Vonga, and in a very wild and romantic dell, about four leagues east of Oliveira d'Azemeis. This mine is in the possession of a German gentleman of great enterprise, and who, were it only on account of the vast number of persons whom he constantly employs, merits far more encouragement than the Government has yet deemed it right to afford to him in his very arduous undertakings.

In Portugal there is much to awaken the attention of the politician; but in the present state of parties, the traveller may well eschew politics, in a country in which he will probably sojourn but a few months, unless he should think, as but too often happens, that his opinions would be valuable inversely as were his means of forming them correctly.

To the "economist," the elaborate work of Balbi is recommended, which work is entitled "Essai statistique sur le Royaume de Portugal," Paris, 1822. It contains an amount of information which will in vain be looked for elsewhere; though that information may be sometimes too minute, yet the lover of statistics will find it to be a valuable book, and the more so as Balbi, in composing it, received every assistance from the then existing Government.

A very useful publication was printed, in 2 vols.

8vo, at Rio de Janeiro, in 1850, by Paulo Perestrello da Camara, called "Diccionario Geographico, Historico, Politico, e Litterario do Reino de Portugal e sens Dominios;" the first volume of which is a gazetteer of Portugal and its Colonies, and from which the traveller may obtain much useful information respecting the different cities, towns, &c. "Les Arts en Portugal," Paris, 1846, the work of Le Comte A. Raczynski, is referred to as containing all that can be written on the fine arts in Portugal.

For an attractive description of some of the exquisitely beautiful portions of Portugal, Lord Carnarvon's work* should be read carefully, since he was peculiarly qualified to appreciate and to describe the abounding beauties of that lovely land, he having had both the eye and the pen of a poet, and having spared no pains to see, and having been deterred by no difficulties from reaching, its separate provinces; and it is to be regretted that, with his powers of description, his extensive journeys from the north to the utmost south did not embrace all the truly majestic parts of the country, for he did not visit the Gerez, the Outeiro-Maior, and the Estrella Mountains. By the quotations made from his work, the reader will learn what is the character

* 66

'Portugal and Gallicia"-in Murray's Home and Colonial Library.

of much of the scenery of Portugal; and if some errors have crept into his book, and if its poetical tone sometimes admits of being a little modified, yet his beautiful description of what is so very beautiful in itself will be fully appreciated by every lover of the picturesque and the sublime. The equitable estimate of the Portuguese character, which it contains, makes this work the more valuable. "The Letters of Mrs. Baillie," written in Lisbon thirty years ago, convey a clear idea of the customs and manners of the Portuguese; and they are written in a discriminating spirit, and deserve. notice on account of the opportunities which she enjoyed of entering into some of the best society of the capital.

There is one bulky work which was written in 1827, entitled "Portugal Illustrated," which would be valuable if its contents were as attractive as are its paper, print, and embellishments; but the very short time that its author was in Portugal, and the few portions of the country which he actually visited, scarcely afforded him the means of writing his very large volume, either with authority or with accuracy. The brief review, however, of the literary history of Portugal, communicated to him in substance by Senhor Garrett, and to be found in

the second supplementary letter (page 525), is worth the attention of such persons as are scarcely aware that Portugal ever produced any other poet than Camoens; who have never read the "Bibliotheca Lusitana;" nor heard of João de Barros, the Livy of Portugal, nor of Antonio Vieyra, the eloquent preacher, and the reputed author of that witty satire," Arte de Furtar," the Art of Stealing; an edition of which, in wily mood, was once dedicated to a Fidalgo not over remarkable for his integrity. Truly the English, as yet, know as little of the ancient and modern literature of Portugal as they do of its physical beauty; to those, however, who are interested in both, it is pleasant to think that the ancient renown of Portugal in letters is being revived, in the talented and very beautiful history of his own country, by Senhor Herculano, the Macaulay of Portugal.

There is scarcely any difficulty now in going to Portugal, for a steamer sails from Southampton for Lisbon on the 7th, 17th, and 27th of every month, or on the following day, when any of those days should fall on a Sunday, and generally enters Vigo Bay in three days; and, weather permitting, calls off Oporto, and arrives in five or six days at Lisbon, from which city a steamer occa

sionally sails for Oporto, at which place the traveller is recommended to commence his excursions, the province of Minho excelling all others in Portugal in whatever is fertile and picturesque, and being equal, if not superior, in grandeur to the district of the Estrella Mountains. Of this province the author of "Portugal and Gallicia" thus writes: -"I had now traversed the Entre Minho twice, and during my second journey through the country was still more impressed with a sense of its surpassing beauty. All that is most grateful in cultivated scenery, and that is most striking in the wild landscape, have combined to render this district a fairy land. His heart must be insensible to external influences who can behold, without delight, or quit without regret, such a favoured country.”

The ordinary mode of travelling is on horses or mules, which can be hired for about 5s. 6d. per: day, including their food; but the arrieiro who accompanies them must be maintained at the cost of him who hires them, and he likewise expects to receive a gratuity. When guides are wanted, great care should be taken to learn that they have travelled the road often enough to be well acquainted with it, especially in the mountain districts, where few know any places, and the tracks