liIKKCTKJNS FOK ToriJISTS. 259 



TO rOKTlGAI. C'OVK. 



Piiituj^Ml Covf, nine iiiih's noitli-wcst I'loiu St. John's, is a spot 

 -vsliicli no tourist sliould omit visiting. The road is excellent aiul 

 for the tirst four miles presents a continual ascent ; but when the 

 :i^ummit or "height of land" is reached, if the day be clear, a 

 splendid j)anorama presents itself. Away in the distance, on the 

 light, is the grand old ocean, lieaving gently, under the summer 

 breeze, like " the bosom of an infant asleep." A white sail or 

 two are visible, or perhap- half a dozen lonely wanderers ol' the 

 deeji that were born of (Greenland glaciers and are now as tower- 

 ing icebergs sailing past to meet their doom in the waini waters 

 .of the Gulf Stream. Tlie whole range of dark cliffs and lieail- 

 lands from Cape Spear to the entrance of CVmcjeption Bay, i.s 

 visilde from this eminence. Two miles further Windsor Lake 

 is pas.sed, from which the city is supplied with Avater. Then 

 .comes a gradual descent, liy a winding road, through a little 

 valley of rare beauty with a brook flowing at the foot of its eu- 

 jiompassing rocks, till at a sudden turn ot tlie road, Conception 

 Bay in all its l<eauty Ijursts into view. The whole scene can be 

 taken in at a glance — Belle Isle (d miles long) ; the whole range 

 .of the northern shore of the bay, 30 miles distant, and the lonely 

 rocky isle of Baccalieu, dindy visible in the distance at the mouth 

 ,of this noble sheet of water. On the south shore is the quaint 

 fishing village of Portugal Cove, with its wooden houses nestling 

 .amid the clefts of the rocks, and its little water-fall tumbling 

 .over the cliffs into the sea. The bold navigator Cortereal dis- 

 •covered this bay in 1501, and named the roadstead after, his 

 country. Half a day may be pleasantly spent here admiring the 

 great over-hanging cliffs, the huge boulders scattered all around, 

 the rugged hills ; and chatting with the primitive people who 

 here fight life's battle. The sea has been the grave of many of 

 their kindred ; but is it not too, with all its wild restlessness, 

 -their bountiful mother from whose prolific bosom they derive 

 their means of subsistence I The return to St. John's is best 

 made vi(( Broad Cove, by the Thorburn Road, which affords a 

 .change of scene and many delightful views. A visit to Portugal 

 Cove is a matter that will be remembered. 



