e being heightened by groups of boats peculiar in
their construction to the Tagus." From Belem we trace a range of
buildings, connecting it with Alcantara and Buenos Ayres, and finally
with the ancient city of Lisbon. Alcantara is situated at the mouth of a
narrow valley opening upon the Tagus. Upon the brow of the hill, on the
eastern side, is another of the royal residences, called the palace of
Necessiades; and, stretching across the valley, about a mile above this
point, is the far-famed aqueduct, which conveys the chief supply of
water to the capital. The new and populous quarter of Buenos Ayres
(so called from its being considered the healthiest situation around
the capital,) covers the steep hills situated in the angle formed by
the Alcantara valley and the Tagus. Miss Baillie, in her amusing
_Letters_, describes Buenos Ayres as "a suburb of Lisbon, standing
upon higher ground than the city itself, and a favourite resort of the
English, being generally considered as a cooler and more cleanly (or
rather a _less filthy_) situation than the latter." The splendid
river scenery from Belem to Lisbon, the luxuriant prospect from the
adjoining heights; the city itself, with its domes, and towers, and
gorgeous buildings--all this proud assemblage of nature and art--remind
us that

It is a goodly sight to see
What Heaven hath done for this delicious land!
What fruits of fragrance blush on ev'ry tree!
What goodly prospects o'er the hill expand;
But man would mar them with an impious hand.

BYRON.

The Engraving represents one of the most comprehensive views of the
city, obtained from an eminence crowned by the chapel of Nossa Senhora
da Monte. It has been copied from one of Colonel Batty's faithful
Views,[1] and its details cannot better be explained than in the words
of the clever artist:

"From this elevation, the spectator, on turning to the south, has before
him the principal part of the busy capital. The Castle Hill, crowned by
a variety of buildings, and encircled by the old walls of its Moorish
fortifications, stands conspicuously on the left. Its northern slope is
planted with olive-trees, which add to its picturesque appearance, and
afford an agreeable relief to the eye in this widely extended scene of a
dense and populous city. On the right hand is another range of heights,
less elevated than the Castle Hill, but covered with buildings, amidst
which churches, convents, and hospitals, form p