specimens of exotic vegetation to delight the botanist heart, and in every nook is evidence of the care which has succeeded in making these Botanical Gardens one of the best in Europe.
The Escola Polytechnica is doubly interesting from being the modern name of the ancient Collegio dos Nobres founded by the Marquis de Pombal in 1761 in order that the sons of the nobility could be trained under special masters. Public instruction was a matter not likely to be neglected by a man as enlightened as he was active. He was of opinion that, whatever the government, education was the chief factor in the prosperity of nations, and when he deprived the Jesuits of their privileges in teaching the youth of the land he established schools of Latin, Greek and Hebrew all over the kingdom, placing the whole under the supervision of a General Director of Instruction.
A few minutes' walk from the principal entrance of the Botanical Gardens on the Rua da Escola Polytechnica is one of the prettiest open squares of Lisbon, that of the Principe Real, profusely laid out with flower beds and trees, and with a large tank in the centre and powerful fountain. The site, one of the highest in the city, is historically interesting from being the spot where King joão V built the magnificent Sé Patriarchal, that was the Cathedral of Lisboa Occidental, as the old Sé of Santa Maria was the Cathedral of Lisboa Oriental. Among the costly ornaments and properties brought to its adornment by kingly order from all parts of the world was a marvellous cross made in Florence and Rome in 1732, after the drawing of Arrighi, of such rare, incomparable workmanship as to exceed in value, three hundred thousand cruzados (in English money about £40,000). The richness of this great church can be estimated in the fabulous
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