During our stay at Lisbon, we made a point of seeing the handsome churches, the opera, the grand aqueduct and other curiosities. The night previously to our quitting this place, the Consul gave a ball, to which we were invited; and I was surprised to observe the Portuguese gentlemen in coloured clothes, with pink and various-coloured silk stockings. The costume of the ladies was gaudy, but their dresses were ill made and worse put on. We only danced one set, and, some hours having elapsed without any appearance of supper, (which was of serious consideration to us, as we were ordered to be on the banks of the Tagus the next morning at day light for the purpose of embarking in boats for Villada, some distance up the river,) I explored a suite of rooms at the extremity of which I espied on a sideboard a huge dish filled with wafer cakes: but, not wishing to attack such a prize without an ally, I hastened to my companion to communicate my good luck, who, without further ado, assisted at their demolition. Although they were the largest of the kind I had ever before seen, our young teeth cracked them with an extraordinary rapidity; smash! smash! they went, and two layers had now disappeared, when a Portuguese attendant out of livery, observing such dreadful havoc, advanced to their rescue, assuring us with solemn physiognomy that they were reserved for the ladies. Hostilities ceased on their protector's consenting to procure us a bottle of wine, two goblets of which we hastily swallowed, and instantly sallied out into the odoriferous streets. "_Agua fresca, agua fresca_" resounded from all quarters, while buckets of the most nauseous contents fell with a splash from the upper stories of houses into the space below—like the bursting of water spouts. "Conceal yourself," cried my friend, "or you will be scented and sprinkled all over." In this manner, running the gauntlet at every turning, we proceeded until we reached the dark and narrow flight of stairs leading to our heavenly apartments, where we had no sooner entered than I put my foot on the body of a man, who lay stretched at full length across the doorway. I hung back, and we regroping our way down into the court yard, and alarming the guard, lights were procured: the rays of the lamp fell on the face of my drunken snoring servant, encircled with bottles—having emptied the contents into his own stomach. From the effects of this he had scarcely recovered at the hour of our departure, leaving me the agreeable task of packing up, and seeing my mule safe off, as the baggage and animals were to cross the grand lines of Torres Vedras, and meet us at the place of disembarkation. Passing through the principal streets, we entered the boats for our conveyance (after a stay of eleven days at Lisbon) and landed in the evening at Villada. CHAPTER IV.