminence 

 the Cardinal Archbishop, of whose varied treasures I had 

 heard glowing reports, and for which I was armed with a 



