General Margaron had been sent from Lisbon with between 4000 and 5000 men, to check the progress of the insurrection in Estremadura, and learn some intelligence of Loison, from whom nothing had been heard for a considerable time. Though the disposition of the people was every where the same, they were kept down by the presence or by the neighbourhood of the enemy, every where within reach of the capital; and he met with no opposition till he approached Leiria. That city, which is the most considerable place on the road to Coimbra, is built upon the little rivers Liz and Lena, in a beautiful country, an hundred miles from Lisbon. It is believed to have been built from the ruins of Colippo, a Lusitanian city which the Romans destroyed; and it has been asserted, that Sertorius planted a colony there whom he brought from Liria in Spain. Affonso Henriquez fortified it as a strong hold against the Moors, who then possessed Santarem, and recovered it after they had captured it. Some of his successors occasionally resided there, and its fine castle was enlarged and beautified by Queen St. Isabel, wife of the magnificent King Diniz. At the beginning of the last century it contained 900 houses and 2150 communicants. Its population had increased, and might at this time have been estimated at about 5000. The adjacent country has been made the scene of pastoral romance by Francisco Rodriguez Lobo, for which it is precisely adapted by its wild yet beautiful and peaceful character. ♦PREPARATION FOR DEFENCE.♦