OUTWARD BOUND. 11 



the prickly pear, cactus, aloe, and other tropical plants grow 

 in profusion ; also a beautiful red and yellow shrub of the 

 Borage tribe, which smells deliciously. The geraniums and 

 pelargoniums attain the size of shrubs and trees. A lovely 

 pink pelargonium, creeping over an arbutus to the height of 

 some twelve or fifteen feet, was one mass of flowers. I also 

 saw one fine india-rubber plant (Ficus elastica) about 

 twenty feet high, and as much in diameter, with leaves a 

 foot long. Rather larger than his brother in the study at 

 home ! The heat was very great, but on we went; and after 

 three-quarters of an hour's ascent through picturesque and 

 very steep streets, sometimes mounting steps with vines 

 overhanging the walls, passing fountains surrounded by 

 water-carriers, and people asleep in the shade under the 

 walls, we reached the building and gardens, at the ter- 

 mination of the aqueduct which supplies Lisbon with 

 water. 



This being the most important engineering work in 

 Lisbon, I was most anxious to see it. As a rule, few 

 travellers take the trouble to visit it. The building is a 

 plain square massive edifice, with a good vaulted and 

 groined roof resting on four central pillars. From the flat 

 top, which is surrounded by a wall, there is a splendid 

 view of Lisbon, its gardens and houses, and the Tagus. 

 Inside the house a footway surrounds the reservoir, into 

 which the water pours from a dolphin's mouth over a mass 

 of rock-work. The icy coldness and rushing sound of the 

 water were most refreshing after our walk in the sweltering 

 heat. The size of the reservoir is thirty-two metres square 

 by nine metres deep, so the contents are 1,875,000 gallons. 

 Ascending a steep stone staircase, we arrived at the 

 entrance to the aqueduct, which extends about thirty-six 

 miles into the interior, and is covered throughout The 



