784 ' LISBON. 
broad. The river is often covered with (hips, and large 
men of war may lie oppofite to the town. The fcene is 
interefting ; and the market-town called Almada, with its 
church on the fummit of the hill, and the Englilh hofpi- 
tal at the foot of it, enlivens the picture. The fide of 
Lilbon towards the country confifts entirely of hills, from 
which are feen only the higheft edifices of the town; and 
the traveller arrives fuddenly in the city before he is aware 
of it. The adjacent country, particularly on the north 
and eaft fides, to a confiderable diftance, is covered with 
large gardens furrounded with high walls. Thefe gardens 
are called in Portuguefe quintas', and they generally con¬ 
tain plantations of orange and olive trees, and fometimes 
corn-fields, and even vineyards. Beyond the weftern part 
of Lifbon the country prefents naked and rocky hills; 
but fome of thefe are luxuriantly fertile. The hills, in¬ 
deed, form the meadows of Lilbon. The foil round the 
city cdnfifts of lime-fione and bafalt. Clofie to the north 
fide of the town is the famous aqueduct, conftrucfed of a 
kind of white marble, and completed in 1738. It ferves 
to convey water from feveral fprings fituated at a diftance 
of three leagues, near the village of Bellas, being in fome 
parts conducted under-ground. Near the town it paffes 
over a deep valley, and refts on feveral bold arches, the 
largeft of which is 250 feet high, and 116 broad. Its 
pointed arches feem changed, when viewed from beneath 
it, into mnjeftic vaults that re-echo every found. The 
•whole length of the aquedudf is 2600 feet. In the middle 
is a covered arch-way of feven or eight feet, where the 
water flows on each fide through a tunnel of Hone. With¬ 
out this a'rched way and on each fide is a path, where two 
perfons can walk abreaft, with a parapet. The water en¬ 
ters the town at a place called da Amoreira, when it di¬ 
vides into feveral other aquedufts, and fupplies the foun¬ 
tains, which, though formed in a bad tafte, are ornamen¬ 
tal. Here the gallegos draw water in fmall barrels, and 
cry it about the ftreets. The water is very good, con¬ 
taining a portion of oxygenated calcareous earth ; its 
•fources being in lime-ftone hills. The trees that grow on 
the north fide of Lilbon are chiefly olive and orange-trees. 
The latter are propagated by feed, and afterwards grafted. 
In December and January the oranges begin to turn red, 
and at the end of January and in February, before they 
are ripe and fweet, they are gathered for exportation. 
Towards the end of March and in April they are very 
good, but delicate perfons will not eat them till the be¬ 
ginning of May ; at which time they begin to be perfect¬ 
ly fweet and well-flavoured. One tree frequently bears 
1500 oranges, and fometimes 2000, but rarely 2500. In 
the vicinity of Lilbon the harvelt is in May, and the corn 
is thralhed as it is with us ; but in fome parts it is trodden 
out by horfes or oxen, for which purpofe a floor is made 
in the fields. The Portuguefe live chiefly on meat and 
filh ; but are not fond of vegetables. The bread is gene¬ 
rally bad. Potatoes are not cultivated, but imported from 
England and Ireland. The fruits molt common are oranges 
and grapes. In the vicinity of Lilbon is a fmall vine¬ 
yard, that of Carcavella, or Carcavelos, yielding a pecu¬ 
liar grape, which gives name to the Lilbon wine called 
Carcavella ; a wine that is laid to be generally fabricated 
in London. 
The badnefs of the police ftrikes every foreigner on en¬ 
tering Lilbon. The filth is fulfered to lie in heaps in the 
ftreets, unlefs it Ihould be walbed away by the rains. The 
ftreets are rendered Itill more inconvenient by want of 
light : a holt of dogs, without matters, and preying on 
the public, wander about like hungry wolves; and, Itiil 
vvorfe than thefe, .an army of banditti. The high walls 
of the quintas in the town, with the Vacant and defected 
grounds, invite to robbery and murder, which are Itiil 
farther favoured by the badnefs of the police. Thefe 
crimes are always perpetrated with knives, though all 
pointed knives are prohibited. Murders generally arife 
from revenge or jealoufy ; robbers are moftly contented 
.with threats. The Ipring is the molt dangerous time 5 
and the boldnefs of the alfalfins is aftonifliing. On a faft- 
day, in a procellion in honour of St. Rochus, (fays Mr. 
Link,) a man was murdered in open day in the throng, 
at five o’clock in the afternoon.. In the fummer of the 
fame year a man was robbed at noon, between the walls, 
near the prince of Waldeck’s, who was witnefs to the tranf- 
aCtion. The robbers were even fo bold as to attack 
coaches. But the criminal almoft always efcaped, the 
compaffion of the Portuguefe being fucli, that every one 
aflifts him in his flight. They exclaim C out a din ho! or 
“ Alas! poor man !” and every thing is done to aftilt him. 
The puniihment of death is entirely done away, and the 
culprit is, lent to the Indies or Angola; a puniihment 
which by no means gives the irfipreflion of death, though 
the climates of both are fo unwholelbme that deltruction 
is certain. 
The fociety of Lilbon is dull and melancholy, efpecially 
when compared with that of large Spanilli cities. The 
inhabitants neither walk nor ride for mere amufement; 
there is little luxury, nor are there any fine equipages. 
Many fervants are kept by the higher families; but they 
are poorly clad, and ill fed. One of the principal amufe- 
ments of the rich is the Italian opera, which is fupported 
by private individuals. The play-houfe is little vifited 
by perfons of condition ; here no women perform ; and 
the players are frequently artifans. The Circus for the 
bull-fights is but a (hort diftance from the theatres. This 
amufement is declining very fall; and, after all, perhaps 
the manner of tearing the bulls with maftiffs, as in Eng¬ 
land and other parts of Europe, is not lefs barbarous than 
the manner of tormenting them in Spain and Portugal ; 
but we are apt to fee defeats in our neighbours, whilft we 
are blind to our own; like the Lamian witches, who, ac¬ 
cording to the facetious Rabelais, in foreign places had 
the penetration of a lynx, but at home they took out their 
eyes, and laid them by. 
As we have already given an ample account of the bull¬ 
fights in Spain, (vol. iii. p. 501.) it is unnecelfary to add 
thofe of Lilbon, which are almoft fimilar. A fcene of a 
more novel nature invites our attention; that is, the 
manner of catching black cattle in Brafil ; thus defcribed 
by Mr. Murphy: “ I was -prefent at the Circus when this 
curious fpeftacle was exhibited, the firft of the kind, as I 
fras told, ever reprefented in Lilbon. It conveyed a good 
idea of the manner in which the inhabitants of that fer¬ 
tile region catch their cattle. They kill the animals for 
the fake of the bides, which are brought to Portugal to be 
manufactured. Of the flelh I underftand the Brafilians 
make but little account; they barely take as much as is 
fufficient for prefent exigence, and leave the relLa prey to 
the birds and beafts of the forefts. The Circus was very 
crowded on this occafion. About five in the afternoon a 
native of Pernambuca entered the arena mounted upon a 
fpirited horfe of the Arabian breed. The rider was of a 
copper colour, of a ftrong and active,figure, his hair black, 
and his head uncovered. He wore a loofe mantle, fome- 
what like the paludamentum of the ancient Romans. 
The Ikin of a wild beaft was thrown loofely over the horfe 
inftead of a laddie; from which were fufpended two cords 
for itirrups. The whole appeared quite in character. As 
loon as the cavalier had paid his obe-ifance to the audi¬ 
ence, a bull, whole natural ferocity was heightened in the 
(tall, ruihed in, and had nearly overturned him in the firft: 
onfet ; the fleetnefs of .his horfe, and the dexterity with 
which he managed the reins, only could have faved his 
life. The furious an.imal purfued him feveral times round 
the arena till he became tired, after which he ftood pant¬ 
ing in the middle of the ring. The horfeman Itiil con¬ 
tinued his circular courfe at an eafy pace, holding a long 
cord in his hand, with a flip-knot at the end of u ; hav¬ 
ing watched a proper opportunity, he call it over the horns 
of the bull, and rode twice round him; then, ordering the 
gate to be thrown open, he made off at full fpped till he 
came to .the full length of the cord; upon which he re¬ 
ceived a check that drew him on his back, and made the 
horfe 
