LISBON. 29 



whiteness, but exposure to the air gradually tinges it in 

 great part with a brilliant yellow colour, which again here 

 and there tones away into a rich brown. The effect is 

 extremely good, and the elaborate carving of the exterior, 

 the peculiar mouldings, and the handsome though quaint 

 tracery of the windows, derive very considerable advantage 

 from the rich liue which has overspread the whole. 80 

 remarkable is the architecture of this church, and withal 

 so highly finished are the decorations with which it is 

 covered, that w^e were never tired of examining its many 

 peculiarities. To very severe connoisseurs indeed, who see 

 nothing attractive in ecclesiastical buildings which do not 

 come up to their standard of what is absolutely correct, 

 and who despise everything but pure Grothic, this anoma- 

 lous style may doubtless appear debased, and be rejected 

 as of little merit ; and, indeed, I have heard the church of 

 Bel em decried by such enthusiasts for Grothic work. But, 

 in face of such adverse criticism, I venture to think that 

 the few examples we possess of this style are of exceeding 

 interest, inasmuch as they appear to belong exclusively to 

 the Portuguese, and are not to be met with beyond the 

 limits of that country. How to define this Portuguese 

 style I know not, for we can neither describe it as Moorish 

 or Saracenic, nor flamboyant. By some writers, indeed, it 

 has been styled ' modern Norman Gothic ;' but I venture 

 to think that such a designation is hardly correct. How- 

 ever, whatever may be its title, there can be no question 

 that, whether we pause over the exterior with its magnifi- 

 cent porch, so richly adorned with sculpture, and the battle- 

 ments such as I had never seen before ; or whether we 

 examine the interior, with its tall and slender columns 

 sculptured from top to bottom, the well-groined roof, and 

 the deeply-cut mouldings and decorations of a variety of 

 forms, we w^ere always impressed with the elaborate finish 

 and the exquisite beauty of the whole ; and this feeling of 



