Through Portugal . other by the parallel route past Alcantara, and either will serve our turn. Belem is now but a suburb of Lisbon, continuous lines of houses covering the two miles of the route. There still remains, however, something of distinction in this royal village, full of memories as it is of Portugals great day of power and wealth. For here it was that at length the dream came true, and those long vigils of the Fortunate King on the savage peak of Cintra were rewarded by the coming of Vasco da Gama to the squat, sturdy old tower of Belem, that had been in his yearning thoughts throug
Through Portugal . other by the parallel route past Alcantara, and either will serve our turn. Belem is now but a suburb of Lisbon, continuous lines of houses covering the two miles of the route. There still remains, however, something of distinction in this royal village, full of memories as it is of Portugals great day of power and wealth. For here it was that at length the dream came true, and those long vigils of the Fortunate King on the savage peak of Cintra were rewarded by the coming of Vasco da Gama to the squat, sturdy old tower of Belem, that had been in his yearning thoughts through so many trials and dangers. King Manuel greeted his great subject, who had brought to his native land the potentiality of wealth illimitable, here in the village of Belem, at the mouth of the Tagus ; and as the explorer stepped ashore, the king, overjoyed at his coming, swore to build upon that very spot a Jeronomite monastery splendid enough to be worthy even of that great occasion. And he kept his word; for 236. o J LISBON two years afterwards, in 1500, the first coursewas laid of a building which surpasses all othersin its particular style, and in some respects is oneof the most remarkable ecclesiastical structures inthe world. A long line of church and monastery adjoiningruns parallel with the sea, the conventual portionpartly in ruins but now in course of reconstruc-tion, and the eye is at first perfectly bewilderedby the richness of the details of the doors andwindows of the edifice. Here Manueiine archi-tecture is at its earliest and best, before extrava-gance like that of the unfinished chapels atBatalha overwhelmed it. Here the orthodoxflorid Gothic and Renaissance styles are leavened,but not obliterated, by the new spirit of ex-pansion and aspiration that found its nationalexpression in what is called Manueiine. Thewest door of the church, where the monasticbuildings join it, is extremely beautiful. Oneach side are rich canopies under which kneelthe king and queen w
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Keywords: ., bookauthorhumemartinandrewsharp, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900
