PORTUGAL. 



121 



Portugal, end of the world wa coming." The fall of rnin, p.ir- 

 v -*~ , ~- - ' ticularly in winter, is very considerable, and is oltrn 

 BO rapid, (though of short continuance,) that rivers, 

 which had been nearly dried up, not uncommonly in 

 a few hours overflow their banks, and rush in tor- 

 nuts in all directions. At Lisbon, which is probably 

 the mildest and most salubrious spot in the kingdom, 

 and which is much resorted to by persons from Great 

 Itrit.-iin threatened with consumption and pulmonary 

 complaints, the days of fair weather are computed 'to 

 amount to 200 in the year ; while those of settled rain 

 seldom ure known to exceed 80. The medial heat is 

 bout 60- 



l The physical appearance of Portugal is extremely 

 erance.diversified and interesting. Elegant vineyards, grovi - 

 of orange and lemon trees, verdant vales, and meadows, 

 rivers of every degree of magnitude, dashing down 

 craggy steeps, or meandering in valleys, together with 

 extensive mountain ridges, wild and majestic, are the 

 features for which this country is remarkable. Nume- 

 rous valleys of the most picturesque description, are 

 formed by the mountain chains, with which Portugal 

 so much abounds ; but the mos>t rich and celebrated 

 meadow land lies in the north-west, between the Douro 

 and the Minho ; and there are, besides, two extremely 

 extensive plains, one to the south of the Tagus, near 

 Santarem, and the other at the mouth of the Vouga in 

 the north. Notwithstanding these valleys and plains, 

 however, Portugal may in some respects be denomi- 

 nated a mountainous country. Several of the great 

 mountain chains of Spain penetrate into it, and inter- 

 secting it from east to west, terminate in large promon- 

 tories in the Atlantic. Of these the most remarkable are 

 the Serra de Estrella, which traverses the province of 

 Beira, and the Serra de Monchique in Algarve, of which 

 C;ipe St. Vincent forms the extremity. There are also 

 various clusters of mountains, unconnected with any 

 of the Spanish chains, such as those in the north-east 

 in Tras os Monies, those which separate Alentejo 

 from Algarve, and Cintra situated about five leagues 

 south-west of Lisbon, and known to navigators as the 

 Cape in which it terminates, and denominated Calo 

 de Rocca, the most westerly part, not only of Por- 

 tugal, but of Europe. These mountains r.re general- 

 ly rocky, chiefly granitic, and are barren, if we except 

 Monte Junto, the ancient Sagrus in Estremadura, which 

 is clothed with verdure, ami affords a rich pasturage. 

 The highest mountains in Portugal do not exceed six 

 thousand feet, while in some cases the same chain in 

 Spain may be estimated at eight thousand. For a more 

 minute description of the mountains of Portugal, we 

 refer the reader to Link's Travels in Spain, (Lond. 1801, 

 one vol. 8vo.) decidedly the best book on this subject 

 yet published. 



River*. Few countries can boast of a greater number of rivers 



'than Portugal. Castro enumerates about two hundred, 

 great and small, of which some are very large, beauti- 

 ful, and ni.-ijeatic. For the largest, as is the cuse \vitli 

 the mountains as mentioned above, this country is in- 

 debted to Spain, the Tagus, the Douro, the Minho, 

 and the Guadiana, having their origin in that kingdom. 

 The Tagus rises in the mountains of Molina, at the ex- 

 tremity of Castile, next to Arragon, whence flowing in 

 a direction nearly west, it falls into the Atlantic, after 

 a course of 450 miles, of which 150 are in Portugal, 

 and the remainder in Spain. From the numerous tri- 

 butary streams by which it is augmented, its waters 

 become very copious ere it approaches Lisbon, where 

 it meets a branch of the Atlantic, and forms one of the 



VOL. XVII. PART I. 



noblest harliours in the world for extent, depth, and 1'oriujil. 

 .shelter. Tins river, like the Nile, annually overflow* """"Y"'* 

 its banks, and inundates the adjacent champagne codn- 

 try ; a circumstance which renders the soil so exceed" 

 ingly fertile, that, to use the words of an excellent wri- 

 ter, " the farmers have often reaped an abundant crop 

 of excellent wheat within the space of fifty days from 

 the time of sowing the grain. And immediately after 

 Indian corn has been sown in the same ground, and 

 become ripe in nearly the same epace of time." (Mur- 

 phy's State of Society in Portugal, 4to. p. 15.) These 

 inundations, however, though generally favourable, are 

 not unfrequently attended with very injurious conse- 

 quences ; for when the overflow happens to be unusu- 

 ally great, the water remains so long that the crop* are 

 either entirely destroyed, or greatly injured by mildew. 

 The Tagus, however, whatever be its other character- 

 istics, is navigable for no considerable distance farther 

 than Li>l;on. This inconvenience, to unfavourable to 

 the internal communication of the kingdom, the Por- 

 tuguese have as yet wanted enterprise to attempt to 

 remove, though, according to Mr. Murphy, this ri 

 might, without much ingenuity or much expence, be 

 made navigable so far east as Alcantara, on the front 

 of Spain. It is not improbable indeed that not only 

 this much may in time be effected, but that a commu- 

 nication may be thus opened between the capitals of 

 Spain and Portugal ; an object worthy the attention of 

 the respective governments of the two countries. The 

 Douro, another important river of Portugal/ also has 

 its origin in Spain ; and after a course of S6'0 miles 

 nearly due west, flows into the Atlantic, four miles be- 

 low the city of Oporto. It is next to the Tiigus in 

 point of size and copiousness of waters, but, unlike th;;t 

 river, it is navigable above sixty miles from its mouth. 

 It is often so rapid in its course, from sudden falls of 

 rain, that for several days the communication between 

 the inhabitants on the opposite banks is either very 

 dangerous or entirely interrupted, as there are no 

 bridges, and boats cannot always venture to cross it. 

 Its course is generally rugged, and its channel in some 

 places reduced to extremely narrow limits by ridges of 

 lofty mountains, yet few rivers can exhibit such sweet 

 and inviting scenes as those connected with the Douro 

 in its passage through the rich and beautiful province 

 of Entre Douro e Minho. The Minho, next in im- 

 portance to the Tagus and the Douro, takes its origin 

 in Gallicia, and flowing in a westerly direction, and 

 forming the northern boundary of Poitugal, falls into 

 the Atlantic. Its course extends to about a hundred 

 miles. The Guadiana, the only other very large river 

 belonging to this kingdom, rises in New Castile, runs 

 west till it enters Portugal, then assumes a southerly 

 direction, and falls into the Atlantic, forming, for a 

 considerable way, the south-eastern boundary of the 

 kingdom. The Lima is a small river that haiits source 

 in Gallicia. and flows through the province of Entre 

 Douro e Minho into the Atlantic. Pliny absurdly 

 relates of this stream, that, among its other properties, 

 it possessed that by which those who cro. sed it no 

 longer remembered the former occurrences of their livt - , 

 an opinion which has of course been daily disproved 

 since the days of that writer. The most important na- 

 tive Portuguese rivers are the Mondego, the Votiga, and 

 the Sadaon. The Sadaon, not otherwise remarkable, 

 forms the celebrated harbour of St. Ubes or Setubal. 

 But of these native streams, tin largest H the Mor.dep-.i, 

 which has its origin in the Serra de Estrella, in the 

 province of Beira, flows past the ancient city of Coim 1 



