Star.
London, England, 1827-02-07 00:00:00

LISBON. •
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TIM tUt coaumecaterat os, rte Nott4UF IttLISO.
DOGS—DONKEYS-.HORSES AND HOGS.

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The dogs in Lisboa are said to be in number between
five and ten thousand. Whore their puppyships ate
first introduced into the world I cannot imagine. Where
the old ones die is no matter of doubt, I have seen
them struggling in the last agonies on the quays,
or in the squares, or in the porch of a Noble-
man's palace, or within the door of a Gentleman's
house. What becomes of the body I cannot say,
for no one here takes the trouble to remove any
nuisance. During the day, wherever the sun shines,
there lie the dpg, heads and tails closely packed, under
walls and sheds. As night draws on, all the dogs
abandon the better and public pans of Lisbon, for the
suburbs and cross streets—your nice and low neigh.
bourhoods, where early hours And busy housewives,
provide them with employment. From s'x to nine you
may walk with safety through any of the principal
streets. Before ten, the advance begins to appear—at
twelve, the main body are on the ground—and at two,
the last stragglers have come in. and from thence until
break of day the whole force is at work sackiKg and
ransacking the city. They break, into parties of tour,
six, or twelve. Sometimes you see a troop of twenty
scouring along, howling in conceit. Since the English
have come here attention has been paid to the cleansing
of the burets, by which many a dog has been deprived
of his supper, and those unite by a common impulse,
and startle ihe Wight with their fearful gries. A Gen-
tleman on his return from a party a few nights since.,
was attacked by a horde of these wild, half-starved
devils, the calf of his leg was torn to pieces by it, and
with difficulty escaped alive. Ile is now under the
surgeon's h olds, and I less, his leg must be amputated.
Words cannot convey the loathing and the horror which
these vet min inspire. The Lisbon dogs are to a cer-
tainty, t e loses, of their species. I have not seen one
among them, in size or .specs, better th tit the common
cur. An English mastiff and a bull dug, brought by
one of our Officers, look like monarchs to them—a
Danish coach is a Gentleman, and a 'greyhound is, in

comparison tothe comeliest, such as the Countess c;
—isto a fish wife. It seems they are, lions custurn,
become horribly useful. Were the evil from whence
their use arises, confined to the lower classes, one might
curse them, and leave them to their shame; but the
windows of the highest authority of the state are op fled
at Ctrtnin hours for the same purpose,_ as early as thoSe
of the humblest tradesman. It is shocking to witness
these things. but those who wish to know what -Lisboa
really is must forgive me.
Ascend with me from the Roicio to a bill which
winds for nearly half a mile through it narrow streev,
where the pavement is less pungent to the feet by the
layers of dirt, sr Bich have not been swept here for a ge-
aeration. Toil on, your boot slipping every other step,
the kennel midway rolling down and splashing you at
every corner—steams of sardinias and bad oil saluting
your senses at every open. window—gaxments, washed
once in six months, dripping on your hat and shoulders
fioni every balcony—svonsea two and three pair of
stairs scolding lovers in the street—a Lady in the
seventh floor grinding st a neighbour in the first—dial
children runiiiig between your legs}—aelky porters
;jostling the Ingkse—a donkey with bags of matting,
like a large bolster, thrown across his back, cat at both
ends, or with wooden cases in lien of panniers, contain-
ing vegetables, knocking against your chin—an itine-
rant fishmonger with two fiat baskets of wicker-work,
' at either end balanced by a long pole on his shoulder,
holding the refuse of the market, protruding beneath
your nose till we reach the Campo Santa Anna_( he
Plain of Saint Anne)—where the fair of drake a, mules,
and horses is he'd. This is Tuesday—Tenn Fefre. or
the third day, as the Portuguese call it, beginning from
the Dentin o, or Sunday—she fair-day, by all that's
funny I ore we go into the fair, let us observe how
the satyr situation of Lisbon reconciles you to what
is disgusting • . Here, after the barbarous ascent we
have gone through, is a level commanding a view of
five soft swelling hills, each of which has its oars parti-
cular beauty to recommend it. On one, the citadel ipd
Fort Sc. George are pl iced ; on another, the Mansion of
a jdoblemau ; on a third, a Convent ; on the fourth, a
little ;• on a fifth, a farm•htstse. The sides of the
bills, and valley which lira between you and them,
are planted olive trees, whose black leaves appear
like the mout of the forest. Myrtles as high as ash
trees, an orange ye, similar to apple standards in our
orchards. the yellow green of the leaves throwing the
olive and the myrtle into darker relief. In this field you
see vine trees like gooseberry bushes, and wonder how
the poets have talked so much about the glories of the
vineyard. In the neat garden you are pane/ out the
trellis on which they are trained, so as to form an etch,
f.ons which in autumn the rich clusters hang, and then
you understand that poetry and truth are .s.cm• nearly
allied than you were willing to allow. Look at she
greenness of the young corn—the muleteer leading his
string of mules, loaded with sacks of, flout—the cock of
goats—hear the tinkling of their bells-,-inssi let use ask
you whether, in the sunshine of the present hour, recol-
lecting that if in Hyde-pas k you are cut with the nos di.
east wind and a snow-storm—whether one may roc
forget that Lisbon has sins to shame it, and be per-
fectly content with enjoying the gold that is-within
his reach?
An old woman brought her mule to t!:e faig to dispose
of; with her I had the pleasure to enter it, and I was
not sorry that I assisted to procure her, at the espease
of his Majesty, about ten pounds mote then she calcu-
lated it was worth. It would have dune your heart good
to tee the poor old woman display her affecting for the
animal, and her sorrow at bring obliged to part skis
if. She kissed it over and over, hung upon its neck,
and wept bitterly when the bargain was concluded.--
When its merits were questioned by the dealer, her ye-
hemenee in asserting them was extraordinary; she kissed
the tops of her fingers, gathered close together—one
mode by which the country people assure you that what
they offer is superlative—and the placed the first finger
of each hand transversely, swearing by the Cross of our
SaTtova, that such a mule was not to be,had in Lis-
bon I If Mr. Wordsworth has built a part of his tame
on Peter Bell and his donkey, he may render himself
immortal by an epic of 0 Maria and her mule!
The fair opens with a course on which the venders
put their cattle to full speed, in order to introduce them
in grand style to the buyers. On a fine Andalusian
' horse sits x Spaniard, whose darker eye and proud look
exalt him a thousand degrees above the Portuguese. He
wears a hat the most becoming in the world, though
you will scarcely think so from my de.criptiour it is
like a wooden dish turned up at the sides, with a crown
puffed, more like a mushroom than any thing I know.
How grace and such a hat can be associated you are at
a loss to imagine--get me but a youth from Seville,
with piercing eye, high nose, and haughty air under it,
and I pledge you my word you will say it is the mo t
graceful covering you ever saw. The Andalusian wears
a short blue jacket, a crimson sash tied round his waist,
and light blue trousers covering his boots to the instep.
He sits as firmly on his horse as if he and the animal
were one—be guides it with a light hand, exciting and
subduing its fire by turns. Tie horse—coal black,
without a speck of white, with a mane and tail trimmed
but not•shortened—as if proud of its own beauty, goes
through its various paces, till his price amounts to silty
guineas, being half as much as you could have bought
it about a fortnight since. With this horse come a troop
of others, all guided by Sp sniards, whose gay attire and
manly carriage procures them the admiration and re-
spect which our Lancers sire much indisposed to pay to
the native Portuguese. After these c( me a c.4vAlca to
of mules, each covered wish an immense Each sa•!dle,
led by wrimen or boys, or rode by men whose costume
will beggaiMonmouth-street in vat iety at:d prches.oae
has a hat winning a leaf; another a woollen night cap.
All, however, imitate the Spanish horsemen, and instead
of the perpetual cloak, each wears a j rcket as motley as
you please, while his mule's head is adorned with led
leather scraps and brass mountings. These mules fetch
now 151. to 251. Before the English came, they were
be had fur la Now rush in a beggarly group.
clinging upon still more beggarly horses, whipping and
spurring, in order ,to get them into some little action.
They cross, jostle, rand ()verses etch other. A wi, ked
mule begins to kick-,a vicious hose answer. it he a
similar movement; the.Pos Logue's. Qrues, scold, swear,

1

•
and stamp at each of er. f them begin to fight
with mo-
ot .e e tt.. 'ls ;th are srparatsd i:n
ar
ke '7'rebt t, nd jack.bo ,ts glued
to his saddle, sou Ares his e bows, and tries to force into
s Irks a broken-down trooper, whose legs and heart
have long since failed him. A marching tub, tinder
orders to go up the country, bites at the bait of the old
angler, a id is nearly taken in for 301. until the friendly
hint of a Major of Dragoons saves the pocket of the
junior, and sen.'s the dea'er in search of ano.her youth
at simple. Now hones, d.,Askey-mules, Spaniards, deal-
ers, Lsncers, and Hussars, are mixed in one great body
—a 1 neighing, braying, and talking together. A Witer-
seller makes his way in the crowd, crying out " Wish
water," andsempties his barrel at a halfsenny a glass.
The dust rises, and maket another barrel welcome.
Bargains are struck, and new trials are to be made.
Every ten yards become a course—business thickens—
the li.t word is said—the money is to be paid—servants
lead away thelsorses—dealers bless the times, as they
said when the English were here befoie, " that GOD
walks upon the earth," and go to the neighbouring
wine houses to drink prosperity to the inventor aE wars,
and to the dread unknown pf the Apostolic Junta, who
made in one week a broken-kneed horse, worth* be

............ _.._ . .
chap at 301. The difficulty of procuring good horses
is now greater than it was during the last war. The
Commissariat, and the first Officer that landed, picked
up every sizable beast that was to be has. Now the
only animals for sale are stumpy ponies, with flowing
manes and tails, whose quick eyes and well-shaped
hea.is give you an idea that they have fire and
spiiit, until an hones ride convinces you that they
are dull and usele.', and little suited to a campaign
up the country. I understand them is a race of very
fi,.e btrses, which are generally disposed of to the
Noblemen, who engage them from the breeders ;
but I have not seen any, even with the rarest Ft-
dalgos, that can in reality be compared with our hun-
ters and park horses—not to speak of the first-rate stud.
They appear to po more spirit s every Gentleman
who has been in this country, in Spain, or France, can
tell the reason. The uncut mane and tail also add to
their seeming wildness ; but I do not think that they
have the high courage and true game which pure blood,
clean fo,d, and good grooming, give our high-bred
cattle. The horses which some of the Officers of the
Hussars and Linters have brought out with them are,
in shape and training, superior to the best I have seen
h.re. The colour is most commonly black, or a curious
combination of red and white patches, or a whitish
gray; I have not met, as yet, a bay nor a chestnut.
With infinite mortification at the change of subject,
and begging pardon of the Riding-school for my pre-
sumption, I cannot pass a dead pig i street without
saying a word about it, and the ' to which it be.
ofe
longs. These are the true beau sof Portugal—nut
even Hampshire can show a porker with such perfection.
Your Bohemian wild boar may be a bolder. but I dare
say he is not a better pig; and as to your Yorkshire or
your Clonmel fat fellows—if fat be your fancy—you
are welcome to them ; but here is the delicate lean, as
while as veal, with a juicy selvage. for which fat would
be a misnomer. The tongue of a P.irtuguese pig even
has many an admirer. My dead pig's head is small,
and his feet as short as those of a pigeon—.he is all car.
case.—round as a barrel—with not a square bit about
him. His throat is slit upwards, and the red blood, as
it flows, dyes the pavement of the Rua Francisco—one
of the most fashionable streets in Lisbon, where pig-
killing is practised, as it is in all others, in the open day.
Btistles he has not ; but his back is covered with a thick
crisp hair, of a dark-brown dye. Two men, with lighted
naggers, singe them off; and another scrapes him over'
wills a blunt knife. How handsome he looks 1-1 am
sure the Lady who loved a pig—as Mr. Grimaldi sang,
must have been a Portuguese; for, what with his littlel
snout, his small legs, hi> round body, and his woolly
coat, there never was such an Adonis( f a porker I He
and all his family have been f-d up the country with
acorns, and great care taken of their education. The
only thing that I have seen, where unceasing cleanliness
is used, is in the care of the piggery. Cooked in any
way you please—boiled, roast, chop, ham, or bacon, he
is the meat most to be esteemed in Lisbon. You can
buy him at sd. a pound, and dine off him for 15 f. with
a dash of pepper, a squeeze of a lemon, and a tumbler
of common wine, to wash him down. The middling
Portuguese will dish up his black puddings (why should
a decent pig have such dismal viscera?) on a quantity
of greens, between the soup and the roast. If there
comes a famine with the war, perbrps we shall be all
glad to do the same.
_ _

JAN. 17.—. Mademoiselle SWARD took her benefit on
Monday night, a: the San Carlos, having announced it
wi:h a humility which would ill be suited to the sup.
posed dignity of a London Prima Donna. Every box
was crowded, and the pit filled to an overflow the mo-
ment the doors were opened. The order with which the
rtuh to the pit was conducted, i* worthy of imitation at
our hooses, though two soldiers be required, as the
custom is here to insure it; and the plan of filling up
the spaces in the different alleys, by short forms, when
all other seats are occupied, is also to be commended.
It will save you front the annoyance of tall Gentlemen
pressing one against the other, tearing Ladies' flounces,
treading on Ladles' feet, intercepting your view of the
stage, and prtvent the manager from admitting more
persons than can be properly accommodated. A
clack is placed on the proscenium, by which the
perfoemance is strictly regulated; and a chandel'er,
which is suspended over the pit, is drawn above the
cieling when the curtain rises ; a cloud and a man's leg
dividing to let it pass. The gloom which the absence
of this centu al light throws over the house is most un-
pleasant; were it not for the twinkling of the stars in
the side boxes, it would be a dramatic tailiAht, Item
which the stage lamps cannot relieve you. Before the
than& tier was removed, this theatre looked very gay.
All our Staff were present, with their rich uniform, in
different boxes. Our Naval Officers were but little in-
fir ior in point of show. The bea.rties of Lisbon, in fuller
dress than is usually worn at the Opera, dleplayed their
beads, loaded with French curls entwined with flowers
—some with artificial wreaths, others with various
coloured bats ; all, however, with shawls, as the weather
is not yet to them sufficiently warm to allot low dresses'
to be worn.

The Opera was Mose in Egilto. Swaim took the
part of acia ; CARTAGENOVA, the bins, of flare/A;
RAVAGLIA, the tenor, of Osirides ; the cone-alto part
of Amaltea was sung by Madame ZAITUCIII, in lieu
of Madame Parnm.ta, for whom she made an indif-
ferent substitute. SICARD'S chest of white rube and
turban were the praise of all her idminors, and her sweet
•oice best netted !Itch hearts. lan'her first appearance
she was rt.hernently appteridcd, and each successive

r entrance and exit was equally distingutted. I was'
astonished at the apathy with which the andience
took the refusal to repeat a duet in thefirst actbetween
Swans and RAVAGLIA. The English party were strong,
and the house, for a little time, supported them; but
the instant a new scene was let down, the excitement
died away, and the enthusiasts reserved themselves
for the grand affair between the acts, which some of
them prepared. The moment the act was over, a
general plaudit was given for the fa'r SICARD, and
two milk-white pigeans, emblenlatieal, I suppose,
of the Lady's purity, and of the lover who thus
displayed his delicacy and constancy, were flown from
,one of the boxes. The birds nattered from side to side;
one of them was at length laid hold of by a jolly mid-
shipman, who looked at it, as if in doubt whether it
would eat best roast, or in a pasty ; and the other flew
to a maiden's bosom, in the first tier, where it was che-
rished, and no doubt welcomed, as a harbinger of her
own individual love affair. Showers of medallions with
amatory devices were then dropped from above, and
miniatures of the dear SICARD on enveloped paper.—
These were succeeded by a deluge of poetry in every
metre that a Lisbon lover could conceive, printed with
the curiosities of their patent press.