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Religion.

The religion of Portugal is the Roman Catholic, maintained in a state of much more gross superstition than in France or Germany. The inquisition, indeed, no longer interferes with the liberty of conscience, but acts only as an engine of civil power; but a great number of monasteries are still kept up.

The Portuguese language bears a close resemblance to the Spanish, being derived, like it, from the Latin, and equally stately and sonorous. Portugal has produced but few authors of repute; Camoens is the only poet much known to the rest of Europe. Literature is at a very low ebb, and education very ill conducted. The system of Bell and Lancaster has lately been introduced to some

extent.

Gallicians, or Gallegos.

All drudgery is performed by Gallicians, who are literally the hewers of wood and drawers of water for the other inhabitants of the metropolis; they are patient, industrious, and faithful, to a proverb. One of the principal employments, in which they are daily engaged, is supplying the citizens with water, which they carry on their shoulders in small wooden barrels from the different fountains.

Every Gallician in this servitude is obliged, by the police of the city, to carry one of these vessels filled with water to his lodgings in the evening, and in case of fire, to hasten with it to assist in extinguishing the flames at the first sound of the fire-bell. In the houses of the foreign merchants, the Gallicians are the only servants employed, and many of the Portuguese prefer them to the natives in that capacity: they cook the victuals, clean the rooms, and make the beds. If there be any female servants in the house, under the age of thirty-five, they are invisible, except to the mistress of the house and her daughters; after this age, they are left to their own discretion.

Beggars.

Beggars are a formidable class in this country. Several laws have been enacted, from time to time, to diminish the number, and restrain the licentiousness of this vagrant train; but they still ramble about, and infest every place, not intreating charity, but demanding it. At night they assemble in hordes, at the best mansion they can find, and having taken up their abode in one of the out-offices, they call for whatever they stand in need of, like travellers at an inn; here they claim the privilege of tarrying three days, if agreeable to them.

When a gang of these sturdy fellows meet a decent person on the highway, he must offer them money; and it sometimes happens that the amount is not left to his own discretion. To decrease the number of beggars with which Portugal is infested, it was ordained, many years ago, that the lame should learn the trade of a tailor or shoemaker; that the maimed, for their subsistence, should serve those who would employ them; and that the blind, in consideration of their food and raiment, should devote their time to one of the labours of the forge, blowing the bellows.

ITALY.

THE PO.

The Po, the principal river of Italy, and one of the largest in Europe, rises in Monte Viso, one of the Cottian Alps in the southwest part of Piedmont, flows northeast to Turin, then holding an eastern course throughout the whole length of Lombardy, separating Austrian Italy from Parma, Modena, and the States of the Church, discharges itself into the gulf of Venice, by a number of mouths, about 30 miles S. of Venice. The length of its course, including its windings, is upwards of 500 miles. ceives a great number of rivers, which, rising from mountains, render it liable to so great and sudden increase, that it would be destructive to the flat country, were it not for the dikes constructed on each side. In the lower part of its course it presents the singular spectacle of a vast body of water, whose level is higher than that of the adjacent country.

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The current of the Po is often so rapid, that its navigation is at all seasons difficult; and though it passes by about 50 towns, yet but little advantage is derived from it for the conveyance of merchandize. Its borders, interspersed with trees and villages, display great luxuriance of vegetation, and are extremely pleasant, but by no means picturesque. Some of the principal towns on its banks are Turin, Casal, Piacenza, Cremona, and Ferrara.

THE TIBER.

The Tiber is a river of great celebrity, not on account of its length or size, but from the circumstance of its watering the city of Rome, and from the notice it has received from classical authors. It rises in the Apennine mountains, flows west of south, and, after a course of about 180 miles, runs into the Mediterranean, 15 miles below the city of Rome. Its breadth at Rome is only about 100 yards; but it has considerable depth and rapidity of current. It is a muddy stream of a dingy yellow, navigable for small vessels.

LAGO MAGGIORE.

Lago Maggiore, or lake Locarno, anciently called Verbanus, is situated in the north of Italy, near the borders of Switzerland, 35 NW. of Milan. It is about 40 miles in length, and seven or eight in breadth, and is traversed by the Ticino. It is surrounded by every Alpine beauty; its waters are as clear as crystal; its banks are adorned with a number of towns and villages, having a most picturesque situation; and on all sides are hills covered with vineyards and plantations of chesnut trees, interspersed with villas.

In the southwest part are the delightful Borromean islands, which are ranked among the wonders of Italy. They are three in number; two of them, Isola Bella and Isola Madre, are embellished with a palace, villa, and gardens, and, according to Keysler, "can be compared to nothing more properly than pyramids of sweetmeats, ornamented with green festoons and flowers." At one ex

tremity of the Isola Bella, are 10 terraces, rising one above another in regular gradations, bordered with flowerpots, or gigantic statues of horses, gods, and goddesses. The palace is magnificent, and contains a profusion of marbles and paintings. The prospect from the terrace is enchanting, embracing a view of the lake with its islands and winding shores, the scenery and villages around it, hills and mountains, with several natural cascades falling from them, and, farther distant, stupendous summits covered with perpetual snow.

LAKE GARDA.

Lake Garda, anciently called Benacus, is situated in the north of Italy, between Tyrol and the governments of Venice and Milan, 18 miles W. of Verona. It is 35 miles in ̧ length and from one to 14 in breadth; the greatest depth about 300 feet. It is one of the finest lakes in Italy, and is celebrated by the ancient poets, particularly Virgil and Catullus. It is surrounded by the most beautifully diversified scenery, and inclosed by mountains, which so confine the winds, that they blow only from the north or south, and have at all times been noted for their impetuosity. It receives a number of Alpine streams, and its

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