8. DRESS. The common mode of dress is similar to that of Spain, though among the higher classes, the English or European dress is common. The ladies wear a black garment over a black petticoat, and at Lisbon cover the head and breast with a manto. The common class of females wear cloaks and petticoats of woolen, edged with ribands or gold lace; women of all ranks wear many trinkets and jewels. Many of the common people still wear the ancient habit, the petticoat and jacket. The fashion of dress is subject to little change, and milliners or mantua-makers do not thrive at Lisbon.

9. LANGUAGE. The language is somewhat similar to the Castilian, and has a few French and Arabic words. It is devoid of the guttural sounds so common in the Spanish; yet its nasal terminations somewhat detract from its harmony.

10. MANNER OF BUILDING. There are few monuments of architecture, and the general manner of building is similar though inferior, to that of Spain.

11. FOOD AND DRINK. The Portuguese are temperate; the men do not generally drink wine and the females never do; little tobacco is used in any way. Bread called broa made of Indian corn, forms the principal food of the common people, and vegetables are much used. The wines of Portugal are sold under the direction of a company who mix them, for which reason those of the best quality can never be had pure. The port wines and the white wines are thus mixed. The wines of Setubal are of a good quality, both dry and sweet. Bucellas, near Lisbon, produces a delicate white wine

resembling Barsac.

12. DISEASES. Fevers are not uncommon in many parts of Portugal. Rheumatism and pleurisy are somewhat frequent in the north. The salt marshes of the coast produce dropsy and obstructions. The working classes in some parts are subject to a sort of leprosy. In the south, an inflammatory disease is occasioned by eating unripe figs.

13. TRAVELLING. The traveller in Portugal is obliged, on many of the routes, to carry all his accommodations with him, even beds, on sumpter mules, if he should be fastidious in point of lodging. The facilities for travelling are less than in Spain, though there is less danger from robbers.

14. CHARACTER, Manners, &c. With some resemblance to the Spanish people, the Portuguese have yet a great antipathy to them. The different ranks of society are as distinct as in Spain; and the influence of the clergy is as great, and may be traced in the ignorance and bigotry of the people. The Portuguese are not particularly social, but they are gentle, domestic, and fond of retirement. Their character and customs are not liable to change; travellers are few, and there is little intercommunication between different parts of the country. In the absence of improvement, the Portuguese are greatly bound to ancient, ceremony and usage. No person who regards his own dignity would walk to make a call of ceremony on another; and it would be an insult upon those he visits to appear without a sword and chapeau, or without spurs to his boots. The peasants are civil and salute every body by taking off their hats and saying the Lord preserve you many years.' The common people have some peculiar traits of pride. They will draw, but not carry a burden. The Gallegos, however, are the common porters and have no such scruples. The country is overrun with beggars, who are to the last degree importunate, and solicit as if demanding a right. The females are more secluded than in Spain, and seldom breathe the fresh air but in going to church. When married they retain their own names. All people are addressed by their christian names. The useful arts are in a low state, and labor everywhere supplies the want of skill. All the implements of agriculture denote an unenlightened state of society.

15. AMUSEMENTS. Bullfights, billiards, cards and dice, are common amusements, and the guitar and fandango are general among the peasantry. The bullfights are similar to those of Spain, except in a more adventurous practice

of one of the players, whose part it is when the animal plunges at him to seize him by the horns, and to be thus carried round by the bull till his comrades relieve him.

16. EDUCATION. Education is in the lowest state. The task of teaching is imposed upon the monks who are themselves greivously ignorant, and whose interest it is to keep others so. There is but one university, which is at Coimbra, and has a library of 60,000 volumes, and a good botanical garden. There is a small college at Evora; also at Lisbon a college for the nobility and there are in the kingdom 800 elementary schools.

17. ARTS, SCIENCES AND LITERATURE. The arts have hardly an existence in Portugal, and science and literature are much circumscribed. The literature consists chiefly in poetry, and excludes all philosophy. The very Latin partakes of the state of knowledge. The Latin of monks is unintelligible to the learned. Little has been done in Portugal for the mathematics, though something has been effected for geography, natural history, and botany. The music is simple and sweet, and it is chiefly confined to songs. All the best foreign works are prohibited, and everything published is subjected to a strict censorship.

The principal dramatic writer was Gil Vicente, who preceded Lope de Vega, and Calderon. But the great poet of Portugal is Camoens, whose Lusiad is well known beyond the limits of the Portuguese language. Yet so little regard is paid to the memory of this great man, the brightest ornament of his country, that he has not a monumental inscription in the kingdom, to remind the Portuguese of their former glory. His tomb was demolished a few years since, in repairing a church, and the spot where he lies is unknown! 18. RELIGION. The strictest Roman Catholic religion is established in Portugal. The clergy are neither enlightened nor pure in life, and the force. of their evil example is as pernicious as that of the priests in Spain. There is a patriarch, subordinate to the Pope. There are two archbishops and ten bishops. There are 4,262 parishes, 418 convents, and 150 nunneries. The number of the secular clergy is 22,000; of monks 14,000, and of nuns 10,000. The whole number of the clergy is 200,000, or, there is one to every 15 of the people. There is an order of friars' of Divine Providence' who trust to Providence and never go forth to beg. When in want of provisions, they sound the alarm upon the convent bell, and supplies are poured in by the faithful. The mendicant orders are the most numerous, though much land is held by different convents.

19. GOVERNMENT. The government is in effect an absolute monarchy, for the charter is but a dead letter; though the nominal provisions of it are liberal. The legislative body, according to the charter, should consist of a chamber of Peers, and a chamber of Deputies, the latter chosen by the people: the concurrence of both being necessary to the passage of a law.

20. LAWS. The laws are founded on the Civil Law of the Roman empire, and the Canon Law. The edicts of the king have also the force of laws. 21. REVENUE, EXPENDITURES &C. The yearly revenue is about 8,640,800, dollars. It is derived from royal domains, coinage, popish indulgences, masterships of the orders of knighthood, and customs. All these taxes are farmed or let to the highest bidder. The national debt is 24,000,000 dollars, one fourth of which consists of government paper, which is always at a discount of 14 to 20 per cent.

22. ARMY AND NAVY. The peace establishment is about 30,000 land troops. The navy consists of 4 ships of the line, 7 frigates and 18 smaller vessels. There is an establishment of militia who are called out once a month, and are under the direction of the officers of the regular army.

23. COLONIES. Since the separation of Brazil, the Colonies of Portugal have been comparatively unimportant. They consist at present of the Azores or Western Islands in Europe; the Madeira and Cape Verde Islands with a few

other small islands on the coast of Guinea; settlements in Angola and Mozam bique in Africa; and Goa, Timor and Macao in the East.

24. HISTORY. The early history of Portugal is connected with that of Spain. Alphonso VI. King of Castile and Leon, bestowed this country upon Henry of Transtamare, a brother of the Duke of Burgundy, with the title of Count of Portugal, at the same time declaring the country independent of Castile. Henry's son, Alphonso I. won a victory over the Moors, and was crowned king of Portugal by his soldiers, on the field of battle in 1139. Philip II. of Spain conquered the kingdom and annexed it to his own crown in 1581: but the independence of Portugal was restored in 1640. The kingdom was overrun by the French armies in 1807 and the royal family fled to Brazil; but the French evacuated it the following year. The recent usurpation of the crown by Don Miguel has thrown the affairs of Portugal into a state of great disorder, and the government at the present moment is completely unsettled.

CHAPTER LXII.

KINGDOM OF SARDINIA.

1. BOUNDARIES, EXTENT AND DIVISIONS. This kingdom takes its name from the island of Sardinia, yet the most important part is upon the continent. This portion forms the northwestern extremity of Italy, and consists of four principal divisions, namely, 1st. the principality of Piedmont, with Montferrat and a part of the Milanese: 2d. the county of Nice or Nizza: 3d. the Duchy of Savoy 4th. the Duchy of Genoa. This continental portion is bounded by Switzerland on the north: by Austrian Italy and the duchy of Parma on the east by the gulf of Genoa on the south and by France on the west. It extends from 43° 44′ to 46° 20′ N. lat., and from 5 40 to 100 E. lon. being 200 miles in length from north to south and 135 in breadth.

The island of Sardinia constituting the 5th division, lies to the south of Corsica and is separated from it by a narrow strait. It extends from 38° 50′ to 41° 14' N. lat. It is 162 miles in length and 70 in mean breadth. The continental dominions contain 19,125 square miles and the island 9,675. Total 28,800.

2. MOUNTAINS. The Graian Alps separate Piedmont from Savoy. The Pennine Alps separate Piedmont from Savoy and the Valais; they are the highest of all the Alps, and many of their summits are covered with everlasting snow. The Lepontine Alps form a part of the same boundary, and the Cottian Alps on the west, separate Piedmont from France: the summits of these mountains are barren, but their sides are covered with rich pastures and chestnut groves. The Maritime Alps lie between Nice and Piedmont. Near Genoa is the commencement of the long chain of the Apennines, which extend southeasterly through Italy.

3. RIVERS. The mountainous parts give rise to a great number of small streams, which unite to form the Po. The Rhone forms part of the northwestern boundary, and receives the most of those rising on the northern and western slope of the mountains. The Var forms the boundary between Nice and France, and falls into the Mediterranean.

4. LAKES. The lake of Geneva borders this territory on the north, and Lago Maggiore on the northeast. There are many smaller lakes. That of Bourget in Savoy is 627 feet above the sea; it is 10 miles in length, and discharges its waters into the Rhone.

5. ISLAND OF SARDINIA. More than a third of this island is composed of a sandy and stony land, called macchie. A considerable part consists of forests

and pastures, and the remainder amounting to 4,400,000 acres is laid out in cornfields, vineyards, olive grounds, orchards, and gardens; 800,000 acres are devoted to the culture of wheat. The mountains are from 1000 to 3000 feet high, and produce silver, copper, lead, bismuth, antimony and loadstone. Lead is most abundant. The moufflon or wild sheep is common here.

6. CLIMATE. In the valleys of Savoy there is often fine spring weather when the high grounds are covered with snow. In this part the climate is too severe for the southern fruits. The valley of Piedmont is subject to the cold northerly winds from the Alps; yet the air is healthy, and the vine flourishes. In the south the Apennines afford a shelter against the northern blasts here the olive and the fruits of the south prosper. Sardinia has a hot climate; and in the marshy spots, putrid fevers are common in

summer.

7. SOIL. The soil of Savoy is stony, and unfavorable to agriculture. The fertile earth lies in a thin strata on the rocks, and is often washed away by the torrents. In Piedmont, Montferrat, and the Milanese, are level and rich alluvial tracts. The soil in the island of Sardinia is extremely fertile; but the canals which formerly drained it are neglected, and many parts have become pestilential swamps.

8. MINERALS. Mining is almost entirely neglected; though the mountains are rich in minerals. Copper is most abundant. Gold and silver are found in the mountains and valleys; and gold is found in the sands of Tanaro.

9. FACE OF THE COUNTRY. This country exhibits very diversified scenery. Savoy is an Alpine country, separated by an enormous mountain ridge from the Italian peninsula, and intersected by lofty mountains covered with snow and ice. Piedmont and Montferrat form the western extremity of the wide valley of the Po. The maritime districts are mountainous, and the island of Sardinia is intersected by several mountain ridges of small elevation.

10. ROADS. One of the most remarkable objects in this country is the road over Mount Cenis in Savoy. It was begun by Bonaparte in 1803, and was completed at a cost of 7,460,000 francs. It is cut through the solid rock, and is furnished with 26 houses of refuge in the most elevated and exposed parts, so that the road is safe even in winter; these houses are provided with bells, which during fogs are rung from time to time to direct the traveller from one refuge to another. Between France and Savoy is another road called Les echelles; nearly two miles of it consist of a gallery or tunnel through a solid rock of limestone. This road was begun and the greater part of it accomplished by Napoleon. But the Sardinian government had the honor of finishing it.

11. CITIES AND TOWNS. Turin, the capital of the kingdom, is situated in a pleasant valley, on the western bank of the Po, at the foot of a range of beautiful hills. It is the most regularly built of all the Italian cities, with broad, straight and clean streets. It is admired for the symmetry of its squares, the splendor of its hotels, and the general elegance of its houses. It has 4 splendid gates, adorned with pillars and cased with marble; 110 churches, a university and many fine palaces. The royal palace is spacious and surrounded with delightful gardens. The outward view of the city is very imposing, and it has no mean suburbs or mouldering walls. Population 112,000.

Genoa stands on the shore of a broad gulf to which it gives its name. This city spreads over a wide semicircular tract of rocks and declivities, and the aspect of its white buildings ascending in regular progression from the sea, is highly magnificent. The interior consists of streets or rather lanes, 8 or 10 feet wide between immensely high palaces. When you look up, their cornices appear almost to touch across the street, leaving a strip of blue sky be

tween. Two of the streets only are accessible to carriages. The Strada Balbi is one of the most magnificent streets in the world, and is full of splendid palaces. Genoa has a public library of 50,000 volumes, and a university. Its harbor is one of the finest in Europe, and it has a considerable trade. Population 85,000.

Nice is beautifully situated on the Gulf of Genoa, and has a good artificial harbor. The mildness of its climate draws many invalids to this quarter. Pop. 19,645.

Chambery, the chief town of Savoy, occupies a charming spot surrounded by gentle eminences covered with vineyards, pastures and wood, but it is not a well built place. Pop. 11,991.

Alessandria on the Tanaro, a branch of the Po, is the strongest place in the kingdom. It is well built with broad and handsome streets. Population 30,216.

Cagliari, the capital of the island of Sardinia, stands upon a large bay in the south. It is well built with some splendid palaces, a cathedral, 37 churches, a university, and a library of 18,000 volumes. It has little commerce, but the surrounding country produces cotton and indigo. Pop. 25,887. Sassari, in the northern part, has a university and 20,175 inhabitants.

12. AGRICULTURE. The arable land is held by large proprietors who divide their estates into small portions among farmers. The farmers seldom become proprietors, but in general the land descends from father to son. The proprietor receives half the product for rent and the use of the cattle, which are his property: for the meadows he is paid in money. Part of the tools also commonly belong to the proprietor. The farmers are in general very poor. The landed proprietors are rich. In the Apennines and a part of the Genoese territories, the peasants are proprietors, but their only wealth consists in chestnuts, sheep and olives. Wheat, maize and other grain, rice, beans and tobacco are cultivated. Excellent grapes are raised, but the making of wine is not well understood. The olive is cultivated along the coast, and Genoa is productive in oil. Piedmont raises annually 20,000 cwt of silk. 13. COMMERCE. The only important articles of exportation are silk, rice and oil. Genoa is the only port which has any foreign commerce. The island of Sardinia supplies the continental states with salt, and some grain and vegetables.

14. MANUFACTURES. There are manufactures of silk at Genoa to the amount of 1,000,000 to 1,400,000 dollars annually. This city also manufactures paper, soap, chocolate, macaroni, &c. In Piedmont are some manufactures of silk. Nice produces perfumes and scented waters. There are some smelting furnaces in Piedmont and Savoy.

15. FISHERIES. The tunny fisheries of the island of Sardinia are said to produce 1,000,000 francs a year. The coral fishery is also a considerable source of revenue.

16. EDUCATION. Public instruction is entirely in the hands of the clergy and Jesuits. Gymnasiums and High Schools exist in most of the large towns, but little except Latin and scholastic theology are taught in them. The universities, with the exception of those at Turin and Genoa, are very insignificant. It is estimated that there are not 5 individuals in 100 who can read, write and cipher. The censorship is severe. Few foreign books, and hardly any pamphlets or newspapers are allowed to enter the kingdom.

17. GOVERNMENT AND POPULATION. The king of Sardinia is an absolute hereditary monarch. The government is directed by a Supreme Council of State, a Council of Finances, a Council of Government, the Council of Savoy, the Senate of Turin, the Council of Nice and the Council of Genoa. Justice is administered by the nobles. The population according to a census taken in 1826, was 3,800,207, of which 400,607 belonged to the island of Sardinia.