178 Portugal Illustrated. [Aueusr, 
however, that the aspect of the meat brought into Lisbon, is very dif- 
ferent from that which we see in London; and that the appearance 
of the vehicle—the mode of conveying it, &c.—is considerably more 
slovenly. Fish, fruit and vegetables, are to be had in excellent order 
in Lisbon ; and the shrimps—as large as our English prawns, and very 
abundant—and the fresh caught sardinhas, are delicacies upon which the 
most accurate gastronome, even although of Paris or London, can form 
but one opinion. In the more distant parts of Portugal, on the other 
hand, the necessaries, and even the luxuries of life, may be obtained at 
an almost incredibly low rate. Mr. Kinsey says— 
* Tn the fortified town of Elvas, situated near the Guadiana, on the frontier 
of the Alentejo, about three leagues and a half from Badajoz, on the left bank 
of the river, a good family house may be procured, as has been stated, for 
about six pounds for the twelvemonth. Bread of the finest quality may be 
obtained from Badajoz for one penny the pound, and meat from two-pence to 
four-pence ; wine one penny the bottle; milk one penny a full quart; oranges 
twelve the penny ; three pomegranates for two-pence, and a turkey for about 
one shilling and sixpence. Colonial produce, however, is nearly ten per cent. 
dearer than in Lisbon, owing to the additional charge for carriage ; but even 
in Elvas very good Brazil coffee is to be purchased for about fourteen-pence 
the pound, and refined sugar for sixpence.” re 
The “ fortified town of Elvas,’ if meat and wine could be had for 
nothing in it, is a place which we should commiserate any body who 
was forced to dwell in. But the town of Estremoz, about eighteen 
miles nearer Lisbon, is one of the most delightful situations in the 
whole Alemtejo ; and, as the road between that and Elvas is a reason- 
ably good one, we should suppose, the distance would not produce any 
material difference of price. ; : 
The English troops under General Clinton, were in Portugal at the 
time of our author’s visit ; but of their reception or treatment by the 
inhabitants, he says little; and his notices or observations, taken gene- 
rally, upon the struggle in which he finds the country engaged, convey 
little that is new, or that can assist the reader in any opinion as to the 
probable termination of it. This is a subject which has already been 
more than once treated in our Magazine ; and it is not our intention, at 
present, to enter into any lengthy argument or discussion of it. For 
the time, the struggle has now terminated ; but the question between 
free institutions and despotism—education and improvement, or con- 
tinued bigotry and sottish ignorance—has not terminated ; and twelve 
months will not elapse before it will revive. The really liberal party in 
the kingdom—we speak of that party which desired a free govern- 
ment, religious toleration, and the instruetion and improvement of their 
fellow men—not of those who joined the ranks of the Constitutionalists, 
because their interests, or their attachments, carried them to the side of 
Don Pedro rather than of Don Miguel—that party, ever since the 
death of John the Sixth, have been combating with a weight about 
their necks. In maintaining that which they meant should be the cause 
of liberty, they were in fact maintaining, and compelled to maintain, at 
least the temporary dependence of Portugal upon the colonial kingdom 
of Brazil. The national pride—at all hazards—refused to endure this 
indignity ; and it is not surprising that it should have refused to endure 
it. Liberty, and the charter, desirable as they might have been under 
other auspices, were intolerable as presented (coupled with the honour 
of a “ Regency”) by am ex-colony tothe parent state. The ery for 
the “ absolute king!” was a call for the “ independent king ;” for such 
aking as would not be a servant to the crown of Brazil, and such a 
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