Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/526

520 LISBON cover the taste of acrid or disagreeable sub- stances, as seneca or hydrochlorate of ammo- nia. It is possible that the resin may have some therapeutic action in chronic bronchial affections. The decoction of the root, a solu- tion of the extract, or the extract in substance, may be employed. The powder may be used to impart bulk and consistence to other drugs in making pills or lozenges. LISBON (Port. Lisboa), a city and the chief seaport of Portugal, capital of the kingdom and of the province of Estremadura, on the right bank of the Tagus, about 9 m. from its mouth, 173 m. S. by W. of Oporto, 310 m. W. S. W. of Madrid, and 218 m. N. W. of Cadiz; lat. 38 42' N., Ion. 9 8' W. ; pop. in 1864, 224,063. The city is built on a series of hills, and rises in amphitheatre from the river, viewed from which it presents, with its palaces, churches, and dazzling white houses, an aspect of magnificence surpassed by few other cities in the world. The streets in the old portion of the town (mostly hilly), where the ravages of the great earthquake were least extensive, are narrow, crooked, badly paved, and filthy ; while those in the flat district, stretching from the Castello de Sao Jorge westward along the river, are spa- cious and well kept, and many of them cross each other at right angles. But in no part of Lisbon are now seen the hosts of mendi- cants, vagrant dogs, and mounds of dirt which formerly rendered the old streets so unhealthy for the inhabitants and insupportable to stran- gers. The houses in the old portions are with few exceptions wretched hovels, but those in Lisbon, from the south bank of the Tagus. the new are well built and extremely neat. The Necessidades palace, erected in the 18th century by King John V., has no architectural pretensions ; but being situated on an eminence in the extreme west of the city, it commands a fine view of the river, and the gardens, with numerous fountains and aviaries, contain rare collections of botanical curiosities. The Ajuda palace, standing on a high hill behind the sub- urb of Belem, is a huge unfinished structure, in which the court receptions are usually held. Other royal residences are the palace of Be- lem and the Quinta de Cima, the ancient Bem- posta, now used as a military school, and a new palace built in 1864. The sittings of the cortes are held in the old convent of Sao Bento, appropriated to that use in 1834. The cathe- dral, one of the most ancient edifices in Lisbon, was according to tradition once a mosque, and in the 12th century converted into a temple by Alfonso I., who also rebuilt it, and appointed an English ecclesiastic the first bishop of the see. Sao Vicente de Fora, a church so named from its site outside the walls of the Saracen city, was founded by Alfonso I., and within its walls in a low dark chapel are entombed the sove- reigns of the house of Braganca. The monas- tery adjoining this church was one of the lar- gest in Lisbon; since 1773 it has been the resi' dence of the patriarch, but its valuable library has not been removed. Near the cathedral stands the church of Sao Antonio da 86, of rather small proportions, but with a rich inte- rior decoration. The church of Nossa Senhora da Graga, rebuilt on one of the highest hills in 1556, is very conspicuous in all general views of the city. Of the numerous other churches, none deserve special mention except that of