Page:Lisbon and Cintra, Inchbold, 1907.djvu/254

Rh aperture in one of these is seen the skeleton of Balthasar de Faria, counsellor of the four kings, D. João III, D. Sebastião, D. Henrique and Spanish Philip, Ambassador to Rome, and one of the chief promoters of the establishment of the Inquisition in Portugal. Dissolved into dust are the costly robes of interment, only the mummified, hideous form remains in what is considered miraculous preservation; perhaps, suggests a Portuguese writer, that it might be the flouted cynosure of inquisitive eyes in expiation for sins committed in life. It is a relief to turn to the lovely gardens of these cloisters, where flowers and shrubs are enclosed in deep octagonal barriers of ancient azulejos. Through a window is seen the second cloister of two galleries, now in ruins, but still showing its substantial, yet beautiful architecture.

With lapse of years considerable alterations and additions were made to suit the new necessities of the increased number of knight-monks and the monastic troops attached to the Order of Christ. The simplicity of the Templars' chapel was modified, the clustered columns and arches of the Charola being worked upon in silver and tinted arabesques, the walls painted with allegorical figures, the niches filled with gilded and coloured statues of saints, all demonstrating the strong artistic influence of the East, while presenting a dazzling effect now toned by the mellow brush of Time. D. João I, as well as his son, Prince Henry, contributed to the changes in the monastery, but the grand restoration was due to D. Manuel, who as Duke of Beja, before his accession to the throne, was Grand Master of the Order, and a great lover of the Convento de Christo.

A massive pointed arch opened out the west face of the ancient chapel, and there arose on the hill crest a splendid structure in the regular lines of a parallelogram, consisting 190