ward. Ten persons were still alive on the wreck, five of whom retained sufficient strength to hold out some time, if not washed into the sea. For sixteen days those in the boat had no relief, and were reduced to every miserable shift to allay their thirst: it rained on the night of the 22d June, and they saved, by means of their handkerchiefs, two quarts of water; the next day one man died without a groan, overcome by his sufferings; that day they caught some rudder fish, which, with partial showers that fell until the 27th, kept body and soul together. The 28th another of the small crew breathed his last without a moan. The 29th, the sea running high, the oars and mast were lost: having nothing to keep the boat out of the trough of the sea, every moment they thought would be their last: after some difficulty however they managed to invent a rudder and keep before the sea.

The 30th, at 3 P. M. the boat being nearly half full of water, when looking round, hetween hope and fear, they descried a sail, which, with considerable difficulty, they approached; and at four o'clock, overpowered by their feelings and gratitude to God, they were taken on board the schooner General Johnson, capt. S. L. Davis, from Lisbon bound to Boston, in lat. 40° 12′. N. long. 45° W. the captain treated them with the utmost tenderness and consideration; giving them at first light food, and in small quantities, increasing their rations with their strength. This was the eighth sail seen since the shipwreck; four before they left the ship, and four afterwards; they were on the wreck seventeen days, and in the boat twenty-three.

There were saved in the long boat five captains, including Fairfield, four mates, a supercargo and five seamen; in the yawl one captain and two mates; and one captain, three supercargoes, five mates, and nineteen men were lost.

MY DEAR F.

TRAVELS-FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

LETTER FROM PORTUGAL.

Lisbon, 1811.

I PROMISED you in my last, a description of that celebrated altar of St. John, in the church of St. Roque; and of those Mosaic pieces contained therein, which have attracted the admi

ration of Europe: this I shall proceed to do, but with little hope of giving you a just idea, of either their elegance or effect.

The altar of St. John is one of the most costly ever erected; it is about twelve feet in length, and eight in width--conceive such an apartment wainscotted throughout with the most superior Italian marble, of the finest hues, exquisitely polished--columns of alabaster, reaching to the ceiling, with solid pillars of the superb and precious lapis lazuli, equal in value to gold itself, with which it is veined throughout, contrasting elegantly with the blue mass through which it appears. With these, are superb slabs of jasper, and columns of the beautiful amethyst; with large plates of the red cornelian, all vying with each other in costli ness and splendor; and the steps surrounding the altar are of granite and porphyry, the whole constituting une telle assemblâge precieuse of elegance and value, that the beholder is astonished and confounded with its magnificence and splendour.

The Mosaic pieces in this sumptuous altar were, I was informed by the priest who showed them to me, executed in Rome nearly six centuries since, and together with the whole altar, received the benediction of his holiness the pope, previously to their being sent to Lisbon. One of these pieces represents the Annunciation, and the other the baptism of our Saviour by St. John,-the figures in each are as large as life, and so inimitably are they executed-so nicely are the stones joined -so exquistely are the colours blended with each other-so delicately and harmoniously is the light and shade disposed, that at the distance of a few feet the eye is completely deceived, and you contemplate them as the most finished productions of the pencil. Old Padre Antonio, after I had viewed them for some time from below, placed the ladder for me to examine them minutely, and appeared to enjoy mightily the surprize my countenance indicated, and exclaimed several times" so it is with all." Assin he con todos-Estão absolutamente consas maravilhosas, men Senhor, they are indeed, sir, wonderful productions. One of the most striking beauties in that representing the baptism of our Saviour, is the ancle seen through the water— it is exquisite beyond expression, and has of itself, attracted me very often to the church where, although there are many other

beautiful things, they are as mere chaff when compared with those superb offerings within the altar of St. John.

The floor of this altar is entirely of Mosaic elegantly disposed in flowers, &c. I picked up a few of the stones (each being about a fifth of an inch square) that had been loosened, and shall preserve them, that you may enjoy the honour of beholding and touching them.

At each extremity of the altar, is an immense candlestick of solid silver, between four and five feet in height, and very massive; they are nearly four feet in circumference, at their base, which is ornamented with a profusion of figures and devices. A Frenchman would without doubt pronounce them most magnificent candlesticks, and I assure you they would be an impor tant acquisition to Peale's museum, to say the least of them.

What think you now of the cost of all these fine things? The reverend Antonio assured me they cost two millions of erusados novos,-equal to twelve hundred thousand dollars; and your surprize will cease, when you reflect on the value of a mere breast pin from any one of the stones I have mentioned.

In addition to these I was shown the chalice cup of solid gold which was buried in the earth when the French took possession of the city, this is always brought forth to be shown to strangers; and the circumstance of its having escaped the grasp of their greedy invaders, is mentioned with peculiar emphasis, as they had been no inconsiderable sufferers from the rapacity of their beloved friends and protectors. Most of the churches were dispoiled of their wealth, and the minute knowledge the French possessed (previously to their entering the city) of every piece of rarity, was truly wonderful, all however effected by bribery and corruption.

An Irish gentleman informed me that a few days after the arrival of the French, an aid du camp of Junot waited upon the superior of a convent, and requested him very politely to deliver him a certain bible he had in his possession, which was of an ancient date and extremely rare, there being but five copies extant. The old man at first denied having any thing of the kind, but the officer immediately told him, he would save him the trouble of falsifying, and at once pointed out the room wherein

it was preserved, received the treasure, and marched off triumphantly, to the great mortification of the old padre, who was wise enough to be very courteous in his demeanor, and to avoid uttering any complaints against his polite friend.

Ah, my good sir, added my Irish friend, the French are born to be masters of the world; they are such expert politicians, and have such insinuating manners: why sir, they will pick your pockets with one hand and adore you with the other: the English on the contrary are extremely repulsive in their behaviour, and do not at all assimilate with the Portuguese; and, said he, there are many families who regret much the departure of the French, notwithstanding they suffered by them, on account of their very pleasing society and urbanity of deportment.

Lisbon at this moment presents a very different scene from that apparent before the French invasion. Junot was formerly minister here, and then remarked he had heard much of the magnificence of the Portuguese court, but the reality very far surpassed his ideas of splendour.

Every thing like style and elegance vanished when the prince left the country, carrying in his train nearly thirty thousand of the noble and wealthy inhabitants; no genteel Portuguse then walked, but now their horses are sent to the army, and the proud, contemptuous Portuguese must ride on the vehicle with which Nature has provided him.

I dined in company with Dr. Ca few days since; he related an anecdote of Bonaparte, which he knew to be a fact. When Napoleon was declared emperor, he despatched a request that a Te Deum should be sung on the occasion, in the Royal Cathedral in this place, by the pope's nuncio, who by no means liked the idea, but could not nevertheless refuse the request of the emperor: when however the appointed time arrived the nuncio appeared wrapped up in his cloak, complaining of a dreadful cold which incapacitated him from performing the ceremony. And at his request a poor threadbare bishop officiated. Some months after this came a letter of thanks from his majesty, addressed to the person by whom the ceremony had been performed, accompanied with an elegant snuff-box, with the portrait of the emperor set in diamonds, the whole worth thirty thou

sand crowns, which the bishop of consequence received to the no small mortification of his superior;-no doubt the emperor had been informed of the affair, and determined to dispense his favours to those alone who would be subservient to his

purposes.

I must not omit mentioning to you that in the convent of St. Roque, of which I have before spoken, there are sixty female orphans, whom marriage alone can rescue from its walls. At the entrance of their apartment is a schedule affixed to the door expressing their names, ages, complexions and fortune, and that they are for marriage, and I am of opinion those connexions would be productive of happiness, as the poor girls have no fortunes to attract speculators (none of them exceeding one hundred and twenty-five dollars) and I have no doubt a reasonable man would there meet with some very fine characters, such as "Providence bestows to heal our cares, correct our errors, and refine our hearts."

A short time since I went with my Portuguese friend to view the church and convent of San Bento, an extensive structure erected by order of king John V. for the reception of noblemen's sons, destined for the church. It was formerly in a very flourishing condition, but owing to the times the establishment is decaying fast, of the truth of which you can yourself judge, when I inform you they formerly paid to the government an annual sum of fifty thousand dollars, but they are now so impoverished that they cannot support even their own members, many of whom are in consequence obliged to live at home. The inhabitants of this establishment, as of others of the same nature, have little to do, and are possessed of a fine library, of which however, I understand they make no great use. The superior watches their actions as a schoolmaster his pupils, and has an opportunity of discovering how they employ themselves, by means of a slide on the door of each cell.

I will now carry your attention to Belem, about the distance of two miles from Lisbon, from which it is separated by a large valley; this place has for many years past been the royal residence, and is remarkable for many antiquities.

The Moorish castle which brings to the vessels bound to the city, is a fine looking structure, and with its towers and battle