The amusements of the town—­the theatre, the concert, and the opera—­do not affect the workman much; his budget does not allow of such indulgence, except on the occasion of a free performance.  Though they are fairly musical and love the theatre, the Portuguese have no really aesthetic side to their character.  There is a queer song and dance, topical and rather broad, the chula, the somewhat monotonous refrain of which is to be heard everywhere and at all hours, and from all manners of lips.  The washerwomen kneeling by the brook bang the unfortunate clothes on the flat stones in rhythm with the tune, and beguile the time with the interminable song.  It arises in unexpected places, and is a fairly sure item in the gathering of the younger folk, both in towns and villages, in the cool of the evening.  Concerts and theatres are fairly patronised by the more moneyed classes, but the performances are not, as a rule, of a very high calibre.  There is a subsidised theatre at Lisbon, but it does little to elevate the dramatic art elsewhere.

CHAPTER XIX

PORTUGUESE INSTITUTIONS

The Portuguese army is raised by conscription, each parish, according to size, having to contribute an annual quota of young men between twenty and twenty-one years of age.  These have to serve three consecutive years with the colours, and then pass into the reserve for another ten years.  During the latter period no conscript can leave the country without a passport.  In time of peace the army is supposed to number about thirty thousand men, and on the war footing should consist of about one hundred and twenty thousand men and two hundred and sixty-four guns.  The men, who in summer wear brown holland clothes, look hardy enough, and, according to ordinary report, are worthy of the plucky cacadores of the Peninsular War, who, according to Napier, made most excellent soldiers when properly led.  It is still said of the Portuguese soldier that with three beans in his pocket he can march and fight for a week without making any further demands upon the commissariat department.  This military service does not affect the nation much, either morally or physically, and the only economical effect is probably that it provides a fruitful source of plunder to corrupt officials.  As any man can free himself of the three years’ service with the colours by paying a sum of about L24, it may be imagined what an opening this affords for special peculation.

The navy consists of about five thousand men, and of a few modern war-ships, and of some old boats whose seaworthiness is questionable.  The best ship at present on the list is the cruiser Dom Carlos, which was sent to take part in the naval pageant which formed the first portion of the funeral of Queen Victoria.  The sailors, who are much to be seen in Lisbon, where the great naval barracks are situated, look smart enough, and as the Portuguese have always been good sailors, it may safely be predicted that, in case of necessity, they will make the most of the limited means at their disposal, or of such of them as have not been utterly ruined by official indifference or worse.