56 A SPRING TOUR IN PORTUGAL. 



possession of the famous Joao de Castro. There is the 

 Cork Convent, so called from the lining of cork wherewith 

 the walls are cased in this semi-siibterranean monastery. 

 And here I am reminded that I must not take leave of 

 Cintra without special mention of the cork trees, which 

 grow here in greater profusion and to a larger size than 

 I have ever seen elsewhere. Moreover, all parts of the 

 tree — trunk, limbs, and branches — are fringed with the 

 elegant maiden-hair fern, which seems to get a footing in 

 the rough bark and cling and grow in the most surprising 

 manner. The general aspect of the cork tree is very much 

 that of the oak — the same fantastic twist of the branches, 

 the same rugged bark, the same expansive spread, over- 

 shadowing a large space of ground; and with the luxuriant 

 undergrowth which prevails here, it is one of the most 

 picturesque, as well as one of the most umbrageous trees of 

 the forest. Next to the cork, the olive is the most conspi- 

 cuous tree at Cintra, and it is preserved and tended with 

 considerable care ; and, under the favourable conditions of 

 sufficient heat and an ample supply of water to the roots, 

 it attains a size as well as a vigour which cannot be sur- 

 passed. English travellers are apt to decry the olive as of 

 a dull, dusty colour, and with no pretensions to beauty; 

 but I have long learned to see infinite attractions in this 

 singular tree ; and those who have lived in sultry weather 

 near an olive-yard know what a grateful shade from a glar- 

 ing sun these distorted trees offer, and how pleasantly their 

 silvery leaves shimmer in the lightest breeze, and rustle 

 and murmur with a soothing, gentle whisper, very conducive 

 to repose. 



Both the cork and olive, as well as the chestnut, abound 

 throughout the length and breadth of Portugal, but 

 nowhere do they reach a greater degree of perfection than 

 at Cintra, which is essentially the home of these southern 

 trees, and where soil and climate combine to supply the 



