ng, and
therefore dismounting ran and walked until we reached a few houses, at
the termination of these desolate moors. It was in one of these houses
that the commissioners of Don Pedro and Miguel met, and it was there
agreed that the latter should resign the crown in favour of Donna Maria;
for Evora was the last stronghold of the Usurper, and the moors of the
Alemtejo the last area of the combats which so long agitated unhappy
Portugal. I therefore gazed on the miserable huts with considerable
interest, and did not fail to scatter in the neighbourhood several of the
precious little tracts with which, together with a small quantity of
Bibles, my carpet-bag was provided.

The country began to improve, the savage heaths were left behind, and we
saw hills and dales, cork-trees and _azineirias_, on the last of which
trees grows that kind of sweet acorn called _bolota_, which is pleasant
as a chestnut, and forms in winter the principal food on which the
numerous swine of the Alemtejo subsist. Gallant swine they are, with
short legs and portly bodies, of a black or dark-red colour, and for the
excellence of their flesh I can avouch, having frequently partaken of it
in the course of my wanderings in this province. The _lumbo_, or loin,
when broiled on the live embers, is delicious, especially when eaten with
olives.

We were now in sight of Monte Moro, which as the name denotes was once a
fortress of the Moors; it is a high, steep hill, on the summit and sides
of which are ruined walls and towers. At its western side is a deep
ravine or valley, through which a small stream rushes, traversed by a
stone bridge; farther down there is a ford, through which we passed and
ascended to the town, which commencing near the northern base, passes
over the lower ridge towards the north-east; the town is exceedingly
picturesque, and many of the houses are very ancient and built in the
Moorish fashion. I wished much to examine the relics of Moorish sway on
the upper part of the mountain, but time pressed, and the shortness of
our stay in this place did not permit me to gratify my inclination.

Monte Moro is the head of a range of hills crossing this part of the
Alemtejo, and from hence they fork towards the east and south-east, in
the former of which directions lies the direct road to Elvas, Badajoz,
and Madrid, and in the latter the road to Evora. A beautiful mountain,
covered to the top with cork trees, is the third in the chain w