Road to Mafra.--Distant view of the Convent.--Its vast
fronts.--General magnificence of the Edifice.--The Church.--The
High Altar.--Eve of the Festival of St. Augustine.--The collateral
Chapels.--The Sacristy.--The Abbot of the Convent.--The
Library.--View from the Convent-roof.--Chime of Bells.--House of
the Capitan Mor.--Dinner.--Vespers.--Awful sound of the
Organs.--The Palace.--Return to the Convent.--Inquisitive
crowd.--The Garden.--Matins.--A Procession.--The Hall de
Profundis.--Solemn Repast.--Supper at the Capitan Mor’s.
August 27th, 1787.
We got into the carriage at nine, in spite of the wind, which blew full
in our faces. The distance from the villa I inhabit to this stupendous
convent is about fourteen English miles, and the road, which by
good-luck has been lately mended, conducted across a parched, open
country, thinly scattered with windmills and villages. The retrospect on
the woody slopes and pointed rocks of Cintra is pleasant enough; but
when you look forward, nothing can be more bleak or barren than the
prospect. Thanks to relays of mules, we advanced, full speed, and in
less than an hour and a quarter found ourselves under a strong wall
which winds boldly across the hills, and incloses the park of Mafra.
We now caught a glimpse of the marble towers and dome of the convent,
relieved by an azure expanse of ocean, rising above the brow of heathy
eminences, diversified here and there by the bushy heads of Italian
pines and the tall spires of cypress. The roofs of the edifice were not
yet visible, and we continued some time winding about the undulating
acclivities in the park before they were discovered. A detachment of
lay-brothers were waiting to open the gates of the royal inclosure,
sadly blackened by a fire, which about a month ago consumed a great part
of its wood and verdure. Our approach spread a terrible alarm among the
herds of deer, which were peacefully browsing on a slope rather greener
than those in its neighbourhood. Off they scudded and took refuge in a
thicket of half-burnt pines.
After coasting the wall of the great garden, we turned suddenly the
corner, and discovered one of the vast fronts of the convent, appearing
like a street of palaces. I cannot pretend that the style of the
building is such as a lover of pure Grecian architecture would approve;
the windows and doors are many of them fantastically shaped, but at
least well proportioned.
I was admiring their ample range as we drove rapidly along, when, upon
wheeling round the lofty square pavilion which flanks the edifice, the
grand façade, extending above eight hundred feet, opened to my view. The
centre is formed by the porticos of the church richly adorned with
columns, niches, and bass-reliefs of marble. On each side two towers,
somewhat resembling those of St. Paul’s in London, rise to the height of
near two hundred feet, and, joining on to the enormous _corps de logis_,
the palace terminates to the right and left by its stately pavilions.
These towers are light, airy, and clustered with pillars, remarkably
beautiful; but their form in general borders too much on a sort of
pagoda-ish style, and wants solemnity. They contain many bells of the
largest dimensions, and a famous chime which cost several hundred
thousand crusadoes, and which was set playing the moment our arrival was
notified. The platform and flight of steps before the columned entrance
of the church is strikingly grand; and the dome, which lifts itself up
so proudly above the pediment of the portico, merits praise for its
lightness and elegance.
My eyes ranged along the vast extent of palace on each side till they
were tired, and I was glad to turn them from the glare of marble and
confusion of sculptured ornaments to the blue expanse of the distant
ocean. Before the front of this colossal structure a wide level of space
extends itself, at the extremity of which several white houses lie
dispersed. Though these buildings are by no means inconsiderable, they
appear, when contrasted with the immense pile in the neighbourhood, like
the booths of workmen, for such I took them upon my first survey, and
upon a nearer approach was quite surprised at their real dimensions.
Few objects render the prospect from the platform of Mafra, interesting.
You look over the roofs of an indifferent village and the summits of
sandy acclivities, backed by a boundless stretch of sea. On the left,
your view is terminated by the craggy mountains of Cintra; to the right,
a forest of pines in the Viscount of Ponte de Lima’s extensive garden,
affords the eye some small refreshment.
To skreen ourselves from the sun, which darted powerfully on our heads,
we entered the church, passing through its magnificent portico, which
reminded me not a little of the entrance of St. Peter’s; and is crowded
with the statues of saints and martyrs, carved with infinite delicacy.
The first _coup-d’œil_ of the church is very imposing. The high
altar, adorned with two majestic columns of reddish variegated marble,
each, a single block, above thirty feet in height, immediately fixes the
eye. Trevisani has painted the altar-piece in a masterly manner. It
represents St. Anthony in the ecstasy of beholding the infant Jesus
descending into his cell amidst an effulgence of glory.
To-morrow being the festival of St. Augustine, whose followers are the
actual possessors of this monastery, all the golden candelabra were
displayed, and tapers lighted. After pausing a few minutes in the midst
of this bright illumination, we visited the collateral chapels, each
enriched with highly finished bassi-relievi and stately portals of black
and yellow marble, richly veined, and so highly polished as to reflect
objects like a mirror. Never did I behold such an assemblage of
beautiful marble as gleamed above, below, and around us. The pavement,
the vaulted ceiling, the dome, and even the topmost lantern, is
encrusted with the same costly and durable materials. Roses of white
marble and wreaths of palm-branches, most exquisitely sculptured, enrich
every part of the edifice. I never saw Corinthian capitals better
modelled, or executed with more precision and sharpness, than those of
the columns which support the nave.
Having satisfied our curiosity by examining the various ornaments of the
altars, we followed our conductor through a long coved gallery into the
sacristy, a magnificent vaulted hall, panelled with some beautiful
varieties of alabaster and porphyry, and carpeted, as well as a chapel
adjoining it, in a style of the utmost magnificence. We traversed
several more halls and chapels, adorned with equal splendour, till we
were fatigued and bewildered like errant knights in the mazes of an
enchanted palace.
I began to think there was no end to these spacious apartments. The monk
who preceded us, a good-natured, slobbering greybeard, taking for
granted that I could not understand a syllable of his language,
attempted to explain the objects which presented themselves by signs,
and would hardly believe his ears, when I asked him in good Portuguese
when we should have done with chapels and sacristies. The old fellow
seemed vastly delighted with the Meninos, as he called Don Pedro and me;
and to give our young legs an opportunity of stretching themselves,
trotted along with such expedition that the Marquis and Verdeil wished
him in purgatory. To be sure, we advanced at a most rapid rate, striding
from one end to the other of a dormitory, six hundred feet in length, in
a minute or two. These vast corridors, and the cells with which they
communicate, three hundred in number, are all arched in the most
sumptuous and solid manner. Every cell, or rather chamber, for they are
sufficiently spacious, lofty, and well lighted, to merit that
appellation, is furnished with tables and cabinets of Brazil-wood.
Just as we entered the library, the Abbot of the convent, dressed in his
ceremonial habit, advanced to bid us welcome, and invite us to dine with
him to-morrow, St. Augustine’s day, in the refectory; which it seems is
a mighty compliment. We thought proper, however, to decline the honour,
being aware that, to enjoy it, we must sacrifice at least two hours of
our time, and be half parboiled by the steam of huge roasted calves,
turkeys, and gruntlings, which had long been fattening, no doubt, for
this solemn occasion.
The library is of a prodigious length, not less than three hundred feet;
the arched roof of a pleasing form, beautifully stuccoed, and the
pavement of red and white marble. Much cannot be said in praise of the
cases in which the books are to be arranged. They are clumsily designed,
coarsely executed, and darkened by a gallery which projects into the
room in a very awkward manner. The collection, which consists of above
sixty thousand volumes, is locked up at present in a suite of apartments
which opens into the library. Several well preserved and richly
illuminated first editions of the Greek and Roman classics were handed
to me by the father librarian; but my nimble conductor would not allow
me much time to examine them. He set off full speed, and, ascending a
winding staircase, led us out upon the roof of the convent and palace,
which form a broad, smooth terrace, bounded by a magnificent balustrade,
unincumbered by chimneys, and commanding a bird’s-eye view of the courts
and garden.
From this elevation the whole plan of the edifice may be comprehended at
a glance. In the centre rises the dome, like a beautiful temple from the
spacious walks of a royal garden. It is infinitely superior, in point of
design, to the rest of the edifice, and may certainly be reckoned among
the lightest and best proportioned in Europe. Don Pedro and Monsieur
Verdeil proposed scaling a ladder which leads up to the lantern, but I
begged to be excused accompanying them, and amused myself during their
absence with ranging about the extensive loggias, now and then venturing
a look down on the courts and parterres so far below; but oftener
enjoying the prospect of the towers shining bright in the sunbeams, and
the azure bloom of the distant sea. A fresh balsamic air wafted from the
orchards of citron and orange, fanned me as I rested on the steps of the
dome, and tempered the warmth of the glowing æther.
But I was soon driven from this cloudless, peaceful situation, by a
confounded jingle of all the bells; then followed a most complicated
sonata, banged off on the chimes by a great proficient. The Marquis, who
had climbed up on purpose to enjoy this cataract of what some persons
call melodious sounds at its fountainhead, would have me approach to
examine the mechanism, and I was half stunned. I know very little indeed
about chimes and clocks, and am quite at a loss for amusement in a
belfry. My friend, who inherits a mechanical turn from his father, the
renowned patron of clocks and time-pieces, investigated every wheel with
minute attention.
His survey finished, we descended innumerable stairs, and retired to the
Capitan Mor’s, whose jurisdiction extends over the park and district of
Mafra. He has seven or eight thousand crusadoes a year, and his
habitation wears every appearance of comfort and opulence. The floors
are covered with mats of the finest texture, the doors hung with red
damask curtains, and our beds, quite new for the occasion, spread with
satin coverlids richly embroidered and fringed. We had a most luxurious
repast, and a better dessert than even the monks could have given
us--the Capitan Mor taking the dishes from his long train of servants,
and placing them himself on the table, quite in the feudal style.
After coffee we hurried to vespers in the great church of the convent,
and advancing between the range of illuminated chapels, took our places
in the royal tribune. We were no sooner seated than the monks entered in
procession, preceding their abbot, who ascended his throne, having a row
of sacristans at his feet and canons on his right hand, in their cloth
of gold embroidered vestments. The service was chaunted with the most
imposing solemnity to the awful sound of organs, for there are no fewer
than six in the church, all of an enormous size.
When it was ended, being once more laid hold of by the nimble
lay-brother, we were conducted up a magnificent staircase into the
palace. The suite extends seven or eight hundred feet, and the almost
endless succession of lofty doors seen in perspective, strikes with
astonishment; but we were soon weary of being merely astonished, and
agreed to pronounce the apartments the dullest and most comfortless we
had ever beheld; there is no variety in their shape, and little in their
dimensions. The furniture being all locked up at Lisbon, a naked
sameness universally prevails; not a niche, not a cornice, not a curved
moulding breaks the tedious uniformity of dead white walls.
I was glad to return to the convent and refresh my eyes with the sight
of marble pillars, and my feet by treading on Persian carpets. We were
followed wherever we moved, into every cell, chapel, hall, passage, or
sacristy, by a strange medley of inquisitive monks, sacristans,
lay-brothers, corregidors, village-curates, and country beaux with long
rapiers and pigtails. If I happened to ask a question, half-a-dozen all
at once poked their necks out to answer it, like turkey-polts when
addressed in their native hobble-gobble dialect. The Marquis was quite
sick of being trotted after in this tumultuous manner, and tried several
times to leave the crowd behind him, by taking sudden turns; but
sticking close to our heels, it baffled all his endeavours, and
increased to such a degree, that we seemed to have swept the whole
convent and village of their inhabitants, and to draw them after us by
one of those supernatural attractions we read of in tales and romances.
At length, perceiving a large door open into the garden, we bolted out,
and striking into a labyrinth of myrtles and laurels, got rid of our
pursuers. The garden, which is about a mile and a half in circumference,
contains, besides wild thickets of pine and bay-trees, several orchards
of lemon and orange, and two or three parterres more filled with weeds
than flowers. I was much disgusted at finding this beautiful inclosure
so wretchedly neglected, and its luxuriant plants withering away for
want of being properly watered.
You may suppose, that after adding a walk in the principal alleys of the
garden to our other peregrinations, we began to find ourselves somewhat
fatigued, and were not sorry to repose ourselves in the Abbot’s
apartment till we were summoned once more to our tribune to hear matins
performed. It was growing dark, and the innumerable tapers burning
before the altars and in every part of the church, began to diffuse a
mysterious light. The organs joined again in full accord, the long
series of monks and novices entered with slow and solemn steps, and the
Abbot resumed his throne with the same pomp as at vespers. The Marquis
began muttering his orisons, the Grand Prior to recite his breviary, and
I to fall into a profound reverie, which lasted as long as the service,
that is to say above two hours. Verdeil, ready to expire with ennui,
could not help leaving the tribune and the cloud of incense which filled
the choir, to breathe a freer air in the body of the church and its
adjoining chapels.
It was almost nine when the monks, after chaunting a most solemn and
sonorous hymn in praise of their venerable father, Saint Augustine,
quitted the choir. We followed their procession through lofty chapels
and arched cloisters, which by a glimmering light appeared to have
neither roof nor termination, till it entered an octagon forty feet in
diameter, with fountains in the four principal angles. The monks, after
dispersing to wash their hands at the several fountains, again resumed
their order, and passed two-and-two under a portal thirty feet high into
a vast hall, communicating with their refectory by another portal of the
same lofty dimensions. Here the procession made a pause, for this
chamber is consecrated to the remembrance of the departed, and styled
the Hall de Profundis. Before every repast, the monks standing round it
in solemn ranks, silently revolve in their minds the precariousness of
our frail existence, and offer up prayers for the salvation of their
predecessors. I could not help being struck with awe when I beheld by
the glow of flaming lamps, so many venerable figures in their black and
white habits bending their eyes on the pavement, and absorbed in the
most interesting and gloomy of meditations.
The moment allotted to this solemn supplication being passed, every one
took his place at the long tables in the refectory, which are made of
Brazil-wood, and covered with the whitest linen. Each monk had his
glass caraffe of water and wine, his plate of apples and salad set
before him; neither fish nor flesh were served up, the vigil of St.
Augustine’s day being observed as a fast with the utmost strictness.
To enjoy at a glance this singular and majestic spectacle, we retreated
to a vestibule preceding the octagon, and from thence looked through all
the portals down the long row of lamps into the refectory, which, owing
to its vast length of full two hundred feet, seemed ending in a point.
After remaining a few minutes to enjoy this perspective, four monks
advanced with torches to light us out of the convent, and bid us
good-night with many bows and genuflections.
Our supper at the Capitan Mor’s was very cheerful. We sat up late,
notwithstanding our fatigue, talking over the variety of objects that
had passed before our eyes in so short a space of time, the crowd of
grotesque figures which had stuck to our heels so long and so closely,
and the awkward vivacity of the lay-brother.