MARQUIS OF POMBAL BY THE CQNDE.DA CARNOTA m THE MARQUIS OF POMBAL. THE MARQUIS OF POMBAL. BY THE CONDE DA CAKNOTA, SECOXD EDITION. LONDON: LONGMANS, GREEN, READER, AND DYER, PATERNOSTER ROW. 1871. DP /?7/ LONDON : PRINTED BY RANKEN AND CO., DRURY HOUSE, ST. MARY-LE-STRAND. 529*7:* SEP 3 8 187/, *W)!? JJOEEEGB LTBKlp CBESTNUT HILL. MA» P HE FACE. A preface to the Life of the Marquis of Pombal ought perl laps to be addressed more especially to his country- men. For, if the author could venture to expect any commendation for his humble attempt to vindicate the character of that illustrious statesman from the aspersions cast upon his memory, he would especially desire to receive it at the hands of those readers, in whose breasts the name of Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Hello might be supposed to excite emotions of a proud and generous patriotism. History scarcely furnishes the parallel of another genius, whose fame has been so foully tarnished by the prejudice and malignity of his enemies. For, in what other light can we regard any biographer of Pombal, sprung from the race, or educated in the principles, of the Jesuits ?* If we could here forestall the details of the * Note to Second Edition. — Confounding the Jesuit Order at the period of its suppression by Clement XIV. in 1773, with the present members of the Society, some persons have reproached the author with attacking an excellent body of ecclesiastics, devoted to the glory of the Catholic Church, and the education of its members. VI PREFACE. following Memoirs, we should with difficulty, amidst all the stirring events of that statesman's ministry, discover a measure requiring greater courage to originate, or fraught with more lasting importance in its results, than his expulsion of that Order from Portugal. This step first excited the wonder, but eventually was followed by the imitation of the Eoman Catholic sovereigns throughout Europe ; and whatever degree of admiration or of censure such a proceeding may inherit from the opponents or the advocates of ecclesiastical dominion, no Jesuit could hesitate in his condemnation, equally of its authors and advisers. For the Jesuits, at least, could admit no com- promise between their proscribed and persecuted Order, and the man who first crushed their authority, and ulti- mately banished them from that empire which they had usurped. But the first writer who compiled the history of the life and times of Pombal was a member of the Jesuit Order. Born of Italian parents, he was destitute of all those sympathies which constitute the nationality of a Portuguese ; a citizen of an insignificant State, he could ill appreciate the enlarged views of commerce adopted by Pombal ; the narrow system of the schools The author has simply stated some of the circumstances which determined a virtuous and enlightened Pontiff to suppress the Order : he sees no difficulty in reconciling the justice of Clement XIV. with the prudence of Pius VII., who thought proper to re- CBtablish it. PREFACE. VU might naturally prejudice his understanding against those plans of universal education, which were applied under the auspices of Doni Joseph ; nor is it possible to conceive that the bigoted subject of an absolute prince could approve the development of those enlightened maxims of State policy, which are identified with the career of the Minister, whose Memoirs form the subject of this vol- ume. It is remarkable, that this writer concealed his own principles under the mask of an anonymous publica- tion. Yet upon this anonymous, and, it may be added, anomalous history, all the subsequent accounts of that period are founded. The Jesuit's compilation has been followed by a variety of smaller publications drawn from no more authentic sources. These various productions will be found to differ from each other, principally in their bulk, in the order and variety of their incidents, and in the prominency of certain characters ; while their sameness is occasionally relieved by some slight modifi- cations .in the views of their respective authors, or by the introduction of some popular, perhaps newly -invented, tale. But the same family resemblance is apparent in the features of each ; they are evidently derived from the same Jesuitical stock. And, although it is not surprising that a Jesuit should have eagerly undertaken to write the life, and delineate the character, of the deceased minister, it is still less matter of astonishment, that such a biographer should have painted his hero in the Vlll PREFACE. likeness, alternately of a slave and a tyrant ; a monster and a parasite ; a hypocrite and a knave — anything, however incongruous or impossible, anything but the individual, whose qualities the author has endeavoured, however feebly, to pourtray ; anything, in short, but Fombal. The English reader may, however, inquire, " What has the present generation to do with the life of a Portu- guese politician ? " To offer a complete answer to such a question, were to anticipate the following Memoirs. But it may be replied generally : — There have been eminent men, who not only reflected a lustre upon the people they instructed and the country they adorned, but cast their light onward over succeeding generations, and still shine as beacons to shape the course and guide the advance of an admiring posterity. The minister who rules in troublous times enjoys few of the sweets of office, whilst he incurs all its responsibilities. His indefatigable labours by day, his sleepless anxiety by night ; the ceaseless round of his duties, comprehending subjects of unmeasured importance ; the sacrifice of private feeling to public interests ; the loss of society, and the privation of more than half the enjoyments of domestic life — what patriotism, be it ever so exalted, would encounter such an existence, if its reward consisted in the jealousies of sup- porters, and the cabals of a hydra-opposition ? Can it be supposed that those eminent men, who have contributed PREFACE. IX to the valuable legislation of their country, are doomed to be forgotten or disregarded, as the creatures of a temporary popularity, in whose examples their successors have no concern ? Or will the reader deny to the regene- rator of his country all reward but that of an ephemeral reputation ? Nor is it among his own countrymen alone, that the faithful servant of the Crown must look for the esteem and approbation of posterity. It is not to stimulate the industry of the needy tradesman, or to amuse the attention of the careless passenger, that the beautiful Corinthian column is at this moment in progress to the memory of our immortal Nelson. The intelligent foreigner will lift his view above the bas-reliefs upon the base, until his eye surveys the rich sculpture of the capital, and contemplates the hero himself. From the beauty of the memorial, he will naturally pass to the character of the individual, and it is to be hoped, that whether the stranger stand before the column of Nelson, or the tomb of Pombal, he will not peruse the inscription without inquiring of the history, nor, while he admires the monument, protest his indiffer- ence to the man. 'AvSpwv ryxp fxipavuv Tra?* yr, Ta.po( } fteti ov oTrtAwv /uovov iv ry oiKsif an/AMva nutypx^r], txaaru Moreover, the life of Pombal opens sources of attraction, X PREFACE. especially calculated to excite the attention of the English reader ; as, independently of the general interest attached to that portion of Portuguese history, the administration of Pombal was peculiarly English in its character and objects. Nor did his exertions in maintaining the com- mercial freedom of his country at all militate against this position. Eor, by ascertaining and adjusting the re- ciprocal rights of the merchants, he not only established a good understanding for the time, but provided the most effectual guarantee for the continuance of those friendly relations, which have proved so conducive to the pros- perity of both people. The progress of his government is likewise pregnant with examples, which the wisdom of the present age might not disdain to imitate. An administration em- bracing a period of twenty-seven years must necessarily furnish some great examples of wisdom or of folly, and must have contributed materially either to the happiness or misery of the people. And, perhaps, it may not be unfair to conclude at once in favour of the former qualities ; since it is difficult to conceive, that a minister could have continued to govern so long, unless he had governed both wisely and well. Bad governments create bad subjects, and bad subjects will never endure a bad government, even if they be persuaded to tolerate a good one. "Twenty-two years," exclaimed Mr. Burke, "is a long space in the scale of the life of man ; it is no PREFACE. XI inconsiderable space in the history of a great nation." Yet it was during a period of twenty-seven years that Pombal illustrated by his practice some of those essential maxims of State policy, which at that time were barely appreciated even by a legislature, then incomparably the most enlightened in the world — the legislature of Great Britain. He has shown us how much positive good a government can confer. His was not a mere negative government. His life exhibits the unusual picture of a ruler outstripping the intelligence of the age in which he lived ; at the same time he has emphatically demonstrated what constitutes true reform. Pombal was no speculative reformer. He neither attempted innovation upon old established customs, for the sake of developing a new and fanciful theory, nor did he blindly propagate antiquated errors. No minister ever interfered so deeply with the great interests of society, without either disorganising its elements, or obstructing its improvement. He did not bow down before the Idol of Eeform, until he had lifted up the veil and ascertained its truth ; yet, conducting the march of civilisation, he originated the views, unfolded the prospects, encouraged the enterprise, regulated or supplied the wants, and developed the energies of a nation. His writings will be found to contain some of the most valuable discoveries known to the modern science of political economy ; and his administration in some measure reconciled two antagonist principles, by nursing Xll PREFACE. domestic industry without paralysing freedom of trade. But in the growth and cultivation of mind — a subject comparatively novel to the debates even of a British parliament — Pombal remains still without an imitator. The distinguishing feature of his political and social reformation, lies in his profound and comprehensive plans of education — a scheme at that period unrivalled among all the Eoman Catholic countries of Europe. He here supplied principles in support of his precepts, whilst he illustrated his precepts by his examj^le. The sentiments uttered by Cuvier, when, in 1809-10, that philosopher was charged with the organisation of the universities of Piedmont, Genoa, and Tuscany, had already been anticipated half a century before by the regenerator of Portugal ; but the words of Cuvier are so descriptive of the scope and objects of Pombal's administration, that the author may perhaps be excused for inserting them here. " Give," said the ingenious French naturalist, " give schools before political rights ; make citizens comprehend the duties that the state of society imposes on them ; teach them what political rights are, before you offer them their enjoyment : then all amelioration will be made without causing a shock ; then each new idea, thrown upon good ground, will have time to germinate, to grow, and to ripen, without convulsing the social body. Imitate Nature, which, in the development of beings, acts by gradation, and gives time to every member to grow to PREFACE. Xlll perfection. Institutions must have ages to produce all their fruits : witness Christianity, the effects of which are not yet accomplished, notwithstanding eighteen centuries of existence. " The measures of Pombal, however, produced the fruits of national prosperity within the life and experience of their gifted originator. But this rapid development was particularly fostered by two causes, the absence of which, during subsequent periods, has mainly accelerated the decline of Portugal : — First, he possessed the entire and undeviating confidence of his sovereign. The courage and constancy of Dom Joseph in this respect were admirably maintained, faithfully merited, and deservedly rewarded. The king trusted the minister, and the latter conferred the blessings of an auspicious reign upon both king and people ; and this mutual confidence contributed to effect the second source of that statesman's success, viz., a strong government. The weakness of a government is indeed proverbially an infliction upon the body politic ; and, whatever may have been the secret motives of Napoleon, when he enforced that truth upon the minds of his audience — however he may have perverted its application to an excuse for monopolising in himself the various functions of the State — the recent condition of Portugal justifies the language addressed by the French Emperor to the Chamber at the opening of the legislative session, twenty-five days after his coronation — " La XIV PREFACE. faiblesse du pouvoir supreme est la plus affreuse calamite des peuples." The strength of Pombal's govemnierit was peculiarly opportune. Great occasions commonly produce great men, although it does not always happen that such men enjoy every facility for carrying their views into effect. But the visitations of Providence are generally followed by the ministers and means of consolation. The earth- quake of 1755 communicated its shock to all Europe, and the very features of the earth in and around Lisbon were, some of them, engulphed in yawning chasms, and others obliterated by smoking ruins. Yet the very prostration of national energy consequent upon the general despair, was favourable to improvement. The country was re- duced to a condition of helplessness, to a state of national infancy ; its vital powers were in a manner suspended ; but its energies, though dormant, were not dead, and the plastic elements of civilisation were capable of being moulded into any form which a vigorous intellect might select. The master mind alone was wanting. The genius of Pombal rose out of the ashes of Lisbon : the minister was formed for the emergency, and, being elevated to the plenitude of power, availed himself of the opportunity to regenerate his country. The author feels that many apologies are due from himself for the manner in which he has executed his task. His difficulties, however, were of no ordinary PREFACE, XV diameter. The life of an. eminent statesman must indeed always be no less difficult to compile, than instructive to peruse. All the agreeable incidents and associations of his domestic life are swept away in the stream of his public career, and even contemporary writers, from whose accounts we might expect to gather the materials of an interesting memoir, have their attention so exclusively concentrated upon his public character, that they notice little beside it. But his biographer, should he attempt to follow his steps too closely, is in danger of alternately degenerating into a dry chronicler of bygone events, or assuming the infatuated zeal of a political partisan. The very copiousness of the subject became, in the present in- stance, a source of embarrassment. Under constitutional governments, and in more extended empires, the various departments of administration are necessarily controlled and directed, each by its respective head, whose public acts are therefore confined within a more limited sphere. But the extraordinary character, who forms the subject of the following Memoirs, himself possessed and exercised all the functions of a complicated government ; and the author, while he felt compelled to trace his progress, has endeavoured to avoid conducting the reader too far into the wide field of legislation, across which his footsteps lead. To the history of that legislation, however, the author was obliged himself to resort in order to collect his materials for the following pages, as the existing XVI PRE FACE. memorials of the times could only serve to mislead. Left thus comparatively without a guide, the author was constrained to rely upon the scattered but authentic sources of information which lay buried among the printed records and edicts at Lisbon, the archives of various legations, and the voluminous despatches at Her Majesty's State Paper Office. To the latter documents access was liberally afforded him, and their contents bear a more impartial testimony to the character of Pombal, than could be extracted from the encomiums of his friends, or the censure of his enemies. Considerable delay intervened between the author's opportunities of consulting these distinct and distant authorities, ren- dering it impossible to preserve any consistent train of thought upon the majority of the events there recorded. If, therefore, it be found that incidents are occasionally introduced with too little preparation, or dismissed more abruptly than their importance would seem to demand, it is hoped the reader will not entirely forget the labour and difficulty of framing and connecting a variety of widely-scattered, and sometimes contradictory materials, into one continuous narrative, but will regard the de- ficiencies of the work with a proportionate degree of indulgence. London, 1843. THE MAEQUIS OF POMBAL CHAPTER I. Enfeebled by the vices of a bad government, by foreign invasion, and finally by the scourge of intestine wars, Portugal no longer presents that prosperous con- dition which she enjoyed when her enterprising mariners circumnavigated the globe, and her inspired poet, three centuries ago, sang the glories of his countrymen. Yet the early annals of the Lusitanian monarchy contain the records of innumerable achievements performed by a race of illustrious men, not unworthy of comparison with the time-honoured heroes of polished Greece, or the victorious epochas of martial Rome. At the famous battle of Campo d'Ourique, won by Affonso Henri ques in 1139, the first fatal blow was struck at the power of the Moors in Portugal. The victorious commander was proclaimed King by his soldiers, and the Cortes of Lamego confirmed the title. He died in 1185. His successors prosecuted a continual war against the intruders, until, in the reign of Dom Diniz, they were finally extirpated from the kingdom. This monarch deserved and enjoyed the veneration of his subjects. His excellent government procured him the epithet of "the father of his country" ; whilst by the encouragement he gave to agricul- ture, he obtained that of " the husbandman." Dom Diniz laid the foundations of his country's future commercial greatness. He was a prince of considerable literary accom- plishments, and sought to encourage learning by the establishment of a University. Portugal lost this just and wise ruler in the year 1325. His son and successor, Dom Affonso IV., adopted very rigorous measures to compel his subjects to cultivate their property ; for although he encouraged them to do so by honours and rewards, at the same time he decreed that the husbandman who neglected his lands should forfeit his flocks, and be condemned to the gallows if he persevered in such neglect ! In the reign of Dom Pedro I., it is said, the whole kingdom was cultivated as one large garden, and supported a population of 5,000,000 ; whilst the yearly exports, from the Tagus alone, of the country's superabundant produce in corn, salt, and oil, were sufficient to load 1600 vessels. The chroniclers of these times declare that such " a period of ten years was never seen in Portugal before or since," and, with an unhappy prophecy, augur little hope of its renewal. When his successor, Dom Fernando, came to the throne in 1367, such was the prosperous condition of Portugal, as narrated by an ancient writer, that never prince inherited such vast riches, in gold and silver, as had accumulated during the glorious reigns of Dom Diniz, Dom Affonso IV., and Dom Pedro I. The cradle of maritime discovery, Lisbon seems formed by Nature to be the seat of commerce. Hence, excited by the spirit of enterprise, which flourishes only under a good and vigorous government, the Portuguese were amongst the first of European nations to despatch their sons to plough unknown seas, to brave untried perils, to navigate prodigious oceans, and explore untrodden lands. It was no trifling effort of the mind which could overcome the dread of dimly shadowed danger, the fear of hideous whirlpools, vast rocks, nnimaged monsters, and all the inconceivable hazards which, in the period of which we are speaking, were supposed to be met with beyond the Pillars of Hercules — the ne plus ultra of Grecian explora- tion. Glorious were the rewards and unfading the laurels which Portugal acquired by these expeditions. It was in one of these voyages, in the 15th century, that the magnificent island of Madeira was discovered. In others, her enter- prising sons surveyed the entire line of the African coast as far as Sierra Leone, and colonised the Azores and the Cape Verde islands ; while towards the close of the same century Bartolomeo Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope, which he named Cabo Tormentoso ; and, not satisfied with his own discoveries, with the inextinguishable love of empire which characterised the Portuguese at that period, he despatched a messenger overland to Ethiopia to explore and describe the kingdom of the renowned Prester John. Soon afterwards the Great Captain, as he is called, Vasco da Gama, sailed with three ships to India, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope, the southern extremity of Africa. Fortune smiled on this bold enterprise, and the Lusitanian hero returned successful, after an absence of two years. His perils and exploits became the subject of the celebrated Lusiadas, a poem of which the Portu- guese are justly proud; for to intrinsic merit it adds the glory of being the first living Epic that appeared after the Augustan age. By such enterprises as that of Da Gama, in a short period the Portuguese dominions in Asia were b 2 extended from Ormuz to Malacca. At this time tlie colony of Goa, now almost a solitary remnant of former posses- sions in the East Indies, was acquired ; friendly relations were established with Persia, a settlement was obtained in China, and a free trade sanctioned in Japan. In short, by the judicious conduct of great generals abroad, aided by a wise administration at home, the possessions, the riches, and the power of Portugal increased to an extent till then unknown ; while Lisbon became the depot of Asiatic treasure, and the emporium of Eastern produce. In the Western hemisphere the Portuguese were equally active and enterprising. In 1520 Magelhaens discovered the straits which still bear his name ; but before he had perfected his discovery he was unfortunately killed in a fray with the natives. From this time large portions of the vast continent of South America became subject to Portugal, and national prosperity reached its climax. Henceforth, however, we are to view little else than feebleness, declension, and decay. Nor are the causes which produced this state of things few, or of a vacillating nature. Among the first, the competition of other countries must be mentioned ; but the most fatal was the colonisation of Brazil, which, by depriving Portugal of her most enter- prising inhabitants, took from her her sources of wealth — as by abstracting industry and application from her cities, and planting them on the shores of the Western world, was laid the foundation of a premature decay. From this unfortunate policy Portugal is still suffering. It was vainly imagined that the mines from which she annually extracted the precious metals were inexhaustible, and that an increase of gold was an increase of wealth. And, even though the latter were true at the time, it was little considered that as gold and silver became plentiful they would decrease in value, while the labour of working the mines would continue the same, until at length the expense would equal or exceed the value of the produce. There were also other causes which hastened the downfall of the Portuguese monarchy ; but these are to be referred to general principles, which apply equally to other countries as to Portugal, and need not therefore unnecessarily detain us. It was during the reign of John III., who ascended the throne in 1523, that the rapid decline took a more active form. He seemed born, if not to complete, at least to hasten his country's ruin. Of a gloomy, saturnine, and superstitious temperament, his piety or his fears incited him to the establishment of the Inquisition, and to the en- couragement of the Jesuit order. Suspicious, and devoid of any of those nobler qualities which should characterise the monarch ; deficient in those higher sentiments of honour which should distinguish the soldier, and which make ambition greatness, he permitted the envy of his courtiers, and the jealousy of their less worthy competitors, to slander and destroy the reputation of those very generals to whom he owed all his security as a king, and Portugal all her influence as a nation. Having thus debased them in the eyes of the people, he found it no difficult task to recall and leave them to perish in poverty and disgrace. His successor, Sebastian, ascended the throne with worthier aspirations. Influenced by the hope of reward, or stimu- lated by the thirst of glory, at the head of sixteen thousand men, commanded by the flower of his nobility, he passed into Africa, with the intention to assist a banished mon- arch, and if possible to restore him to his throne : the con- ditions of this enterprise, in the event of its successful termination, being the cession of the city of Arzila. But fortune frowned on the attempt, and the ill-fated monarch, routed at the famous battle of Alcacer-Quibir, lost his 8 army and his life ; nor had the miserable remnant of his soldiers, or the distant subjects of his neglected kingdom, the consolation of paying him those last rites of sepulture to which mankind in all ages have attached so much im- portance. For, whether slain in the battle, and allowed to moulder among ignoble bodies, or, escaping from the fight, it was he who subsequently appeared at Venice, and claimed to be Dom Sebastian, still remains a mystery. It has been alleged by many that the Venetians recognised the unfortunate monarch, but, influenced by Spain, they cruelly imprisoned him for the remainder of his days. His advent, however was long expected, and even to the present century there were many ignorant persons who, under the name of Sebastianistas, looked for his reappearance. At Sebastian's death, seven candidates competed for the crown. Among these was Philip II. of Spain ; and as his claim was supported by an army of thirty thousand men, which he marched into Portugal, his rivals, unable or un- willing to oppose him, disappeared from the scene of action, and Portugal was annexed in the year 1580 to the king- dom of Spain. Camoens was spared the pain of witness- ing his country's degradation, as he died the previous year. But Philip's usurpation was established only at an expense of human life, a relation of which harrows the feelings and shocks the mind of the historian. We are credibly informed that so numerous were the slaughtered bodies thrown into the sea, that the people refused to eat fish until its waters had been solemnly purified by religious rites and ceremonies. From the towers of St. Julien alone, at the mouth of the Tagus, two thousand ecclesias- tics, it is said, were precipitated into the waves. A Portu- guese historian, while recording these atrocities, exclaims in pious horror, " that the sea, unwilling to conceal so great a crime, washed the dead bodies into the fishermen's nets ; moreover, the fishes, offended at the insult, refused to be caught, refused to be food for men, wicked men, who, reversing the decrees of Providence, wished men to be food for them."* This indignation of the fish, according to history, lasted so long that the Archbishop of Lisbon, at the request of the fishermen, proceeded in grand procession to purify the deep, which after such unusual profanation had refused to yield its legitimate inhabitants as food for man. The Jesuits have been accused as the instigators of this horrible proscription, with the view of increasing their wealth and consolidating their power at the expense of their brethren. But the character of the Spanish monarch is a sufficient explanation for all the cruelties inflicted at this period on unhappy Portugal, without seeking to affix the stigma of the fratricidal deed upon the Society of Jesus. Under the blighting government and paralysing sway of Spain, Portugal soon lost her position and importance in Europe, and at the same time her influence in Asia while, her navy being destroyed and her commerce dimin- ished, her treasures were lavishly poured into the channels of Spanish prodigality. The wounds inflicted by the haughty Castilians have never been healed \ nor has time, to the present hour, abated the animosity existing from that period between the two countries. The independence of Portugal as a nation rests entirely on the fostering of her national feeling, and the concentration of her native energy; for her people are well aware that the geographi- cal position of Spain renders that kingdom a dangerous neighbour, and a suspicious ally. Nor do I believe that the views of those individuals of either country who desire to see the two crowns united on the head of one monarch, * Conde de Ericeira. " Portugal restaurado." 8 in order that the peninsula might become one compact, independent, and powerful nation, are likely to be realised in the present century. The national characters are too dissimilar to allow of such an union. The Portuguese hitherto enjoying the monopoly of Eastern commerce, Lisbon had become the great mart of Asiatic produce, and thither all nations resorted. But when the Dutch went to war with Spain, and found themselves excluded from that port, in consequence of the Portuguese subjection to the Spaniards, they were compelled to trade directly to India themselves, and after a time, under pretence of the hostilities then waging between the two nations, invaded and took possession of the rich islands of Ceylon, Malacca, and many other settlements, which were never afterwards restored to Portugal. But retribution was fast following in the steps of in- justice, and soon overtook the evil-doers. Spain herself beo-an to decline. In this war with the Dutch, she lost the United Provinces, where no less than eighteen thousand persons, during the sanguinary government of the atrocious Alba, were put to death, either from political motives or religious persecution. Again, the invincible Armada, tossed by the waves, and dispersed by the tempest, fell an easy prey to the just vengeance of the English, who pursued with fury, and destroyed without mercy, the floating castles of these Spaniards, who had threatened to carry them in chains to the foot of the throne of the disappointed Philip. Again another calamity awaited them, yet more deplorable in its transit, and more fatal in its consequences. To gratify the personal hatred or bigoted zeal of the Archbishop of Valentia, one million Moors, the most industrious and virtuous portion of the population, were driven from their country, and expelled to the arid plains of Africa, one-tenth of whom are said to have perished ere they reached the scene of their banishment. Spain never recovered this blow. It was the pouring out of the blood of her own heart. It was tearing out the organs which nourished and circulated the cold fluids within her stony bosom. Henceforth the Spanish monarchy was but a page of history — not an active or a living power ; and so rapid w T as its decay, that though, in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, it con- tained fifteen millions of inhabitants, yet in 1715 the population did not exceed seven — retribution rapid as it was frightful. But the political atmosphere of Portugal was not for ever to be overcast by foreign dominion. In 1640 Cata- lonia and Biscay were stung by innumerable insults and contumelies into insurrection ; and seizing the opportunity, Portugal, by one of those bloodless revolutions which so seldom grace the page of history, placed the Duke of Braganca upon the throne. John IV., the new king, called to the sovereignty by the acclamations of the people, as Alphonso had been in 1139, immediately summoned the Cortes; and this act gave great satisfaction, as it seemed to promise the people a share in the government of themselves, and the levying and distribution of their own taxes. But experience has shown, both in Portugal and in other nations, that the mere forms of a free government are insufficient to protect the people from the encroachments of arbitrary authority. Those enlightened maxims of state which compel monarchs to respect the lives and properties of their subjects, and those wise rules of conduct which guide them in the management of their liberties, and which are observed even in absolute monarchies of the present day, did not then exist ; or, if they did exist, they were rather 10 acknowledged than acted upon. For although the liberties of the nation had been solemnly guaranteed and defined by the Cortes of Lamego in the twelfth century, with as much care and precision as had those of the English people in their celebrated Magna Charta, yet, at the period of which we are speaking, and even up to the eighteenth century, these theoretical rights were as little understood or enforced as were those of the English in the reign of Henry VIII., when the mere fiat of the sovereign was sufficient to take away the life of any one of his subjects. Possibly the late cruel vassalage under the Spaniards had accustomed their minds to slavery ; and the momentary assertion of their rights may have arisen only from the severity with which their bondage was accompanied. Be this as it may, the clergy, seeing the apathy that existed, seized the opportunity to increase their own influence, and to reconcile the people to the arbitrary exactions of their rulers. They succeeded but too well ; and as the con- sequence of their bigotry, and the despotism of the government, the people remained ignorant, and the nation became broken in spirit, indolent in character, and poor in resources. Portugal, thus enervated and humbled, lost nearly all her Eastern possessions. Among the few settlements that still remained was Bombay, at that time an unhealthy, barren, and worthless settlement, after- wards given in dowry to the Infanta Catharina when she married Charles II., king of England ; the two govern- ments little suspecting, or foreseeing, that a place so lightly valued was one day to be the seat of British empire in India. The other settlements which Portugal still holds in the East are of little value to her ; and it is natural to suppose, that at no distant date they will be sold to the highest and best bidder. In the year 1706 (the subject of these memoirs being 11 then seven years old) John V. succeeded to the throne, and two years afterwards, . in his twenty-first year, married Marianne, daughter of the Emperor Leopold I. He was of an inactive and luxurious disposition, and consequently a prey to those weaknesses and vices which spring from indolence and indulgence. In men of ordinary station, who have not the burden of government to bear, this tendency to inertion is sometimes dignified with the name of contentment, and lauded as a virtue, the offspring of wisdom and philosophy ; but in the sovereign this is more frequently the result of incapacity of mind for the performance of great achievements ; and, judging from its effects, is more often allied to vice than to virtue. John's easy temper made him a willing engine of the clergy, who estranged his thoughts from the government of the king- dom, and directed them to the erection and endowment of churches and monasteries, until their influence and power reached an almost incredible height. At this time there were no less than eight hundred religious establishments in Portugal itself, which nourished in indolence and un- productiveness, too often in vice and immorality, a vast portion of the population.* But of all the ecclesiastical extravagancies of this reign, that which most distinguished it was the organisation of a Church establishment on the model of that of Home. For this purpose, John, having entered ardently into the project of his clergy, applied for, and succeeded in obtaining from the Court of Kome, per- mission to found a higher ecclesiastical establishment than any hitherto held in the country, and a dignitary was * There existed in Portugal at the period of their suppression, in 1833, 39 religious orders, whose authority extended itself over 129 monasteries and 408 convents and hospices. Of these orders, that of St. Bernardo was introduced as early as 1122 ; that of the Congregacao da Conceicao Marianna, so recent as the year 1754. 12 appointed to preside over the Church in Portugal, under the title of Patriarch. To this high office was added a sacred college of twenty-four prelates, to whom was granted, by royal ordinance, the right of being addressed by the title of Excellency — a distinction highly prized, as it is exclusively confined to the grandees of the kingdom ; a class which does not comprise the nobles bearing the rank of Viscount. To render the resemblance of this ecclesiastical body to the Court of Rome still more striking, the vestures of the Patriarch on days of solemnity were made similar to those of the Pope himself; while the prelates wore the scarlet robes in imitation of the cardinals. In the performance of the Church ceremonies they aimed at rivalling the pomp and magnificence of the illustrious body which they had chosen as a model. Nearly two hundred subsidiary dignitaries, of various ranks and titles, filled subordinate posts in this novel establishment, and on these also were lavished honours and dignities in profusion; while an infinity of lower offices augmented the number of the Patriarchate, until it was impossible to say in what obscure capacity the last of the long legion of ecclesiastical subservitors was known to terminate. No less than £98,000 annually was expended in this useless vanity ; besides other immense sums that were lavished before permission could be obtained to incorporate the establish- ment. From this time Dom John, by an express Boll of the year 1748, was permitted, both in his own person and that of his successors, to bear the title of " Most Faithful." The erection of an immense building at Mafra was another gigantic undertaking to which Dom John devoted many years of anxious solicitude, and on which he ex- pended vast sums, which might have been more profitably employed in improving the agriculture, the manufactures, 13 and the commerce of the country. The beauty, extent, and magnificence of this noble pile compel us to regret that so much wealth, labour, and talent had not been expended on some enterprise more in accordance with the spirit of the age, or more adapted to the wants of the nation. But the utility of the work never seems to have occupied the attention of Dom John. He was satisfied that his object was piety, and the flattery of his parasites the truth ; while the whispers of vanity decided the question. It was certainly a gigantic undertaking. The building contains a church, a palace, and a convent ; each built on the most splendid scale, and enriched with the most lavish art ; for the most celebrated artists of Italy were employed in their construction.* To this costly magnificence in Mafra he * The author of Vathek thus describes this sumptuous edifice : — "We entered the church, passing though its magnificent portico, which reminded me not a little of the entrance of St. Peter's, and is crowded with the statues of saints and martyrs, carved with infinite delicacy. " The first coiip-cVceil of the church is very imposing. The high altar, adorned with two majestic columns of reddish variegated marble, each a single block above thirty feet in height, immediately fixes the eye. Trevisani has painted the altar-piece in a masterly manner. It represents St. Anthony in the ecstacy of beholding the infant Jesus descending into his cell amidst an effulgence of glory. 11 To-morrow being the festival of St. Augustin, whose followers are the actual possessors of this monastery, all the golden candelabra were displayed and tapers lighted. After pausing a few minutes in the midst of this bright illumination, we visited the collateral chapels, each enriched with highly-finished bassi-relievi and stately portals of black and yellow marble richly veined, and so highly polished as to reflect objects like a mirror. Never did I behold such an assemblage of beautiful marble as gleamed above, below, and around us. The pavement, the vaulted ceiling, the dome, and even the topmost lantern, is encrusted with the same costly and durable materials. Roses of white marble and wreaths of palm 14 added a further impoverishing prodigality in Lisbon. In the church of St. Boque, a building of the meanest archi- tectural pretensions exteriorly, he ornamented a small chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, in the most sumptuous and the most resplendent manner. This chapel, in proportion to its size, was probably the richest in the world. It is but seventeen feet in length, by twelve in breadth, and yet the ornaments and decorations cost no less than £225,000. It was adorned with the rarest marbles and the most exquisite mosaics, and literally dazzled the eye with the varied and brilliant hues of lapis lazuli, porphyry, amethyst, chrysolite, alabaster, silver, and gold. In consequence, however, of this and other branches, most exquisitely sculptured, enrich every part of the edifice. I never saw Corinthian capitals better modelled, or executed with more precision and sharpness, than those of the columns which support the nave. " Having satisfied our curiosity by examining the various orna- ments of the altars, we followed our conductor through a long covered gallery into the sacristy, a magnificent vaulted hall, panelled with some beautiful varieties of alabaster and porphyry, and carpeted, as well as a chapel adjoining it, in a style of the utmost magnficence. AVe traversed several more halls and chapels, adorned with equal splendour, till we were fatigued and bewildered like errant knights in the mazes of an enchanted palace. I began to think there was no end to these spacious apartments. To be sure, we advanced at a most rapid rate, striding from one end to the other of a dormitory six hundred feet in length in a minute or two. These vast corridors, and the cells with which they communicate, three hundred in number, are all arched in the most sumptuous and solid manner. Every cell, or rather chamber, for they are sufficiently spacious, lofty, and well-lighted to merit that appellation, is furnished with tables and cabinets of Brazil-wood. "The library is of a prodigious length, not less than three hundred feet ; the arched roof of a pleasing form, beautifully stuccoed, and the pavement of red and white marble. * * * 11 The dome may certainly be reckoned among the lightest and best proportioned in Europe." 15 misappropriations of the revenue, the army and navy were almost annihilated, the fortifications fell into ruins, and the defences of the country were no longer tenable. There existed a nominal navy and a nominal army, dismantled and abandoned fortresses, nominal lines of defence, and nominal regiments of observation; in short, the Govern- ment was but the skeleton of an executive power; it wanted all that gives life to it — men, money, and munitions of war — the blood, sinews, and sustenance of a country. The Cortes had not been assembled since the year 1698, while the united functions of a deliberative and executive body were usurped and exercised by the clergy and the nobility; both equally determined, at whatever risk, by arbitrary and unconstitutional proceedings, to prevent the people from achieving any act which might be supposed capable of exciting in them their ancient love of freedom, or which might lead to a demand of that share in the administration of their own affairs which had been unjustly and disgracefully wrested from them in their moments of victory and excitement. Licentiousness w r as general; nor was the veil of hypocrisy thought necessary to conceal from the public eye that which the monarch not only encouraged but openly pursued. In the convent of Odivellas, John V. is said, to have sought and obtained those relaxations and voluptuous indulgences which little accorded with his out- ward piety. The highest classes of the nobility disgraced themselves by the most savage and the most sanguinary excesses. The streets of Lisbon echoed at nightfall with their riotous shouts and hateful brawls; while the lives of the quiet citizens, lost in self-defence or expended in wanton frolic, were unavenged and unatoned — the aristocratic malefac- tors, screening themselves with their riches, or sheltering 1(3 themselves under their rank and affinity to the Crown, escaped unpunished and unmolested. Under such a government, industry was depressed and enterprise arrested ; and both, uncertain of reaping the reward of action and exertion, desisted from effort and sunk into inanition. Even the persevering Jews, persecuted and obstructed in their attempts to win a reluctant and a pain- ful competence, abandoned their avocations and fled the country. It is alleged that before they took this step they offered John £200,000 annually (a vast sum for those days) to be allowed to locate themselves at Almada, a large village situated on the high ground opposite Lisbon, originally built by the English when they went to support the Portuguese against the Moors in the thirteenth century. The offer, however, was refused. Amidst all this folly, weakness, and misfortune, one un- dertaking begun and completed during this reign merits the highest praise — not only for its magnificence, which rivals anything of the kind that ancient Rome attempted or achieved, but from its utility. This is the grand aque- duct of Alcantara, which conveys vast supplies of water from a distance of two leagues to supply the wants of the capital. It was commenced in 1712 and finished in 1732. It crosses the deep valley of Alcantara near Lisbon, and is at that spot supported by thirty-five arches, the loftiest of which is two hundred and sixty-four feet from the ground, with a breadth of one hundred and eighty between the bases. Two spacious channels conduct the water from its source, on each side of which is a pathway for passengers on foot. Having, in his government and amusements, sketched an outline of the life and propensities of John V., it will not excite surprise to find him sinking into imbecility and fatuity, and abandoning himself to the most abject practices 17 of superstitious devotion. In this condition he vege- tated rather than lived the last nine years of his life, and died in 1750, leaving his country burdened with a debt of three millions sterling, and apparently on the brink of ruin. 18 CHAPTER IT. Dom Joseph, on his accession to the throne, had com- pleted his thirty-sixth year. Having never been allowed to take an active part in the administration of affairs during the long period of his father's incapacity, he found himself suddenly called upon to undertake the government of a country, which his predecessor had left in the worst possible state of disorganisation and misery. Never in the history of any country, at any period of its threatened dissolution, does there appear to have been found fewer principles of regeneration than in the kingdom of Portugal at the death of John. Yet, at that very moment, when every prospect of returning prosperity was obscured, and Fortune herself seemed to have aban- doned the unhappy land, one powerful genius arose, and from the mighty depth of his transcendent mind, like the Athenian goddess springing from the brains of Olympian Jupiter, a new order of things commenced. To him was intrusted by Providence, the arduous task of checking the latent springs of evil; of moulding the most incongruous and discordant materials to proper shape and form ; of unmasking hypocrisy, and purifying the Church from abuses ; of recalling learning, re-animating commerce, and restoring prosperity; of redeeming and supporting the dignity of the crown ; of adding splendour and renown to the annals of his country ; of extending her reputation, reluming her ancient genius, asserting her ancient rights, and again restoring her to that rank and consideration in 19 the councils of the European Powers which the culpable misgovernment of her degenerate sons had allowed to lapse from their grasp, but which the Genius of their country would not permit them to lose. And this man was Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Mello, afterwards Count d'Oeyras, and Marquis of Pombal.* This illustrious statesman w T as born on the thirteenth of May, 1699, at Soure, a small village not far from the town of Pombal. His father, Manoel de Carvalho, was a country gentleman (fidalgo), of moderate but independent fortune, whose wife, Donna Theresa de Mendonca, a lady of dis- tinguished family, bore him three children ; one, the subject of this memoir, and two other sons, Francis and Paul. According to a custom prevalent in Portugal, by which the mother's name is often borne by some of the children, Sebastian added to his own name that of Mello, which was that of his maternal ancestor, John d'Almeida e Mello, the representative of a family very remarkable in Portuguese annals. His second brother was named Fran- cisco Xavier de Mendonca ; and the youngest, Paul de Carvalho e Mendonca. Of the particulars of the early life of Pombal, it is to be regretted little is known. He entered the University of Coimbra as a matter of course ; and having toiled through the usual routine of the unprofitable studies at that time insisted upon at this seat of learning, quitted it with disgust, and probably with a firm conviction that it was impossible for the light of true learning ever to enter the academic shades of Coimbra, so long as it was obstructed by the almost impenetrable obstacles which were opposed to its entrance. * As this great man is so generally known by the name of Pombal, I am induced to employ it throughout these Memoirs. c 2 20 Having left the university, Pombal entered the army as a private, according to the custom in Portugal. He was shortly afterwards promoted to the rank of corporal, which rank he continued to hold until he relinquished that pro- fession, it being one, at a time of peace, neither suited to his active disposition, nor calculated for the display of his rising genius. Having no employment to occupy his time and attention, he confined himself exclusively to the study of history, politics, and legislation. While engaged in these studies he was presented by an uncle, who lived in Lisbon, to Cardinal Motta, at that time high in favour with John V., and whose hands con- sequently held the reins of government. The Cardinal, with an intuitive knowledge of character for which he was remarkable, quickly perceived the advantages which the country might one day derive from the genius of Pombal ; and while he warmly encouraged him in his pursuits, he recommended him so strongly to the king that, as a mark of the consideration with which his literary acquirements were viewed, he was appointed, in 1733, member of the Royal Academy of History, and shortly after, as a further proof of the estimation in which he held him, John was desirous that Pombal should undertake the history of certain Portuguese monarchs. But aifairs of an important and pressing nature prevented the accomplishment of this task. In the same year in which his talents attracted the attention of the government, and procured him the patronage of royalty, he united himself to Donna Theresa de Noronha, a widow of a very ancient family, being a niece of the Count dos Arcos. Being now settled in life, and desirous of distinguishing himself, he sought some active employment in the State ; but no opportunity occurring suited to his desires, he 21 continued unemployed until the latter end of the year 1739, when an affair happened which determined the king, by the advice of the Cardinal, to send him to London as Minister. This honourable appointment he gladly ac- cepted, as he viewed it as an additional means of enabling himself at the same time to combine the study both of legislation and of politics. It is evident, therefore, that even at this early period of his career expectations of his subsequent greatness were felt and recognised by the monarch ; and that his appointment to fill so important a post, was an indication that the utmost confidence was placed in his tact, judgment, and discrimination by those who wielded the destinies of the country. That he was neither idle nor forgetful of the interests of his country when Minister at the Court of St. James's, appears from his having succeeded in obtaining various privileges for Portuguese subjects resident in London, as well as satisfaction for several commercial vexations to which they had at various times been made to submit ; while he exacted a promise that they should under no pre- text whatever be afterwards inflicted. It was also con- ceded to his government the right of punishing, according to law, all British subjects who should be convicted of malpractices and crimes committed in the dominion or territories of Portugal. Pombal further obtained satis- faction for an insult that had been offered to a person attached to his legation ; and was thus instrumental in ascertaining and defining the privileges of foreign envoys, which were still often the subject of dispute, notwithstanding the previous Act of Parliament passed in 1709 for the purpose of protecting ambassadors and their domestic servants from arrest. This was the case of a physician in the service of Pombal, who had been arrested by a tax-gatherer, but who was 22 set at liberty upon the remonstrance of the Portuguese Minister.* Amongst other privileges obtained by Pombal for Portu- guese subjects resident in London was an exemption from the payment of taxes. He represented to the English Minister, in a note dated September, 1739, that the collectors of the window-tax had made a distress on the goods of one Bento de Magelhaens, a Portuguese merchant, which he declared was contrary to the treaties subsisting between the two nations, by virtue of which the British merchants at Lisbon claimed and enjoyed an exemption from all similar impositions. In answer to this complaint, the Duke of Newcastle replied as follows : — " November 20, 1739. The King having been in- formed that the subjects of his Portuguese Majesty residing in England have been charged with and proceeded against for the payment of some public and parochial taxes, which are laid by Act of Parliament on all inhabitants without distinction ; his Majesty has commanded me to let you know, that though by the nature and form of our government it is not in the King's power to discharge any particular person from the payment of taxes laid by Act of Parliament, and that a particular exemption of his Portu- guese Majesty's subjects, in any Act of Parliament, would not only be new in itself, but be liable to great objection and inconvenience ; yet, in order to give his Portuguese * In the Journal of the Count d'Oeyras, afterwards referred to, a curious circumstance is related respecting the debts of foreign Ministers. The journal is dated London, June 14th, 1783. "We saw likewise (in Westminster Abbey) two cases, in which repose the corpses of two ambassadors— one of Spain, the other of Sardi- nia — which have been preserved there for more than a hundred years ; interment being refused them until their debts are paid." The curious may inquire into the particulars of these facts. 23 Majesty a proof of the King's friendship and regard, and that the Portuguese subjects residing in England may be assured that they shall not be disturbed on account of any parochial or other taxes which may be, by Act of Parlia- ment, to be paid by the inhabitants in general, his Majesty has commanded me to acquaint you that all such taxes shall for the future be paid and discharged for them, without their being at any expense or trouble on that account." And it was not until this period of Pombal's diplomacy that it became an established custom for foreign Ministers residing at the Court of St. James's to import " their wearing apparel, furniture, wine, &c, for the use of their house," free of duty. The nature of Pombal's occupations during this period we learn from a manuscript written by himself, a trans- lation of which will be found in its proper place. In this document he regrets that the great variety of studies he found it necessary to pursue, in order to become acquainted with the history, constitution, and legislation of England, coupled with almost constant ill health, prevented him from acquiring a knowledge of the English language. Some surprise might naturally be expressed at such a statement, especially as Pombal was several years in England ; but we shall cease to wonder when we reflect that French was the language chiefly spoken at the Court of George II., while there were at that time few or no works in English on politics or legislation which made the study of that language desirable exclusively for these purposes. It was, therefore, from the French writers that he principally derived his knowledge ; and while he gave his days and nights to the study of history and finance, Sully insensibly became his model and the object of his veneration ; and, in the after actions of his life, his 24 successful imitation of that great man is so conspicuous in the various circumstances connected with his career, that his warmest admirers need not fear the closest comparison with the illustrious Minister of Henry IV. In 1745 Pombal was recalled, it is supposed at his own request : for the Court of St. James's could then have been no bed of roses for a Catholic ambassador, a proclamation having been published in 1744 " to put the laws in exe- cution against all Papists and nonjurors, and for command- ing all Papists to depart from the cities of London and Westminster, and from within ten miles of the same, by the 2nd of March* ; for confining all Papists to their habita- tions, and for seizing the arms and horses of such as refused to take the oaths." While unemployed at Lisbon Pombal had abundant opportunities of observing and studying the causes of abuses in every branch of administration. He examined the different departments of the State with the practical eye of a legislator, and saw that the remedy lay in tempe- rate and judicious reforms ; that the fault was in the governors, not in the governed ; and that the character of a nation is formed and its energies elicited by wise enact- ments and salutary laws ; by directing, not obstructing, the progress of intelligence ; by instructing, not corrupting, the people ; by cherishing their virtues, not fomenting their evil passions ; removing, not fostering, their pre- judices; and, lastly, by tempering, not exasperating, their superstitions, national pride, or popular delusions. Pombal acted on these principles, as will be seen hereafter ; and though, in the words of a modern author, " he found the country infested with robbers, trade decayed, landed property entirely in the hands of the nobles, and the * The proclamation was dated the 15th of February. 25 people depraved," he put forth the powers of his mighty genius, and brigandism disappeared, commerce was re- stored, property was more widely distributed, and the people became industrious, prosperous, and happy. While busied in these useful observations, his talents were again solicited in a most delicate and difficult negotia- tion. A dispute had arisen between the Courts of Rome and Vienna respecting the extinction of the patriarchate of Aquileia, which in its consequences threatened to be serious, as all misunderstandings with the Court of Rome must necessarily be, as they lead to a separation from that Church, and tend to destroy the integrity of the Catholic faith, the great principle of which is, and ought to be, " Unity in the Church." Not only did Benedict XIV. seek the mediation of Portugal, but Maria Theresa, a princess as renowned for her virtues as she was celebrated for her wisdom, and whose countrywoman at that time swayed the sceptre of Portugal, in the capacity of regent during the king's indisposition, was also anxious to refer the question to a Portuguese, in whose probity, understanding, and virtue both parties might confide. Accordingly, Pombal was selected as the fittest person to proceed immediately to Vienna as Minister, with full powers to arrange this delicate affair. It is not improbable, also, that he was named by Maria Theresa herself, as a Minister whom she was desirous to receive at her Court on so important an occasion ; as it is but reasonable to conclude that one whose reputation was so well established in his own country, and whose successful negotiations in England were generally known, was not unappreciated by a sovereign of such various talents. The preparations for his departure having been completed, he set out for Vienna, where he arrived in 1745. After various negotiations, mutual concessions, and engagements, 26 Pombal, to the infinite satisfaction of his Holiness, of Maria Theresa, and of his own sovereign, arranged the affair amicably and conclusively. It was while at this Court that he received information of a severe affliction in the death of his wife, to whom he had been tenderly attached, and with whom he had lived in the greatest possible harmony. Pombal bore his loss with the resignation of a Christian ; but the solitude of a single life was not suited to a man of his amiable and domestic disposition. The recollection of the many happy days he had enjoyed made him anxious again to enter the marriage state, to which second union he was the more inclined as the first had been childless. It was not long after the usual period of mourning before he made his selection from among the ladies of the Court, in the person of the young Countess Leonore Ernestine Daun, daughter of Henry Kichard Count Daun, a family illus- trious in the annals of Austria from the fame and victories of the celebrated marshal of that name, to whom Maria Theresa, as she confessed, owed the possession of her crown.* This affection being reciprocated, and the consent of the family obtained, after certain inquiries had * This celebrated Marshal, loaded with honours, and preserving to the last the esteem of the noble Empress, whose throne he had secured, died in the month of January, 1766. Maria Theresa, some years before his death, had presented him with 250,000 florins to enable him to purchase an estate, that might remain in his family, and descend to his posterity. The Empress of Russia acknowledged his services by the gift of a sword, richly set in diamonds, and valued at 30,000 florins. At his country house, a few posts from Vienna, were to be seen the six cannons which the Empress sent to the Marshal after he gained the battle of Colin ; and the inscription engraven on them does honour to the family of Daun. See letter from the Empress Maria Theresa at the end of this volume. 27 been made, and satisfactory assurances given and proofs adduced of Pombal's suitable birth and estimable character, the nuptials were celebrated with great pomp and eclat at Vienna, under the immediate auspices of the Empress, who was now, and ever after during her eventful life con- tinued a firm and steady friend to him and his amiable wife. Some description of Pombal himself will, perhaps, tend to explain why he was so generally successful in his negotiations, and so great a favourite in whatever society he happened to be placed. Pombal was remarkably tall, well made, and handsome ; his countenance intellectual and expressive ; his manners engaging, and his diction easy and flowing, while his voice was melodious and persuasive in the extreme. Notwith- standing these natural advantages and acquired accom- plishments, his enemies, reasoning from the wholesome severity with which he found it necessary in numerous instances to visit delinquency and punish vice during his very long ministry, have designated him as harsh and repulsive in his appearance, and as distant and cold in his manners ! This picture is contradicted by everything we know of his amiability and urbanity in private life, which qualities have never been denied, supported as they are by the testimony of many with whom the author of these memoirs had the honour to be personally acquainted. It has been the fashion to represent Pombal as a stern and harsh minister, and thus to extenuate the crimes of the wicked by imputing their punishment to the severity of their judge. Calumny was but the natural consequence of the position in which he was hereafter placed, and of the painful duties which he had to perforin. I shall there- fore refer to an impartial account of Pombal's manners and disposition at this period, written by an individual who had full opportunities of forming a correct judgment. At 28 the Foreign Office, Paris, under the head of " Austrian Correspondence No. 244," we find the fellowing extract from a despatch of the French Minister, M. Blonde], then at the Court of Vienna, addressed to his government. It is dated January 10th, 1750 : — " M. de Carvalho a ete long-tems ministre de Portugal a Londres, d'oii le roi son maitre l'a fait passer ici pour y employer ses offices afin de retablir la bonne intelligence entre cette Cour et celle de Rome. II a ete egalement charge de faire recouvrir a l'electeur de Mayence les bonnes graces du Pape. Dans ces deux affaires il a donne des preuves de son habilete, de sa sagesse, de sa droiture, de sa douceur, et surtout de sa grande patience, et il s'est non seulement concilie la bienveillance de toutes les parties interessees, mais aussi de tous les ministres etrangers, et des personnes de consideration qui sont ici. II est noble en tout sans ostentation ; il est sage et tres prudent ; rempli de sentimens et principes d'honneur, ne visant qu'au bien general ; et je sais qu'il n'a pas dependu de lui que l'imperatrice n'adoptat plus tot des sentimens pacifiques. II est aussi bon citoyen du moncle qu'ami solide, et il a ete fort regrette de la Cour et de la ville. II a environ 50 a 55 ans, et s'est marie a Vienne depuis quatre ans a la fille de la Generale de Daun."* The letter concludes by observing * Translation. — M. de Carvalho was for a long time Portuguese Minister at London, and afterwards was sent to Vienna by the King his master, in order to exert his influence in re-establishing a good understanding between this Court and that of Rome (Maria Theresa having abolished the Patriarchate of Aquileia). He was also charged with restoring the Elector of Mayence to the good graces of the Pope. In these two affairs he afforded many proofs of his skill, wisdom, uprightness, and amiability ; and especially of his great patience, by which he acquired the esteem, not only of the parties interested, but also of the foreign ministers and persons of distinction at this Court. He is noble without ostentation ; wise and 29 that Pombal was about to return to Lisbon, in order to take charge of the portfolio for Foreign Affairs, to which post he was called by the Queen-regent during the life of Dom John. Thus we perceive from the impartial testimony of the French Minister, in a document which was never intended to see the light, the true character of Pombal. And w T e may further remark that it was not by intrigue, as his enemies have represented, that he was appointed to fill the important post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, but in con- sequence of the high consideration in which he was held at his owm Court. He left V ienna, much regretted, in the beginning of 1750, in company with his wife, and arrived safely at Lisbon a short time before the death of Dom John. Dom Joseph having ascended the throne, Pombal imme- diately took possession of the portfolio destined for him, and from this era we must date the commencement of his almost superhuman efforts for the regeneration of his country. Whatever were the failings of Dom Joseph, or however his neglected education rendered him incapable of governing without the assistance of superior abilities, fortunately for Portugal, he w T as possessed with a firmness of mind, a steadiness of purpose, and an innate love of glory, and was firmly convinced that by means of such a minister as Pombal, whom he highly esteemed, his reign would be distinguished even above those which preceded it, in the prudent ; full of honourable sentiments and feelings, and desiring nothing more than the welfare of all parties. I know that, had it depended entirely on him, the Empress would long since have adopted more pacific sentiments. He is both a good citizen of the world and a sincere friend, and is exceedingly regretted both at Court and in society. He is between fifty and fifty-five years of age, and has been married for these four years to the daughter of General Daun. 30 most flourishing clays of colonising Portugal. Blessed in the possession of a Sully, probably he aimed at the glory of a Henry IV. This may account for the courage and resolution with which he supported his minister, against innumerable intrigues and indefatigable malice, for the long period of t'wenty-seven years. 31 CHAPTER III. Pombal now found himself in the full enjoyment of the king's confidence, and at liberty to bring forward those measures of reform which he had deeply meditated and patiently matured. But it was necessary to begin with caution, and to proceed with care ; not only as he had no guarantee for the continuance of the king's favour, but in order that he might not provoke the opposition and resent- ment of two powerful classes in the State — the nobility and the clergy. It is pretended that he once exclaimed, if ever he became minister he would make Portugal in twenty years superlatively happy, or superlatively miserable. Without doubt Pombal saw clearly the means by which Portugal was to be rescued from her ignominious position ; but, when he reflected on the difficulty and danger of in- troducing those measures through which so many unjust appropriations were to be restored, and so many abuses corrected, it is more than conjectural that he himself doubted the results of his wisest plans, and that at times he must have looked upon the task of regeneration as almost impracticable. Nevertheless, whatever may have been his secret misgivings as to success, we shall find him, during his long career, fearlessly freeing from corruption every branch of the administration, and exerting his ener- gies in every subordinate spring of action, in the minutest details of office, and in the remotest objects of government. Although Pedro de Motta was nominally at the head of the government, his declining health did not permit him to 32 take that active part in the administration of affairs which his position would naturally imply ; and consequently, from this time all the laws and ordinances which issued from the closet of the king may be considered as emanating from Pombal, for Dom Joseph took no measures whatever with- out consulting him. But Pombal was not permitted to issue his wise decrees, or to put in force his patriotic measures for the restoration of his country, without en- countering opposition. The Jesuits took the alarm, and were not long in conspiring his ruin. But as their in- trigues, crimes, and punishment, with the conspiracies of the nobles, and the deadly hatred of both to Dom Joseph and Pombal, will form the subject of a separate chapter, it will suffice merely to advert at present to the powerful obstacles Pombal had to surmount. The first five years of the reign of Dom Joseph were consumed in devising and put- ting into force active measures to ameliorate the condition of the internal government of the country, and in arranging and settling the financial plans of the minister. Another and an important reform, at a very early period of his ministry, attracted the attention of Pombal. He deter- mined on restricting and regulating the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, and prohibiting its private tortures and public executions, which had for so long a period disgraced the government of the country. It is, however, but justice to the Portuguese to declare, that their national character was never, at any time, polluted by that wholesale cruelty which distinguished the sanguinary reign of the Inquisition in Spain ; nor did Lisbon ever witness to the same extent those horrible exhibitions called autos-da-fe, which rendered Madrid infamous in history, and abhorred by all true Christians.* The Portuguese w r ere distinguished by * Can we, however, with truth affirm that the Inquisition, from 33 milder measures and more charitable sentiments, the fruit of their maritime and commercial intercourse with the other nations of Europe, which expanded their minds and removed or softened their prejudices. Pombal saw that such an institution as the Inquisition was perfectly incom- patible with the progress of the arts, the existence of science, or the presence of liberty, and resolved at what- ever hazard to reduce the authority of that miscalled Holy Office. So early, therefore, in his ministry as 1751, a decree regulating its practices was promulgated. By this decree it was enacted that no auto-da-fe was henceforward to take place, and no executions were to be carried into effect without the consent and approbation of government, which reserved for itself as a court of appeal the province of inquiry and examination, and of confirming or reversing the sentence. By this effectual blow the Office of the Inquisition was humbled, and from thenceforward it dwindled down to the rank of an ordinary tribunal — a fact which compels us to admire the wisdom which conceived, and the courage which carried out so bold a stroke of policy, in the execution of which so many fierce opponents w r ere to be subdued, and so many virtual enemies were to the period of its establishment to the day of its abolition, put to death as many victims of fanaticism as were annually burnt on the charge of witchcraft by the civil power in some cities of Germany ? Nor was it alone in Catholic countries that such cruelties were practised. Between the years 1600 and 1680 many thousands in Protestant England were put to death for this imaginary crime, of which number hundreds suffered during the sitting of the Long Parliament. Cologne, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Wiirzburg, Geneva, Lyons, Thoulouse, Paris, and others condemned annually to the stake their hundreds of victims. A woman and her daughter aged nine were hanged in England in the year 1716, for selling their souls to the devil. It was in 1722 that the last execution for witchcraft in Scotland_ took place, whilst so late as 1749 a woman was publicly burnt at "Wiirzburg on a similar charge. D 34 be created. But with that invincible perseverance which distinguishes the genius of a statesman, Pombal carried his measures in spite of the opposition of superstition and the prejudices of the people. To convey some idea of the defenceless condition of the kingdom previous to the ministry of Pombal, it is only necessary to relate that a very few days before the death of Dom John some Algerine corsairs actually anchored off Cape Espichel, a few miles from Lisbon, the fort being unable to offer any effectual opposition, or to avenge the insult. To remedy this deplorable state of the defences of the country, and to repair the fortifications which had everywhere fallen to decay, Pombal appropriated the yearly sum of twenty-seven contos of reis,* which w T as found amply sufficient for the purpose. About the same time he erected a national establishment for the manufacture of gunpowder, that article having previously been supplied by individuals who enjoyed a monopoly of contract and supply. In a similar manner every branch of administra- tion, each in its turn, occupied his attention. He corrected the abuses which had crept into the lucrative diamond contract ; he regulated the proceedings of the wdiale fisheries ; and denned and improved the laws relating to successions. In 1751 he established a sugar refinery, to which various privileges were granted, in order to encourage the home manufacture of that commodity. In the following year he turned his attention to the production of silk. To the growers of mulberry trees, for the rearing of silkworms, he conceded many privileges — such, for example, as exemption from excise, tithes, and other imposts ; and to those who produced considerable quantities, the privilege was granted of holding certain * About £6500. 60 public employments, which otherwise required nobreza in the persons on whom they were conferred. Eaw silk was prohibited from being exported from the kingdom. After having read these facts, a very little reflection will enable us to perceive how clearly Pombal understood the natural resources and products of his country ; and that, in encouraging its industry and employing its capital, he was guided by a thorough knowledge of the climate, capabilities, and position of Portugal relative to the rest of Europe ; and thus he proceeded in his march of improve- ment, striking at the root of some evils, and palliating others ; or, leaving the beaten track, discovering some new source of industry to add to the riches and happiness of the people. His attention was next directed to the condition of the south of Portugal, where robberies and outrages of every description were frequent and terrible. To prevent these he established a special commission for the trial of all offenders ; and to render this more effectual, and to coun teract the means by which evil-doers, after falling into the hands of the authorities, frequently escaped the ends of justice, magistrates were empowered to extend their juris- diction, and to commit to prison those who were suspected of having been directly or indirectly concerned in the per- petration of illegal acts. From these and other regulations, the police soon became more effectual, and crimes less fre- quent, during the reign of Dom Joseph, than at any period before or after; while the streets of Lisbon, hitherto a reproach to the nation, were rendered safer than those of any other European capital.* * As a proof of this, we find in a speech from the throne, dated during this period, November 15th, 1753, the following statement of the condition of London and its vicinity, delivered from the mouth D 2 36 The streets of Lisbon had often been witness to the mid- night brawls of the nobles ; and private insults were often expiated by the lives of the offenders. "Reputations were attacked, to which the law afforded but a slow and insuffi- cient redress. Pasquinades of the most malignant nature were affixed on the doors of private families — horns on those of others ; and the authors of these acts laughed at the mischief they occasioned. A decree dated October 2nd, 1753, declared that, in consequence of the 'prevalent custom of taking private revenge, all persons guilty of publishing infamous satires and libels would be punished. Pombal's enemies misrepresented this decree in their partial accounts — they left out the words which are in italics. The following is a curious example of judicial adminis- tration at this period in Portugal. Pombal had ordered a return to be made of all prisoners throughout the country, with the nature of their crimes and sentences. Various abuses gave rise to this inquiry ; for the gaolers, on being sufficiently bribed, were in the habit of liberating on parole those committed to their custody. Among the number thus at large there was one of the British sovereign : — " I ani sorry to be obliged again to men- tion to you a subject which reflects dishonour upon the nation, as well as creates great danger and mischief to my good subjects. It is with the utmost regret I observe that the horrid crimes of robbery and murder are, of late, rather increased than diminished." Accounts were not more satisfactory of the state of the Austrian capital at a later period. In a despatch from the Portuguese Minister resident at Vienna, dated June 4th, 1763, he informs his government : — " Nothing is talked of in Vienna but of the robberies and assassinations committed in this capital, and on the highways leading to it." And again, in a despatch dated March 2nd, 1766 : — "Incendiarism has been repeated in the suburbs of Vienna, as well as robberies in the city and public roads." To the state of the Italian cities in those days it is needless to allude. 37 on whom sentence of death had been passed seven years previously, during which time he had lived in the neigh- bourhood, and had honestly earned his bread. The gaoler having summoned him to return, he honourably re-entered his prison, and the law was about to take its course. But on so singular a case being submitted to the king, the criminal, in consideration of the excellent character he had obtained, received a full pardon. The necessity had long been felt for financial reform. The taxes and imposts had been hitherto collected at a vast expense to the country. Multitudinous collectors and receivers seized and appropriated the revenue, and while they impoverished the people they plundered the treasury. At one stroke of the pen these devourers were annihilated. Pombal appointed a treasurer, with a yearly salary of 700,000 reis.* His clerk was allowed 200,000 reis annually, and 80 reis for each quittance. The municipal chamber in each administrative district (comarca) was compelled to elect yearly a receiver, who was empowered to control and watch over the inferior collectors in the various divisions of his district. These receivers were twenty-eight in number for the entire kingdom, and their various salaries, on the whole, amounted to about £360f ; the highest of them being 70,000 reis, and the lowest 20,000 reis. It was also directed and rendered imperative, that the corpo- rations of each especial district which elected a receiver should stand security for the honest performance of his duties. Thus an important commencement was made towards the establishment of a beneficial and economical system of * 4120 reis at that period were equivalent to 20 shillings. Now the sovereign is a legal tender for 4500 reis. t 1,524,000 reis. 38 finance, by which the revenue was increased and the government invigorated, whilst the burden fell lighter on the people, and means were procured, not only to meet the necessary expenses of the State, but to free the nation from the vast debt which the misgovernment of Dom John's ministers had bequeathed to it. Pombal also directed his attention even to the details of the royal establishment in its minutest branches. In a private despatch from M. St. Priest, French Minister in Lisbon during the reign of Dom Joseph, he narrates that Pombal had recently put a stop to the disorder and ex- travagance in the kind's household. Great indeed were the abuses to be corrected, especially in the kitchen depart- ment. The persons therein employed were actually reduced from eighty to twenty, and the expenses of the various tables were thoroughly investigated and newly regulated, so that the household expenses were reduced more than one-half. Having to a certain extent reformed most of the abuses of the mother country, Pombal turned his eyes to the miserable condition of the colonies. One very glaring abuse was that of sending young females of good family and fortune from Brazil to Portugal, under pretence of educating them, but where they were too frequently immured for the remainder of their lives in convents, to the great injury of the State and the decrease of population. This practice a decree expressly forbade. Some excellent regulations were also framed to encourage the productive exports, and to increase the commerce of Mozambique, which, had they been followed out up to the present time, would have rendered that colony an invaluable appendage to the crown of Portugal. I was informed by a late governor of that colony that it is susceptible of great im- provements, and of being made a source of considerable 39 wealth to the Portuguese nation. Unfortunately, however, this enterprising governor was recalled in the midst of his speculations and improvements— a change of ministry happened at Lisbon, and the appointment was wanted for one of the new minister's friends ! During the long and inglorious reign of Dom John, commercial speculation had not only languished, but had become almost extinct ; nor, as Pombal perceived, was it an easy task to resuscitate dormant enterprise, or to excite healthy speculation in the bosom of the mercantile com- munity, which had so long laboured under an oppressive lethargy. To recall activity, and to direct the capital of the country into productive channels, he therefore con- ceived the idea of organising large commercial companies — a mode of opening new branches of trade, or of prosecuting enterprises requiring prodigious capital, that was already successfully adopted at this time. Previous to the year 1754, the trade to China and India was open to all Portuguese subjects ; but, owing to causes to which we have already alluded, and from the want of sufficient capital and the absence of enterprise, the China trade had dwindled into insignificance, and was neither profitable to individuals, nor advantageous to the nation.* Consequently, Pombal, with a view to its revival, succeeded in forming an association of merchants, which was well- known at the time by the name of the Oldembourg Com- pany. This measure of monopoly, as it was termed, did not, however, fail to procure its author much censure and * During the early part of Pombal's administration he sent an ambassador to Tartary and China. A manuscript account of this embassy is in the private library of the house of Ponte, entitled, " Relacao da Embaixada a Tartaria, e a China mandadapelo Senhor Kei. D. Jose I. sendo Embaixador Alexander Metello de Souza o Menezes." 40 many enemies. Doubtless there is a term at which the monopolies which companies enjoy become a burden on, and a partial injustice to, the nation at large ; and probably at that moment they ought to give up their privileges and cease to exist, and the trade should be thrown open to the competition of the whole nation. By a wise and humane decree, dated June, 1755, the Indians in the provinces of Maranhao and Grand Para in America were declared free. Policy, and their debased state, required and demanded that the African slaves should remain as they were until further consideration. Every possible means were devised to encourage and civilise the Indians. Certain privileges were granted to Portuguese who should marry into their families. Com- merce between them and the mother country was released from exorbitant and vexatious restrictions. The time of departure of the yearly merchant fleet to and from America was altered, and so regulated as to avoid those losses which had attended the voyage. And with the view of still further ameliorating the condition of the colonies, and of bringing their inhabitants to a state of order and civilisation, the king, on the 5th of June, 1755, signed the charter for the incorporation of the Maranhao and Grand Para Company, by which fresh spirit was infused into the mercantile body, and the commerce between Portugal and her South American colonies assumed a new aspect, and excited a new interest. During the progress of these reforms factious opposition was neither tacit nor quiescent. Every new measure of the minister elicited the anger and jealousy of the aris- tocracy. The nobles, finding many of their usurped and illegal privileges in danger of subversion, conceived the most intense hatred against the author of the actual and projected reforms. The Jesuits, foreseeing they would in 41 their turn be attacked, sought the means of defence in secret conspiracy and crafty plots ; while many of inferior rank, blind to the wisdom which dictated, and not appre- ciating the patriotism which executed these grand reforms, united themselves to the nobles and. the priests, and increased the outcry and opposition. But the frankness of Pombal, conjoined to his indomitable perseverance, cap- tivated and enslaved the king, who, during the very torrent of that virulent invective and the prevalence of that incredible contumely which was lavishly showered upon the minister, remained firm in his support, and constant in his confidence towards him. Thus had Pombal already begun to experience the same ill-fortune, the same ingratitude, and the same jealousy and misrepresentation, to which the great Sully had been sub- jected under similar circumstances, when exerting himself for the glory of his country, and the honour and safety of his sovereign. But no obstacle or opposition, no malignant satire or opprobrious scandal, dismayed, discouraged, or ever swerved Pombal from that lofty sentiment of patriotism, and that high sense of superiority, which regard nothing as impossible that is virtuous and wise, if supported by conduct and judgment in the execution. He possessed none of that cautious timidity which hesitates between the conception and the performance of a great political measure. He meditated deeply before he originated a reform ; but, once determined, it never was relinquished — his rare sagacity and profound wisdom enabling him to see all the difficulties and facilities at a glance. Untainted with selfishness, and devoid of all ambition but that which urged him to excel all other men in patriotism, we may with justice apply to him that pithy observation which a French critic applied to the Koman orator : " II eut cette gloire, que tous les ennemis de l'etat furent les siens." 42 CHAPTER IV. To show that Pombal was not insensible to the difficulties that perplexed, or unacquainted with the obstacles which opposed the progress of reform, I shall extract the follow- ing reflections from his own writings : — u We are no longer in those ages of reform, when legis- lators, by the sole force of their genius, were able to change the form and constitution of corrupt states. When each nation was, as it were, a world apart, and regarded only its own interests by its own peculiar system, great facilities existed for reform. But since the creation of the European league — that is, since the political interests of one country have become dependent on and influence those of another — all governments have their eyes open to every change that is meditated by their neighbours ; and as the vices of the weak are the chief ingredients that form and sustain the strong, the latter are unwilling to allow the former to quit that mediocrity of condition on which their own strength depends. " The means of reform in the power of a minister to employ are of but little efficacy in a shattered government. The most that a great statesman can do in this case is, not to seek to annihilate the vices of an existing system, but to use palliatives in order to prevent their progress, and to endeavour to support the political machine, that it may not fall into entire disorder. " It is no longer the policy of European countries to attack openly those they wish to weaken or destroy. In 43 general the mischief springs from a remote cause, and when, as in inveterate diseases, remedies are applied, it is too late. The ruin of a country in modern times is always prepared from a distant period, and approximates its termination by degrees. The means of destruction are insensibly provided, and the nation is annihilated bv artifice. Such was the policy of the Eoman government, which worked the ruin of others at the same time that it made them appear with the greatest splendour. The mischief was only discovered at the moment when remedies were too late. Such, in a word, was the situation of Portugal previous to the awful phenomenon that now causes so much wonder in Europe.* " The monarchy was at its last gasp. The English had firmly bound the nation in a state of dependence. They had conquered it without the inconveniences of a conquest, and chained the people to their political car without leaving them the power of releasing themselves from bondage. " However a certain law of nations may be established among men, the law of the strongest will always govern the world. The first king, says a great poet of our timesf , was a fortunate soldier. u The system of Great Britain was to weaken the power of other nations in order to increase her own. Portugal was powerless and without vigour, and all her movements were regulated by the desires of England." Under circumstances so ably described, that memorable earthquake occurred which, whilst it seemed to threaten the ruin of Portugal, perhaps contributed in reality to rescue that country from the vassalage into which she had * The great earthquake at Lisbon, November 1st, 1755. j Voltaire. 44 fallen, and to deliver her inhabitants from the misery which debased them. " When the fundamental principles of a government are once corrupted/' continues Pombal, " new laws are almost useless, because the reform of the first abuse has always in it the germ of a second. One evil is but changed for another, and the root of the disorder remains firmly fixed in the State." That the difficulty of Pombal's position may be still further understood, I shall proceed to give an account of that tremendous catastrophe which filled all Europe with horror, and clothed the affrighted people of his devoted country in mourning. Never did the sun, in the balmiest of southern climes, rise with more brilliancy than on the memorable 1st of November, 1755. All nature seemed to rest in perfect confidence in the calm beauty of the serene and deep blue sky, and to repose in the stillness of the silent air. The proud palaces and lofty churches of Lisbon were faithfully reflected in the broad bosom of the Tagus, whose crystal tide was unruffled by a single breath. Pleasure, peace, and security seemed to have fixed their residence on its banks, and to gambol upon its waters. Alas ! in a few hours this smiling scene was to be exchanged for horror, misery, and desolation ; and, as if the fiends of darkness, suddenly released from bondage, had plunged themselves precipitately upon the devoted city, bringing in their train Earthquake, Rapine, Murder, Sacrilege, and Violence, all things were reversed, Nature ceasing to be beneficent, and Man to be human ! It was the morning of All Saints' Bay, and the devout population of Lisbon were hurrying to attend divine wor- ship in the numerous churches, which on that day, according to custom, were brilliantly illuminated in honour of the 45 festival, when at four minutes after nine the first convul- sive shocks were perceived ; and soon after, this proud city became a heap of undistinguishable ruins. The astonished people who were not buried in the first fall, terrified and confounded, rushed forth tumultuously to avoid the threatened immolation ; and with confused shouts and half-expressed prayers, implored favour from the Most High, while falling edifices or yawning chasms, on every side crushed or engulphed them with a fearful and relentless certainty. Some fled to the water, in the hope of safety ; but their hope was vain, for the river, violently agitated by the mighty shocks of the earth, rose to an extraordinary height: its impetuosity increased with its bulk, until it became swollen to a torrent, and, bursting its banks, swept away all within its reach. Vast ships sunk beneath the troubled surface of its angry waves ; whilst others, torn from their anchors, and hurled round with furious preci- pitation, disappeared in the vortex, or, driven furiously against each other, were dashed to pieces by the violence of the shocks. To increase the horrors of this sad scene, whilst the temples of the living God, and the palace of the noble, and the dwelling of the artisan, were mingling in one common ruin, fires appeared in various places at one and the same moment, raging with unchecked fury, and threatening to consume all that the earthquake had spared. If, even at this distance of time, the excess of the general misery is too painful to dwell long upon, how terrible must have been the scenes of individual suffering! What wretchedness awaited the survivors ! Husbands anxious for the fate of their wives — wives for their husbands — mothers seeking for their children, and children sinking in despair at the absence of their mothers — every tie dear to the heart was broken, and every affection which enables man cheerfully 46 to submit to tlie evils of life was loosened, cast oft, and buried in one wide grave. In the midst of this misery and confusion, the prisons gave up their flagitious inmates ; and these bad men, exulting in the misfortune which had enfranchised them from their chains, abandoned themselves to the gratification of appetite, and to the perpetration of the most atrocious crimes. Infuriated by wine, they roamed about, pillaging, violating, or murdering, as it quieted their fury, or satiated their lust — thus aggravating by the cruelty of man the awful visitation of God. When this catastrophe occurred, the royal family were fortunately at the small palace of Belem, in the suburbs of Lisbon. Their consternation w T as great ; the whole Court was in tears. The king, looking round in silence upon his trembling attendants, addressed himself to Pombal, who (hastening to offer what assistance and consolation he could at that awful moment) had just entered the palace. " What is to be done," exclaimed Dom Joseph, " to meet this infliction of Divine justice?" "Bury the dead, and feed the living,"* was the calm and immediate reply of Pombal, whose noble figure and collected demeanour com- manded the admiration of all around him, as he uttered this concise reply. From this time Dom Joseph looked upon his minister as a mortal of superior mould. Not an instant was lost after this in fruitless discussion or useless condolence. Pombal threw himself again into his carriage, and hurried to Lisbon, to share the danger and to alleviate the calamities of the earthquake. Yfherever his presence was required there was he found. For several days his only habitation was his carriage ; and from thence, day and night, he issued orders and regulations. In an * " Senlior, enterrar os niortos, e ciiidar nos vivos. M 47 incredibly short space of time two hundred decrees were promulgated respecting the maintenance of order, the lodging of the people, the distribution of provisions, and the burial of the dead. Among other providential decrees, one was issued which forbade any person leaving Lisbon without a permit. By this regulation, many who had seized upon this opportunity of a public calamity to possess them- selves of property, and those who had sacrilegiously entered and plundered the churches, were unable to deposit their ill-gotten wealth in places of security ; and, consequently, were obliged to abandon or restore it. In these numerous decrees, Pombal entered into the minutest details ; and, such was the rapidity with which they were conceived and promulgated, that many were written in pencil on his knees, and, without being copied, were hastily forwarded to their various destinations. The wounded were removed, and their wounds dressed ; the houseless were collected, and lodged in temporary huts; provisions were brought from all quarters, and distributed to the poor ; monopolies of all kinds were forbidden ; troops were drawn from the provinces to preserve order ; idlers were forced to work ; the dispersed nuns were re-assembled ; the ruins removed ; the dead buried, and public worship restored. As great fears were entertained that the plague might be added to the other calamities of the unfortunate city, in consequence of the effluvia of so many decomposed bodies which it was impossible to bury in the usual manner, the Patriarch issued orders, with the hope of preventing the evil, that the dead should be cast into the sea with heavy weights attached to them, but with as many of the ceremonies ot the Church as could be observed on the occasion. The Jesuits, however, did not fail to reproach Pombal for this last act of prudence. So many felons of every description had escaped from 48 prison and wandered about the streets, that Pombal found it necessary to order that a strict account should be taken of the ways and means of every inhabitant, while all idlers and vagabonds, or such as could not give a correct account of themselves, were employed to clear away the ruins, for which they were recompensed with both food and money. Notwithstanding, however, all these wise and salutary enactments, so daring were some of these wretches, and such was the licentiousness of the period, that in the broad glare of day they boldly entered houses in quest of plunder, frequently adding violation and murder to robbery ; so that at the door of almost every family of any consideration, armed men were stationed to guard the inmates and their property. To obviate these distressing evils martial law was pro- claimed, and every man taken flagrante delicto was summarily disposed of on the spot, and left to hang there as an example and warning to others. This energetic and well-timed decree soon restored order and quiet to the inhabitants, who again, under the shelter of Pombal's guardianship, slept in all that confidence and security which they had enjoyed previous to the earthquake. It is impossible to say what might have been the fate of Lisbon under her manifold misfortunes, had it not been for the courage, wisdom, activity, and energy of Pombal. Like a superior being, he was present everywhere ; encouraging the timid, comforting the desolate, awing the wicked, restraining the reckless, soothing the wounded, and pouring the balm of peace and consolation into the bosoms of the despairing and the afflicted. He was the all in all — the upholder, regenerator, and saviour of the nation ; for, independent of these arduous duties, he was compelled to provide against the attacks of the Algerine corsairs, who hovered about the coast, and landed when- ever a possibility of plunder presented itself. 49 Among the buildings destroyed were the magnificent palace of the Patriarch, built by Dom John V. ; the royal palace, and churches and convents without number ; while of private palaces and common dwelling-houses overthrown, some idea may be formed from the fact that entire streets became one mass of ruins. It was estimated that seven millions sterling could scarcely repay the damage done by this dreadful visitation, though some of the treasure of the Patriarchate was recovered, among which was a silver cross valued at £30,000, while no less than 1500 arrobas* of silver were dug out of the ruins of that and other edifices some time after the earthquake. The following is from a despatch written by Mr. Castres, then British minister at Lisbon, and is dated November the 6th, 1755, five days after the first effects of the earth- quake. In it we find a lively and graphic description of the awful calamity : — " I have lost my good and worthy friend the Spanish ambassador, who was crushed under his door as he attempted to make his escape into the street. This, with the anguish I have been in for these five days past, occa- sioned by the dismal accounts brought to us every instant of the accidents befallen to one or other of our acquaint- ance among the nobility, who, for the most part, are quite undone, has greatly affected me ; but in particular the miserable objects among the lower sort of His Majesty's subjects, who all fly to me for bread, and lie scattered up and down in my garden with their wives and children. I have helped them all hitherto, and shall continue to do so as long as provisions do not fail us, which I hope will not be the case, by the good orders M. de Carvalho has issued in that respect. * An arroba is 32 lbs. 50 " The best orders have been given for preventing rapine and murder, frequent instances of which we have had within these three days, there being swarms of Spanish deserters in town, who take hold of this opportunity of doing their business. As I have large sums deposited in my house belonging to such of my countrymen as have been happy enough to save some of their cash, and that my house was surrounded all last night with ruffians, I have this morning wrote to M. de Carvalho to desire a guard, which I hope will not be refused." A despatch from the English consul, dated on the 15th of the same month, affords the following details : — " The first shock began about a quarter before ten o'clock in the morning, and, as far as I could judge, lasted six or seven minutes. There was then an interval of about five minutes before the second shock, which lasted about three minutes. So that in a quarter of an hour this great city was laid in ruins. Soon after several fires broke out, which burnt five or six days, and which completed the total destruction of goods and effects. u The force of the earthquake seemed to be immediately under the city, for the damage either above or below Lisbon is not so considerable. It is thought to have vented itself at the quay that runs from the Custom-house towards the king's palace, which is entirely carried away, and has totally disappeared ; somo boats were swallowed up at the same time. At the time of the earthquake, the waters of the river rose twenty or thirty feet, and sunk as much, and this at four different times, as I am informed." Another despatch, dated November the 19th, narrates, that the king and all his Court are encamped under canvas tents in the garden — that the unfortunate kingdom is threatened with a plague and a famine — and concludes by eulogising the conduct of M. de Carvalho, who, by day and 51 night, was indefatigably employed in remedying the gene- ral distress. "The shocks and tremulations having hardly discon- tinued since the first day of our disaster, the Court, with above three parts in four of the inhabitants, still remain encamped in the fields and gardens in and about this place. The houses, indeed, which are yet standing in this city, as well as in the country for several miles around it, are for the most part in so shattered a condition that there is hardly one in fifty, though supported by props, that will hold out the winter." Lisbon, however, was not the only city that suffered by the earthquake. Other parts of Portugal (and indeed of Europe), especially Setubal and the Algarves, were seriously injured on that eventful occasion. With regard to the loss of life occasioned by this catastrophe, it was estimated that in the city of Lisbon alone 30,000 persons perished by fire or water, or were buried under the ruins, For four days the city continued a prey to the flames, during which period violent shocks were repeated at various intervals. The following interesting letter from an Englishman, an eye-witness of this terrible earthquake, is reprinted from a little work which was published not long after the event described : — " It was on the morning of this fatal day, between the hours of nine and ten, that I sat down in my apartment, just finishing a letter, when the papers and table I was writing on began to tremble with a gentle motion, which rather surprised me, as I could not perceive a breath of wind stirring. Whilst I was reflecting with myself what this could be owing to, but without having the least appre- hension of the real cause, the whole house began to shake from the very foundation, which I at first imputed to the e 2 52 rattling of several coaches in the main street, which usually passed that way at this time from Belem to the palace ; but on hearkening more attentively, I was soon undeceived, as I found it was owing to a strange, frightful kind of noise underground, resembling the hollow, distant rumbling of thunder. All this passed in less than a minute, and I must confess I now began to be alarmed, as it naturally occurred to me that this noise might possibly be the fore- runner of an earthquake, as one I remembered, which had happened about six or seven years ago in the island of Madeira, commenced in the same manner, though it did little or no damage. " Upon this I threw down my pen, and started up on my feet, remaining a moment in suspense whether I should stay in the apartment or run into the street, as the danger in both places seemed equal, and still flattering myself that this tremor might produce no other effects than such in- considerable ones as had been felt at Madeira ; but in a moment I was roused from my dream, being instantly stunned with a most horrid crash, as if every edifice in the city had tumbled down at once. The house I was in shook with such violence that the upper stories immediately fell, and though my apartment (which was the first floor) did not then share the same fate, yet everything was thrown out of its place in such a manner that it was with no small difficulty 1 kept my feet, and expected nothing less than to be soon crushed to death, as the walls continued rocking to and fro in the frightfulest manner, opening in several places, large stones falling down on every side from the cracks, and the ends of most of the rafters starting out from the roof. To add to this terrifying scene, the sky in a moment became so gloomy, that I could now distinguish no particular object ; it was an Egyptian darkness indeed, such as might be felt ; owing, no doubt, to the prodigious 53 clouds of dust and lime raised from so violent a concussion, and, as some reported, to sulphurous exhalations, but this I cannot affirm; however, it is certain I found myself almost choked for near ten minutes. "As soon as the gloom began to disperse, and the violence of the shock seemed pretty much abated, the first object I perceived in the room was a woman sitting on the floor with an infant in her arms, all covered with dust, pale, and trembling. I asked her how she got hither, but her con- sternation was so great that she could give me no account of her escape. I suppose that when the tremor first began she ran out of her own house, and finding herself in such imminent danger from the falling stones, retired into the door of mine, which was almost contiguous to hers, for shelter, and when the shock increased, which filled the door with dust and rubbish, ran upstairs into my apart- ment, which was then open ; be it as it might, this was no time for curiosity. I remember the poor creature asked me, in the utmost agony, if I did not think that the world was at an end ; at the same time she complained of being choked, and begged, for God's sake, I would procure her a little drink. Upon this I went to a closet where I kept a large jar with water (which you know is sometimes a pretty scarce commodity in Lisbon), but finding it broken in pieces, I told her she must not now think of quenching her thirst, but saving her life, as the house was just falling on our heads, and if a second shock came, would certainly bury us both. I bade her take hold of my arm, and that I would endeavour to bring her into some place of security. "I shall always look upon it as a particular providence that I happened on this occasion to be undressed, for had I dressed myself as I proposed when I got out of bed, in order to breakfast with a friend, I should in all probability 54 have run into the street at the beginning of the shock, as the rest of the people in the house did, and consequently have had my brains dashed out as every one of them had. However, the imminent danger I was in did not hinder me from considering that my present dress, only a gow r n and slippers, would render my getting over the ruins almost impracticable. I had, therefore, still presence of mind enough left to put on a pair of shoes and a coat, the first that came in my way, which was everything I saved, and in this dress I hurried down stairs, the woman with me, holding by my arm, and made directly to that end of the street which opens to the Tagus. • Finding the passage this way entirely blocked up with the fallen houses to the height of their second stories, I turned back to the other end, which led into the main street (the common through- fare to the palace) ; and having helped the woman over a vast heap of ruins, with no small hazard to my own life, just as we were going into this street, as there was one part I could not well climb over without the assistance of my hands as well as feet, I desired her to let go her hold, which she did, remaining two or three feet behind me, at which instant there fell a vast stone from a tottering wall, and crushed both her and the child in pieces. So dismal a spectacle at any other time would have affected me in the highest degree, but the dread I was in of sharing the same fate myself, and the many instances of the same kind which presented themselves all around, were too shocking to make me dwell a moment on this single object. "I had now a long, narrow street to pass, with the houses on each side four or five stories high, all very old, the greater part already thrown down, or continually falling, and threatening the passengers with inevitable death at every step, numbers of whom lay killed before me, or, what I thought far more deplorable, so bruised and 55 wounded that they could not stir to help themselves. For my own part, as destruction appeared to me unavoidable, I only wished I might be made an end of at once, and not have my limbs broken, in which case I could expect nothing else but to be left upon the spot lingering in misery, like these poor unhappy wretches, without re- ceiving the least succour from any person. " As self-preservation, however, is the first law of nature, these sad thoughts did not so far prevail as to make me totally despair. I proceeded on as fast as I conveniently could, though with the utmost caution, and having at length got clear of this horrid passage, I found myself, safe and unhurt, in the large open space before St. Paul's Church, which had been thrown down a few minutes before, and buried a great part of the congregation, that was generally pretty numerous, this being reckoned one of the most populous parishes in Lisbon. Here I stood some time considering what I should do, and not thinking myself safe in this situation, I came to the resolution of climbing over the ruins of the west end of the church, in order to get to the river's side, that I might be removed as far as possible from the tottering houses in case of a second shock. " This, with some difficulty, I accomplished, and here I found a prodigious concourse of people of both sexes, and of all ranks and conditions, among whom I observed some of the principal canons of the Patriarchal Church, in their purple robes and rochets, as these all go in the habits of bishops ; several priests, who had run from the altars in their sacerdotal vestments, in the midst of their celebrating mass ; ladies half-dressed, and some without shoes. All these, whom their mutual danger had here assembled as to a place of safety, were on their knees at prayers, with the terrors of death in their countenances, everyone 56 striking his breast and crying out incessantly, 'Misere- cordia meu Deus.' " Amidst this crowd I could not avoid taking notice of an old venerable priest, in stole and surplice, who, I appre- hend, had escaped from St. Paul's. He was continually moving to and fro among the people, exhorting them to repentance, and endeavouring to comfort them. He told them, with a flood of tears, that God was grievously pro- voked at their sins, but that if they would call upon the Blessed Virgin she would intercede for them. Everyone now flocked around him, earnestly begging his benediction, and happy did that man think himself who could get near enough to touch the hem of his garment. Several, I observed, had little wooden crucifixes and images of saints in their hands, which they offered me to kiss; and one poor Irishman, I remember, held out a St. Antonio to me for this purpose, and when I gently put his arm aside, as giving him to understand that I desired to be excused this piece of devotion, he asked me, with some indignation, whether I thought there was a God. I verily believe many of the poor bigoted creatures who saved these useless pieces of wood left their children to perish. However, you must not imagine that I have now the least inclination to mock at their superstitions. I sincerely pity them, and must own that a more affecting spectacle was never seen. Their tears, their bitter sighs and lamentations, would have touched the most flinty heart. I knelt down amongst them, and prayed as fervently as the rest, though to a more proper object, the only Being who could hear my prayers to afford me any succour. " In the midst of our devotions the second great shock came on, little less violent than the first, and completed the ruin of those buildings which had been already much shattered. The consternation now became so universal 57 that the shrieks and cries of ' Miserecordia ' could be distinctly heard from the top of St. Catherine's Hill, at a considerable distance off, whither a vast number of people had likewise retreated. At the same time we could hear the fall of the parish church there, whereby many persons were killed on the spot, and others mortally wounded. You may judge of the force of this shock when I inform you it was so violent that I could scarce keep on my knees, but it was attended with some circumstances still more dreadful than the former. On a sudden I heard a general outcry, ' The sea is coming in — we shall be all lost.' Upon this, turning my eyes towards the river, which in that place is near four miles broad, I could perceive it heaving and swelling in a most unaccountable manner, as no wind w r as stirring. In an instant there appeared, at some small distance, a large body of water, rising as it were like a mountain. It came on roaring and foaming, and rushed towards the shore with such impetuosity that we all immediately ran for our lives as fast as possible ; many were actually swept away, and the rest above their waist in water at a good distance from the banks. For my own part I had the narrowest escape, and should certainly have been lost, had I not grasped a large beam that lay on the ground till the water returned to its channel, which it did almost at the same instant with equal rapidity. As there now appeared at least as much danger from the sea as the land, and I scarce knew whither to retire for shelter, I took a sudden resolution of returning back, with my clothes all dripping, to the area of St. Paul's. Here I stood some time, and observed the ships tumbling and tossing about as in a violent storm. Some had broken their cables, and were carried to the other side of the Tagus ; others were whirled round with incredible swiftness, several large boats were turned keel upwards, and all this without any 58 wind, which seemed the more astonishing. It was at the time of which I am now speaking that the fine new quay, built entirely of rough marble, at an immense expense, was entirely swallowed up, with all the people on it who had fled thither for safety, and had reason to think them- selves out of danger in such a place. At the same time a great number of boats and small vessels anchored near it (now all likewise full of people, who had retired thither for the same purpose) were all swallowed up as in a whirlpool, and never more appeared. " This last dreadful incident I did not see with my own eyes, as it passed three or four stones' throws from the spot where I was ; but I had the account as here given from several masters of ships, who were anchored within two or three hundred yards of the quay, and saw the whole catastrophe. One of them in particular informed me, that when the second shock came on, he could perceive the whole city waving backwards and forwards like the sea when the wind first begins to rise ; that the agitation of the earth was so great even under the river, that it threw up his large anchor from the mooring, which swam, as he termed it, on the surface of the water ; that immediately upon this extraordinary concussion the river rose at once near twenty feet, and in a moment subsided ; at which instant he saw the quay, with the whole concourse of people upon it, sink down, and at the same time every one of the boats and vessels that were near it were drawn into the cavity, which he supposes instantly closed upon them, inasmuch as not the least sign of a wreck was ever seen afterwards. This account you may give full credit to, for as to the loss of the vessels it is confirmed by every- body, and with regard to the quay, I went myself a few days after to convince myself of the truth, and could not find even the ruins of a place where I had taken so many 59 agreeable walks, as this was the common rendezvous of the factory in the cool of the evening. I found it all deep water, and in some parts scarcely to be fathomed. " This is the only place I could learn which was swallowed up in or about Lisbon, though I saw many large cracks and fissures in different parts ; and one odd phenomenon I must not omit, which was communicated to me by a friend who has a house and wine-cellars on the other side of the river, viz., that the dwelling-house being first terribly shaken, which made all the family run out, there presently fell down a vast high rock near it ; that upon this the river rose and subsided in the manner already mentioned, and immediately a great number of small fissures appeared in several contiguous pieces of ground, from whence there spouted out like a jet d'eau a large quantity of fine white sand to a prodigious height. It is not to be doubted the bowels of the earth must have been excessively agitated to cause these surprising effects ; but whether the shocks were owing to any sudden explosion of various minerals mixing together, or to air pent up and struggling for vent, or to a collection of subterraneous waters forcing a passage, God only knows. As to the fiery eruptions then talked of, I believe they are without foundation, though it is certain I heard several complaining of strong sulphurous smells, a dizziness in their heads, a sickness in their stomachs, and difficulty of respiration ; not that I felt any such symptoms myself. " I had not been long in the area of St. Paul's when I felt the third shock, which was somewhat less violent than the two former. The sea rushed in again, and retired with the same rapidity, and I remained up to my knees in water, though I had gotten upon a small eminence at some distance from the river, with the ruins of several interven- ing houses to break its force. At this time I took notice 60 the water retired so impetuously that some vessels were left quite dry which rode in seven-fathom water. The river thus continued alternately rushing on and retiring several times together, in such sort, that it was justly dreaded Lisbon would meet the same fate which a few years ago had be- fallen the city of Lima ;* and no doubt had this place lain open to the sea, and the force of the waves not been some- what broken by the winding of the bay, the lower parts of it at least would have been totally destroyed. " The master of a vessel which arrived here just after the 1st of November assured me that he felt the shock above forty leagues at sea so sensibly, that he really con- cluded he had struck upon a rock, till he threw out the lead, and could find no bottom, nor could he possibly guess at the cause, till the melancholy sight of this desolate city left him no room to doubt of it. The two first shocks, in fine, were so violent, that several pilots were of opinion the situation of the bar at the mouth of the Tagus was changed. Certain it is that one vessel, attempting to pass through the usual channel, foundered, and another struck on the strands, and was at first given over for lost, but at length got through. There was another great shock after this, which pretty much affected the river, but I think not so violently as the preceding, though several persons assured me that, as they were riding on horseback in the great road leading to Belem, one side of which lies open to the river, the wave rushed in with so much rapidity that they were obliged to gallop as fast as possible to the upper grounds for fear of being carried away. "I was now in such a situation that I knew not which way to turn myself. If I remained there, I was in danger from the sea; if I retired farther from the shore, the * This happened in 1746. 61 houses threatened certain destruction ; and at last I re- solved to go to the Mint, which, being a low and very strong building, had received no considerable damage, except in some of the apartments towards the river. The party of soldiers which is every day set there on guard had all deserted the place, and the only person that remained was the commanding officer, a nobleman's son, of about seventeen or eighteen years of age, whom I found standing at the gate. As there was still a continued tremor of the earth, and the place where we now stood (being within twenty or thirty feet of the opposite houses, which were all tottering) appeared too dangerous, the court- yard likewise being full of water, we both retired inward to a hillock of stones and rubbish. Here I entered into conversation with him, and having expressed my admiration that one so young should have the courage to keep his post, when every one of his soldiers had deserted theirs, the answer he made was, though he were sure the earth would open and swallow him up, he scorned to think of flying from his post. In short, it was owing to the magnanimity of this young man that the Mint, which at this time had upwards of two millions of money in it, was not robbed ; and, indeed, I do him no more than justice in saying that I never saw anyone behave with equal serenity and com- posure on occasions much less dreadful than the present. I believe I might have remained in conversation with him near five hours, and though I was now grown faint from the constant fatigue I had undergone, and having not yet broken my fast, yet th is nad not so much effect upon me as the anxiety I was under for a particular friend with whom I was to have dined that day, and who, lodging at the top of a very high house in the heart of the city, and being a stranger to the language, could not but be in the utmost danger. My concern, therefore; for his preservation made 62 me determine at all events to go and see what was become of him, upon which I took my leave of the officer. "As I thought it would be the height of rashness to venture back through the same narrow street I had so providentially escaped from, I judged it safest to return over the ruins of St. Paul's to the riverside, as the water now seemed little agitated. From thence I proceeded, with some hazard, to the large space before the Irish convent of Corpo Santo, which had been thrown down, and buried a great number of people who w T ere hearing mass, besides some of the friars. The rest of the community were standing in the area, looking with dejected countenances towards the ruins. J From this place I took my way to the back street leading to the palace, having the ship-yard on one side, but found the further passage opening into the principal street stopped up by the ruins of the Opera- house, one of the solidest and most magnificent buildings of the kind in Europe, and just finished at a prodigious expense. A vast heap of stones, each of several tons weight, had entirely blocked up the front of Mr. Bristow's house, which was opposite to it ; and Mr. Ward, his partner, told me the next day, that he was just that instant going out at the door, and had actually set one foot over the threshold, when the west end of the Opera-house fell down, and had he not in a moment started back he would have been crushed into a thousand pieces. " From hence I turned back, and attempted getting by the other way into the great square of the palace, twice as large as Lincoln's Inn Fields, one side of which had been taken up by the noble quay I spoke of, now no more ; but this passage was likewise obstructed by the stones fallen from the great arched gateway. I could not help taking particular notice that all the apartments wherein the royal family used to reside were thrown down, and themselves, 63 without some extraordinary miracle, muavst unoidably have perislied had they been there at the time of the shock. Finding this passage impracticable, I turned to the other arched way, which led to the new square of the palace, not the eighth part so spacious as the other, one side of which was taken up by the Patriarchal Church, which also served for the Chapel Royal, and the other by a most magnificent building of modern architecture, probably, indeed, by far the most so, not yet completely finished. As to the former, the roof and part of the front walls were thrown down, and the latter, notwithstanding their solidity, had been so shaken that several large stones fell from the top, and every part seemed disjointed. The square was full of coaches, chariots, chaises, horses, and mules, deserted by their drivers and attendants, as well as their owners. The nobility, gentry, and clergy, who were assisting at Divine service when the earthquake began, fled away with the utmost precipitation, everyone where his fears carried him, leaving the splendid apparatus o£ the numerous altars to the mercy of the first comer ; but this did not so much affect me as the distress of the poor animals, who seemed sensible of their hard fate. Some few were killed, others wounded, but the greater part, which had received no hurt, were left there to starve. " From this square the way led to my friend's lodgings, through a long, steep, and narrow street. The new scenes of horror I met with here exceed all description ; nothing could be heard but sio-hs and groans. I did not meet with a soul in the passage who was not bewailing the death of his nearest relations and dearest friends, or the loss of all his substance. I could hardly take a single step without treading on the dead or the dying. In some places lay coaches, with their masters, horses, and riders, almost crushed in pieces; here mothers with infants in their arms; G4 there ladies richly dressed, priests, friars, gentlemen, me- chanics, either in the same condition, or just expiring ; some had their backs or thighs broken, others vast stones on their breasts ; some lay almost buried in the rubbish, and, crying out in vain to the passengers for succour, were left to perish with the rest. "At length I arrived at the spot opposite to the house where my friend for whom I was so anxious resided ; and, finding this as well as the contiguous buildings thrown down (which made me give him over for lost), I now thought of nothing else but saving my own life in the best manner I could, and in less than an hour got to a public- house kept by one Morley, near the English burying- ground, about half a mile from the city, where I still remain, with a great number of my countrymen, as well as Portuguese, in the same wretched circumstances, having almost ever since lain on the ground, and never once within doors, with scarcely any covering to defend me from the inclemency of the night air, which at this time is ex- ceeding sharp and piercing. " Perhaps you may think the present doleful subject here concluded ; but, alas ! the horrors of the 1st of Novem- ber are sufficient to fill a volume. As soon as it grew dark another scene presented itself, little less shocking than those already described — the whole city appeared in a blaze, which was so bright that I could easily see to read by it. It may be said without exaggeration it was on fire at least in a hundred different places at once, and thus continued burning for six days together without inter- mission, or the least attempt being made to stop its pro- gress. " It went on consuming everything the earthquake had spared, and the people were so dejected and terrified that few or none had courage enough to venture down to save 65 any part of their substance. Everyone had his eyes turned towards the flames, and stood looking on with silent grief, which was only interrupted by the cries and shrieks of women and children, calling on the saints and angels for succour, whenever the earth began to tremble, which was so often this night — and, indeed, I may say ever since — that the tremors more or less did not cease for a quarter of an hour together. I could never learn that this terrible fire was owing to any subterraneous eruption, as some reported, but to three causes, which, all concurring at the same time, will naturally account for the prodigious havoc it made. The 1st of November being All Saints' Day, a high festival among the Portuguese, every altar in every church and chapel (some of which have more than twenty) was illumi- nated with a number of wax tapers and lamps as customary. These setting fire to the curtains and timber-work that fell with the shock, the conflagration soon spread to the neigh- bouring houses, and being there joined with the fires in the kitchen chimneys, increased to such a degree that it might easily have destroyed the whole city though no other cause had concurred, especially as it met with no interruption. " But what would appear incredible to you were the fact less public and notorious is, that a gang of hardened villains, who had been confined and got out of prison when the wall fell at the first shock, were busily employed in setting fire to those buildings which stood some chances of escaping the general destruction. I cannot conceive what could have induced them to this hellish work, except to add to the horror and confusion, that they might by this means have the better opportunity of plundering with security. But there was no necessity for taking this trouble, as they might certainly have done their business without it, since the whole city was so deserted before night that I believe not a soul remained in it except these execrable F 66 villains, and others of tlie same stamp. It is possible some among them might have had other motives besides robbing, as one in particular, being apprehended (they say he was a Moor condemned to the galleys), confessed at the gallows that he had set fire to the king's palace with his own hand, at the same time glorying in the action, and declaring with his last breath that he hoped to have burnt all the royal family. It is likewise generally believed that Mr. Bristow's house, which was an exceeding strong edifice, built on vast stone arches, and had stood the shocks without any great damage further than what I have mentioned, was con- sumed in the same manner. The fire, in short, by some means or other, may be said to have destroyed the whole city — at least everything that was grand or valuable in it. u With regard to the buildings, it was observed that the solidest in general fell the first. Every parish church, convent, nunnery, palace, and public edifice, with an infinite number of private houses, were either thrown down or so miserably shattered that it was rendered dan- gerous to pass by them. "The whole number of persons that perished, including those who were burnt, or afterwards crushed to death whilst digging in the ruins, is supposed, on the lowest calculation, to amount to more than sixty thousand ; and though the damage in other respects cannot be computed, yet you may form some idea of it when I assure you that this extensive and opulent city is now nothing but a vast heap of ruins ; that the rich and poor are at present upon a level ; some thousands of families, which but the day before had been easy in their circumstances, being now scattered about in the fields, wanting every convenience of life, and finding none able to relieve them. " A few days after the first consternation was over I ventured down into the city by the safest ways I could 67 pick out, to see if there was any possibility of getting any- thing out of my lodgings ; but the ruins were now so augmented by the late fire that I was so far from being able to distinguish the individual spot where the house stood, that I could not even distinguish the street amidst such mountains of stones and rubbish which rose on every side. Some days after I ventured down again with several porters, who, having long plied in these parts of the town, were well acquainted with the situation of particular houses. By their assistance I at last discovered the spot ; but was soon convinced to dig for anything here, besides the danger of such an attempt, would never answer the expense, and what further induced me to lay aside all thoughts of the matter was the sight of the ruins still smoking, from whence I knew for certain that those things I set the greatest value on must have been irrecoverably lost in the fire. " On both the times when I attempted to make this fruitless search, especially the first, there came such an intolerable stench from the dead bodies that I was ready to faint away ; and though it did not seem to be so great this last time, yet it had likely to have been more fatal to me, as I contracted a fever by it, but of which, God be praised, I soon got the better. However, this made me so cautious for the future that I avoided passing near certain places, where the stench was so excessive that people began to fear an infection. A gentleman told me, that going into the town a few days after the earthquake, he saw several bodies lying in the streets, some horribly mangled, as he supposed, by the dogs ; other half burnt ; some quite roasted ; and that in certain places, particu- larly near the doors of the churches, they lay in vast heaps, piled one upon another. You may guess at the prodigious havoc which must have been made by the single instance I f 2 68 am going to mention. There was a high arched passage, like one of our old city gates, fronting the west door of the ancient cathedral ; on the left hand was the famous church of St. Antonio, and on the right some private houses, several stories high. The whole area, surrounded by all these buildings, did not much exceed one of our small courts in London. At the first shock, numbers of people who were then passing under the arch fled into the middle of this area for shelter ; those in the two churches, as many as could possibly get out, did the same. At this instant the arched gateway, with the fronts of the two churches and the contiguous buildings, all inclining one towards another with the sudden violence of the shock, fell down and buried every soul as they were standing here crowded toe-ether. o " Thus, my dear friend, have I given you a genuine, though imperfect, account of this terrible judgment, which has left so deep an impression on my mind that I shall never wear it off. 1 have lost all the money I had by me, and have saved no other clothes than what I have on my back ; but what I regret most is the irreparable loss of my books and papers. To add to my present distress, those friends to whom I could have applied on any other occa- sion are now in the same wretched circumstances with myself. However, notwithstanding all that I have suffered I do not think I have reason to despair, but rather to return my gratefullest acknowledgments to the Almighty, who hath so visibly preserved my life amidst such dangers, where so many thousands perished ; and the same good Providence I trust will still continue to protect me, and point out some means to extricate myself out of these difficulties." As was to be expected on the occasion of so tremendous a calamity, every European nation was anxious to offer its 69 assistance to unhappy Portugal. Among the rest, George II., being ignorant of the fate of his representative at Lisbon, for this purpose ordered Charles Townsend to pro- ceed immediately to that Court with offers of money and provisions. Townsend's departure was, however, rendered unnecessary by the news of Mr. Castres' safety ; but the welcome assistance was forthwith despatched in a man-of- war got ready for that purpose. The following succours were placed at Dom Joseph's disposal : — Beef, 6000 barrels estimated value £10,000 Butter, 4000 firkins ... ... £3,000 Flour, 10,000 quarters ... ... £15,000 Wheat, 10,000 do. ... ...£15,000 Biscuit, 1000 bags ... £1,200 Rice, 1200 barrels ... £1,000 Pickaxes, Spades, Crows, Screws, &c. ... £1,000 In Portugal gold ... £30,000 In pieces of eight ... ... £20,000 Shoes ... £1,000 £97,200 The continual anxiety which all endured at this period may be easily conceived by the following despatch, dated December 13th : — " Though it is now forty days since the great earth- quake, there has hardly passed one single day or night without a renewal of our alarms — the tremulations having been almost continual, intermixed with such violent shocks from time to time, particularly the night before last, as to drive not only those who had begun to venture again into the lower parts of the houses still standing, but even such as have sheltered themselves under tents and barracks, into the open fields half naked, to the great peril of their lives at this rigorous season of the year. In the meantime M. 70 de Carvalho, who seems to have the entire confidence of the king his master, is employed night and clay in de- spatching the necessary orders for keeping this ruined town supplied with comestibles ; obliging mechanics of all sorts, who had fled to the remotest parts of this country, to return to their several callings ; and putting a stop to the many robberies unavoidable in such times of confusion, and par- ticularly in such an open place as this is." Slight shocks were occasionally felt even up to the 14th of January in the following year. And it may perhaps be interesting to state here the number of British subjects who perished during the earthquake. The total loss was offi- cially reported by the British minister at twenty-eight men and fifty women. That part of the city which was situated in the valley, on a portion of which the Rocio Square now stands, suf- fered most. During Pombal's administration it was en- tirely rebuilt on a plan of great regularity. A public garden was for the first time laid out. Sewers were con- structed in the new streets. Before the earthquake, not a single regular street above the length of one hundred yards existed. Now they were built handsome, solid, level, and well-paved. But Pombal's plans were never entirely carried out. Most of the numerous edifices now existing of any importance were founded by him. But the magni- ficent promenade which he designed to form on the shores of the lovely Tagus, from Santa Apollonia to Belem, a distance of about five miles, was never even commenced. Had this grand design been carried into effect, and planted with trees, in the manner he intended, it would have excited the admiration of all Europe, as it would have surpassed in beauty everything of the kind with which we are acquainted. It is not to be supposed that a calamity so general and 71 so dreadful would be suffered to pass unnoticed by tlie Jesuits, already Pombal's declared enemies. They did not hesitate to affirm that the awful visitation was a Divine infliction for the impiety of the minister and his supporters, in which was pretty clearly included the king himself.* They even went so far as to prophesy that a similar dreadful convulsion would be repeated on the same day of the fol- lowing year. But this was easily dealt with ; for, at the latter end of October, 1756, while the credulous expected a repetition of the calamity, Pombal posted at all the city gates a strong guard, whose presence prevented a general panic, and consequently the disorder and plunder of the city. In the meantime, as no earthquake occurred, the people laughed heartily, not only at their own fears, but at those who had originated them — a fatal presage for the Jesuits. * Their malicious reports were soon spread over all Europe. The Portuguese Minister at Vienna, in a despatch dated January 18th, 1756, begs Pombal to inform him of the effects of the earthquake, as it was reported in Vienna that the Azore Islands had disappeared — that Madeira was entirely destroyed— that Coimbra was reduced to ashes — together with many other most circumstantial falsehoods. He adds, that in a conversation with the emperor, his Majesty asked him if the Azores had re-appeared ; and declared that if one of his subjects had brought the news to Vienna, he would have hanged him as an example to all propagators of falsities injurious to com- merce and government. 72 CHAPTER V. I have already alluded to the effect the discovery of the gold mines in Brazil produced on the well-being of the Portuguese nation. The cultivation of the soil was aban- doned, and the improvement of manufactures neglected for the delusive products of the mines ; while the people were compelled to procure from other countries not only their clothing, but even their very food. Pombal was aware that this was the fatal error into which his pre- decessors in the government had fallen, and thus expresses himself upon the subject : " Her fields soon became un- productive and valueless. The number of labourers, a class in which the strength of government consists, daily diminished. Farmers gave up the cultivation of their lands ; the crops became small and insufficient ; and the wealthy ceased to reside on their estates."* Thus compelled to depend upon other nations for the food and manufactures which they themselves formerly produced, the Portuguese formed the well-known treaty with Eng- land. This treaty, however, was the result, not the cause, of the nearly total extinction of manufacturing industry. And here it may not be irrelevant to remark, that it has been mucli the fashion of late years for a certain descrip- tion of persons in Portugal, where an accurate knowledge of the principles of political economy is not to be found, to declaim violently against the evil consequences which they * Dom Duarte, surnamed the Eloquent, made a law (in 1435) obliging the nobility to reside on their estates. 73 imagine have proceeded from commercial treaties between their country and England. These people forget that the prosperity, and even the existence of the wine-growing provinces have been entirely created by this alliance. Neither did these treaties forbid them the tillage of their corn-fields, nor the throwing of their shuttles. If Portugal received for a long time the manufactures of England to the exclusion of almost all others, it must not be forgotten that, by the Methuen Treaty, England obliged herself to admit the wines of Portugal at a considerably lesser rate of duties than those charged to all other countries, which, till up to a very recent period, was a real injury to the English people, though a gain to the merchants of Oporto, and to its wine-growing districts. If Pombal himself seems occasionally inclined to lay the blame of his country's misfortunes on the policy of British ministers, who threw impediments in the way of Portuguese enterprise and commerce, we must recollect that the English merchants at Lisbon and Oporto sought every opportunity to aggrandise themselves at the expense of the Portuguese, and were also constantly asserting and claiming dormant and unjust privileges, which the minister as constantly and as obstinately resisted ; nor must we be surprised, that he was at times charged by them with the expression of opinions, which, without due consideration, might be judged erroneous ; or with an opposition to English policy which might be considered hostile. But Pombal was, during the whole course of his life, as we shall see hereafter, a strenuous advocate for the import- ance, and even absolute necessity, of the English alliance, which he rightly considered as the only means of sustaining the independence of the nation, and preserving its colonies.* * Numerous are the "Royal Letters" from the sovereigns of 74 ci As a maxim of government," writes Pombal, " it is certainly true that the worst of all policy is to remain unalterably determined on peace when all the other Powers of Europe are at war. Although a country is not personally interested in the causes of such war, it is nevertheless necessary to interpose, when the incon- veniences of so doing are not greater than those of remain- ing a spectator. A government deceives itself when it imagines that victories obtained at a distance of two hundred leagues from the frontiers in no way concern its political interests. It is the same in the political world as in the physical creation, where a primum mobile causes the movement of the whole. " There is a motive political power which ramifies itself in every direction. This power is either direct or indirect. In whatever part of Europe, when one State augments its England and Portugal in which various privileges are conceded to the merchants and other subjects of the two countries. That from Dom Ferdinand in the year 1367 in favour of the English, was acknowledged by Edward III. in 1371, to the advantage of Portu- guese merchants trading to the British islands. An order from llichard II., as early as 1382, permitted the Portuguese ambassador, Lourengo Fogaga, to transport his baggage into England free of duty. And another, signed by Henry IV. in 1405, is a curious document of the times, as it commands that " no Portuguese sub- jects should be imprisoned in England, nor should their ships *or other property be seized, under pretext of the debts which M. de Santiago and Lourengo Fogoga had incurred whilst ambassadors in London from the Court of Lisbon." The most important of the privileges claimed by the British sub- jects in Portugal was the one established by the Alvara of Dom John IV. in 1656, by which a Juiz Conservator was to be appointed by England and allowed to reside in Lisbon. The extraordinary func- tions of this species of magistrate may be imagined by the decree dated 1667, in which the Portuguese sovereign declared that no British subject could be imprisoned in Portugal without the order of his Juiz Conscrvador. 75 power, that of another relatively necessarily diminishes. All are therefore interested in preserving a just balance, since on that depends the general safety. The proper disposition of political power interests all the kingdoms and republics of Europe. " In general wars small States should more than others take a part, were it only for the purpose of siding with the weak against the strong. This policy is necessary, for without it the more powerful governments, constantly acquiring fresh strength, would in the end swallow up the weaker ones. Pretexts were never wanting to the strong to declare war against the feeble." We have already referred to the fallacious riches of gold mines as a cause of Portugal's decline, springing as it were from the very source of her former prosperity. Thus, Pombal writes ; — " Gold mines sixty years since were the sole sources of the riches of Portugal. Without being a politician it is sufficient to understand arithmetic to show clearly that a State which directs its sole attention to mines must neces- sarily perish. Gold and silver are fictitious riches. These measures of value being but slowly destroyed, the more they are multiplied the less is their real value, because they represent fewer things. When the Spaniards became masters of Mexico and Peru, they abandoned the natural riches of those countries to obtain conventional ones, the value of which becomes depreciated in proportion to the increase. At that time gold and silver were scarce in Europe : Spain, on a sudden becoming sovereign of so vast a quantity of these metals, conceived hopes that she never could expect to realise. When the quantity of gold and silver in Europe was doubled the price of everything also was doubled, and the profit of the mines became less. " For instance, to extract gold from the mines, and to 76 prepare it, certain labour is necessary — let us suppose one sixty-fourth of the entire produce. By degrees, as it became plentiful, this produce would be in reality but half its former value, whilst the cost of production would necessarily be doubled. In following up this calculation we find the cause of the weakness of Spain. That of Portugal is briefly found by the same reasoning. Philip II., says Montesquieu, after the discovery of Mexico, made his well-known bankruptcy. Philip IV., adds another author, was obliged to coin false money to pay the burdens of the State. " But, even if this physical evil was not the necessary result of these riches, one political reflection alone ought to cure monarchs for ever of the mania for the possession of these fatal treasuries. Gold, in itself, it is true, is power, because it affords the means of a nation's augment- ing its forces. But, if a monarch who had discovered productive mines, wished to retain his riches for himself, in order to arrive at universal empire, all the other Powers of Europe would unite in a league for his destruction before he could effect theirs. If, on the other hand, his riches were generally distributed, his power would be no longer relatively great, and he would fall back into the position which he hoped in vain to abandon. If examples could influence princes, and teach them to profit by ex- perience, there is no one that would not oppose the opening of mines as a fundamental principle ; for since the creation of the world, they have ever proved the causes of weakness and decay. " It is an invariable maxim, that the riches of gold mines are chimerical to the States that possess them. Such States become but the distributors of their own treasure. The negroes that work in the mines of Brazil must be clothed by England, by which the value of their produce becomes 77 relative to the price of cloth. To work the mines, it is necessary to have a large capital expended on slaves. If this sum be twenty millions, the interest, which is one million, independent of the cost of extraction, must be the first money paid from their produce. Add to this the food and clothing for more than a hundred thousand per- sons, blacks and whites, which the mines carry to Brazil, which food is not to be had in the colony, but must be purchased from foreigners. Lastly, to supply the physical wants of the country, which since the discovery of the mines had lost its arts and manufactures, all the gold became the property of other nations. What riches, Great God ! the possession of which involves the ruin of the State!" In verification of these last profound remarks, I may mention, that though the King of Portugal possessed the most prolific of gold mines, and was reputed one of the richest sovereigns in Europe, yet such was the condition of the .Royal Treasury at the commencement of his reign, that he was compelled to borrow from a certain Company a sum of 400,000 cruzados (£40,000) to meet the exi- gencies of his Court. This fact illustrates the remark, "that there never was a rich king and an impoverished people." At this period, so manifold and arduous were the cares and duties of Pombal that he felt himself obliged to look round for an able assistant in the administration of State affairs. He sent for Dom Luis da Cunha, who arrived in the month of May, 1756, and was immediately appointed Secretary of State for the Department of War and Foreign Affairs. Diego de Mendon$a retained the Marine Depart- ment, which he had enjoyed since the period of Joseph's accession. A despatch from M. Castres, dated May 10th 1756, informs us of these circumstances. 78 " M. de Carvallio remains with the department of the interior affairs of the kingdom, which, at this particular juncture, require all his attention — his whole time being taken up, since our late misfortunes, in contriving, with the Pope's nuncio, a proper scheme for reducing the vast number of monasteries in this place ; and consulting with the architects about the fittest plan for rebuilding the city. His health having been impaired of late, on account of his extraordinary application, it is not at all doubted but that the sending for Dom Luis da Cunha was a measure entirely of his own, to alleviate part of his trouble ; and as he is thought to possess a greater share than ever in his royal master's esteem and confidence, people begin to look upon him as Prime Minister in effect, though he may probably decline to be addressed under that name." A circumstance happened about this time, which is thus narrated by M. Castres : — " Le Sieur Guillaume Pawson, negociant Anglais, etabli clepuis trente ans au Porto, s'y maria l'annee 1729, avec une demoiselle Irlandaise Catholique Romaine, nommee Marie Aylward, dont il a eu plusieurs enfans. Par un des articles du mariage, il etait porte que toutes les filles seraient elevees dans la religion de', leur mere, ce qui a etc ponctuellement observe. L'aine de leurs deux gallons nomme George fut envoye a Page de cinq ans en Angleterre, pour y etre eleve dans la religion Protestante, que son pere a constamment professee : mais comme il avait ete baptise dans une Eglise Romaine, les amis de son pere crurent qu'il etait de la prudence de faire quelques demarches aupres de l'lnquisition pour savoir des direc- teurs de ce Tribunal, si le jeune Pawson pourrait revenir dans ce pays-ci en surete ; et ayant eu des assurances de leur part qu'il n'avait rien a craindre, il est revenu depuis 79 huit mois au" Porto, pour y etre associe de son pere, et prendre soin des affaires, lorsque celui-ci aura pris la reso- lution de se retirer dans sa patrie. "Le 17 de ce mois de Mai, ce jeune liomme reve- nant d'une maison de campagne, fut arrete a huit heures du matin au milieu de la rue, et enleve par force de dessus son clieval, par les officiers de l'Eveque d' Oporto, et conduit dans les prisons de l'Officialite, ou il est etroitement garde, son pere n'ayant pas eu la permission de lui parler." It was no easy matter to arrange tliis affair without alarming the whole ecclesiastical power of the country. In a conversation with the British minister on the subject, M. da Cunha candidly avowed : " There are certain formalities in all cases wherein the Church is concerned, that are unavoidable ; and though I am a hearty well- wisher to the British nation, and I do not care who knows it, yet I should be loth to give my ignorant countrymen room to tax me with being a heretic." The young man was released, and the bishop was severely reprimanded ; and shortly after received orders to resign his bishopric, and to retire to some distant part of the country, as a punishment for the reluctance and ill- grace he had shown in obeying the royal order sent him for Mr. Pawson's immediate release. On the 31st of August, 1756, one of those bold measures was taken which so much distinguish Pombal's adminis- tration. It is thus related in the despatch of M. Castres, dated September 11th, 175G. " On the 31st past, about one in the morning, M. da Cunha, with an officer of justice and an escort of horse, repaired to this minister's house (M. de Meudonca, Secre- tary of State for the Marine Department), and notified to him in the king his master's name, that he had three hours 80 allowed him to prepare for his banishment to any part of the country he should choose, at the distance of forty leagues from Court. M. de Mendonca, with great calm- ness and composure, kissed the royal decree, and having delivered the keys of his public office, as well as of his private bureaux, he soon after stepped into his voiture under the guard of four dragoons, accompanied by his confessor and a couple of servants." * * * * " A few hours after his banishment a royal proclamation was posted up in most of the conspicuous parts of this city, promising a reward of twenty thousand crowns to any one who should discover the person or persons who had been so audacious as to declare — there might be such found in Portugal as would readily undertake to cut off some of those about the king, ivho are supjiosed to have the greatest share in his confidence." It appears that this was a very critical moment, and that some great conspiracy was in preparation, the details of which, however, have never transpired. Several indi- viduals of less note had been already arrested, and M. de Lacerda was ordered to return to Lisbon immediately. M. Castres writes, July 7th, 1756: — "M. de Lacerda, the present Portuguese minister at Paris, has been ordered home on a sudden, on account, as some pretend, of an illicit correspondence carrying on between him and a relation of his here, who was seized ten days ago with all his papers, from the perusal of which, such discoveries have been made, as have occasioned the seizing of several more, among whom there are three or four friars of note. What is very certain is, that the ministers of this Court have been taken up night and day for near a fortnight past, so as hardly to be visible to any one, which, together with the frequent captures of late, has raised great suspicions of very sinister designs having been upon the anvil." 81 The French ambassador was very angry at the arrest of his friend Mendonca, and as he was recalled from Lisbon shortly afterwards, we may naturally conclude that he was no stranger to Mendonca's guilt. This ambassador, we are informed by Mr. Castres, on taking his leave received the usual gold bars, worth about £1100. "The Court (he adds) seems to be well pleased with their having got rid of a minister of his turbulent temper, who had long ago rendered himself disagreeable by his perpetual disputes about trifles, and particularly his free and unguarded expressions upon the customs and manners of the country, not sparing at times the royal authority itself." 82 CHAPTER VI. In spite, however, of his repeated attacks of illness- troubled by the treachery of his colleagues, and by the intrigues of his enemies — Pombal did not suffer any time to be lost between the deliberation and the performance of any necessary act of government ; for his plans were no sooner conceived than they were executed. In fact, he seemed in his decrees even to anticipate the abuses that spring from reforms themselves, and was prepared to meet them as soon as they appeared. About this period a prin- cipal object that engrossed his attention was the formation of the celebrated Oporto Wine Company, the excellent management of which, up to a very recent period, has obtained for it a celebrity unprecedented, and preserved a reputation for the purity and excellence of its wines un- equalled, and never likely to be surpassed, The following facts will explain the origin of the formation of this Com- pany. The principal wine-growers of the Upper Douro, in August, 1756, represented to the government, that this branch of agriculture was so reduced in the three pro- vinces of Beira, Minho, and Traz-os-Montes, that the pro- duce did not repay the expense of cultivation ; that the profit was in the hands of the tavern-keepers at Oporto, who adulterated the wines to an incredible extent, which rendered them injurious to the health of the consumers ; and that the formation of a Company was the only means 83 of obviating these manifold evils. The urgency of the case was so apparent, and the necessity for intervention so obvious, that Pombal without hesitation entered into the views of these wine-growers, and, with his usual decision and promptitude, issued a decree on the 10th of September, 1756, for the establishment of the "Companhia Geral da Agricultura das Vinhas do Alto Douro," the capital of which was fixed at about £120,000. The object of this Company was to preserve the quality of the wines, and to benefit the growers by establishing a regular price for their produce. By the decree, it was enacted that the Company had the exclusive privilege of purchasing all the wines grown within a particular district, at a fixed price for a certain period after the vintage. When that period had elapsed, the wine-growers were at liberty to sell, in what- ever market they pleased, those wines which remained un- purchased. This famous Company, after not only conferring many benefits on individuals, but increasing the agriculture and commerce of the nation at large, was abolished soon after the establishment of the constitutional government ; a measure which has been applauded or condemned accord- ing as the parties were friendly or adverse to, interested or not interested in, the Company.* However unnecessary or unjust such an establishment may be supposed to be under present circumstances, it must be admitted by all that it tended greatly to improvements in the cultivation of the vine in the northern provinces, and that it gave rise to a vast source of riches in the commerce of Portugal. But, like every measure of practical reform, especially fiscal, the Company had from the first very violent oppo- nents. Among these were the petty retail wine-sellers, * The Company was, in some measure, re-established in 1838. o 2 84 who felt themselves aggrieved by the bar which was thus set against their former malpractices ; and these, as a matter of course, carried with them the lower orders of the people, who were in the habit of frequenting their taverns. These malcontents excited numerous riots at Oporto ; and upon one occasion the house of the director of the Company was broken open and plundered, while the chief magis- trate, dragged from his bed, was compelled to protest against the establishment. Nor was the mob contented with this outrage, but, growing bolder, they attacked the military. The affray became very serious, and several lives were lost. At this conjuncture some one fortunately suggested to the authorities the expediency of a religious procession passing through the streets. This being assented to, the people became more subdued, and at length dispersed. As soon as the news of this outbreak reached Pombal, he ordered fresh troops to proceed to Oporto, with strict orders to the officer in command to arrest and bring to trial all who could be proved to be either directly or in- directly connected with these outrages. These orders were rigorously enforced ; for so extensive were the ramifications of the riots, that it was deemed advisable to institute some severe examples to prevent their recurrence. The less guilty, and those who were proved to have taken no very active part in these excesses, were punished according to the degree of their offences. We learn from a despatch of the British minister, Mr. Hay, dated October 19th, 1757, that "the persons con- cerned in the riots last summer at Oporto have received their sentence. Thirteen men and four women were exe- cuted the 4th inst. Five-and-twenty persons are condemned to the galleys, some for life, and others for a term of years. Eighty-six banished to different parts, and fifty-eight con- 85 demnecl in a fine and six months* imprisonment. Thirty- six persons were released." It may not be amiss to remark that, notwithstanding these severe punishments, the English minister mentions them without comment — a clear proof that they were merited. And I may here add, by way of information to those who may have found Pombal described as a harsh minister, that during the whole course of his long adminis- tration, a period of twenty-seven years, no censure, or even allusion to unnecessary severity, was ever made by any English minister in his despatches. And what is still more convincing is the fact, that even when the causes of punishment were involved in mystery, the justice of that punishment was never for a moment doubted or im- pugned in any one of the private and confidential letters of an eye-witness and an ambassador. But though the tavern-keepers were the active partici- pators in these disturbances, the exciting cause was found in the Jesuits ; for they secretly roused and fomented the passions of the people. As this Order was the most implacable and violent of all Pombal' s enemies, I shall give in a subsequent chapter a short history of the Society from the time of its introduction into Portugal, up to the period of which we are now speaking. In the meanwhile the following account of this Company, written by Pombal after his retirement from the ministry in 1777, will be found extremely interesting, especially as it forms part of his vindication on those points in his ministerial career which had been most obnoxious to his enemies. For it must be premised, that one of the principal charges against him was the support which he gave the Oporto Wine Company, and we shall therefore see how he meets these attacks, and what were his real motives for organising the Company. 86 Pombal's enemies never could find any ground on which to accuse him of sacrificing principle at the shrine of interest; nor could they discover that he ever originated any reform, or enforced any measure, but what was totally devoid of all selfish consideration, and absolutely and truly for the aggrandisement, the honour, and the happiness of his country. Much has been said in these days of repre- sentative governments that many of his acts were despotic and arbitrary. Such was the complaint of a champion of French liberty — Lafayette ; whilst a celebrated statesman, the late Prince Metternich, born in a very different political atmosphere, observed to the author respecting Pombal, that he was too much infected with the liberal ideas of his times. So various are the judgments of men on the same subject ! Account of the Establishment and Progress of the Oporto Wine Company, written by the Marquis of Pombal after his retirement from the Ministry. " The unceasing and urgent works which the calamitous earthquakes of November 1st, 1755, had rendered indis- pensable, were still vigorously continued, when, in the following year one Mestre Frei Joao de Mansilha presented himself at the Quinta at Belem, on the part of the principal husbandmen of Upper Douro, and of the respectable inhabitants of Oporto, in a state of indescribable conster- nation. " In the name of the above-mentioned classes, he repre- sented to his Majesty Dom Joseph, that the English at Oporto had ended by entirely ruining the important vines of the Douro, and their produce ; that they had reduced the price of wine to G400 and 7200 reis per pipe, and 87 thereby rendered the expense of cultivation greater than the value of the produce, and even then they refused to become purchasers without one or two years' credit ; that the low price did not even suffice to pay the necessary hoeing of the land, which in consequence was becoming gradually abandoned by its owners ; that the Abbot of Lobrigos had already forsaken his church, since there were no funds wherewith to pay him his salary ; that all the principal families of that district found themselves reduced to the lowest degree of poverty, so much so, indeed, that they had been obliged to sell or pawn the spoons and forks with which they ate ; that the poor people, unable to afford a drop of oil, were obliged on fast-days and during Lent to season the vegetables on which they fed with the fat of hogs ; that this general and extreme poverty had caused the continual prostitution of the daughters of the wine- growers and proprietors, who hoped by these means to facilitate the advantageous disposal of their wines, unmind- ful of the public scandal and high offence against God that sprung from such conduct.. " This sad description made a great impression on the pious and paternal mind of his Majesty. He immediately ordered me to ascertain the truth of the above-mentioned statements. On inquiry, they were fully verified. The most prompt and efficacious remedies that could be applied to such great evils, were copiously enlarged upon in the presence of his Majesty; and it was finally concluded, that the wisest plan would be the establishment of a powerful Company, which, by the weight and union of its capital and its credit, might disconcert the injurious collusion in which the English were leagued. " His Majesty having approved of the plan suggested, a list of questions was prepared for the purpose of elicit- ing the information and facts which were indispensably 88 necessary in order to obtain a knowledge of the means and motives for the formation of the said Company. The answers to these inquiries having arrived, the draught statement which was thereupon concerted between the the Campmaster-General, Manoel Maria, and myself was approved of by his Majesty; and, having been sent to Oporto for the approbation of those interested in the plan, was returned with their signatures, to which was imme- diately added mine and that of the Dezembargador Pro- cur ador of the Crown, as it was printed with the charter, or letters patent, granted at Belem on the 10th of September, in the year 1756, for the creation of the Company. " At the same time that his Majesty and his ministers learnt that the above establishment, and the decree which confirmed it, had emancipated the proprietors and wine- growers from the servitude in which they had hitherto been held, and that this was the well-known opinion of all interested, as well as of the prudent and talented men of the three provinces of Beira, Traz-os-Montes, and Minho, they heard with amazement, that the priests of the Jesuit college at Oporto had drawn from its concealment the account of the insurrection, which, in the year 1661, their predecessors had incited in that city against the king, Dom AfFonso VI. ; and that at their religious meetings, and even at confession, they were prompting men to believe, that the wines of the new Company were not jit for the celebration of mass. By these means they caused, on the 23rd of February, 1757, the horrible insurrection in which the common people of Oporto attacked the houses of the Chancellor, and of the other persons employed in the management and direction of the Company, demand- ing that it should be abolished ; together with other ex- cesses which were made manifest to the whole kingdom 89 by their trial and the sentence of the Alcada,* which is preserved in the royal archives at the Torre do Tombo as a warning for future generations. " From that time forward the Cabinet remained fluctuating between two opposite extremes. On the one hand, experience daily showed increased progress, not only in the profits of the Company, in which consists its stability, but likewise in the increased consumption of the wines, in the restoration of their value to a reasonable price, in the augmentation of their cultivation, and in the indepen- dence of the farmers and proprietors. On the other hand, it was seen that no length of time sufficed to overcome the strong opposition of the English ; the fraudulent tricks which even those interested in the reputation of the wines invented for their own advantage ; and the malversations of the provedors, deputies, and other officers of the Com- pany. "The English, seeing that this most important branch of commerce was snatched from their hands, and finding themselves in the Alto Douro dependent on those very wine-growers whom they had hitherto treated as slaves, and whose possessions had been entirely in their hands, left no pretext or argument which they could invent unemployed to ruin the Company, directly or indirectly ; in which attempt they were seconded by the captious and exigent notes of Mr. Edward Hay, of Lord Kinnoul, and of Mr. W. H. Lyttelton, at various periods British ministers at Lisbon, and of the present envoy, Mr. Robert Walpole. " Despatches, which are to be found amongst the masses of papers from these four ministers, together with my replies, sufficiently show the innumerable and never-ending troubles which they compelled the Cabinet to undergo, in * A special Court so called. 90 order to find unanswerable arguments for the preservation of an establishment of such public utility to this kingdom. (( The husbandmen, interested in the reputation of the vanes, constantly helped to injure it by their ignorance, in sacrificing their future interests for a temporary and private gain ; at one time introducing, during the darkness of the night, the sour wines of the lands adjacent to those which produced wines of a quality for exportation, and mixing the former, which were only fit for taverns, with the superior qualities that were grown within the lines of de- marcation ; now forming clandestine collusions with the English merchants at Oporto, pretending that they were buying for themselves wines which in reality were for the English ; and again inventing, from the fertile sources of their malice and imagination, many other frauds too numerous to particularise. The most strenuous efforts were indispensable to prevent these frauds and contrivances ; without which efforts the government could never have promulgated such a succession of opportune decrees as may be found registered in the office of the Home Department, and which fill more than two large volumes. " The provedors and deputies of the Company, having been during the first triennial directions selected at hazard from among the men who had hitherto displayed the greatest zeal, credit, and intelligence, discovered afterwards that they neither responded to the confidence that had been reposed in them, nor manifested that disinterestedness which is indispensably necessary in the administration of the property of others. Individuals, to fill the offices of provedor and vice-provedor, were therefore sought amongst the most highly-respectable persons of Oporto, in the hope that their authority and example might bring the adminis- tration of the Company to the observance of the greatest regularity and probity. The disorders and complaints have 91 nevertheless been unceasing up to the end of the last pre- ceding meeting or Junta. For these individuals, either from want of knowledge in agricultural and commercial affairs, or on account of palpable negligence, have in no wise caused the malversations to cease of which all former Juntas have been accused. To curb and reduce them to their exact duties, much labour and many decrees were necessary, as may be seen in the before-mentioned volumes. "From this account, it is clearly and evidently demon- strated, that in the ministry there never was the slightest mercenary compliance, neither towards the English of Oporto, nor towards the proprietors and husbandmen of the Douro wines, nor towards the said Juntas. But, on the contrary, a constant and unceasing wish to repel the pretensions of the first, to check the frauds of the second, and to reduce the third to their duties ; supporting, at the same time, the authority and preservation of an establish- ment which has been productive of so much public advan- tage, and so many millions of cruzados, to the kingdom, as is proved by the annual account of the consumption of wines of every quality. "And neither did the English for having been firmly opposed, nor the husbandmen of the Douro for having been imprisoned and punished, nor the provedors and deputies of the various Juntas for having been checked, and re- moved from their places as soon as they were found unworthy to hold them, find it necessary to make costly presents to the ministry. " The purchases that were made of the wines of Oeyras* can never be interpreted as a gift. On the contrary, the proofs are evident, both that the Junta procured the greatest advantages for the Company by their purchase, and * A property that Pombal inherited, 92 that the proprietor of those wines always preferred the public interests of the Company to his own individual advantage. "The English and Portuguese merchants at Oporto, who (like all others of their profession) are always on the alert for a profitable speculation, discovered by the custom- house entries of that city, that before the employment of the elderberry (with which the wines are adulterated for the purpose of colouring them) it was usual to carry to Oporto the wines of Oeyras, at the price of 58,000 reis per pipe, in order to give to those of the Douro the dark and lasting colour which they do not naturally possess.* " In consequence of this discovery, the wines of Oeyras were eagerly sought after both by the Junta of the Com- pany, and by the English merchants at Oporto. I made inquiries on the subject, and found that in fact the wine of Oeyras was so full-bodied, and possessed such strength, that one pipe of it was sufficient to colour and preserve ten pipes of the Douro wine, and that the Company, by the purchase of these wines, would enjoy an eminent advantage over the English, who could not obtain them. " On this information, I immediately ordered my bailiff at Oeyras to send for men who were practised in wine- making, in order to prepare mine in the same manner as the English do theirs ; and that he should afterwards sell it * A decree, dated August 30th, 1757, ordered, " that no elder- berry juice should be mixed with the wines ; that no dung should be laid upon the vineyards in the Oporto wine districts, by which means wine was procured in large quantities, to the ruin of the quality ; and that the prices at which the Company bought the wines should be raised." A Portuguese writer of those days accused the English of wishing to make port wine a potable fire in spirit — a kindled gunpowder in burning — a very ink in colour — a Brazil in sweetness — and an India in perfume. 93 to the Company, without exceeding the price of 36,000 reis, as rated by the fourth article of the law of August 30th, 1757. " The said bailiff represented in the following year, that the wine prepared in this manner caused an excessive expense in the making, with a great diminution in its quantity; and that the said law of 1757 was only ap- plicable to the wines of the Douro, and in no manner regarded those of Oeyras, which were so superior in quality. The Junta sent to offer me 50,000 reis per pipe, stating that such was the former price of the generous and full-bodied wines of Oeyras. The English sent to tempt me with the offer of fifteen and eighteen moidores per pipe.* To which I replied, that if I were living in a private condition I should dispose of my wines to the best purchaser ; but that as it was, I considered the Company as the offspring of my ministry, and consequently I desired its wines to be superior to those of the English ; and that although the above-mentioned law did not regard the wines of Oeyras, yet mine should never exceed the price of 36,000 reis, which was established for those of the Douro. In this resolution I always unalterably remained, for the benefit of the Company." The establishment of the Oporto Wine Company formed for many years the subject of reiterated petitions, complaints, and remonstrances from the English merchants resident at Oporto. To all of these Pombal continually turned a deaf ear. In one of the numerous contestations on the subject between Lord Kinnoul and Pombal, made known to us by a despatch dated October 11th, 1760, the latter thus defended his proceedings : — u That a general freedom of trade, granted by treaty, could never be so strictly construed * The moidore ia 4800 reis. 94 as to restrain either sovereign from forming snch internal regulations as he should think proper for the advantage or support of his government, or for conducting the commerce of his own subjects, though they might indirectly affect the subjects of the other." And further, u that by a reciprocal moderation in avoiding particular discussions, and attending to the general interest of both nations, more than to the interest or to the opinion of individuals, good harmony had hitherto been preserved, and the commerce carried on with that success and to that extent which was visible to everyone." And, u that the wisest system which the King of Portugal can pursue, is to make the commerce of his dominions an object of that value to some one foreign nation, as thereby to cultivate and establish, upon the solid foundation of interest, the friendship of a Power able to support and defend them." Pombal continued to express his opinion, u that Great Britain is by long alliance and ancient engagements, by her political system, by her situa- tion, and by her maritime force, the nation of all others to which Portugal should give the preference"; and concluded by declaring, "that the general interest of the two countries was to be considered in preference to that of a few indi- viduals." In reply to similar remonstrances made by Mr. Hay, according to a despatch from him, dated November 5th, 17G3, Pombal never lost sight of the true interests of his country. Mr. Hay writes: — "The Count d'Oeyras pro- ceeded with some warmth to allege ( that the king, his master, had an undeniable right to make what interior regulations he thought proper within his own dominions, and with which it did not become foreign merchants to interfere. That six-and-twenty of the subjects of Portugal had been punished with death for their opposition to the Company, which had been established to prevent the utter 95 ruin of the northern provinces, and recover the purity of the wines, which had been corrupted, and the wine trade brought to decay by the English factors.' c And,' con- tinued Pombal, l foreigners, notwithstanding treaties, are to obey the civil laws of the country where they reside.' " 96 CHAPTER VII. The Jesuits, whose ambitious intrigues and love of rule for so long a period influenced the political condition of Europe, established themselves in Portugal in the year 1540, during the reign of John III. This Order had then recently been founded in Spain by Ignatius Loyola, a soldier ; and it was shortly afterwards established in Portugal by an arch-hypocrite, one Simon Rodriguez, who, notwithstanding the lowness of his origin, his father being a cobbler, aimed at the most impossible ends, and conceived the most ambitious projects. This man, together with Francis Xavier, received permission to visit the East as missionary. Xavier proceeded to his destination, and for his labour and zeal in converting the natives to the Catholic faith, he subsequently received the honour of canonisation. But Simon had no intention, from the first, to proceed to the East. He saw that it was more to his advantage to remain in his own country ; and with this view so ingratiated himself with the Court, that he was chosen preceptor to the young prince in 1543, and shortly afterwards succeeded in appointing a Jesuit, con- fessor to the Queen. This was but a link in that vast political chain which the Jesuits were then forging for Europe ; for, by means of confessors, the Order shortly came to know the secrets of nearly all the princes of Europe, and thus were enabled to govern both the opinions and the actions of their royal penitents. They aspired not only to intellectual but to political empire, and the rapid 97 progress they made towards their acquisition is to be looked for in the studied policy of their mode of living, and the opportunities which their office as confessors gave them of working upon the weaknesses and exciting the fears of their penitents. Thus placed, Simon pursued his schemes of personal aggrandisement without scruple and without delay; and in a short time was rewarded for his assiduity and labour by procuring for his Order the management of the University of Coimbra. From that unfortunate period, the literature of Portugal gradually declined, and that noble language, which recorded the discoveries of her great navigators, the actions of her ancient heroes, and the wisdom of her illustrious statesmen, was now confined to rescripts of evangelical biography, the promulgation of fallacious prophecies, and the narration of wonder- working relics ; or it was made to tell of miracles by Jesuits, of the fictitious sufferings of imaginary martyrs, or of the dread punishment of detested heretics. Time served but to increase their influence and authority ; and such was their presumption, it is alleged, that they sought to establish under their General an independent kingdom in Portugal, similar to that once renowned fra- ternity, the Knights of Malta. But if this was really their intention, the annexation of Portugal to Spain in the year 1580 frustrated their hopes, and they prudently affected to be contented with the government of Philip II. It would not be consonant with the plan of this work, nor in accordance perhaps with the feelings of many of my readers, to trace the Jesuits step by step, and thus climb up with them to that bad eminence which they had at one time attained over the Christian world. Their monstrous doctrine respecting the dethronement of kings and the murder of princes — which in vain is denied — the conspi- cuous part which they took in the atrocious assassination of 98 Henry IV. of France, the secret tortures and cruel poison- ings in which they were implicated, are well known, and therefore need not recapitulation. Eomance itself falls short of what it is asserted was perpetrated by them during their baneful dominancy ; and many of these horrors would be incredible, did we not know that it was the same spirit of religious fanaticism that actuated thein, which gloried in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew, and sanctified itself in the Vespers of Sicily. It was said that Pius V. wept at the recital of the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. But his successor, Gregory XIII., publicly returned thanks to God, and sent a legate to Paris to congratulate Charles IX. on the event, and exhort him to continue in the good work. A French writer relates a circumstance of Gaspard de Saulx, a marshal of France, which well illustrates the state of bigoted enthusiasm which pervaded all classes in those days. " Son ills, qui a ecrit des memoires, rapporte que son pere etant au lit de la mort, fit une confession generale de sa vie ; et que le con- fesseur lui ayant clit d'un air etonne, ' Quoi ! vous ne parlez point de la Saint Barthelemi V ' Je le regarde,' repondit le marechal, ( comme une action meritoire qui doit effacer mes autres peches.' " * The Papal Bull, which granted liberty to the Order to establish itself in Portugal in the year 1540, limited their number to sixty. But in 1543 another Bull was obtained, permitting them to- extend it without limit : the conse- quence of which was, that at the commencement of the * Translation. — His son, author of some Memoirs, relates that his father, being on his deathbed, made a general confession of his past life ; and that the confessor, having said to him with astonishment, " What ! make you no mention of St. Bartholomew ? " " I regard it," answered the marshal, " aa a meritorious action which ought to efface my other sins." 99 eighteenth century, there were thousands of them of all grades and principles dispersed everywhere throughout the Portuguese dominions, impelled with the same ambitious spirit that characterised their General, and little scrupulous of the means of obtaining their ends. Surrounding the young king, John V., at his succession, they obstructed every avenue to the throne ; and in order to divert his mind from the cares of government, fomented his piety, and encouraged him in his passion for erecting religious establishments, and building expensive palaces. In the meanwhile, they were not inactive in other parts of the Portuguese dominions. Under pretence of con- verting the Indians in South America, missions were sent to Paraguay, where their principal employment was the carrying on of an extensive and lucrative trade. Nor did they content themselves with these advantages, but actually aimed at the establishment of an independent government, as they had previously wished in Portugal, under the direction of their General, as the chief of the Order is de- nominated. But negotiations being opened between Spain and Portugal relative to an exchange of territory in these parts, their designs were frustrated, and the resistance which their disappointment and chagrin incited them to offer only served to hasten their ruin. The facts connected with this affair are as follow : — A short time previous to the death of John V., the Courts of Spain and Portugal had agreed upon an exchange of ter- ritory, the preliminaries of which were, that the former should retain the long-disputed province of Nova Colonia, and the latter should hold the seven Paraguay missions. To bring the matter to a close, instructions were sent from Europe in the year 1751 to the commissioners of the two Crowns to effect the exchange as quickly as possible. But when the commissioners endeavoured to carry them into ii 2 100 effect, a violent opposition was raised, especially in the seven missions, which obliged Andrade, the governor of Kio Janeiro, to write to Lisbon, informing the minister not only of his inability to carry out the measure, but complaining of the Jesuits as the cause of the opposition. And that they possessed one of the chief elements of successful opposition, it is only necessary to state that they had, to a certain extent, on the banks of the Uraguay and Paraguay formed an independent republic, consisting of thirty-one towns, containing a population of no less than one hundred thousand souls. In this infant state, they attempted to prohibit all communication between the natives and the Spaniards or Portuguese. Among other means they forbade them to learn the languages of either country, while they themselves assiduously studied, and earnestly applied themselves to the acquisition of the language of the natives, composing dictionaries and gram- mars for that purpose. It is not to be supposed that persons so conversant in intrigue, and such adepts in policy, should have struggled in vain to carry out their plans ; and, consequently, they succeeded in implanting in the minds of the Indians an implacable hatred of the Spanish and Portuguese, repre- senting to them that they were the natural enemies both of God and man, and that their blood would be an ac- ceptable sacrifice, as they were coming with no other intention but to destroy them and their priests, to anni- hilate their religion, and reduce them to the most miserable condition of vassalage. The arts to which they had recourse to compass their ends were at once ludicrous and horrible. For example, they were enjoined to decapitate the Spaniards and Portuguese who should fall in battle, lest, by the in- fluence which they possessed with the devil, they should be re-animated and return to life. But these were but 101 subsidiary means to prevent the desired interchange of territory. They neglected no worldly means of waging offensive and defensive war ; and such was the vigour of their proceedings, that in a very short time they found themselves in a condition to defy the combined efforts of the united Crowns. This was soon evinced in the un- successful attempt which was made to coerce them by the Marquis of Valdelirios, the Spanish general, and Andrade, the governor of Rio Janeiro. The former entered Para- guay with three thousand men on the one side, while the latter advanced with one thousand on the other. But such was the want of judgment, or, as it has been alleged, the deficiency in horses, provisions, and ammu- nition, conjoined with a mortality which attacked the troops, that the allies were never able to unite their forces, while the opposition offered by the Indians was obstinate and effectual, so that at length they were obliged to con- clude a treaty until additional instructions should arrive from Europe. This was in 1754, during which year Pombal sent one of his brothers to America, to co-operate with the Bishop of Paraguay in putting an end to the dominion of the Jesuits. After a while hostilities were again renewed, but with little success. The Jesuits defended themselves with ability and caution against the combined forces of the Spaniards and the Portuguese during 1754 and 1755; but in 1756, Andrade obtained some advantages over them, and took possession of their establishments on the eastern side of the river Uraguay. That this war was unfortunate and injurious may be imagined from the fact that it had already cost Portugal nearly three millions sterling. It is plain that this state of things little comported with the intellectual vigour of Pombal; and, exasperated by continued resistance, and at the non-enforcement of the 102 decree which declared, that in temporal affairs the Indians should depend on tho secular governors and not on the missionaries, ho resolved on more decisive and more effi- cient measures. But this was no easy task. The Jesuits still enjoyed great powerand influence at Lisbon. Moreira was the king's confessor, and to others of his Order was confided the education of the royal family. Yet Pombal was not dismayed. Joseph was a clear-sighted man. He was well acquainted with the character and intrigues of the Jesuits both at home and abroad, and he Pelt that he must either support his minister or fall beneath the power of his enemies. A hold stroke was therefore decided upon, which was no less than the dismissal of the king's confessor, accompanied by an order that no Jesuit should approach the ( lourl without the express permission of the king. This look place on the L9th of September, 1757. The blow onee struck against his intriguing and formidable enemies, Pombal lost no lime in following it up with unabated vigour and irresistible force; and within three weeks after, namely, on the 8th of October, 1757, he forwarded in- structions to Dom Francisco d'Almada, Portuguese Minister at the Court of Rome, to demand a private and secret interview from his Holiness the Pope, in order to lay before him an account of the intrigues, misdemeanours, and crimes of the Jesuits. " This account," we are told in the instructions, "does not contain the particulars of scan- dals yet greater and more horrible, which could not be related without extreme indecency, and without wounding the modesty of those who might have to write or hear them." Furthermore the minister is desired to remind his Holiness that the Jesuits "have sacrificed all Christian, religious, natural, and political obligations to a blind wish, insolent and unbounded, to make themselves masters of government, political and temporal ; an insatiable desire 103 to acquire and heap up foreign riches, and even to usurp the dominion of sovereigns." And again, u that the king, being desirous of averting the ruin by a prompt remedy, had ordered all the Jesuit confessors of the princes and princesses to withdraw to their own convents. The king, moreover, implores his Holiness to employ in this important matter the most efficacious and proper means to put a total stop to the abuses, excesses, and crimes among the Jesuits, hoping at the same time that the paternal and apostolic prudence of his Holiness will omit nothing that a conjunc- ture so greatly urgent requires, to prevent an Order, which has rendered such services to the Church, from being totally lost in this kingdom and its dependencies, through the corrupted morals of its members, and the public and universal scandal they create, by abandoning themselves to disorders and abuses so strange and so repeated." Pombal did not content himself with a single represen- tation. On the 10th of February, 1758, instructions were again forwarded to the minister at Rome to lay before his Holiness additional particulars of the increased excesses of the Jesuits, especially those flagitious crimes which had been committed in the Transatlantic territories of his Majesty. In this document, complaints are made of the discontents fomented by the Jesuits in Paraguay and other provinces, in order to frustrate the settlement of the Boun- dary Treaty between Spain and Portugal. Mention is also made of the intrigues which they directed against the king and his ministers even in the Court itself, notwithstanding that his Majesty had removed them from the offico of con- fessors to the royal family. That when the Maranhao and Para Company was about to be established, they offered the most violent opposition, foreseeing that it would put an end to the very extensive commerce which they themselves monopolised with those countries. That amongst other 104 excesses to which their fury incited them, one Father Ballaster publicly exclaimed from the pulpit, that "who- ever joined that Company would have no part in the Com- pany of our Lord Jesus Christ." To sum up the full amount of their misconduct, proofs were appended of their attempts to increase the general confusion during the earthquake ; of their opposition to the establishment of the Oporto Wine Company ; and of their being the instigators of the riots which took place in that city. They had even gone so far, continues the report, as to assert that the wines which would be sold by the Company would be unfit for the celebration of the Holy Sacrament ! These and other charges, which it is not necessary to particularise, the minister was directed to lay before his Holiness. In consequence of these representations, which were too surely substantiated to admit of evasion or contradiction, Benedict XIV. appointed Cardinal Saldanha, Visitor and Reformer of the Society of Jesus in the kingdoms of Portugal and Algarves, and in all parts of the East and West Indies subject to the government of his Most Faithful Majesty. This Papal mandate was dated April 1st, 1758. As the misconduct of the Society was notorious, it did not require a lengthened examination. No sooner, there- fore, had the credentials arrived from Rome, than the Apostolic Vicar published a decree, dated May 15th, 1758, in which it was declared that the Portuguese Jesuits carried on an illegal trade, contrary to all laws divine and human, and that, therefore, they were from henceforth prohibited from continuing it under the usual pains and penalties. Nor was this the first occasion on which ecclesiastical authority had interfered to put a stop to the illicit traffic carried on by the Jesuits in America. Previous to the administration of Pombal, the attention of the Court of Rome had been called to these malpractices. Bene- 105 diet XIV. enacted by a Bull dated February, 1741, that every species of trade and commerce, and all worldly dominion, or the purchase and sale of converted Indians, should be prohibited to all religious orders (without naming any particular one). In December following, another Bull was specially directed against the Jesuits, because, as was declared, they had not complied with the former one. This, under the name Immensa pastorum, is the first remarkable Papal Bull against the conduct and practices of the Order in its missions in Asia and Africa, Brazil and Paraguay. The Pope, in his Bull, forbade, under penalty of excommunication to all, but especially to the Jesuits, to make slaves of the Indians, to sell them, barter or give them away, to separate them from their wives and children, to rob them of their property, to transport them from their native soil, $e. This affords a pretty clear insight into what was really going on. And could Benedict XIV. have issued such a Bull without an urgent necessity for it ? Will any champion of the Jesuits charge his Holiness with injustice to the Order in this instance ? And what must have been the state of things fifteen years later, when Pombal strove to reform these abuses ? To complete the discomfiture of the arrogant Society, the Vicar shortly afterwards, June 7th, published the following unexpected decree: — "For just reasons known to us, and which concern especially the service of God and the public welfare, we suspend from the power of confessing and preaching, in the whole extent of our Patriarchate, the fathers of the Society of Jesus, from this moment, and until further orders on our part." Pombal's first attacks upon the Jesuit Order were thus commented on by Mr. Hay in a despatch written at this period, October 10th, 1757 : — "As the Order of Jesuits is very powerful in this country, their disgrace is the more 106 remarkable ; but there is great reason to believe that the obstructions the joint forces have met with in their ex- peditions (in South America) have been chiefly fomented by those of this Order." It is needless to multiply extracts on this subject : they all tend to prove Pombal's energy and wisdom. On the 24th of June, 1758, Cardinal Saldanha was raised to the dignity of Patriarch. In the meantime, while Pombal was thus successfully regaining for his king and government the power and influence which the Jesuits had usurped in Portugal and America, and exerting every nerve to confirm the Pope in the wisdom of the steps his Holiness had taken, a most atrocious attempt was made upon the life of his Majesty, in which, as the Jesuits were deeply implicated, we must interrupt the narrative of the negotiations between the See of Kome and the Government of Portugal, for the further humiliation of these ecclesiastics, to give an account of this horrible conspiracy. 107 CHAPTER VIII. It is not often, in despotic monarchies, that princes possess the talent of properly estimating the abilities of their cour- tiers. Hence we find how seldom a weak king gives his confidence, or intrusts his affairs, to men calculated to supply the absence of that intellectual power, which is so frequently found wanting on the throne. But this deficiency is often to be referred to the neglect of early education and the machinations of interested flatterers ; to the enervation of ease, and the consequences of sensual gratification. As the appetite that is hourly gratified is soon rendered capricious, and the man that is never contradicted soon believes himself infallible, so the unhappy prince, at an age when his innocence exposes him to deception, and ex- perience has not yet taught him to distrust his flatterers, is forced into the honied snares with which interest and intrigue encompass him. For stoical must be that heart which can receive with indifference, and discard without emotion, the solicitations of pleasure and the temptations of fruition, so urgent in the palaces of princes. Yet these are the snares, these the temptations, these the perils, to which every youthful monarch is exposed. How dearly then should we prize the memory, and revere the character of a wise and temperate sovereign. The ruler who is blessed with the great faculty of discovering the genius of a minister, and endowed with the courage necessary to protect him in his exalted and envied position, has generally been sur- rounded by men distinguished for probity and renowned 108 for virtue, whose talents and wisdom have not only illumined the pages of history, but have cast a lustre even on the very sovereign himself. It is this sentiment which makes Sully, the great prototype of Pombal, exclaim, " Ce ne sont jamais les bons sujets qui manquent au roi, c'est le roi qui manque aux bons sujets." Fortunately for Portugal, she found in the person of her sovereign, Dom Joseph, a mind that appreciated the genius of Pombal, and a spirit that rose superior to the prejudices of his age and country ; and while admiring the transcen- dant talents of the minister, we must not forget to award the meed of judgment and the crown of honour to Dom Joseph, who supported Pombal against so many intrigues, and protected him against the malice of his enemies, during an eventful period of nearly thirty years. Under Dom John V., Pombal might have passed his days quietly in his native town, or possibly might have distinguished himself as a skilful diplomatist in foreign countries ; but he never would have been placed in that commanding position, which enabled him to undertake and to consummate those multi- farious reforms which characterise the important reign of Dom Joseph. It is in the unswerving firmness of the monarch, and the steady support he gave his minister, that we must look for the origin of that conspiracy to which we have alluded in the last chapter. The enemies of the minister saw in the king the only obstacle to their vengeance, and, in co- operation with the Jesuits, resolved to remove him by assassination. The leader of this conspiracy was no less a personage than the Mordomo M6r, or Master of the Royal Household, the Duke of Aveiro, a man enjoying Dom Joseph's confidence and favour. The Duke was a man of boundless ambition, inflated with pride, and debased by avarice ; nor did he possess any quality of mind or body 100 which compensated for these vices. He saw in Pombal an enemy to all abuses ; one who would strike at the illegal powers which the great nobility had usurped ; and one who was steadily and perseveringly working for the advantage of his country, to the discomfiture of those who had brought it to the brink of ruin. The next in rank amongst the conspirators was the Marquis of Tavora, a man of moderate abilities — one of those numerous instruments of mischief which designing men ever find prepared to second and assist them. It would be vain to attempt to analyse nicely the peculiar motives which induced this nobleman to conspire against his sovereign. But it may be remarked, that his wife, whose ruling passion was ambition, had been refused a ducal title which she had solicited for her husband, and it is not impossible that she prompted the Marquis to avenge her disappointment. Her daring and intrepid spirit made her the soul of the conspiracy; added to which, she enjoyed all that influence and power which wealth combined with nobility and supported by talent never fails to secure. She had been one of the most beautiful women of the Court, and still retained, in the gracefulness of her manners, traces of those blandishments which captivate and enslave all who approach them. To these leaders of the conspiracy were added her sons, Luiz Bernardo and Jose Maria cle Tavora. The one inherited all the violence and ambition of his mother ; the other, of meek and quiet disposition, resembled his father, and, like him, was easily seduced to second the schemes of others. Dom Jeronimo d'Ataide, Count d'Atouguia, a man of but little talent or reputation, entered into the conspiracy. Five other individuals of less consideration were enlisted as active instruments in the assassination. Everything being prepared, the conspirators resolved to 110 put the design in execution on the night of the 3rd of September, 1758. It was known that the king would return to the palace at night, and the conspirators accordingly posted them- selves along the line of road by which he came, in several divisions, in order that if he escaped the first attack, he might fall by the fire of one or other of the parties. At eleven o'clock on that eventful night, the king, in a sege, a kind of cab drawn by two horses, unsuspicious of danger, and attended only by his confidential valet, Teixeira, approached the first division of the conspirators, consisting of the Duke of Aveiro, and one Joao Miguel, both on horseback, and armed with blunderbusses. They waited with impatience until the vehicle was directly in a line with them; when, with the precipitation which often characterises assassins, they discharged their weapons at it. Happily for the king, only one of these instruments of de- struction exploded ; the other missed fire. Neither did any mischief. Terrified, and not knowing what further clanger to dread, the postilion hurried onwards to where Antonio Alvarez Ferreira and Jose Policarpo were stationed, who instantly pursued the carriage, and discharged both their weapons, which were loaded with slugs, into it. The slugs penetrated the carriage in every direction, and severely wounded the king in several places. Nevertheless, the prudent monarch did not lose his presence of mind, but, calling to the postilion, ordered him to turn back imme- diately ; and, in order not to alarm his family at the palace, directed him to drive to the residence of the royal surgeon. The command was critical. The postilion obeyed, and the wounded king escaped the other ambuscades designed for his destruction. It was not until ten days after this attempted assassina- tion, that the British minister, Mr. Hay, forwarded an Ill account of the occurrence to his Government. News had arrived at Lisbon of the death of the Spanish queen, and the Court had consequently been ordered to go into mourning. Mr. Hay's despatch, dated September 13th, 1758, affords us a curious instance of the Court etiquette of those days. "The execution of this order has been interrupted by his Most Faithful Majesty's indisposition, it being the custom of this Court to put on gala when any of the royal family is blooded. When I went to Court to inquire after his Majesty's health, I was there informed that the king, on Sunday night, the 3rd inst., passing through a gallery to go to the queen's apartment, had the misfortune to fall and bruise his right arm. He has been blooded eight different times, and as his Majesty is a fat, bulky man, to prevent any humour fixing there, his physicians have advised that he should not use this arm, but refrain from business for some time." In consequence of which, the queen, by a decree dated September 7th, was appointed regent during Dom Joseph's illness. The English minister was better informed of the passing events than this part of his despatch would lead us to conclude. In a postscript written in ciphers he adds the following relation of the catastrophe : — " The account I have given of the King of Portugal's indisposition is in the manner I was informed at the Court — the reality is this. His Majesty, Sunday night, 3rd inst., going with a favourite servant to visit a mistress (upon which occasion there are two chaises — the king in one, the servant in the other, following him ; but unfortunately that night they were together), three men on horseback in masks met them, let the foremost equipage pass, and attacked the last. One fired at the postilion — the other two at the chaise. The king is wounded in the right arm, and some say in his left side, but not dangerously. The 112 servant is much hurt — the driver is mortally so. This blow is thought to have been designed * against the man, not against the master. This has greatly alarmed the Court, where it is endeavoured to be hushed up ; but it is talked of abroad, more publicly than prudently. What a condition this unhappy nation would have been in had the master fallen ! " In a subsequent despatch we are told that " the major part of the shot passed under the king's arm, tore his coat, and grazed his waistcoat, but did not reach his side." " In this miraculous manner," exclaims the writer, (i has the life of this excellent prince been preserved." Ct This con- spiracy," he adds, " is looked upon in the light it well deserves of horror and detestation. It seems to have been confined to one family, and the discovery of it seems to carry no consequences with it in the eyes of the people. So that it is difficult to say what other principle it could be founded upon than that of a wild, extravagant ambition, of which it is, all circumstances considered, perhaps the most extraordinary instance that can be met with in the history of any nation upon earth." It will seem strange in these days, and especially in a country like England, where justice is openly and im- partially administered, that, notwithstanding this base attempt upon the life of the sovereign, no overt means were taken for three months to bring the offenders to justice, during which time his Majesty remained in entire seclusion. It required all Pombal's skill and judgment to conceal from everyone his suspicions as to the real actors in this dastardly outrage. But it must not be supposed that the time was unprofitably employed, and that no secret inquiries were set on foot, no private examination entered upon, or that the minister slumbered at his post. All was done 113 that was necessary without alarming the guilty, or ex- citing their suspicions ; and while the king was confined to his palace, Pombal suffered no word to escape him, no single expression that might betray his intentions. The conspirators became alarmed at this ominous silence. It seemed to forebode a coming storm. In a letter written at the period, and found among the papers of the Marquis of Tavora, the writer says : — " The silence of this man alarms me. He appears perfectly easy about what has just oc- curred." But though Pombal cautiously concealed his sentiments, the public were loud in their expressions, and rumour named the criminals. However, it was not till he had satisfied himself upon all points connected with the conspiracy, that a proclamation was published, dated De- cember 9 th, detailing an account of the affair, and offering a reward for the apprehension of the assassins. Four days afterwards, on the 13th of December, the work of retributive justice commenced, by the arrest of the Marquis of Tavora, his two sons, his four brothers, his sons-in-law, the Count d'Atouguia, and the Marquis d'Alorna, together with Dom Manoel de Souza Calhariz ; all of whom, with some of their servants, were conveyed to the prisons at Belem. The Marchioness of Tavora was sent to a religious house. Other members of the Tavora family were likewise imprisoned, or immured in convents. In the meanwhile the Count d'Obidos, Antonio da Costa Freire, the Solicitor- General, and the Count de Kibeira were also arrested, and the Jesuits were forbidden to leave their houses. The arrest of the Duke of Aveiro was singular. He had retired to his Quinta at Azeitiio, and was at a window with his valet, Jose Polycarpo, when they perceived the approach of many persons on horseback, whom the valet rightly con- jecturing were the officers sent to arrest them, advised the 114 Duke to seek safety in flight. He was unable, however, to convince or persuade him, but flying himself, escaped the officers of justice. And what is singular, though ten thousand crowns were offered for his apprehension, his retreat was never discovered. The Duke being arrested and conveyed to prison, his papers were seized and examined. Amongst a multiplicity of documents which threw light upon the conspiracy, was a letter addressed to himself, containing the following words : — " I have read the plan your excellency sent me on the great affair, which is well arranged ; if it is executed as well as it is planned, I consider failure impossible." And in another, " I approve your design : under present circumstances there is no choice. To destroy the authority of King Sebastian,* we must annihilate that of King Joseph." The Marquis of Tavora held the rank of a general in Dom Joseph's service, and had previously been governor of the province of Beira. The following are the particulars of the arrest of some of the conspirators given in a despatch from Mr. Hay, dated September 30th, 1758 :— " The general, being abroad when the officers went to his house, and hearing that several of his family had been taken up, went that morning to the palace, and desired to be admitted to speak to the king. But by his Majesty's orders, and in his name, he was demanded to deliver up his sword, and was conducted prisoner to the queen's palace, where some apartments had been prepared for the prisoners." We are further informed that the old Marchioness of Tavora was sent to the Convent das Grillas, and the young Marchioness to that of Santos ; that a guard of soldiers was left at the doors of the prisoners' dwellings ; and that the * Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Hello, Marquis of Pornbal. 115 four convents belonging to the Order of Jesuits were sur- rounded. On the 1st of January, the Counts of ^Obidos and Ribeira were confined in the Castle of St. Julian. On the 4th, the Duchess of Aveiro, the Countess of Atouguia, and the Marchioness of Alorna, with their children, were sent to different nunneries. And, on the 11th, eight Jesuits were taken into custody. A tribunal was immediately appointed to try the incul- pated prisoners, and another was established to hear depo- sitions in their favour. But the confessions of some, and the testimony of others, afforded such manifest proofs of their guilt, that little was left for the tribunal to do but to pronounce judgment. Accordingly, on the 12th of January, 1759, the trials being brought to a close, the three Ministers of State, as presidents of the court, and seven judges, signed the judgment and sentence of the court, condemning eleven of the conspirators to immediate execution. In this document, a copious and detailed state- ment was set forth of the evidence upon which the sentence of the tribunal was founded, and by which the guilt of the parties was established. The sentences of the Duke of Aveiro and the Marquis of Tavora were that they should be conveyed to the public square at Belem with halters round their necks, and then, proclamation having been made of the crimes for which they suffered, they were to be broken on the wheel, their bodies consumed by fire, and their ashes thrown into the sea. Their arms and achievements were everywhere ordered to be effaced, their property confiscated, and their residences pulled down, and salt strewn on the sites. Luiz Bernardo and Jose Maria de Tavora, the Count d'Atouguia, Braz Jose Eomeiro, Joao Miguel, and Manoel Alvares were sentenced to similar punishments, with the i 2 116 exception that they were first strangled before they were bound upon the wheel. Antonio Alvares Ferreira and Jose Polycarpo were condemned to be burned alive ; but as the latter had escaped, his effigy was substituted in his stead. Lastly, the Marchioness of Tavora, in consideration of her rank and sex, was sentenced to decapitation. These sentences were carried into execution the day following the judgment. The bodies being consumed, the scaffolding, and even the instruments by which the criminals suffered, were then cast into the fire, and the ashes thrown into the Tao-us, that no vestige of such heinous offences might remain. The name of Tavora was abolished, and a river so named was henceforward ordered to be called the "Biverof Death." The execution of these malefactors is thus described by Mr. Hay :— " Saturday, the 13th hist., being the day appointed for the execution, a scaffold had been built in the square oppo- site to the house where the prisoners were confined, and eight wheels fixed upon it. On one corner of the scaffold- ing was placed Antonio Alvares Ferreira, and on the other corner the efUgy of Joseph Polycarpo da Azevedo, who is still missing — these being the two persons who fired at the back of the king's equipage. About half an hour after eight o'clock in the morning the execution began. The criminals were brought out one by one, each under a strong guard. The Marchioness of Tavora was the first that was brought upon the scaffold, where she was beheaded at one stroke. Her body was afterwards placed upon the floor of the scaffolding, and covered with a linen cloth. Young Jose Maria de Tavora, the young Marquis de Tavora, the Count d'Atouguia, and three servants of the Duke of Aveiro, were first strangled at a stakd, and afterwards their limbs broken with an iron 117 instrument. The Marquis of Tavora and the Duke of Aveiro had their limbs broken alive. The Duke, for greater ignominy, was brought bareheaded to the place of execution. The body and limbs of each of the criminals, after they were executed, were thrown upon a wheel, and covered with a linen cloth. But when Antonio Alvares Ferreira was brought to the stake, whose sentence was to be burnt alive, the other bodies were exposed to his view. The combustible matter which had been laid under the scaffolding was set fire to ; the whole machine with the bodies was consumed to ashes, and then thrown into the sea." I cannot avoid again observing in this place that the severity of these punishments elicited no remark of dis- approbation from the English Minister, Mr. Hay, who regarded them as but consequent on the usual course of justice on these regicidal occasions. Mr. Hay's despatch, dated February 10th, affords another anecdote respecting this infamous attempt on the king's life. " As his Majesty (George II.) is desirous of being informed of the particulars of this con- spiracy, there is a circumstance that seems to have been industriously concealed, but is not therefore the less credited, and which is the only one that accounts for the treacherous behaviour of the Tavora family — the king's intimacy with the young marquis's wife, which began during the time that the general was Viceroy of India, and has been continued ever since. This lets us into the whole proceeding : this may be the cause of the honours heaped of late years upon the old marquis and his relations — this the foundation of their disgust for the stain cast upon the honour of their family. When the rest of the relations were confined, this lady was sent to a convent, not a very strict one, where it is said she lives very much at her ease." 118 It cannot be doubted, though contrary to the spirit of the milder code of modern laws, that these severe punish- ments served to repress further conspiracies, and con- tributed not only to the safety of the king, but to the peace of the country. For had a greater relaxation taken place in the mode of carrying into effect such cruel, I may add such barbarous, punishments as the law awarded to traitors, it would have been construed into timidity, and would only have given rise to fresh conspiracies, and perhaps more successful attempts at assassination. A severe example was necessary to stamp the enormity of the crime of regicide by the enormity of the punishment, so that fear and horror might be guardians of the lives of kings.* * Pombal has often been reproached with having permitted such an execution to take place during his administration ; and the terms harsh and cruel have been liberally bestowed upon him. What then might be said of the punishment inflicted upon Ravaillac ? He is described as having molten lead, boiling oil, sulphur, and resin poured into his wounds, and then drawn and quartered by four horses. It is true that this barbarous punishment was inflicted at an earlier period, and was in accordance with the spirit of the times. But the polished kingdom of France affords an equally shocking example in later days. In 1766, seven years subsequent to the Aveiro conspiracy, we read of the following execution. (See Chronologie Universelle, by Loeve-Veimars.) " Le jeune Chevalier de Labarre et quelques enfans de son age, accuses d' avoir outrage un crucifix place sur un pont d' Abbeville, sont condamnes a subir l'amputation de la langue arrachee avec des tenailles, la torture ordinaire et extraordinaire, et a etre brules a petit feu ; le jugement confirme par le parlement de Paris est execute par cinq bourreaux. Le Chevalier de Labarre, apres avoir subi la question, fut execute a Abbeville. Ce malheureux enfant monta sur l'echafaud avec un courage paisible, et souffrit le supplice sans se plaindre. Son execution causa une telle horreur que Ton n'osa pas poursuivre le proces des autres accuses." Nor have these judicial severities been confined to by-gone centuries, to Roman Catholic states, or to countries where the 119 In the month of June following, Dom Joseph rewarded his faithful minister with the title of Count d'Oeyras, and the commandery of St. Miguel in the Archbishopric of people are uneducated and neglected. In Protestant Prussia, under the rule of the present enlightened monarch, a revolting execution of a criminal occurred at a very recent period. The following account was published in the Times two years back * : — " Execution of the Bishop of Ermelan(Ts Murderer. — Rudolph Kiiknapfel, the tailor who murdered Bishop von Hatten and his housekeeper in the episcopal residence at Frauenburgh, was exe- cuted early on the morning of the 7th inst., on the hill about a mile from that town, near the Elbingroad. The judgments pronounced in both instances by the criminal tribunals concurred in sentencing him to suffer death by the wheel, commencing at the lower extremi- ties and proceeding upwards (von unten auf). The sentence was confirmed by the royal assent, dated the 15th ult., to which a new form was given. In the late reign it used to run thus — ' AVe have read the sentence, and order the execution.' The present king has adopted the following phrase — ' We have read this sentence, and shall leave free course to the law.' The prisoner behaved in a very regardless manner for a long time, and showed nothing like remorse or contrition until after the sentence of the Court in the last Resort was made known to him. A marked alteration then took place in his conduct. On the 28th ult., when the Cabinet order for his execution was read to him, he was so agitated that he could not speak. He then willingly received the spiritual assistance of the priest. The day before the execution he confessed, and received the sacrament. The Elbing Zeitung gives the following account of the execution : — " 4 At half -past four in the morning the prisoner was removed in a cart from Braunsberg under a secure escort, and arrived about six o'clock at the place appointed for the execution. " ' A crowd of persons exceeding 10,000 had assembled by day- light from all parts of the diocese, and it is worthy of remark that more than one-half of the collected mass consisted of females. The delinquent having alighted from the car in a very low state, a restorative draught was administered to him, after which he was conducted to the scaffold. There, on his fetters being struck off, * In 18-11. 120 Braga ; and insisted that whenever he appeared in public he should be attended by a mounted guard, in order to protect him from the presumed revenge of the families of the assassins. Shortly after, Pombal's brother, Francisco Xavier de Mendonca, was appointed (July, 1759) Joint Secretary of State (with Pombal) for the Home depart- ment. he kneeled down with the accompanying priest and prayed. The chief of the Braunsberg tribunal then read the sentence, which ordered the execution by breaking on the wheel from below upwards, and closed with an address to the three executioners present in these words : — " And now I deliver him to you for the due fulfilment of this judgment." " ' On hearing this the malefactor looked round to the priest, sank again on his knees, and ejaculated a short prayer. Then rising, he laid himself with calm resolution on the scaffold, and, refusing the assistance of the executioners, placed his limbs in the required position. This done, he said with a firm voice, " God have mercy on my poor soul ! " One of the executioners covered his face with a cloth. The terrible operation by the wheel now commenced. In ten minutes the wretched man was dead, and the body was deposited in a coffin prepared to receive it. The spectators looked on in a calm, orderly manner, preserving a silence suited to the awful scene before them, and the crime of the sufferer. When all was over they dispersed quietly, but apparently under the influence of deep emotion.' " It is useless to multiply instances ; but if we consider the difficulties of Pombal's situation, and contrast the circumstances of these executions in Portugal with the horrors that have attended capital punishments in other countries for crimes of a less heinous nature, instead of accusing Pombal of inhumanity, we shall rather be disposed to wonder that he yielded so little to the sanguinary spirit of the times.* * Note to Second Edition. — By the kindness of the late Chevalier Bunsen, the First Edition of this work was presented to the then reigning Sovereign of Prussia. His Majesty was pleased to desire that a certain number of copies should be placed in the principal public libraries of his kingdom. Still more satisfactory and flattering to tbo author was the appearance, shortly after- wards, of a royal decree, abolishing for ever, in the Prussian dominions, all punishment by torture. 121 Before dismissing this episode in our Memoirs, we shall allude to the punishment awarded to those conspirators who did not expiate their offences on the scaffold or at the stake. This I am enabled to do from a manuscript written by the Marquis d'Alorna during his imprisonment. It appears that they were not used harshly, for the Marquis informs us that he was treated with much less rigour than he expected. They had been led to believe that they would be put to the torture ; but he confesses that this horrible engine was not employed. The Marquis, however, was not altogether comfortable, for he complains bitterly, in very inflated language, that the sheets on his bed were not changed sufficiently often ! And the frequent mention of similar trifling inconveniences cannot but provoke a smile, especially as from the statements of the Jesuits one would believe that the sufferings of the prisoners during the reign of Dom Joseph were dreadful in the extreme. Indeed, so little severity was used, that the Marquis tells us he was in constant communication with his family, and was allowed the means of obtaining continual supplies, not only of the necessaries, but the luxuries of life. Count d'Obidos, being of a gloomy and melancholy temperament, passed his clays agreeably enough so soon as he obtained permission to see his confessor twice a week. But neither he, nor Dom Manoel de Souza, nor the Count de Kibeira, survived their imprisonment. The Marquis d'Alorna also very devoutly relates, that in digging a grave for the Count of Eibeira, the body of a priest in his sacer- dotal habit was found entire, notwithstanding the quantity of lime which had been thrown into the coffin to destroy the corpse. Most of the conspirators were enthusiasts in religion, and such have always been the readiest instruments of ambition, whether for good or evil. Costa Freire and 122 three of the Tavora family were confined in the same prison. One of the latter passed his whole time in praying in so loud a voice that he astonished his fellow- prisoners. The Count de San Lourenco, who some time after was also confined, but for a different offence, never lost his gaiety during his imprisonment. He had been a favourite with the king, and had been allowed great liberty of speech, which he abused in continual attempts to prejudice his Majesty against Pombal. One day, the Count, imagin- ing that he had proved some improper exertion of regal authority on the part of Pombal, and finding that the king was unable to deny it, exclaimed, triumphantly, " Well then, will your Majesty still retain this man in your ser- vice ? " " Yes," replied Dom Joseph, " for where he commits one fault, any of you would commit a hundred." Beckford met this same San Lourenco some years after, and in one of his letters describes his singularly imaginative character. Amongst the many Jesuits implicated in the conspiracy were Malagrida, of whom I shall presently make more par- ticular mention, Moreira, and Joao da Mattos. The first was either a most perfect hypocrite, or he laboured under a most extraordinary religious hallucination. He passed many hours a day in prayer in the most painful postures ; sometimes with his head touching the ground, at others in positions still more difficult and painful. He believed that he heard a voice continually calling him — a delusion which Mattos and many other of his companions declared was Divine inspiration. At length, possibly to vary the mono- tony of confinement, he commenced the " Life of St. Anne" — a strange performance, which in another place I shall take an opportunity to examine. It remains but to notice the punishment of the three 123 unfortunate Souzas, supposed to have been implicated with the minister Mendonca in 1756. We have already seen that Dom Manoel was imprisoned at the time of the Aveiro conspiracy, and that he died in confinement. He had been ordered, a twelvemonth previous to his arrest, to retire to his country seat at Calhariz ; and his brother Dom Luiz had been similarly banished to Mertola, a place upon the southern frontiers of Portugal. A despatch from M. de Mello, Portuguese Minister at London, addressed to the English government, informs us more fully of the offences of the third brother, the Bailli JoLio da Souza. This despatch is dated May 23rd, 1760, and is in French. " Long-tems avant la susdite annee (1757) on soupconnait a Lisbonne le dit Bailli d' avoir des secretes intelligences avec les Ministres de France." " On lui a ordonne qu'en 24 heures de terns il devait sortir de Paris, et s'en retourner a. Lisbonne par la voie de mer. Le meme ordre a ete donne a M. de Lacerda, ministre du Koi en France, qu'on soupconna d'avoir connaissance de ce complot." It appears that M. de Lacerda obeyed, and was simply banished from Court on his arrival. But the Bailli refused. Upon which, Dom Joseph, by a decree dated May 16th, 1757, ordered, "that he be banished, his property confiscated, and that he be degraded from his nobility." These were the principal characters who suffered for this wicked and cowardly attempt ; but what number of inferior persons were more or less punished I am unable to say. It is probable they were not very numerous. The number, however, of individuals suspected of being privy to and connected with this extensive conspiracy has been estimated by some as high as two hundred and fifty. Two years after these events, on the anniversary of his 124 fortunate escape, his Most Faithful Majesty, in commemo- ration of his signal and providential deliverance, laid the foundation-stone of a church which was subsequently erected on the very spot where the execrable attempt upon his life was made. 125 CHAPTER IX. We must now revert to a period anterior to the punish- ment of the conspirators, namely, to the 11th of January, 1759, two days before the execution of the Duke of Aveiro and his accomplices, when an order was issued for the arrest of eight Jesuits, the already-mentioned enthusiast Malagrida, and seven others suspected of being implicated in the plot. On a careful examination of their papers, which had been seized at the time of the arrest, satisfactory proof was obtained of their guilty participation ; and, singu- larly enough, it was discovered that some months previous to the attempt on the king's life, Malagrida warned Donna Anna de Lorena, one of the ladies of the palace, of some obscure danger that threatened his Majesty. Truly, the letter may never have reached its destination ; but if it did, this lady, actuated by what motive it is now impossible to say, thought proper to send back the letter to the writer, without taking any further notice of its contents, and it was consequently found afterwards among Malagrida's papers. From the several examinations of these ecclesiastics, and from the documents discovered in their possession, such information was obtained as disclosed the most secret and heinous intrigues of the Society of Jesus. And on the 19th of January following, the king determined on issuing a decree for the sequestration of all their property, real and personal, as well as for the seizure of their papers ; to which was appended an express prohibition of intercourse 126 with seculars, and a command to observe a rigorous con- finement to their houses. This extreme measure was the effect of a firm conviction of their guilt in the mind of the king, who by a decree dated in this same month declared the Jesuits the active agents in the late conspiracy. At length, to complete their confusion, Pombal, being convinced that the country would never prosper nor enjoy quiet, nor the king's or his own life be safe, while they remained in the country, determined on their total expul- sion, not only from Portugal, but from all her dominions. With this view a memorial was addressed to Pope Clement XIII., dated April 20th, 1759, expressive of that intention, setting forth in the preamble that the Jesuits as a body had degenerated from the purposes for which their Order was instituted, and that their principles and doctrines were dangerous to the well-being and tranquillity of the kingdom. It was moreover stated that his Most Faithful Majesty, having despatched orders to his generals commanding in Brazil to effect the exchanges agreed upon between the two Crowns of Portugal and Spain, and to settle the limits according to the stipulations contained in the Boundary Treaty, he had received the following answer : — " That the performance of this treaty was subject to great difficulties, because the Superiors of the Order of Jesus, having wrested from the Indians their personal liberty, their property, and their trade, had so fortified themselves in the country, that it would be no easy matter to subdue them ; that these religious, having become lords and absolute masters of so many thousands of men inaccessible to the Portuguese and Spaniards, who had no communication with them, held them in such submission as had never been acquired over rational creatures ; that these people, so fully and so strangely brought under subjection, would rather allow themselves to be cut to pieces than disobey the least 127 command of these fathers, and admit into their lands and habitations either Portuguese or Spaniards."* The memorial went on to complain of the repeated excesses they committed, and of the unlawful trade they carried on, to the disgrace of the Church, and the injury of the nation ; of the prominent part they had taken in the conspiracy against the king ; and concluded by entreating his Holiness to concur with the royal authority in putting an end to such " dangerous excesses, immoderate licences, and infamous outrages, which fill all Europe with scandal and disgust." A schedule was attached containing a statement of the property of the Society in Portugal, in order that his Holiness might order the distribution or disposition of it. A request was also made for a Letter of Faculty for the punishment of those Jesuits who were the authors or accomplices in the attempt of September 3rd, 1758. In reply to this memorial, his Holiness addressed two letters to his Most Faithful Majesty, dated August 2nd, 1759, granting him power, as justice might demand, to try all ecclesiastics implicated in the conspiracy ; at the same * The following extract from the archives of the Portuguese Legation at Vienna will serve to throw some light on the means employed by the Jesuits in America to defend themselves : — " Vienna, August 18th, 1754. Some time ago it was reported that the Spanish Jesuits had sent several French officers to America to instruct the Tapuyas of America in military discipline. As I had never been able to discover the author of, or the authority for, this report, which was also current in the coffee-houses in Lisbon, I thought it needless to trouble your excellency on the subject. Now, however, I have ascertained the fact that French officers are present among the Indians ; and Count Arzelor and M. Aubterre, the ministers from Spain and France, have assured me that the general commanding the Indian cavalry is a Frenchman under the name of Father Tonnerre. It is natural to conclude that he is not without subalterns, and that the cassock is the uniform of the officers." 128 time begging him to use all moderation and mercy, and cautioning him to avoid the shedding of the blood of those devoted to the service of God. On the 5th of October following, the Cardinal Patriarch Saldanha, by the king's authority, published a mandate which directed the immediate and total expulsion of the entire Society of Jesus from Portugal. Some of those who had not yet made their solemn profession, and who petitioned to be released from their simple vows, were permitted to remain. A few others were detained in prison to answer for their individual crimes and political offences. The rest were deported in vessels appointed for that pur- pose and landed in Civita Vecchia — not perhaps the most acceptable presents to his Holiness.* Shortly afterwards those in the colonies were likewise sent to Italy, and the Portuguese territories were freed from these restless and mischievous ecclesiastics. Had Pombal done nothing else to command our attention, this one bold act is sufficient to render his administration celebrated in the annals of European history, and glorious in those of Portugal. Soon after this, in consequence of the urgent demands of the Court of Lisbon, Clement XIII., in December, 1759, published a Brief, in which he granted to the Board of Conscience the requisite powers to proceed to inflict capital punishments on ecclesiastics, seculars as well as regulars, guilty of the crime of treason ; on condition, however, that in this tribunal the president should be an ecclesiastic. It is further declared in this Brief, that it is indispensable for the public good, that the scandal of so enormous a crime should be entirely expiated by the * Application was made to the Empress Maria Theresa to permit these religious to settle themselves in her dominions; but this prudent sovereign had either too little zeal or too much discretion to receive such visitors. 129 severity of the punishment, in order that for the future no one should venture on such nefarious crimes in the hope of escaping with impunity under the cloak of some pre- tended privilege. Thus, after almost unparalleled difficulties and obstacles, the torch of treason was extinguished in the blood of the conspirators, and the power and influence of the Jesuits were nearly annihilated by a faithful exposure of their principles and crimes. It is true the ministers of his Holiness still continued to afford them their secret and even open support ; which conduct, together with some absurd demands upon the Court of Lisbon by that of Rome, gave Pombal fresh causes of anxiety respecting the future relations of the two Governments. But his was a spirit which could neither brook the encroachments of the Church upon the civil government of Portugal, nor permit the authority of his master to be insulted or despised. Nor was a cause of quarrel long wanting between the two Courts. The king having appointed the Bishop of Angola to the vacant Archbishopric of Bahia, submitted, as was custom- ary, the presentation for the approbation and confirmation of the Pope ; but his Holiness refused to acknowledge the appointment until he received the authenticated Act, con- taining the archbishop's resignation, which he professed to doubt. The Portuguese envoy, Almada, replied, that the king's word and guarantee ought to be sufficient to sub- stantiate the fact, but nevertheless he would procure the Act without delay; at the same time expressing himself highly indignant at the insult offered to his master, the particulars of which he forthwith transmitted to his Court. With the view, therefore, of supporting the dignity of the Crown of Portugal, and of defending the past and 130 exposing the future policy of the government, a manifesto was published in the name of his Most Faithful Majesty, in which the causes of complaint against the Court of Kome are most copiously detailed. 131 CHAPTER X Manifesto published by the Court of Portugal, under the title of " Exposition of the Facts and of the Motives which decided its Conduct." I. His Most Faithful Majesty, imitating and even sur- passing the example of his august predecessors, has given to the Holy Father, to the ministers of his Holiness, and to the whole Christian world, the most decided proofs, and the most striking testimonies, that can be afforded by a monarch (who in temporal concerns acknowledges no other superior than Grod) of his filial respect for the sacred person of the Vicar of Jesus Christ ; of his unshaken devotion to the Holy Apostolic See ; of his pious and constant wish to carry the regard he feels towards the Pontifical authority to the most extreme point of exemplary condescension. II. The clear and evident proof of this is to be found in the memorials and letters of instruction, under the dates of the 8th of October, 1757, and of the 10th of February, 1758. His Most Faithful Majesty therein addresses the most respectful and the most urgent supplications to the Holy See, in a conjuncture wherein he might certainly have dispensed himself from so doing. In fact, this monarch was authorised and even bound by Divine law, by that of nature, and the law of nations, to drive out of his kingdoms and domains the members of the said Society of Jesus, whose corrupt regimen had excited against hi s Majesty a great number of his subjects, and had fomented k 2 132 in his kingdom a seditious and intestine war, and an open and declared war in his transmarine domains. The former involved his Majesty in a very heavy expenditure ; the latter has cost him more than twenty millions of cruzados to re-establish and maintain the laws in his transmarine states, and to bring back to obedience many multitudes drawn into rebellion by the systematic doctrine taught by these religious, while giving themselves out as apostles solely occupied with the conversion of souls. III. His Majesty's letter of the 20th of April, 1759, with the memorial and documents thereto annexed, further furnishes the greatest proofs of his unshaken devotion to the Holy See. It is evident that, if this monarch had not been deeply influenced by these principles, he would have been very indifferent, after the horrible attempt made upon his person on the 3rd of September, 1758, about having recourse to the Holy See, before the infliction of punish- ment on these pernicious and hardened men, who had plotted this execrable conspiracy, and projected this de- testable crime. His Majesty was himself authorised to have inflicted upon them the punishment they had merited, as well by his own Divine authority as by the law of nature and the law of nations. This is the daily practice towards ecclesiastics and regulars when guilty of crimes of much less importance in the kingdom of France, where religion is in so flourishing a state, and in the republic of Venice, where so much attention is paid to the observance of the respect due to the Holy See. The kingdom of Portugal itself furnishes similar examples in cases of rebellion and sedition of a far less serious complexion than the one in question. The kings Joiio II., Manoel, and Joao IV. availed themselves of their whole authority, without ever being reproached with a want of becoming deference to the authority of the Holy Apostolic See. 133 IV. His Most Faithful Majesty did hope that his extreme condescension towards the Holy See would procure him the most efficacious concurrence on the part of the Court of Borne, not only for the punishment of these detestable criminals, but also to repress for ever their pernicious enterprises. However, this monarch learnt, by the most notorious facts, that the Jesuits themselves had had sufficient credit to close every avenue by which the complaints of his Majesty might reach the knowledge of the Holy Father ; that in the Court of his Holiness there existed a bias directly opposed to the hopes which this monarch had so justly indulged. V. He learnt, that since the infamous and cruel attempt at assassination on the 3rd of September, 1758, the ministers of the Pope had not uttered a single word of disapprobation against those guilty of this horrible villany. VI. On the contrary, his Majesty was informed that his Holiness's secretary had written a letter to the Nuncio in Spain, which was inserted in the European gazettes, in which he said, " that a nation jealous and libertine was making a cruel war upon a religious body of singular respectability, who render the Church the greatest services, whose institution keeps them constantly applied to every sort of exercise beneficial to religion and to the salvation of souls, and entirely devoted to promote, in the highest degree, the glory of God and the salvation of the faithful." VII. His Majesty knew that the high-flown panegyric inserted in this letter had been concerted with the General of the Jesuits, to counteract the edicts and the ordinances by which his Majesty had arrested the progress of this infamous conspiracy. In fact, it was not possible to give credit to the contents of this letter without holding the edicts and ordinances of his Majesty to be undeserving of any regard ; for nothing in existence could be more 134 opposite and contradictory. And truly, at the Court of Borne there was no hesitation in drawing from the contents of this letter conclusions unfavourable to the edicts and ordinances of his Majesty ; and the writings published at that time by the Jesuits were not slow in supporting and giving weight to it. VIII. It came also to his Majesty's knowledge that at the same Court the reprinting of the " abridged account," which had served as the basis of the Brief for reform granted by Pope Benedict XIV,, and for the decree of the Cardinal Saldanha, had been considered criminal ; that the printer who had reprinted it had been committed to prison, and that the copies found in his house had been delivered to the General of the Jesuits, for the purpose of suppressing their circulation. IX. The king learned, that when the sentence pro- nounced at Lisbon, the 12th of January, 1759, against the conspirators, arrived at Eome, the booksellers were prohibited from printing and publishing it ; that, at the same time, it was hinted to persons of distinction to be cautious of spreading any news received from the Court of Lisbon ; that it was even forbidden, with threats of punish- ment, to persons of lower degree ; as though this sentence had come from a barbarous country, where there was no justice ; and that everyone ought to believe, that in- telligence disagreeable to the Jesuits, guilty of the most enormous crimes, was an offence committed against the Apostolic See. X. His Majesty learned, in short, that with the same views the ministry of Borne caused the most rigorous researches to be made, to discover the authors of publica- tions disagreeable to the Jesuits ; and that, at the same time, by a most strange and scandalous contrast, un- restrained circulation was given to writings published by 135 the Jesuits, outrageous against and dishonouring the glorious name of his Most Faithful Majesty, and blackening the honour and the justice of his faithful ministers with atrocious calumnies. It seemed as though it were wished that these calumnies should pass for authentic and indu- bitable proofs of the innocence of these criminal ecclesias- tics, although they had been condemned in the most solemn and legal manner, after a fair trial, after repeated interrogatories of all their accomplices, by the decision of a sovereign council, composed of three Secretaries of State, and of ten principal magistrates of the highest reputation, chosen from among the first tribunals of the Court of Lisbon ; although they have been declared notorious rebels, insidious enemies to his Most Faithful Majesty, guilty of having excited whole provinces to rebellion, of having usurped their most important commerce ; in short, of having been the chiefs and first promoters of the most execrable conspiracy against the life of the king. Ought not the decision of a sentence, sanctioned by such charac- ters as signed that of the 12 th of January, to suffice to undeceive the people as to the illusions attempted to be imposed upon them by vague and rash calumnies, no more worthy of belief than the clamours raised by criminals against the judges who have passed sentence upon them ? XI. Although his Most Faithful Majesty could not recover from the surprise occasioned by this scandalous outrage committed by the political ministry of his Holiness, and openly displayed by so great a number of manifest and decisive facts, nevertheless this monarch, convinced of the purity of the Holy Father's intentions, had taken the resolution to represent to his Holiness how very necessary and indispensable it was for the mutual honour of the Pon- tifical tiara and his Majesty's crown to adjudge the most speedy punishment against so horrible and fatal a crime, 136 and to repress the effects of the strong bias shown by his political ministry, by such means as should appear the most expedient and the most certain. At the time his Majesty was about to put this resolution into execution, there arrived at Lisbon an extraordinary courier, despatched at the beginning of the month of August, 1759, by his eminence the Cardinal Secretary, for the Nuncio Acciajuoli. He was the bearer of despatches that might well excite in- dignation and scandal. Not contented with discovering in them the most marked proofs of the strange passion which possessed him, this Cardinal distinctly showed therein that he had composed them purely with the intention to cause an open rupture betwixt the two Courts. In a word, these despatches were delivered to his Majesty's Secretary of State, and were found to contain the following documents. XII. The first is a memorial to be presented in his name, and which was really presented by the Nuncio to his Most Faithful Majesty's Secretary of State. He gives therein a clear idea of the contents of the other despatches and instructions which he had likewise received. This document shows, by the falsehoods and pretences with which it is filled, and by the insincere and exceedingly licentious terms in which it is couched, that the Nuncio had received orders to add more and more to his Most Faithful Majesty's just causes of complaint. Undoubtedly it was in expectation that the violent agitations which would be excited by the rupture, projected in contempt of the sentiments of this monarch and the paternal intentions of his Holiness, would cause the principal object to be lost sight of — that is to say, the wicked attempts made by the members of this Society, and the punishment which they had thereby merited. For, otherwise, would it be likely, seeing the evidence of facts and the delicacy of the circum- stances, that the Nuncio would have allowed himself to use 137 such expressions as those with which his memorial is filled, and on which it is indispensable to offer some reflections'? XIII. This prelate pretends to justify the refusal which the Pope was induced to make of the Brief for the per- petual commission for the Council of Conscience and the Orders. It is, said he, a secular tribunal, since there are but few of its officers who are ecclesiastics. But it is noto- rious at Eome itself, by the Bulls for the foundation and indulgences for the grand masters of the military Orders of this kingdom, and of this tribunal established to exercise the jurisdiction thereof, that this same tribunal is, by its nature and the rights it exerts in daily practice, an eccle- siastical tribunal ; that no officer is admitted therein who has not made profession in some one of these Orders ; that it exercises an ordinary ecclesiastical jurisdiction, as do the archbishop, bishops, and superior prelates of the kingdom, to correct and punish all the secular priests and regulars within its province; that it confirms the prelates vested with jurisdiction nearly episcopal, as the Grand Priors of Avis and of Palmella ; that it fulminates, like the bishops, ecclesiastical censures in cases within its prerogative ; that, in short, this tribunal was principally proposed to the Pope by his Most Faithful Majesty under the circumstances of the atrocious crime which is about to be punished, because it is, of all the ecclesiastical tribunals in the kingdom of Por- tugal, the one in which there have been officers the most commendable for their knowledge and their virtues. XIY. The Nuncio has the audacity to advance in his memorial, that the Catholic world has never seen a tribunal to which a perpetual jurisdiction has been delegated to cause proceedings to be instituted against ecclesiastics in cases similar to the one in question. Is he then ignorant of what is so public and so certain, that there are five Briefs which have been issued in perpetuity for this 138 kingdom alone, and for cases infinitely less serious than the present — the Brief granted by the Pope Leo X., of the year 1516, which vested the grand almoner with power to deliver over to the secular arm all the clerks minores guilty £>f theft or forgery; that of Pope Pius IV., of the 18th of July, 1562, granting the extension of the first to all other crimes of a serious nature, prohibiting any appeal from the delegated judges ; that of the same Pope, of the 4th of October, 1563, giving orders to deliver up to the secular judges all the clerks minores guilty of trafficking, in violation -of the laws of Portugal, in order to be punished for the same, even in cases not requiring capital punishment ; that of Pope Gregory XIII., of the 25th of October, 1582, to cause to be given up to secular justice, by the diocesan bishops, all priests and clerks, seculars and regulars, guilty of sedition and of crimes of high treason ; that, lastly, of this Pope, of the same date above given, addressed to the president and commissaries of the Council of Conscience and of the Orders, ordaining them in like manner to deliver up to the secular arm all priests guilty of the crimes of high treason and conspiracy ? Neither can anyone be ignorant of the existence of many other similar Briefs granted to other Powers ; for example, that of Julius III. to the republic of Genoa, to authorise the secular judges to proceed against any ecclesiastic, even to punishment with death, assisted only by one canon, or some other individual invested with ecclesiastical dignity ; those subsequently obtained by the governors of Cata- lonia, of Roussillon, and of Cerdaigne, from the Sovereign Pontiffs Leo X., Clement VII., Paul III., and Pius V. If some of these governors were bishops, it was not in that quality, but in that of governors of those provinces, that these powers were granted to them. The tenor even of these Briefs proves it. Those of Clement VII., of the 139 16th of June, 1531, and of Pius V., of the 6th of October, 1567, grant to a governor the power of proceeding to a definitive sentence exclusively on taking the opinions of two doctors of the royal Court. XV. The Nuncio, without having received any power for so doing, takes further upon himself the liberty of giving this strange decision, that to him only belongs the cogni- sance of crimes similar to the one in question; as if seditious commotions, conspiracies, regicide, and other crimes of high treason were of spiritual matters belonmnor to the altar and to the Church ; as if monarchs, who acknowledge no superiors in temporal concerns, were not authorised in quality of protectors and of fathers to their subjects, by Divine law, natural law, and the law of nations, to punish criminals guilty of such atrocious crimes, and by their punishment to maintain peace and public tranquillity in their states, which otherwise could not subsist without a continual miracle ? Does then this Nuncio not know that he can exercise in the states of Portugal no other jurisdic- tion than what is permitted him by the concordates, made between the Holy See and this Crown I By exceeding these limits he would transgress against the laudable customs of the kingdom. Never has it been permitted to utter such absurdities since the world has emerged from those ages of ignorance in which the laws of supreme juris- dictions temporal and spiritual were unceasingly blended, to the great prejudice of God's Church. XVI. The Nuncio has not hesitated to write, that it was the intention of his Court to send to this kingdom a car- dinal legate, to take cognisance of this important affair himself, or to place it under the cognisance of the Nuncio, or of an assembly of ecclesiastical persons. Did he then imagine that there existed in this kingdom neither monarchy, nor a monarch independent of a superior in 140 temporal affairs? Did he think there existed no tribunals, no ministers of justice? Such an absurdity is so palpably striking, that it needs not more ample refutation. XVII. In short, this Nuncio discovers the true object of the instructions which he had received. The king, by his letter of the 20th of April preceding, had apprised the Pope of the resolution he had formed to drive the Jesuits out of his kingdom and domains. In order to divert him from his purpose, the Nuncio advances this absurdity — that the king should expect from the progressive reform of this Society the safety of his royal person, and the public quiet of his faithful subjects (whose protection is nevertheless essentially connected with the sovereign power). Is there then any one who can be ignorant that this reform has produced no other effect than the infamous falsehood spread through all Europe against his Most Faithful Majesty, and the horrible attempt made on the 3rd of September, 1758 ? The extravagance of such an idea is so evident that it would be useless to dwell longer upon it. XVIII. The other despatches annexed to this memorial of the Nuncio were all directed in the same spirit, and with the same views. It is sufficient to read them, to be con- vinced of this. XIX. The second of these despatches contains, under the date of the 2nd of August, 1759, an order, in form of a Brief, addressed to the president and commissaries of the Council of Conscience and of the Orders, permitting them to deliver up the criminal Jesuits to the secular arm. XX. The mere reading of this Brief will make it appa- rent, that it was drawn up with intentions equally sinister with the Nuncio's memorial, and in terms evidently contra- dictory and incompatible, as well with the king's letter of the 20th of April of the same year, as with the supplication of his Most Faithful Majesty's attorney-general, which was 141 annexed to the said letter. In fact, the king and his attorney-general had required a Brief of unlimited and perpetual consent necessary to establish a permanent security, whereas that granted was only a Brief, limited and restricted to the sole case which occurred. Such a Brief not only does not satisfy the king's letter, but is for- mally contrary to the other Briefs which the Holy See is in the habit of granting in similar cases, at the requisition o crowned heads and other sovereigns. It is by no means conformable with the custom, which justice and decency have invariably established, in the grant of favours con- ferred at the solicitation of sovereign princes. It has been drawn up in an obreptitious, surreptitious, clandestine form, and with an impenetrable mysteriousness. The knowledge of it was withheld from his Most Faithful Majesty's minister plenipotentiary at the Court of Kome, in order that he might not be able to make any represen- tations on the subject to his Holiness, nor make it appear to him how contrary this Brief was to the requisitions, and even to the honour, of his Most Faithful Majesty ; by which proceeding, this monarch has been worse treated than a simple individual, who would not consent to receive the grant of a favour which would be prejudicial to him. XXI. The third of these despatches contained a letter from his Holiness, dated on the same day (the 2nd of August), in answer to one which the king had written to the Pope the 20th of April of the same year, to require of his Holiness the Brief in question. The writer of this letter, speaking of the contradictory and incompatible Brief sent in lieu of what the king had required, does not hesi- tate to say, " that by this Brief the faculty required was granted to his Majesty, notwithstanding its being of a most extraordinary nature." After which, by a most palpable inconsistency, the strongest and most pressing solicitations 142 are made in favour of the Jesuits who were prisoners, de- clared to be notorious and convicted accomplices of the execrable attempt of the 3rd of September, 1758. The writer of this letter has even gone so far as to put in the sacred mouth of his Holiness these strange and inconside- rate words : " That his Holiness does not believe he does anything which is not strictly to the purpose, and that he does not advise the king to take a step derogatory to his honour ; that in addressing the most earnest solicitations to him to permit the Jesuits to remain unpunished, his Holi- ness conceives that he conforms himself to the inclinations of his Majesty's magnanimous heart; that his Holiness even thinks that this prince is greatly disposed to give the world a signal proof of his royal goodness by taking, in condescension to the intercession of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the resolution of granting their lives to ministers of the sacred altars, who, the more they were guilty, the more they would be worthy of commiseration ; that, in short, his Holiness would derive infinite consolation in learning that this new horror of publicly punishing men devoted to God would be dispensed with." XXII. These words show clearly that passion has so entirely blinded the writer of this letter, that it has pre- vented him from reflecting that he was writing under the respectable name of his Holiness; that the style in which he made him speak was contrary to all decency, and could serve no other purpose than to manifest the grovelling sentiments of an inferior writer ; that his Most Faithful Majesty could not, without grievously wounding his con- science, without dishonouring his royal authority, without exposing himself, and putting in peril the majesty of the throne, his sovereign authority, and that of all other monarchies, suffer so detestable a crime to go unpunished. How could the writer of this letter assert that the effusion 143 of the blood of priests guilty of atrocious crimes was a novelty? Is it not a circumstance which happens very frequently in all the Catholic States of Europe, and even at Rome itself, in cases of a far less serious nature, and less fatal than the abominable regicide of the 3rd of Sep- tember, 1758 ? The hand of the General of the Jesuits discovers itself here in spite of himself. The motive which induces him to make such great efforts to succeed in with- drawing his colleagues from the infliction of capital punish- ment is not merely to spare the few years they might yet have to live : he is, above all, desirous of procuring their escape from the scaffold, with the view of furnishing his Society in future times with a negative argument to con- tradict the truth so notorious at this present time, that they are the contrivers of an abominable regicide. This is an artifice habitual to the Jesuits in all similar cases, and history furnishes us with but too many proofs of it. XXIII. The fourth of the despatches has evidently been drawn up in the same spirit as the preceding one. It is a second letter, under the name of the Holy Father, dated the same clay, the 2nd of August, 1759. As it is written by the same hand, so has it been dictated by the same prejudice, without any attempt to disguise it. The mask has in this been removed by the disgusting praises with which the author loads the Jesuits, and by the earnest solicitations which he puts into the Pope's mouth in their behalf in so critical a juncture. He was not aware that the terms in which this letter is written are by no means suitable to a Pontificial letter. Instead of answering the king's letter of the 20th of April, he has had recourse only to evasive measures. XXIV. His Most Faithful Majesty had declared in his letter to the Pope that he had absolutely made up his mind to expel the Jesuits. It was an object of pure 144 economy of the internal government of his kingdom — government so intimately connected with the persons of sovereigns, that no one of them can have the complaisance to admit of any rules in this respect from any foreign Power whatsoever. Yet the writer of the letter under consideration, from the beginning to the end, takes it for granted that the King of Portugal consented that the expulsion of the religious should be referred to the decision of his Holiness. XXY. In consequence of this assumption, he patheti- cally exhorts his Most Faithful Majesty to preserve the Jesuits in his kingdoms and domains ; and offers, as a powerful motive to induce him to adopt this resolution, the amendment which is to be produced in them by the renewal of the reform ordained by Pope Benedict XIV. Nothing could be more unreasonable, especially after his Majesty, by the letter signed by the royal hand, had particularly pointed out to the Pope that, for more than a century, the apostolic Bulls and the laws of the kingdom had produced no other effects on the Jesuits, than to incite them to rebellions, to usurpations of entire provinces, to the unheard-of and intolerable scandals with which they have filled this kingdom and all its dependencies ; that they had no other effect than to consummate their hardness of heart, to increase incessantly their inconceivable pride, which, nourished by indulgence, has precipitated them into the most horrible excesses — has induced them to spread through all Europe falsehoods and atrocious scandal against his Most Faithful Majesty, and, in short, to work themselves up to the horrid attempt of the 3rd of September, 1758, because they looked upon it as the only means remaining by which they might put a stop to the continuation of the reform. But who is there that does not know that they have made the most rash efforts, at first to cause it to be 145 believed that the project of this reform was founded upon no just motive whatever, and afterwards entirely to prevent its taking effect? Was not this the end to which tended every step they have taken before and after the famous memorial which the General of this Society presented to his Holiness on the 31st of July, 1758. It is then evident that they are not susceptible of reformation, and that to require of the king that, upon so fruitless a hope, he should preserve in his kingdoms and domains these religious, manifestly guilty of the most horrible plot, is to wish the sacrifice of his royal person, and of the public tranquillity of all his faithful subjects ; it is to propose to throw his kingdoms into trouble and confusion, and finally into inevitable ruin. XXVI. The writer of this 'pretended letter from the Pope gives, as a second motive which should induce the king to desist from expelling the Jesuits, " that it is never admissible to confound the innocent with the guilty, and to make those suffer the punishment which the others have merited ; that in so numerous a body, which makes pro- fession of an institution of the greatest perfection, there must necessarily be found a great number of guiltless persons." These words have visibly a tendency to cause the crimes of the Jesuits to be looked upon merely as the delinquency of some individuals, and to promote the belief that the Society has not participated therein. XXVII. But how could such an answer be made to the king's letter of the 20th of April, 1759, in which he ex- plained himself in terms full of energy like these ? — " It is notorious that the regimen or government of these religious is absolutely incorrigible ; that corruption has spread through the whole Society; that the remissness of dis- cipline has produced in its chiefs and among its members detestable vices, which, estranging them entirely .. 146 their holy institutions, and the examples of their blessed founder, has given them up to maxims destructive of all civil society, and of all Christian union. This Society is in that respect very different from other religious Orders, in which, if anything disorderly be introduced, it is only the errors of a few individuals, which does not prevent regularity from being adhered to by the multitude. " In these circumstances, convinced of this principle, that sovereigns are not at liberty to make an arbitrary use of their supreme authority ; that they are bound to exert it to prevent their states and their people from being exposed to troubles and dangers, even were they of less magnitude than those in question ; I cannot allow myself to dispense with separating from my good and faithful subjects, a Society whose existence has been shown by so many proofs, equally fatal and decisive, to be incompatible with that peace and public tranquillity, in which both natural and Divine law compels me to preserve those whom Providence has placed under my protection. This it is which makes me determine to cause these religious, without delay, to quit my states, into which the kings my predecessors had admitted them, to edify and not to corrupt," &c. XXVIII. Such are the reasons for which his Most Faithful Majesty has not caused each individual of this Society to be proceeded against ; it is because the object is not merely confined, as they would have it believed, to the crimes of single individuals. The proceedings ordered by his Majesty had for object the whole Society, because its whole body was entirely perverted in his kingdoms and domains — because the perverseness of the whole Society is evident and notorious, in fact and deed, to all civilised nations. XXIX. It is notorious in fact, since it is impossible not to perceive that the wicked attempts detailed in his Most 147 Faithful Majesty's letter, and proved during more tlian a century of deplorable events, could not be the work of a single individual, nor even of many, unless they had been assisted and supported by the whole Society. Indeed, without the strength resulting from the union and co- operation of the whole Society, could they have given authority to the system which has caused such large provinces in America to revolt, and which has maintained them so lono; in their rebellion ? Without the union and co-operation of the whole Society, would there have been seen such a general and such an obstinate resistance made to that multitude of Bulls and royal laws published for more than a century to establish obedience among the Indians, and to civilise them ? Without the union and co-operation of the Society, would it have been practicable to ruin and discredit all the governors and magistrates who were desirous of enforcing the execution of these Bulls and these laws ? Without the union and the co- operation of the whole Society, could means have been found to raise and maintain such numerous armies of these Indians, and to form so powerful a league that it has cost his Majesty several millions of cruzados merely to resist them ? Without the union and co-operation of the Society, would they have been able to spread through all Europe those calumnies, to form those conspiracies, destined to prevent the reform ordained by Pope Benedict XIV., and to sacrifice the sovereign whose interest" it was to enforce its execution ? Without the union and co-operation of the Society, would they have been able to frame and plot so many intrigues at the Court of Eome, to shut up every avenue by which intelligence might be given to his Holiness of these manifest truths, and to multiply unpleasant in- cidents of a nature to cause a rupture between the two Courts 1 When his Majesty demanded the reform of the L 2 148 Society, who then was it that spread a torrent of calumnies against this monarch, as well at the Court of Borne as at the other Courts in Europe ? Was all this done by a few individuals ? Was it not the act of the whole Society ? Who presented to the Pope the memorial of the 31st of July, 1758, to obtain the revocation of the edict of reform, and to threaten his Most Faithful Majesty with the wicked attempt which was put in execution so shortly after? Were they individuals ? Was it not the General, the chief even of this pernicious Society ? And this Brief for refor- mation, against whom has it been granted 1 Is it against a few individuals merely ? Is it not against the whole Society of Jesuits of the kingdom of Portugal and its de- pendencies ? XXX. The perverseness of the entire body of the Society is no less notorious than undeniable. Does there exist anyone at the present day who can be ignorant that an individual of this Society, be he who he may, cannot do, within or without, a single act of any consequence, unless he has an order Or permission so to do from the superiors, on pain of being expelled without hope of pardon, or of undergoing some other punishment still more to be dreaded? After this, what man of good sense can ever permit himself to be persuaded that such an immense number of horrible crimes, so unceasing, so manifest, so public as these just spoken of, can have been committed by individuals without the concurrence and co-operation of the whole Society? Even were one to be disposed to form doubts, they could not maintain themselves against these certain and notorious facts, that it is the entire Society which reaps the fruits and the benefits produced by all these crimes ; that the Society, far from punishing the individuals who have from time to time committed them, maintains with ardour and protects with its whole influence their persons and their crimes. 149 To be convinced of this, it will suffice to recollect what has happened to the most eminent and the most pious Cardinal, John Martin Silices, Archbishop of Toledo, and to so many other prelates equally respectable by their piety and enlightened minds ; such as Melchior Cano ; Don Jeronimo de laNuza; Don Juan de Palafox; Don Bernardo de Cardenas; Don Felipe Pardo, Archbishop of Manilla; the holy martyr Juan Batista, and the companions of his glorious martydom; the pious and learned priest Ario Montanus; the Cardinal de Tournon, &c. Let us add thereto some Generals and some great men even of this very Society ; such as Francisco de Borgia, Mutio Vitel- leschi,* Tirco Gonzales, Juan de Mariana, after Divine grace had touched his heart, and several other?. These have all of them felt the resentment of the Society, because they all cried aloud for prompt remedies to be applied to the disease with which they saw, already in their days, that the entire Society, and not merely a small part of it, was attacked. They foresaw, and foretold with grief, that so great and so general a corruption could not fail to produce in after times crimes of the most fatal tendency to the Church and to states ; and even wicked attempts, such as that of which Portugal has just experienced the horrors. XXXI. The more to incense his Most Faithful Majesty, the writer of the instructions addressed to the Nuncio had recommended him to deliver with his own hands, to the king, the obreptitious, surreptitious, and indecent Brief, of which we have been speaking. M. Acciajuoli effectively pressed his solicitations with extreme importunity and in- considerateness, to prevail upon his Majesty to receive this Brief, in an audience which he had required, solely for the purpose of deception. XXXII. With this view, he at first maintained that it 150 was his duty to deliver to his Most Faithful Majesty with his own hands the inadmissible Brief, together with the letters which accompanied it, without previously transmit- ting copies thereof, as customary, to the Secretary of State, Dom Luiz da Cunha. XXXIII. This minister having shown him that he could not demand an audience of the king his master, without having previously given in copies of the despatches he wished to present to his Majesty, the Nuncio was obliged at last to give them. A few days afterwards, the 7th of September, the Secretary of State wrote to him, on the part of the king, in the most cau- tious terms. He intimated to him, that his Majesty granted him an audience to deliver him his Holiness's letters, but that his Majesty required that he should sus- pend the delivery of the Brief until his Majesty had made his representations on the subject to his Holiness. This prelate then took the strange liberty to reply of his own accord, by the memorial, in form of a letter, of which we have spoken above. He adopted a high tone, to persuade this monarch that he was obliged to receive this Brief, under the singular pretext which may be read in his letter to the Secretary of State of the 6th of September, 1759. This document discloses all the venom of the instructions which the Nuncio had received. XXXIV. These proceedings could not yet shake the firm reliance which his Most Faithful Majesty had in the pure and paternal intentions of his Holiness. XXXV. His Majesty was even desirous of overlooking the absurdities contained in the Nuncio's memorial, and in the copies of the letters of which we have been speaking, under the pretext that the originals had not been seen by him. In order to leave it to his Holiness's wisdom to put an end to similar inconveniences, to avoid as much as 151 possible all discussions on points so disagreeable and so wanting in decency, Ins Majesty caused two answers to his Holiness's despatches, couched in the most energetic lan- guage, to be forwarded to Rome. XXXVI. The first was a letter which his Majesty directed to be written to the Nuncio, on the 10th of September, by his Secretary of State, Dom Luiz da Cunha, to declare to him that his Majesty would not suffer him to present him the Brief sent from Rome, because his Majesty looked upon it as not to be tolerated, and as uncivil, obrep- titious, surreptitious, and contrary to the true meaning of his Holiness ; that his Majesty readily consented to receive the Holy Father's letters, with submission equal to his filial respect, provided they were not annexed to the Brief; furthermore, that his Secretary of State would answer the Nuncio's memorial as soon as his Majesty should order him so to do. XXXVII. The second answer was a memorial which his Most Faithful Majesty caused to be sent, on the 15th of the same month of September, to his minister plenipo- tentiary at Rome, with orders to present it to his Holiness. XXXVIII. The mere reading of this memorial will suffice to show that the king, always full of respect and attention towards the Holy Father, did, in circumstances of so very unpleasant a nature, everything that the critical and pressing conjuncture permitted him to do, to spare his Holiness whatever might grieve his paternal heart. XXXIX. This memorial does not enter into any detail of the decisive and public proofs which the political ministry of the Court of Rome had given of its partiality, as has been shown above. The numerous offensive steps taken by the Nuncio at Lisbon, to gain the means of pre- senting the insulting despatches which have been spoken of above, were lightly touched upon ; it went no further 152 than to represent to his Holiness, in a respectful manner, the evident proofs which demonstrated the obreption, sur- reption, and the inadmissibility of the Brief, to show how much reason the king had to be displeased with the irregular conduct which the Nuncio had maintained at his Court, and with the liberty and haughty air he had assumed ; to complain, in short, of the public scandal which some other of his Holiness's ministers had excited, as well in Portugal as in all Europe, by conniving at and co- operating in the most unequivocal manner with the attacks made on all good principles, and on the honour of his Holiness, and of his Most Faithful Majesty, at the Court of the head of the Catholic Church ; the black and the wicked attempts which the regimen and the whole body of the Society (pretended of Jesus) had committed in the kingdom of Portugal and its dependencies, and the vile calumnies which they had spread, and which they do not yet cease to spread, through all Europe. XL. The memorial concludes by claiming, on the part of his Most Faithful Majesty, from the unerring justice, apostolic prudence, and paternal feelings of his Holiness, to obtain — 1st. Such a reparation, and so authenticated, as shall immediately remove the causes of his Majesty's com- plaints, and the public scandal excited by the grievance which have given rise to them. 2nd. That his Holiness may be pleased to dissipate and annihilate the obstacles which have hitherto shut up all the avenues of the Ponti- fical throne to truths notorious not only to the kingdom of Portugal, but to all the four quarters of the globe. 3rd. That he be pleased to cause his Brief of Consent to be expressed in civil and appropriate terms, such as are in general use, and in which the other Briefs granted by the Court of Kome in similar cases have been drawn up, of which copies were offered to be given. 153 XLI. Representations so forcible, by the justice of the complaints, by the indispensable necessity of granting the demands made therein, caused so great a clamour among the people, that the Holy Father's ministers could not entirely keep it from the knowledge of his Holiness. The report which they were under the necessity of making to him thereon, although very weak and imperfect, made him take the determination to appoint his Eminence the Cardinal Calvachini to a conference with the minister plenipotentiary of his Most Faithful Majesty. The probity and justice of his Eminency encouraged hopes for the success of his Majesty's representations, and induced a belief that it would not be necessary to publish the detailed explanations which have been given above. XLII. But almost immediately afterwards, the partiality of the political ministry of his Holiness regained its influ- ence. On the 28th of November of the same year, 1759, the Cardinal Secretary of State sent to the minister pleni- potentiary of his Most Faithful Majesty at the Court of Rome, a most unexpected and most unreasonable declara- tion. This Cardinal made it apparent therein, in a most striking manner, that the essential and principal object which he continually proposed to himself was to irritate his Most Faithful Majesty more and more by the serious attacks made upon his honour, in order to compel this monarch to renounce the negotiation just commenced, which his said Eminence dreaded as the means by which his Holiness might at last be made acquainted with the facts, and the convincing proofs relating to them, which have been detailed above. By continuing to act upon this seditious plan, the minister proceeded so far as to declare, by this very act, a formal rupture with his Most Faithful Majesty in the name of his Holiness. XLIII. In this declaration this Cardinal argues in a 154 manner at perfect variance with the received notions of reason and good sense, the principles of Divine right, the laws of nature and of nations, the decision of all the Briefs which have issued from the Holy See on similar occasions ; and all this to colour the refusal of the Brief for perpetual consent to sanction the surrender to the secular arm of criminals guilty of enormous crimes, such as those in question. He approves of the irregular attempts made by the Nuncio at Lisbon to take by surprise, and thus to indispose his Most Faithful Majesty. He allows himself even to reproach his Majesty's minister plenipotentiary, although this minister, to avoid every motive of quarrel, had borne patiently all the sallies of the Cardinal's passion. In short, he at last drops the mask, by manifesting the object he proposes to himself in the declaration of war which he makes against his Most Faithful Majesty. " As to what relates," says he, " to the religious of the Society of Jesus, and the resolutions taken and partly carried into effect against them, by his Most Faithful Majesty, his Holiness has already sufficiently expressed his invariable sentiments in the letter which he wrote to the king, the contents of which were communicated to his Majesty at the beginning of the month of September last, as has been cer- tified by the Secretary of State, Dom Luiz da Cunha, by his note of the 6th of the same month. The sentiments of the Pope are immutable upon this point, because they are founded in justice, which will not permit that the innocent be confounded with the guilty, nor that the punishment merited perhaps by some individuals, for whose chastise- ment his Holiness has already granted all the necessary permissions, should be followed up by the disgrace and ex- tinction of the whole Society. This Society professes an institution approved and honoured by the esteem of the Sovereign Pontiffs, predecessors of his Holiness ; it is useful 155 to the Catholic Churcli ; it enjoys the protection of the Holy See, and that of his Holiness. The immutability of the sentiments of the Holy Father upon this point is further founded on the understanding which the two Courts came to when his Most Faithful Majesty proposed the case to Pope Benedict XIV. of blessed memory, and this Pope adopted the measure of appointing an apostolic visitor/' &c. XLIV. Such is the regard evinced at Rome for a monarch assassinated in the midst of his own Court, by the artifices of a society of religious men consecrated to God by their holy institution. They began by mocking and reviling him during the space of a year and a half in the very Court of the head of the Catholic Church, where he has the goodness to demand justice for this execrable crime ; and instead of solemn reparation, which the most powerful motives give him a right to expect, the political ministry of this Court concludes by making a seditious declaration to this monarch, in which expressions full of irreverence and haughtiness are employed,- and in which arrogance is carried so far as to assume the right of inter- fering in the constitutional government of the kingdom of Portugal, by seeking to re-establish the Jesuits, after their expulsion by the laws of his Most Faithful Majesty. It has even the boldness to pass censure upon the incorrup- tible justice of this monarch. This, however, does not yet satisfy the Roman ministry ; it even goes so far as formally to declare hostilities against this religious sovereign. For is it possible to give any other meaning to this proud and arrogant declaration, TJiat the Court of Rome will alicvys remain immutable in this sentiment (that the Jesuits should be preserved in Portugal), that is to say, in the disposition to trouble the constitutional government which appertains solely to his Most Faithful Majesty in his kingdom, to 156 determine respecting the continuance therein, or removal thence, of persons according to the pleasure of this Court ? Can any other meaning be attached to this second declara- tion — that the same Court has taken and will always take under its protection these abominable religious, whose regimen has plotted the execrable attempt of the 3rd of September, 1759, and has not ceased from that time to circulate the most horrible and the most seditious calum- nies ? XLV. There cannot, then, be a more formal declaration of hostilities, than what has been made by the political ministry of the Pope to his Most Faithful Majesty. It has been shown how it was commenced, by the insulting circumstances which emanated from that Court during a year and a half; that it has been continued by that multi- tude of writings sent successively to the Court of this monarch, conceived in forms and in terms which would scarcely have been tolerated by delegates of Bologna or of Ferrara ; that it has been strengthened by expressions attacking the independence of the temporal and constitu- tional government of his Most Faithful Majesty, tending to degrade him beneath that authority, in the exercise of which, among his household, the mere father of a family would never suffer strangers to disturb him. It is consum- mated, in short, by the formal declaration, that the Court of Rome will always remain the protector of these religious, rebels, assassins, and public enemies of his Most Faithful Majesty, of his kingdoms, and of his subjects ; of these religious, juridically convicted of crime, by proofs clear, evident, superabundant, and decided upon by a tribunal the most numerous, the most respectable, and the most fully authorised, which has ever been constituted in the Court of Lisbon ; of these religious, in short, proscribed in the most solemn manner by a law of the most Faithful 157 King himself. Will sound policy permit it to be doubted, whether a prince is to be considered to have declared war formally against another prince, when he makes attempts upon his honour and upon his reputation — when he de- clares to him publicly that he espouses the cause of his most mortal enemies? This is the conduct which the political ministry of the Court of Home has not feared to adopt. XL VI. The zeal and prudence of his Most Faithful Majesty's minister plenipotentiary prompted him to take every care possible to remove the difficulties which the Secretary of State of his Holiness sought to multiply, in a negotiation, which naturally should have had hone. With this view he took upon himself to pass the limits of his in- structions. Before he gave his Court the least information of the declaration of the 28 th of November, he replied to it on the 4th of December, proposing the means of facilita- ting the grant of the Brief of perpetual consent, and he deferred entering into explanations on all other points, till he should have received fresh orders from his Court. XL VII. But although he had confined himself to touch upon the sole point relating to the grant of the Brief, the Cardinal Secretary thought proper to wander from it in another declaration which he sent him in answer, the 12th of the same month of December. The minister plenipo- tentiary replied by demanding a precise and categorical answer on the subject of the Brief, and declining to go into any other explanations with a prelate wdiose undisguised passion had rendered him incapable of managing this nego- tiation in such delicate circumstances. XLVIII. The Portuguese minister thought that his Holi- ness had entered into his views, for, on the day following, the 14th of December, he had the satisfaction to receive from the hands of Cardinal Calvachini the rough draught 158 of a new Brief of Consent. This second Brief was not, it is true, more admissible than the former, but it showed that his Holiness was at last convinced of the indispensable necessity there was for his giving some satisfaction to a sovereign so grievously offended ; and seeing that the Cardinal Secretary of State was excluded, as he appeared to be, from a negotiation for which his excessive partiality rendered him so unfit, there was every reason to hope that in the end the Brief might be obtained in the wished- for form. XLIX. In this confidence this minister transmitted to Cardinal Calvachini, on the 20th and 21st of December, three memorials containing the corrections requisite to be made in the second rough draught of the Brief, and the reasons which demonstrated the justice and the necessity of these corrections. L. Measures were soon taken to destroy the hope M. d' Almada had fondly conceived, by giving him to understand that the matter was by no means so near the point of con- cession. Urged by orders from his Court to transmit a final answer from that of Rome, having reason to fear that the delay might be imputed to him, he wrote a note to Cardinal Torregiani, solely to request he might be supplied with post-horses for the courier he was desirous to send off to Lisbon, and without saying a word of the negotiation entered upon with Cardinal Calvachini. LI. How astonished was this minister to learn by the answer made to his note by the Cardinal Secretary of State that he had been re-appointed to, or rather that he had a^ain taken into his own hands, the negotiation which had been intrusted to Cardinal Calvachini. In fact, with his answer under date of the 26th of December, relating to the post-horses, Cardinal Torregiani sent at the same time a new rough draught of a Brief, framed precisely in the 159 same terms as that which lie had received from Cardinal Calvachini. LIL This matter therefore relapsed into the same state in which it was before it passed into the hands of his Eminency last named, and there was no longer any room to hope that his Most Faithful Majesty would obtain the reparation due to his royal authority,, since the declaration of hostilities made by the political administration of his Holiness. Furthermore, as the last draught of the Brief was conceived, as well as the first, in terms widely different from the two Briefs granted for the kingdom of Portugal by Pope Gregory XIII., and that which should have served as the basis of the amplification required was likewise sup- pressed in it, it resulted therefrom, that this declaration of hostilities in the form and expressions reported above, sub- sisted in its whole extent. Postscript. LIII. His Most Faithful Majesty, by a letter written with his own hand to the Holy Father, sealed with the great seal of his Chancery, under date of the 2nd of November, 1759, communicated to his Holiness, as a fact within his own personal knowledge, the resignation, given in his presence, of the Archbishop of Bahia, Dom Joze Botelho de Mattos ; that, upon this vacation, he had named to this church, which is in the royal gift, Dom Manoel de Santa Ignez, Bishop of Angola. The following are the precise terms of the letter : — " The Archbishopric of Bahia, in the patronage of my Crown, being vacant by the resig- nation made into the hands of your Holiness, by my permission, by Dom Joze de Mattos, I name and present to your Holiness, for the said archbishopric, Dom Manoel de Santa Ignez, Bishop of Angola," &c. LIV. While the archbishop so named was soliciting the 160 grant of his Bulls, there appeared at Rome an Amsterdam Gazette, in which, without the least foundation, was im- puted to the first archbishop, Dom Joze Botelho de Mattos, the injurious fact that he was a rebel to the laws of his Majesty, and an abettor of the expelled Jesuits. LV. This false news, supported by persons who are not known to the Court of Lisbon, appeared a sufficient reason to the administration of his Holiness to suspend the de- spatching of the Bulls for Dom Manoel de Santa Ignez. The reason assigned for this suspension was the defect of the justificatory proofs of the resignation of Dom Joze Botelho de Mattos. Such a declaration made to the king's minister plenipotentiary, puts the finishing stroke to all the proofs already produced, that it was determined upon to force his Majesty to an open rupture. LVI. But was it necessary, in order to compel him thereto, that the ministry of a Sovereign Pontiff should proceed to such excesses 1 This procedure has violated the wise dispositions of the canon law, which enact that implicit faith shall be given to the words of Sovereign Princes, when they affirm facts, as being within their per- sonal knowledge. It has appeared to despise the testimony of his Most Faithful Majesty, who, addressing himself to the Holy Father, has affirmed, in the most authentic man- ner, the resignation in question, his consent to this resig- nation, and the nomination of an individual to replace him who had resigned. It has thus taken upon itself the criminal licence of offending the honour, and of trampling under foot the sacred rights of royal majesty. It has declared that, to make the certainty of a fact indubitable, it does not suffice to have the august w r ord of a king solemnly attesting the same, but that it made the truth of it depend on other proofs infinitely less respectable. LVII. By such striking acts, this ministry have shown 161 how far they were desirous of breaking with his Majesty. It requires little reflection to discover easily, whence pro- ceeds the spirit of discord which inspires and animates it. Its steps reveal too sensibly the causes which put it in motion, and the voluntary and deliberate excesses it has committed are such, as, whatever efforts are made to moderate the pen, it is impossible to avoid characterising them. The Pope having refused to give audience to M. d'Almada, this manifesto was delivered to the Cardinal Orsini, together with a note containing the reasons for the expulsion of the Papal Nuncio from Portugal. In this note, his Most Faithful Majesty complained of various rash and seditious proceedings of the Cardinal Acciajuoli, and of the daily trespasses which he committed against the government of his Most Faithful Majesty, adding that his secret proceedings had been at length followed by public insults, and an avowed contempt for the authority and dignity of his Majesty. It also stated that on the marriage of the Infante Pedro with the Princess of Brazil, on the 6th of June, 1760, his Majesty had ordered a general illumination for three nights — an order with which, as a mark of respect for his Majesty's authority, all his people and the foreign ambassadors readily complied. But that the Nuncio, under pretence of not having received official intimation of the marriage, which was not customary, had neglected to pay that mark of respect, and had, moreover, during the three nights of the illumination, so completely closed the windows of his palace, that not a candle was to be seen from without. With this last affront the king was much incensed, and determined no longer to submit to the insolence of the Nuncio. Accordingly, on the 17th of the same month M 162 orders were received by his Eminency from Dom Luiz da Cunha, in the name of his Majesty, commanding him to quit Lisbon within the hour, and the Portuguese territory within four days, intimating at the same time that the royal boats were in attendance for his conveyance, and that a sufficient military escort would conduct him as far as the frontier. This vigorous proceeding was no sooner known at Borne, than the Pope refused to hold any further intercourse with Almada ; and a rupture between the two Courts having been publicly declared to exist, on the 2nd of July all the subjects of Portugal were ordered to leave Rome imme- diately. The causes of this rupture having been so fully detailed in the Manifesto already given, it is needless to offer any further arguments in support of the policy which Pombal adopted on this occasion. The Papal Government had most arbitrarily and unconstitutionally attempted to inter- fere with the royal authority, and Pombal did that which every patriotic minister is bound to do, if he value the liberty and independence of his country. He resolved, at whatever hazard, never to acknowledge the right of any foreign Power to interfere with the domestic policy of Portugal. And that he was right in this respect, even his bitterest enemies must allow ; for such vain pretensions on the part of the Court of Rome, to interfere with the civil governments of Europe, only tend to lower the dignity and authority of the Vicar of Christ in the eyes of the Christian world. Besides, the schisms which such con- duct must inevitably encourage deviate into licentiousness, till at length, each party setting up for himself as the head of his own Church, not only all proper ecclesiastical authority is destroyed, but with it all that is Christian and scriptural. 163 It appears throughout these altercations that the great cause of the long-pending dispute between the two Courts was the conduct of the Cardinal Torregiani. This Papal minister suffered his own private animosities and peculiar opinions, to master every feeling of decency. Had he been guided by prudence, he might have conciliated the Courts of Europe, at a period so critical for the power of the Roman Church. The sentiments of the Cardinal Acciajuoli respecting Dom Joseph and his minister were expressed, in the following terms, in a private letter written from Vienna, at the period of the Cardinal's return to Italy, after his expulsion from Lisbon : — " A letter from Marshal Botta, dated from Florence, relates that he had been assured by the Nuncio that the Cardinal Acciajuoli, when he passed through Florence, had declared his opinion that the king our sovereign was a most perfect monarch, full of religious sentiments, and of devotion to the Church ; and that the Count d'Oeyras was a great minister of true piety and religion. That the Jesuits were undoubtedly the authors of the attempted assassination of his Majesty Dom Joseph; and if he (Acciajuoli) had had the misfortune to displease the Court of Portugal in these latter events of his residence, it was for having executed the orders of Cardinal Torregiani. And a letter from Milan relates that Acciajuoli had ex- pressed the same sentiments in Kome, a circumstance which has excited some considerable sensation in that city." A despatch, however, from Lord Kinnoul, dated April 14th, 1760, enlightens us respecting the intrigues of this Nuncio : — "The French Ambassador, M. de Merle, as well as the Nuncio, do not dissemble their discontent, and they speak without reserve in disrespectful terms of the person of the Count d'Oeyras." M 2 164 On the 17th of June, 1760, Senhor Lulz da Mendonca, Lieutenant-Governor of Belem Castle, waited on the Nun- cio, and told his Eminency that he had the king's orders to attend him to Aldea Galega. The Nuncio remonstrated, but in vain ; and in three hours set forward on his journey. The populace were so enraged at the insult offered to the king, that they attempted to set fire to the Nuncio's house. Various persons were banished from Court at this period for intriguing with the Nuncio, or holding secret corres- pondence with the Jesuits. The Viscount de Ponte de Lima was ordered to retire to Oporto, and the Count de San Lorenco to Miranda. On the 21st of July, 1760, " Dom Antonio and Dom Jose were, by the king's order, removed from their house at Palhaviio under a strong guard, and conducted to a convent beyond Coimbra, where they are to remain. Dom Jose was Grand Inquisitor. M. de Motta and the Count d'Oeyras had always been averse to raising these bastards to the rank of princes of the blood — but the king's goodness to them had no bounds. The princes were discovered to be in secret correspondence with the late Nuncio." The other brother, the Arch- bishop of Braga, was not implicated in the disgrace. Repeated assurances were given at this and other periods by Mr. Hay and Lord Kinnoul of the generally tranquil state of the country. "I have the pleasure to acquaint you, that notwithstanding the idle stories I see in our public papers, and which are entirely without foundation, everything here is in the utmost tranquillity." And yet from these sources — these li idle stories " — have the actions of Pombal been described. Again : " The strange reports, which rebound hither from other countries, make it neces- sary for me to repeat to you that everything here is at present in a state of perfect tranquillity." And a circumstance which was much commented upon 105 at the time, is thus described by Mr. Hay in his despatch, dated January 24th, 1761 : — "As I know false reports are often spread relating to what passes in this country, I take the liberty to mention an incident that happened yester- day, which at first alarmed the merchants ; but, as it has been related to me, is quite of a private nature. The house of M. de Tremoul, an Italian merchant, was sur- rounded yesterday morning with soldiers, and his partner, M. Nicolini, who lives in a separate dwelling, was ordered to attend. This at first sight has the air of a State im- prisonment; but, by what I learn, is no more than an attention of the Government to the repeated representa- tions of M. Nicolini, setting forth the extravagance of his partner, and some malpractices in regard to bills of ex- change, which the Government thought proper to put a stop to." He had forged bills to the amount of £20,000, and contrived to escape from the country. 166 CHAPTER XL We now revert to a few of the great reforms that occupied Pombal's attention about this time, and for some years afterwards. The most trifling decree promulgated in the name of Dom Joseph bears the stamp of the ministers presiding genius. I have already given an outline of the measures he employed immediately after the great earth- quake, to remedy the evils and ameliorate the sufferings incidental to so calamitous an event. The most minute orders were given for the examination of the ruins, and the strictest precautions taken to secure to every individual, not only the property which had been engulphed, but the exact site of land which he had possessed previous to the earthquake ; and in order to prevent the substitution of hovels and irregular buildings for the houses and palaces which had been destroyed, a decree was published restrain- ing all persons from erecting buildings not in accordance with a general plan, which Pombal had very carefully pre- pared. Those whose temerity incited them to disobey this order, had their houses pulled down without the slightest favour or exception. In various reforms, Pombal was often assisted by the silly conduct of the parties themselves, against whom these reforms were directed. For example, some time after the establishment of the Maranhao and Grand Para Company in 1755, the deputies of the Board of Commerce (Meza dos homens de negocio) sought an audience of his Majesty, on 167 which occasion they indulged in the most virulent abuse of, and applied the most violent language to the Company, predicting the most fatal consequences to the country, and threatening the most serious disturbances among the people, which nothing but their own seditious language was likely to create. This insult to the royal authority was resented by an order for the immediate withdrawal of the deputies, followed by a subsequent command for them to retire to various parts of the kingdom, at a distance from Lisbon, while a strict and close inquiry into the conduct and practices of the Commercial Board, which was imme- diately set on foot, proved that the abuses and frauds which had crept into the administration of their affairs, together with the illegal monopolies which they enjoyed, fully justi- fied Pombal in everything he had done, and accounted for their anger and remonstrances. The Board was conse- quently abolished by a decree of September 30th, 1756, and Pombal and the Desembargador, Ignacio Ferreira Souto, were empowered to consolidate a body of statutes for a new Junta do Commercio, which latter was in fact established before the end of the year. This useful Junta, created for the purpose of animating and protecting commerce throughout the Portuguese do- minions, was composed of a provedor, a secretary, a procurador, six deputies (four of Lisbon and two from Oporto), a judge conservator, and a procurador-fiscal. The members of this body were necessarily Portuguese born, or naturalised foreigners, and were elected for three years. Their duties were to regulate all affairs connected with commerce, to prevent and punish smuggling, and to grant licences for the opening of retail shops, or to refuse them as they saw fit. They had also delegated to them the power of visiting and inspecting those already open. This inquisitorial power was granted in order to check the 1G8 abuses which were practised in the retail trade, such as the sale of smuggled goods, and the possession of two or more shops by individuals ; because in the latter case, though the shops might be tenanted ostensibly under different names, it w T as very frequently the case that the goods belonged to one person, and that person a foreigner. This clause, however, was more especially aimed at the English, as will be seea hereafter, because they carried on the principal commerce, and engrossed much of the profit of the retail trade. The salary of these officers w r as small, and was defrayed by an inconsiderable tax on the mer- chandise that passed through the Custom-house. Another remarkable feature in the administration of Pombal was the promulgation of a decree, January 5th, 1757, authorising the nobility to purchase and hold shares in the Maranhao and Para Company, and declaring that, as the object of its establishment was to render the kingdom of Portugal flourishing, it was both just and proper that all persons, however high their rank, should be allowed to contribute to the well-being of the State. Had the nobility of Portugal acted to this day upon the principle of this wise measure, they would not now be suffering the evils of poverty, or the bitter recollections of former grandeur. But they have none to blame. Their own indolence, based on an indomitable pride, has plunged them into difficulties, from which they can only emerge by great self-denial, active administration of, and personal attend- ance to, their own affairs. For, however small the income, every Portuguese gentleman thinks it necessary to delegate the management of his property to a subordinate ; hence he is frequently ruined, and always plundered ; and, by such means, many of the finest estates in the country are actually in ruins, and their owners in poverty. Shortly after the formation of the Junta of Commerce, 169 the royal silk manufactory was re-established, and life was again given to this almost dormant branch of industry. To follow the chronological order of the most striking decrees of the Government at this period, I may remark that the condition of sacerdotal thraldom to which the disastrous reign of John V. had reduced the country was such, that it was absolutely necessary to issue a decree, asserting the king's prerogative to erect churches in his own dominions without ecclesiastical permission ! It is impossible to pass over without notice, and the expression of great admiration, the excellent and humane laws that were passed in 1757 and 1758 to civilise the Indians of South America. They deserve the highest praise, and reflect the greatest honour on the humanity and the wisdom of Pombal. They still continue a model for all future attempts at the civilisation of savage nations. The temporal administration assumed by the Jesuits of Para and Maranhao had been abolished by the decree of the 7th of June, 1755. This decree conferred the govern- ment of the several villages upon their respective chiefs. It was now, however, found necessary to amend the law, and to place the jurisdiction of each village in the hands of a director ', appointed by the governor or captain-general of the province. In this new decree, dated May 3rd, 1757, the most excellent regulations for the well-being of the colony are contained. The first proviso is, that the use of the Portuguese language among the natives is the first and surest means of civilising, gaining their affections, and securing their obedience. It was also enacted that in each village two schools should be established ; one for boys, who were to be instructed in the principles of the Christian religion, reading, writing, and arithmetic ; another for girls, who, in addition, were taught sewing, spinning, lace 170 making, and other arts suitable to their sex. It was expressly forbidden that they, the Indians, should call themselves, or be called, Negroes ; because it was held desirable that they should respect themselves, and feel that they were free men, which, to his honour be it said, Pombal had made them. They were also strictly pro- hibited from strolling about naked, as they were accus- tomed to do ; the effect, says Pombal in the decree, of barbarity, not of virtue. The cultivation of rice, beans, Indian corn, and cotton, was encouraged; and these indigenous products were enjoined to be exchanged for European manufactures ; thus wisely opening a source of commerce and wealth to the country, more appreciable than all the gold mines ever discovered. To such Indians as should raise the greatest quantity of tobacco, rewards and honours were offered ; and while the idle were declared to be the bane of society, encouragements to industry were liberally offered. The directors were ordered to furnish every year a schedule of the lands brought into cultivation (rocas) in their different districts, declaring the kinds and quantities of the plantations, with the names of the pro- prietors ; to the end, says the decree, that industry may be rewarded and idleness discountenanced. It is lastly declared in this very important document, that agriculture being the foundation on which commerce is based, commerce must decline when agriculture ceases to flourish. " When agriculture flourishes," says Pombal, u the most efficacious means of conducting a kingdom to prosperity is the introduction of manufactures and com- merce ; since they enrich and civilise the people, and con- sequently render the State powerful. Commerce essentially consists in the sale or exchange of produce, and in the reciprocal communication of nations; from the first result profit and riches, from the last we acquire humanity and 171 civilisation." . . . " The soul of commerce," he adds, " is in perfect freedom." In these latter observations the reader cannot fail to perceive how closely Pombal followed in the path of Sully, who considered that before manufactures could be esta- blished, or rather before they ought to be supported, agriculture must be in a flourishing condition. May the opinions of these two great men influence the present statesmen in Portugal, and induce them to alter their narrow policy in commercial matters.* But it was not to agriculture and commerce alone, to the civilisation of the Indians, or to the quiet and pros- perity of the country, that Pombal confined his attention. He found time to superintend the rebuilding and embellish- ment of the city; of which the numerous edifices now existing, and the innumerable decrees which provided for their construction, sufficiently testify. Until the year 1759, there was no institution in the city of Lisbon by means of which a native could obtain a commercial education, and the merchants were conse- quently compelled to send to Venice and Genoa for efficient clerks. Taking, then, the deficient condition of this branch of education into consideration, Pombal established by a decree on the 19th of May, 1759, the Aula do Commercio, for the instruction of pupils in every * This was written in 1841, when the author was in Portugal. He is sorry to be obliged to remark, that even now (in 1871) little improvement has taken place. Encouragement, by the im- position of heavy, in many cases prohibitive, duties, is given to almost every kind of industry except to agriculture. The inhabi- tants of Portugal must pay dearly for the purchase of the most inferior articles of home manufacture ; whilst, by the capital of the country being forced into unnatural channels by extraordinary pro- tection, the lands, oppressed by every kind of injustice, remain uncultivated, or badly so. 172 variety of commercial knowledge, and placed it under tlio surveillance of the Junta do Commercio. The fruits of this establishment were fully matured and apparent in 1775, when 200 pupils were publicly examined in the presence of the ministers and other public functionaries, and their proficiency in all branches of arithmetic and commercial matters, together with navigation and the sister sciences, did honour to themselves, to the institution, and its founder. Among other measures brought about at this period was a mercantile association known by the name of the Pernambuco and Paraiba Company ; while an impetus was given to industry at home by the restoration of the woollen manufactories in Beira, which had become almost extinct. I have already referred to the means of education afforded by Pombal to the native Indians in the South American colonies of Portugal. At home, his exertions deserve more lengthened notice ; for, perhaps, no minister of any age or country ever adopted more energetic measures towards the extension of a liberal education among all classes of his countrymen. He endeavoured by every means in his power to excite and cherish a love of science and learning in the country, in order that the weight and influence of the people might grow and increase in proportion with, but not faster, than the progress of their education. " The cultivation of literary pursuits," he says, " forms the basis of all sciences, and in their perfection consist the reputa- tion and prosperity of kingdoms." To carry out these principles, on the 28th of June, 1759, he promulgated a decree lamenting the low ebb to which the arts and sciences had fallen throughout the kingdom, attributing this to the faulty and pernicious system of in- struction adopted by the Jesuits, while they superintended 173 the business of public education. "For," says the decree, " the students, having been led thus for the space of eight or nine years, find themselves in the end bewildered in the mazes of grammar, and totally destitute of all true notions of the Greek and Latin lano;uao;es." To promote the study of the Latin, a professor of that language was appointed to give gratuitous instruction in every district in Lisbon ; and that every facility might be afforded for its acquisition, the grammar of Manoel Alvarez w r as expressly forbidden, " as one which contributes to render the acquirement of the Latin language difficult." The grammar and commentaries of Antonio Franco, those of Joao Nunes Freire and of Jose Soares, were also pro- hibited; while that of Madureira was distinctly condemned as (i more elaborate and more useless." Those which were directed to be used w r ere, Novo Metliodo da Grammatica Latina, by Antonio Pereira, and the Arte da Grammatica Latina, by Antonio Felix Mendez. In every town throughout the provinces, one or more professors were appointed for the same purpose, to which were added others for teaching Greek, rhetoric, logic, and other literary arts. And still further to prove his love for literature, and to show the exalted opinion he entertained of its influence upon mankind, and with the hope of elevating its professors both in their own estimation and in that of the people, Pombal determined that they should enjoy the various privileges attached to nobreza in Portu- gal ; and so it was accordingly decreed. In a despatch from the Portuguese Minister then resident at the Court of Vienna, which despatch is preserved in the Archives of the Legation, and dated November 3rd, 1759, w T e find the following flattering testimony to the widely- spread reputation of Pombal, and to the fame of his educa- tional reforms : — " The new method for the Latin and 174 Greek classes established in Portugal has been approved of here ; and the President of the Aulic Council has expressed his desire to see the same method applied in the empire." The effects of Pombal's enlightened system of education, adopted by the Austrian Government, were soon de- veloped ; for, from a subsequent despatch, we learn how fast the Jesuits were losing ground in the dominions of Maria Theresa. The Portuguese Minister writes to his Government in a letter dated April 1st, 1759, to the following effect : — " The Archbishop, being informed that the Jesuits taught in the colleges the doctrines of Ballum- bau and of his commentator (authors whom the crime of Ravaillac made notorious), prohibited them. This prelate curbs the Jesuits, and they regard him with fear, which is augmented by the knowledge they have of the respect with which their Majesties consider his virtues and his talents." And in the months of September and November following, the writer further adds : " It is made known that the University of Vienna is withdrawn from the hands of the Jesuits." And, " Their Majesties have written to the General of the Dominicans and of the Augustins, to send them two learned theologians capable of teaching the true doctrine, and of extirpating the doctrine that the Jesuits had been introducing into their Majesties' states — a doctrine pernicious not only to the consciences of their subjects, but to the lives of sovereigns." Finally, to de- prive them as much as possible of the education of the Austrian youth, the Theresianum, or school for the nobles, was taken from them, and placed under the direction of the Archbishop. I must not omit the mention of an event which happened about this time, 1759, as it reflected great honour on the firm and decided conduct of Pombal, and caused his name to be viewed with increased respect throughout Europe. 175 Admiral Boscawen, in the pursuit of a French squadron commanded by. Admiral de la Clue, came up to them off the port of Lagos on the Portuguese coast ; where, forget- ful of the law of nations, and the respect due to the privileges of a neutral Power, he proceeded to attach and capture them in sight of the Portuguese fortress. Upon this, Pombal forwarded such a remonstrance to the Court of St. James, that Lord Chatham immediately wrote to Mr. Hay, expressing his regret at this breach of the law of nations, and concluded his despatch by declaring, that "if the circumstances of the supposed grievance should come out to be of sufficient magnitude, such is the king's strong desire to give the most public and ostensible satisfaction to the King of Portugal, that his Majesty will not, I believe, even be averse to sending an extra- ordinary mission on this occasion." Lord Kinnoul was accordingly sent to Lisbon as ambas- sador ; and, shortly after his arrival, on the' 29th of March, 1760, was admitted to the royal presence, when he de- livered the following address : — "J'ai les ordres du Roi de la Grande Bretagne, men tres-auguste maitre, de declarer a votre Majeste Tres- Fidele que sa Majeste a trop a coeur les droits des Souve- rains, et particulierement les egards dus a l'honneur de la Couronne de Portugal, pour n' avoir pas appris avec grand regret, l'mcident imprevu et faeheux survenu pres de Lagos. " Ces sentimens de sa Majeste lui ont suffis (quelques doutes qu'il se pourrait faire) pour me charger de cette mission extraordinaire envers votre Majeste Tres-Fidele, enfin de desavouer au nom de sa Majeste tout ce qui, dans la chaleur de la poursnite, peut avoir donne la moindre atteinte aux immunites de la cote de Portugal, comme entierement contraire a. ses intentions royales, dont un des 176 objets les plus cheris a toujours ete, et sera, cle maintcnir inviolablement l'amitie la plus etroite entre sa couronne et celle cle Portugal. " C'est clans cette vue, Sire, et par les motifs d'une affec- tion distinguee, que le roi mon maltre s'est fait un plaisir de donner a V. M. T. F. ce temoignage eclatant cle la sincerite, et de l'etenclue de sa consideration pour votre personne royale, ainsi que de son attention particuliere pour le lustre cle votre couronne. " J'ai d'ailleurs, Sire, les ordres les plus precis d'assurer votre Majeste de la sensibilite la plus vive avec laquelle le roi mon maitre a ete touclie des evenemens arrives clans vos royaumes, qui n'ont heureusement servi qu' a cleployer de plus en plus aux yeux cle toute TEurope la magnanimite et la sagesse de votre Majeste. " La lettre que j'ai l'honneur de presenter a votre Majeste confirme ces sentimens du roi mon maitre, que je viens d'exposer par ses ordres plus au large a votre Majeste aussi bien que sa confiance entiere clans l'amitie reciproque de votre Majeste, dont l'experience lui a fourni tant cle preuves." At this period there were no settled rules or practice of precedence amongst ambassadors at foreign Courts. It was not until the Congress of Vienna that these points were definitively arranged. A question consequently arose at Lisbon between the ambassadors of England and France touching their rights, which were often contested even in the royal presence. On this occasion Pombal recom- mended "that the King of Portugal should send a de- claration to all the ambassadors, that the entrance to his room of audience gave no precedence, and that he would for the future receive ambassadors according to the time of their residence at this Court " — thus anticipating the decision of the Congress at Vienna. 177 The despatches of Mr. Hay and Lord Kinnoul afford us some knowledge of the passing events of the period. In one, dated June 3rd, 1758, we learn that Pombal had lately sent his son to Rome to be educated ; at which place he was to remain two years, and then proceed to Germany. Diego da Mendonca, the late Secretary of State for Marine Affairs, was brought to Lisbon in 1758 to be banished to Mazagan. In the month of March, 1760, Lord Kinnoul writes : — ■ " The Count d'Oeyras has been confined to his couch by a very ugly accident of a slip in getting into his coach, which tore the skin off both his shins ; but he is now in a way to be soon well." And in August following, this minister again wrote : — " The Count d'Oeyras has been for some days much indisposed with a violent defluxion in his eyes, to which he is subject, particularly at this time of the year." On the 10th of March, 1760, the Council of State was re-established ; and the Cardinal Patriarch, the Archbishop of Evora, Dom John de Braganca, the Marquis of Tancos, and the Count Baron d'Alvito, were appointed to com- pose it. I will allude to one act of Pombal's at this period, which were well if it were generally imitated at all the liberal Courts of Europe. It was the custom at the Hague to allow foreign ministers to bring with them on their arrival whatever they pleased ; but afterwards they had to pay duty on everything they imported. Pombal retaliated, and refused greater exemptions to the Dutch minister at Lisbon, than those enjoyed by the Portuguese minister at the Hague. Pombal himself, on a former occasion, exhibited in his own conduct an example of that liberality which he thus N 178 sought to extort from the Dutch Court. Oil taking leave of the Court of St. James's in 1745, he was presented with the amount usually received by ministers of his rank, of £300, which he nobly refused to accept. This disinterested- ness forms an era in diplomatic history, as Pombal was the first minister who resigned a perquisite so inconsistent with the dignity and independence of a royal representative. Among other reforms, the practice of immuring persons of either sex in convents, where they passed their days in idleness, if not in vice, and became' heavy burdens on the State, was not overlooked. The disgraceful scenes which had been acted in the convent of Odivellas, the theatre of Dom John V.'s debaucheries, and of which we have already made mention, furnished Pombal with sufficient reason for interfering with these establishments. He abolished one-half of the convents for females, and prohi- bited for the future all religious societies, whether male or female, from receiving any novices before they attained the age of twenty-five, and not even then without an express permission from the king. Such the conduct, and such are a few of the reforms effected by Pombal during the first ten years of his ministry ; and it was no over-strained compliment, but a just appreciation of his merits, that induced his country- men to inscribe under his portrait the following line from Horace : — "Bignuin laude viruni musa vetat mori." 179 CHAPTER XII. When Pombal assumed the administration of affairs, it is certain no branch of the service required more vigorous reforms than the army. Eight, or at most ten, thousand ill-disciplined troops were all the country could muster to preserve order or repel invasion ; while the state of the fortifications throughout the kingdom was such as to render them worse than useless. To what a miserable condition the feeble government of Dom John V. had brought the army, we learn from the following passage written by Baretti, in the year 1759, in his account of Portugal : — " I am told that the troops maintained in this kingdom amount to no more than eight thousand ; and if the private men are all like those I have seen at Extremoz and in Lisbon, there is nowhere in Europe an equal number that look so wretched. The greater part of them are absolutely in rags and patches ; and in Lisbon many of them asked my charity, not only in the streets, but even where they stood sentinels." It is possible to believe, however, that the condition of the army was exaggerated or misrepre- sented ; but, allowing the one or the other, it is undeniable that it was in a most deplorable state. To a certain extent the fortifications had been already repaired ; but the disastrous events that occurred in the early part of Joseph's reign prevented Pombal from direct- ing his attention to the organisation and discipline of an army. Deserving as are the Portuguese of the reputation of good soldiers, and distinguished as they have ever been, N 2 180 under active and enterprising leaders, for discipline and valour, it was not a difficult task to procure good soldiers, when efficient commanders were found. Pombal knew that, in their numerous engagements with the Spaniards, they had obtained the most splendid victories, under the most disadvantageous inferiority of force. He knew that they had achieved these victories from their love of inde- pendence, and a national feeling of confidence and supe- riority, which, even when imaginary, often supplies the place of numbers. He recollected that, at the famous battle of Aljubarrota, so early as the year 1385, ten thousand Portuguese routed forty thousand of the flower of Spain ; that ten thousand Spaniards were left dead upon the field, including three princes of the blood, and much of the chivalry of the kingdom; that in 1659 the Spanish general, Don Louis de Haro, left six thousand men dead on the field of Elvas, besides prisoners to a considerable amount; that in 1663, at the battles of Ameixal and Montes Claros, twelve thousand Spanish troops, then reputed the best infantry in the world, w r ere destroyed or captured ; and again, that at the battle of Villa Vicosa, in the following year, ten thousand Spanish troops were slain, and four thousand taken prisoners ; and he saw no reason why armies as efficient as these might not again be organised, disciplined, and brought into the field. Nor was he long before he had accomplished his object. Had he been endowed with a prophetic spirit, it would have told him how gallantly his countrymen would fight and conquer in the Peninsular campaigns, when war would cease to be a combat for glory, but would become a struggle for life, and all that makes life valuable — homes, wives, children, liberty, and independence. For in that sanguinary war the Portuguese acquitted themselves as became the soldiers of an ancient and honourable nation, and performed acts of 181 valour and intrepidity, deserving of a more distinguished notice than the partiality and prejudice of English his- torians have been pleased to award them. It was well, then, that Pombal had begun to take active measures for the formation and disciplining of an army ; for events soon proved that Portugal required all the valour of her sons, and the energies of her governors. This will be understood by what follows. For nearly a century previous to Pombal's administration, Spain and Portugal had been engaged in continual quarrels respecting the Colonia do Sacramento, or Nova Colonia, situate on the north bank of the Rio de la Plata. This river had always been understood and acknowledged as the southern boundary of the Portuguese possessions in Brazil. A' proof of this, among others, was the fact that in 1680 the Spanish governor of Buenos Ayres having taken pos- session of the Colonia do Sacramento, Charles II., then King of Spain, ordered its immediate restitution to the Crown of Portugal, with ample compensation for the damages that the colonists had sustained; while the governor was punished for his conduct in disturbing the existing harmony of the two countries.* * In the excellent compilation of Viscount Santarem, lately pub- lished, and entitled " Quadro Elemental-," &c, the following account is given of the satisfaction offered: — " 1680. In this year, information having reached Portugal of the attack made by the Governor of Buenos Ayres on the Colonia do Sacramento, the Regent used vigorous measures to oblige the Spanish Government to make amends for the indiscretion of their subordinate. The Portuguese Ambassador at Madrid was ordered to leave that city, with an intimation that, if satisfaction was not given within twenty days, war would be considered as declared. The result obtained by this energetic conduct was, that the Court of Madrid sent an ambassador to give the Kegent of Portugal all the satisfaction he might insist upon." 182 Also, by the 6th Article of the Treaty of Utrecht signed in 1715, it is expressly declared that Spain renounces all right and title to the northern bank of the Rio de la Plata, and that the said territory belongs to the King of Portugal, his heirs and successors. By this and other treaties, the fulfilment of which was, moreover, guaranteed by England, the above possession was firmly secured to Portugal. Con- stant altercations and disputes nevertheless continued be- tween the two countries. Again, the Treaty of Exchange was made between Portugal and Spain in 1750, and was intended definitely to determine this long-disputed boundary question. But there still remained a contest respecting a large extent of territory reaching from the Rio Pardo to the establishments of the Jesuits in Paraguay. Finally, a treaty signed February the 12th, 1761, between the two countries professed to decide the whole matter, and to cancel all previous treaties. While affairs were in this state, and the points of dispute seemed to be determined, the Duke de Choiseul planned and cemented the celebrated Family Compact between France and Spain. Charles III. was then King of Spain, and Choiseul succeeded in persuading him that the most advantageous and certain mode of weakening England would be by attacking Portugal. Voltaire with some reason calls this manoeuvre the greatest political stroke that modern history records. But, he adds, it was un- successful. "Les Anglais ont resiste a PEspagne, et ont sauve le Portugal." But the members of the Family Compact had something more in view than merely diverting the forces of Great Britain. Spain desired once more to unite Portugal to her dominions, and France was eager to seize her valuable colonies. But Pombal was accurately informed of all their designs long ere they were declared ; and, upon that know- 183 ledge, urgently solicited assistance from England, as the most ancient ally of Portugal.* So early as the 23rd of May, 1760, M. de Mello, Portu- guese Minister at London, by the directions of Pombal, had called upon the British Government for assistance, if neces- sary, against the French, whose intrigues and intentions were at the same time fully communicated. We learn Pombal's sentiments on this subject from a despatch written by Lord Kinnoul, and dated April 16th, 1760: — " The Count d'Oeyras told me that indeed France cannot, in their present situation, do us any great prejudice. Their marine destroyed ; their commerce ruined ; their popula- tion diminished ; their agriculture neglected ; their finances so exhausted, that they do not know how to find the means of supplying the necessary expenses of the war ; their people at the same time loaded with impositions ; their ministers ignorant of the true interests of their country; and their councils not guided by the rules of sound policy."..." Indeed he (Pombal) knew that twenty years ago a plan had been formed at Paris and sent to Madrid, to invite Spain into an offensive war against Portugal, and to propose the partition of the dominions of his Most Faithful Majesty, by which the kingdom of Portugal and the islands were to be annexed to the Crown * It will be recollected, that it was at the latter end of the year 1761, when Lord Chatham retired from the ministry, since, as he himself expressed it, he was no longer allowed to guide. Suspecting the plans of France and Spain, he had proposed to declare war against Spain before the Bourbons were prepared, and the Spanish treasure was arrived from America. Lord Temple was the only member of the Cabinet who supported him. Three months after Lord Chatham's resignation, war iccis declared by his successors in the ministry. In the voluminous negotiations between England and Portugal at this period, the correctness of Lord Chatham's views is fully confirmed. 184 of Spain, and France was to have the Brazils. That he thought that the Ministers of the Court of Spain must be very short-sighted if they ever gave in to such a proposal ; that they must not suppose that all the rest of Europe would sit still with their arms across, and be willing to receive the law from France ; that if France was in posses- sion of the Brazils, and the other colonies belonging to the Crown of Portugal, they would soon be too powerful for the rest of Europe, and Spain itself would feel the effects of that power."..." The Count d'Oeyras attributed the part which France seemed determined to act towards this Court, chiefly to their favourite view of distressing the trade of Great Britain." In the meanwhile, with a duplicity which cannot be sufficiently reprobated, the King of Spain wrote to Dom Joseph, declaring that he had no views on the Crown of Portugal, but required his Most Faithful Majesty to close his ports to the English ; and that, if the forces of his Most Faithful Majesty were not sufficient to support that purpose, he would assist him with his own army. It is needless to add, that both Dom Joseph and his minister were indignant at this disgraceful proceeding and insulting proposition. A despatch from Mr. Hay, dated February 9th, 1762, thus eulogises the conduct of Dom Joseph and his minis- ter on this trying occasion : — "I must do the Count the justice to say, that amidst the reflections that must naturally occur upon the prospect of so great a calamity as that which is expected to happen, I have always found him perfectly cool and calm, steady to his principles, and clear in his expressions, and the system he has laid down — which confirms me in my opinion of the superior talents of this minister ; but which would be all lost if they were not supported by his royal master, whose 185 fortitude and magnanimity cannot be sufficiently admired. He has displayed these virtues upon other occasions, but never in so conspicuous a light as at this time, when, without cause or provocation on his part, and even after the warmest expressions of affection and assurances of friendship from his brother-in-law (the Spanish king), he sees himself, his family, and his subjects on the eve ot being a sacrifice to the wicked machinations of French councils, and his kingdom perfidiously invaded by his nearest relations. Self-preservation is a natural principle in time of danger ; and the situation of this country, after so many great calamities, might very naturally have sug- gested contrary measures. But this great and good monarch goes upon a nobler plan — a just resentment of so perfidious a conduct ; and the noble resolution of standing forth, together with the ancient ally of this Crown, in defence of the liberties of Europe." Shortly after, Lord Tyrawley arrived at Lisbon. On the 16th of March, 1762, the Courts of Versailles and Madrid sent notices to that of Lisbon, demanding in the space of four days a positive answer whether or not it was the intention of Portugal to renounce the English alliance. To these peremptory notes Pombal replied, within the period specified, " that his Most Faithful Majesty ardently desired, in consideration of his neutrality with the three Crowns, to offer his mediation in order to renew the con- ferences that had been recently interrupted, and to spare the effusion of more blood ; that he could not, in the face of so many treaties, declare himself against his ancient ally; and that he would not expose his people to the horrors of war, a state which so many recent misfortunes had put it out of their power to carry on." After some other ineffectual attempts on the part of the French and Spanish Ambassadors, they abruptly 1SG quitted Lisbon, towards the end of April, without taking leave. During this period Pombal was not inactive in preparing the means of defence. The Count d'Unhao was appointed governor of Elvas. The Marquis of Lourical took the government of the Algarves. Dom Joao de Lencastre received the command of the province of Minho ; and Jose Felix da Cunha that of Beira. Dom Kodrigo de Noronhn, brother to the Marquis of Marialva, and who enjoyed the highest military reputation in Portugal, was created a lieutenant-general and recalled to Lisbon. Recruits poured in from the provinces, and stores arrived from England. On this occasion Pombal said, " If the Spaniards take umbrage at these military preparations, it will only be a stronger proof of their evil intentions ; for a neighbour that is affronted because I shut my door, may fairly be suspected of an intention to rob me." On the 5th of May, although war was not yet actually declared by either of the parties, the Spaniards, under the Marquis of Sarria, entered the Portuguese territory, and marched into the province of Tras-os-Montes ; and in a few days took possession successively of Miranda, Bra- ganca, Chaves, and Moncorvo. The Marquis then pub- lished a Manifesto, to the effect " that his sole motive in entering Portugal was to deliver the kingdom from the English yoke ; that he and his troops came as friends ; but that in case of resistance he should employ against the Portuguese themselves the forces that were intended against the English." Such shallow pretences to conceal perfidy and ambition filled the whole nation with indigna- tion. Pombal now saw that hostilities were inevitable, and, notwithstanding the almost defenceless condition of the country, boldly declared war against the two countries, and ordered all correspondence between them and Portugal 187 to cease. French and Spanish subjects were directed to leave the Portuguese territories in fifteen days, and notice was given to all the subjects of his Most Faithful Majesty to return home without delay. The Courts of Versailles and Madrid replied to the declaration of war by asserting their right to make war on Portugal, because she preferred the English alliance to that of France and Spain ! The sentiments of Dom Joseph on this occasion are worthy of record. He said, " It would affect him less, though reduced to the last extremity, to let the last tile of his palace fall, and to see his faithful subjects spill the last drop of their blood, than to sacrifice, together with the honour of his crown, all that Portugal holds most dear ; and to become a fatal example to all pacific Powers, by submitting to be deprived of the benefit of neutrality, whenever a war should be kindled between Powers with either of which his country was allied by friendly treaties." Lord Tyrawley gave a pitiful account of the state of warlike preparations which he found on his arrival ; but he confesses that tl the Conde d'Oeyras seems to facilitate everything as I could wish." And in another letter com- ments on the calm resolution of Pombal in the following: words : — u The Conde d'Oeyras seems quite easy under the distresses of his country." It appears that the Spaniards had 40,000 men between Zamora, Salamanca, and Ciudad Rodrigo. At the siege of Miranda, on the 7th of May, 1762, a powder magazine blew up, which unfortunately killed several hundred men, and made two breaches in the walls. The governor surrendered the next day. Braganca and Chaves were open cities, having no de- fences but old ruined walls. The fortifications of Valenca, however, were completely repaired, and the enemy met 188 with checks in two places — in the passage of the mountains of Monte Alegre, between Chaves and Oporto ; and in the attempt to pass the Douro near Torre de Moncorvo. Pombal thus informs Mr. Hay of the first of these checks : — i( Vous trouverez ci-jointe la substance des in- formations que nous venons de recevoir des provinces de Tras-os-Montes, Minho, et Beira. De la premiere des dites provinces, on a ete ici fort mal informe par M. le commandant age de quatre vingt ans passes. Si on le laissait faire, il marcherait devant les ennemis jusqu'a Jerusalem. Mais Messieurs de Lencastre et d'Almada, l'ont fait suspendre sur les pas des montagnes de Monte Alegre," &c. Never, it may be said, was Portugal in a worse condi- tion for carrying on a war. But difficulties vanished before the mighty mind of the great minister. With incredible celerity 36,000 foot, and 6000 horse, besides the militia, were raised, and properly accoutred, to which 5000 were added to form the artillery. England, not unmindful of her ancient ally, sent 10,000 men ; and at the same time despatched the celebrated Count de la Lippe* to take com- mand of the united forces of the two countries ; while to the Prince Charles of Mecklenbourg-Strelitz was confided the direction of the artillery. The Count de la Lippe arrived at Lisbon on the 3rd of July, 1762. A week after, he writes to the British Government : — " I have employed every day since my arrival to get information of the real state of the military preparations they are now making in this country. I found most things surpass, by much, my expectations, and particularly the manufacture of muskets. There is powder, * La Lippe was born in England, and served in the Guards when young. His name is respected in Germany as the early patron of Herder and Abt. 189 cannon, bullets, and founderies. These things only want order. There are also pretty good workmen." The praise is, however, a little qualified in a subsequent despatch, two months later, written from the provinces: — ■ " Since my arrival at this army, I found things greatly different from what I expected when at Lisbon, where military preparations, on account of being almost under Count d'Oeyras' eye, go on with more vigour, zeal, and activity." An army animated with patriotism, and incensed against the perfidy of the Spaniards, could not be long ingloriously engaged. On every side the Spaniards w r ere w T orsted, and in a short time, such was the vigour with which the operations were conducted, they were driven before the victorious allies, and compelled to evacuate the Portuguese territories. The particulars of this war can have no place here. A treaty of peace was at length concluded at Fontainebleau in 1763 ; by the 21st Article of which it is declared, "that the French and Spanish troops will evacuate all the terri- tories, fields, cities, forts, and castles of his Most Faithful Majesty, situated in Europe, that may have been con- quered by the armies of France and Spain, without any reserve; and will restore them in the same condition in w r hich they were when the conquest was made, and with the same artillery and military stores that were found in them. And with respect to the Portuguese colonies in America, Africa, and the East Indies, if any change has occurred, everything will be replaced in the same state in which they were, and in conformity with preceding treaties which subsist between the Courts of Spain, France, and Portugal before the present war." Though the English troops were withdrawn, their general did not accompany them. He remained in Portugal for 190 some time after, assisting Pombal in disciplining the troops, and putting the fortresses of the kingdom in a state of defence. Elvas was strengthened by the addition of a fort which still bears the name of La Lippe ; probably the only memorial in Portugal to remind that nation of the im- portant services rendered by that successful commander. Dom Joseph, affected by the friendship of George III., wrote to thank him for having sent to Portugal so valuable a man. That La Lippe was deserving of the highest honours and rewards the Portuguese nation could bestow, all were aware. But the noble general was not mercenary. He refused all pecuniary recompense, contenting himself with the glory he had obtained, and the possession of a nation's gratitude. He was a strict disciplinarian, an indefatigable commander, and an enterprising officer. He was exceedingly jealous of the reputation of a soldier; and it is said that he insisted that no officer should refuse to fight a duel on pretence of scruples of conscience, under penalty of dismissal from the service. Before La Lippe's departure, Mr. Hay informs us : — " The affairs of the army have been put under an entirely new regulation, concerted between the Count de la Lippe and the Count d'Oeyras. The regiments of two battalions have most of them been reduced to one, and the establish- ment proposed to be kept up is thirty regiments of infantry — some twelve, some fourteen companies, of sixty men each — which will amount to about four-and-twenty thousand foot. The cavalry will be about six thousand men." In the same despatch, dated June 22nd, 1763, the of- fences of the two Swiss colonels are alluded to : — " During the campaign last year, two battalions of Swiss were raised. The command of the one was given to M. Thorman, and the other to M. de Saussure, both of them Swiss 191 officers who had served with reputation in other countries. But the conduct of these gentlemen has not answered the expectation of the Court. M. Thorman, after having com- mitted many irregularities, has thought proper to leave the country. He has since been tried by a court-martial, and sentenced to be hangeck in effigy. M. de Saussure, who is under confinement in the Castle of St. Julian, has also been tried. The principal accusation against him is that of false musters. The sentence of the court-martial declares him incapable of serving his Most Faithful Majesty, and to continue a prisoner until he has refunded the sum of which he has defrauded the government." As every act of the government during Pombal's ad- ministration was so misrepresented by the Jesuits and his other enemies, this, and similar plain accounts of the passing occurrences, will serve instead of a lengthened vindication. It may be curious to learn the nature of the presents that La Lippe received on his departure :— " His Highness the reigning Count de Schaumbourg Lippe has taken leave of the Court, and will embark to-morrow (Sept. 20th, 1764). The presents his Highness has received are six small pieces of cannon of massive gold, of very curious workmanship, with his Highness's coat-of-arms upon each, upon carriages of Brazil wood bound with silver plate, and the wheels of silver ; a diamond star for his Order of the Black Eagle, his Most Faithful Majesty's picture set in diamonds, and a set of diamond buckles." When we consider that Pombal was the contriver or director of every reform and negotiation at this period carrying on, whether in the Home, Foreign, or Colonial Departments, we cannot withhold our amazement at his still finding time and energies to devote to the superinten- dence of the army; for, as the concluding part of Mr. 192 Hay's despatch informs us, he added the duties of com- mander-in-chief to his other responsibilities : — " His Most Faithful Majesty takes the military affairs under his imme- diate care, and of which the Count d'Oeyras -will have the principal direction." Peace having been thus restored, Pombal turned his attention to the navy, which was in a more deplorable condition than the army before its re-organisation, for it was reduced to two ships ! and such was its weakness, that the Algerine corsairs were accustomed to make descents on the coast, and plunder the inhabitants. They also attacked the merchant vessels, so that they were compelled to remain in port until a convoy could be spared to protect them. Under these circumstances, Pombal set more than three hundred English shipwrights to work in the dockyard and arsenal at Lisbon ; and such was the steadiness and celerity with which they laboured, that in a few years the Portu- guese navy was augmented to ten ships of the line, and a proportionate number of frigates. And that the colonies might be as well protected as the mother country, he despatched vessels, with engineers, workmen, and materials, to Mozambique and Brazil, to build forts in those countries. Spain was uneasy at the continuation of these warlike preparations after peace had been concluded, and anxiously inquired to what end they tended. Pombal replied, that his preparations were only what everyone had a right to make, namely, to be prepared against sudden attacks of his enemies. But the Spanish Government was not satisfied with the sincerity of this answer until a Portuguese minister arrived at Madrid, and La Lippe took his departure for England. Before the latter left Portugal, he addressed letters to the colonels of the different regi- ments, enforcing in the strongest terms the necessity of 193 preserving that military discipline which he had intro- duced. He further proved the esteem in which he held the genius ofPombal, by recommending them in all future emergencies to seek the advice and assistance of that distinguished statesman. 194 CHAPTER XIII. Under a weak or unsettled government, there are no abuses more difficult to reform than those connected with finance and the collection of the revenue. The great Duke of Sully encountered more opposition on the subject of his fiscal measures, than on all his other memorable reforms. When the administration of a country is loose and vicious, the people are robbed and impoverished. A few individuals enrich themselves, but the treasury of the Executive is always empty. Pombal had seen, and soon removed, these abuses, notwithstanding that he had to grapple with a multitude of tax-gatherers, and an infinite number of other persons directly interested in perpetuating the evil system of collecting and misappropriating the taxes. I have already touched upon this subject in a former chapter : and Pombal now completed his reforms by many extensive and important alterations, which reduced the expense of col- lecting the revenue to one and a half per cent, on the gross amount. A wonderful diminution ! The taxes were also more equally proportioned to the means of the various classes, and the payment of them firmly enforced ; while no opportunity was allowed the collectors to connive at the nonpayment of their friends, or to exact an unjust propor- tion from their enemies. At the present moment, the embarrassed condition of the exchequer of Portugal is entirely owing to a vicious and partial mode of col- lecting the public revenue. I do not hesitate to affirm 195 that one-third of the taxes collected never enter the national treasury.* This state of things forcibly reminds us of the worst period of confusion in France. Sully writes, when he undertook the reform of the finance department : — " I saw with horror, but it augmented my zeal, that for the thirty millions which the king received, no less than a hundred and fifty were taken from the pockets of the people. After that I was no longer surprised from whence proceeded the misery of the nation." By the year 1761, Pombal had so far matured his plans, that he was enabled to place the Koyal Treasury under the most excellent regulations, while he introduced the strictest order and economy in the expenditure of the public money. Many useless appointments and many sinecure offices were abolished, or merged into this one establish- ment. The greatest simplicity was observed in the taking and granting receipts ; and every cruzado received or ex- pended was entered in a book, in the same manner as the items in the ledgers of a merchant or a banker. These books were carefully examined by the king and his minis- ter, who took care that the taxes were scrupulously col- lected, and no arrears permitted. A balance-sheet was weekly presented by Pombal to his sovereign, from which a general view of the state of the public finances was obtained ; and Dom Joseph retired to rest, with the satis- faction of being at all times acquainted with the precise condition of his treasury. I have already referred to the economical reforms which took place in the expenses of the royal establishment. They are thus described by Mr. Hay : — u Great abuses * These remarks were made while other ministers than the present ruled the destinies of Portugal ; and, indeed, while another constitution was the law of the land. O 2 19G having crept into the king's household, and particularly the kitchens, it has been thought proper to make a new regula- tion. The number of people employed in the kitchens, which amounted to upwards of four-score, have been re- duced to twenty ; and the several tables belonging to the household, which for want of care were suffered to extend to an enormous extent, are now upon a new establishment. From what the Count d'Oeyras told me, the devastations in that department, from the roguery of the cooks and under-servants of the palace, appear almost incredible. And I am fully persuaded, that if the new regulation be adhered to, the difference will more than pay all the household, especially upon their very moderate salaries." " Formerly," continues the same writer, " the several branches of the revenue were collected by the treasurer of each branch, who, after paying the salaries and consigna- tions belonging to his department, was accountable to the Crown for the surplus. But a decree was passed in the year 1761, ordering the receivers of the several branches of the revenue to pay the whole income into the treasury, and fixing a method for the payment of salaries and other expenses of government. Since this new plan, the king's revenues are received entire in the exchequer." The revenue from duties and taxes was estimated at this period at between three and three and a half millions sterling, while the population of Portugal, of course inde- pendent of her colonies, is said to have been between two and a half and three millions. Thus, by a series of reforms similar to those employed by Henry IV. and the great Sully, the Public Treasury was enriched, and the people relieved of a heavy burden of taxation. Had Dom Joseph been a warrior and a con- queror like Henry, he might have rivalled that monarch in 197 greatness and renown, as Pombal does Sully in legislation and finance. Before we conclude this short chapter, it may not be amiss to insert in this place a few of the popular anecdotes respecting Pombal, since they refer to no particular period of our history. One of these is very current in Portugal, and is highly illustrative of the mildness of Pombal's temper. On one occasion a priest presented himself before him, complaining of the great injustice that had been inflicted upon him, and, during the interview, allowed many expressions to escape his lips injurious to the government and insulting to the minister. Pombal heard him to the end, and then calmly replied, that the affair was not exactly in his department, but belonged more properly to that of his brother, to whom, he added, he would immediately intro- duce him. " And," before opening the door of the next apartment, he said, " if he allows you to tell him one half of what you have just told me, I will grant your petition." The door remained ajar. Not many minutes had elapsed before an angry voice was heard, and the impertinent suitor was turned out of the room. On another occasion, a small group was collected in the Rocio, where an individual was declaiming angrily against some injustice that had been done him by some persons in office. A spy approached, who, wishing to deserve the wages of his disgraceful employment, joined the group, in the hope of hearing something that might excite the anger of the government, and elicit approbation and reward for himself. Trusting to his incognito, he at last ventured to turn the conversation so as to suit his purpose, and began with sundry severe reflections upon the king and the minister. The first speaker, whose loyalty had never for a moment wavered, transferred his anger to the supposed 198 defamer of his sovereign, and ended by bestowing on him a hearty beating. The poor spy sneaked off, and laying the case before Pombal, complained woefully of the thump- ing he had received. " Ah, my friend," replied the minis- ter, "it is but part of the wages of your profession." (" Meu amigo, estes sao os ossos do officio.") It was a saying of Pombal's, that lie feared but two things — children and fools. It is perhaps not generally known, even in Portugal, that Pombal was the first person who introduced the use of forks into that country. This simple instrument of daily convenience the minister brought with him from England, on his return from the Court of St. James's, in 1745. 199 CHAPTER XIV. We must now return to the Jesuit impostor Malagrida, who had been deeply implicated in the conspiracy against the king, not only by his counsels as confessor to the Tavora family, but by the pretended prophecies which he promulgated respecting that event. The Inquisition had in the first instance demanded his person from the civil authorities, in order that, as an eccle- siastic, he might be brought to trial before the Inquisitors for the circulation of his blasphemous publications. He was subsequently re-delivered to the secular power, after the following sentence had been recorded against him : — " That Father Gabriel Malagrida was attainted and con- victed of the crime of heresy, in having affirmed, taught, written, and defended propositions and doctrines opposed to the true dogmas, and to the doctrine proposed and taught by the Holy Church; and that having been, and being still, a heretic, an enemy to the Catholic faith, he has incurred in virtue of the present sentence the greater excommunication, and the other penalties established by law against similar criminals ; they therefore ordain that, as a heretic and author of new heresies, convicted of falsehood and hypocrisy, and confessing, reiterating, and obstinately professing the same errors, he be actually deposed and degraded from his orders, according to the rules and forms of the holy canons, and delivered up, with the gag, the cap of infamy, and the label of arch-heretic, 200 to secular justice, praying earnestly that the said criminal may be treated with kindness and indulgence, without pronouncing against him sentence of death or effusion of blood." The usual recommendation for mercy would no doubt have been attended to, had Malagrida's guilt reached no farther than the publication of his foolish blasphemies ; but his other crimes were of a nature which it was im- possible to pardon, without that pardon being construed by his party into a proof of his innocence. The court, therefore, taking his numerous offences into consideration, and feeling the necessity of making such an example of an ecclesiastic as should deter others from following in the same path, passed sentence, on the 20th of September, 1761, that he should be delivered to the executioner, and conducted with a rope round his neck through the prin- cipal streets of Lisbon to the Praca do Rocio, to be there strangled u till death do ensue," and that his corpse should be afterwards thrown into the flames and reduced to ashes, that nothing might remain of him. The political intrigues in which this artful and designing man had been engaged, the estimation in which he was held by many bigoted and superstitious individuals, and the influence he had acquired as confessor to so many noble families, rendered him a dangerous enemy to the State. Nor would he have escaped the punishment due to his crimes, even had his heretical offences been overlooked. An observation made by Pombal to Mr. Hay, at the time of the execution of Malagrida, affords a remarkable example of the horror in which heresy was held in those days, when even the crime of high treason was viewed in a secondary light : — " The Count d'Oeyras has since told me that if Malagrida had not suffered for heresy, he would have undergone another trial for high treason." 20L Probably the ends of justice would have been as well obtained by his confinement in a madhouse, as with his exit on the scaffold ; for, even during his examination before that tremendous tribunal, the Inquisition, he persisted to the last in maintaining the truth of all the prophecies he had formerly asserted. He would not deny any of the miracles he was alleged to have performed, the visions he had seen, or the supernatural revelations with which he had been favoured. He was, in fact, an enthusiast of the worst description. Imbued with melancholy and with vin- dictive feelings, a torment to himself and a scourge to the country, his monomania (for he was only mad on one sub- ject) led him to the publication of several works of a wild and incoherent character ; one in Latin, called A Treatise on the Life and Empire of the Antichrist ; another in Por- tuguese, entitled Heroic and ivonderful Life of the glorious St. Anne, Mother of the Holy Virgin Mary, dictated by this Saint, assisted by and with the Approbation and Help of this most august Sovereign, and of her most holy Son. Having dwelt on the character and crimes of Malagrida, it may be not uninteresting to notice a few of the phan- tasies expressed in this work : — "That St. Anne had been sanctified in her mothers womb, in the same manner that the Holy Virgin had been sanctified in that of St. Anne. " That the privilege of being sanctified in the womb of her mother was granted only to St. Anne, and to Mary her daughter. " That St. Anne, in the womb of her mother, heard, knew, loved, and served God, like all the saints elevated to glory. tc That St. Anne, in the womb of her mother, did shed tears, and excited tears of compassion in the cherubim and seraphim who were in her company. 202 u That St. Anne, while yet in her mother's womb, made her vows ; and, in order that neither of the Divine Powers should have cause of jealousy by the appearance of more affection towards one than towards another, she had made her vow of poverty to the Eternal Father, her vow of obedience to the Eternal Son, her vow of chastity to the Eternal Holy Ghost, &c. "That he (Malagrida) had heard the Father Eternal speak with a clear and distinct voice ; as also the Son and the Holy Ghost. " That the family of St. Anne, besides the masters and some other persons, consisted of twenty slaves — twelve men and eio;ht women. " That St. James followed the trade of stone-hewer or mason, and that he lived in Jerusalem with St. Anne ; that she was the strong woman of whom Solomon had spoken, but that this king had made a mistake, si ace it was from among his own people, and of his own blood, that this blessed woman was to be born. " That St. Anne had built a sanctuary at Jerusalem for fifty-three devout girls ; that to complete the buildings, angels had disguised themselves as carpenters ; and that, for the support of these girls, one of them, named Martha, bought fish, and sold it again with profit through the city ; that some of these devout girls of St. Anne had married solely to obey God, who had decreed from all eternity that these blessed girls, brought up under the inspection of St. Anne, should become mothers of saints, male and female, and of several apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ ; that one of them had married Nicodemus ; that another had married St. Matthew ; another, Joseph of Arimathea ; and that from the marriage of another, St. Lin, the suecessor of St. Peter, was born. a That the Holy Virgin, in the womb of her mother, 203 had spoken these words : — * Comfort yon, my well-beloved mother, for yon have found grace before the Lord ; here yon shall conceive, and you shall bring forth a daughter, whom you shall call Mary. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon her, and shall cover her with His shadow. He will conceive in her, and by her, the Son of the Most High, who shall save His people.' " Malagricla affirmed that the Virgin had made this re- velation to him, and that she had added thereto, " that rejoicings were made in Paradise during eight days for this event and these miraculous words. Moreover, that God had told him not to hesitate at raising the grandeur of the Virgin Mary above all bounds — usque ad excessum ct ultra ; that thus he was not to fear to appropriate to her, and to make her participate in, the attributes of God Him- self, of immensity, infinity, eternity, and omnipotence. " That the sacred body of Jesus had been formed from a drop of blood from the heart of the Holy Virgin ; that it had grown by degrees, by virtue of the nourishment taken by her mother, till such time as it was perfectly organised, and capable of receiving the soul which had been united to it ; but that the Divinity and the Person of the Word had already united themselves to this last drop of blood, at the very instant that it left the heart of the Holy Virgin to enter her most pure womb; that the three Divine Persons had had many deliberations and consulta- tions together ; that there had been many propositions and many opinions on the title and rank which should be given to St. Anne ; and that at last they had taken the resolution to give her a superiority over all the angels and all the saints ; that the holy city, described by the evangelist and well-beloved disciple, when he said, ' I saw the new holy Jerusalem descending from heaven, like a spouse decked out to receive her bridegroom/ should be looked 204 upon as a vile and infectious dunghill compared with the soul of St. Anne." With these and similar absurdities the two books of Malagricla abound ; and it would be both useless and unin- teresting to repeat more of them, unless we except his prophecy, that the last Antichrist (he says there are to be three) will be born at Milan of a monk and a nun in the year 1920 ; and that he will take for his wife Proserpine, one of the infernal Furies. Notwithstanding the blasphemies and hallucinations of this man, there w^ere not a few who considered him a mar- tyred saint ; and it was even gravely asserted that his body was found afterwards unconsumed and unscathed. A Jesuit, one Father Gallini, travelling in Italy soon after this period, lost two boxes. The promise of a hundred sequins to the finder, and the anxiety the loser expressed, were the cause of their being found and sent to the Father Inquisitor of Bologna, who opened them, and discovered therein a quantity of engravings representing Gabriel Malagrida, with the motto, " Tyranico peremptus martyrio." With these were found many copies of a recently printed wor k — "The Apology of Father Berouyes," a work of which the Pope had expressly forbidden the circulation ; a proof how little respect the Jesuits, at that time, paid to his Iloliness's commands. The following extract from a despatch of the Portuguese Minister at Vienna, dated November 29th, 1761, shows that the execution of this notorious impostor created a very considerable sensation beyond the limits of the Por- tuguese dominions : — " Having received in the College of Jesuits at Bologna the news of the execution of the impostor Malagrida, such a fierce dispute arose between the Portuguese and the Italian Jesuits, that it ended by their coming to blows. 205 This malignant society has embraced the policy of pre- venting families whom they confess, from allying them- selves by marriage with others whom they cannot succeed in governing. At this moment they have contrived to prevent a marriage, on this account, between persons of the highest consideration at Vienna.' ' Many false reports were spread throughout Europe on the occasion of Malagrida's execution, especially respecting the religious creed of Dom Joseph. On this subject Mr. Hay wrote to his government as follows : — " I see a report is spread and published in all the foreign gazettes, that a general synod of ecclesiastics was to be held in Portugal. I asked the Count d'Oeyras about it, who told me in con- fidence that such a proposal had been made to him, but as it could serve no purpose but to cause a fermentation among the clergy, and his Most Faithful Majesty having no manner of intention to alter any point of religion, it had been rejected." The following are some of the occurrences of this period : — In 1761, the Marquis of Fronteira, one of the lords of the bedchamber to the queen, having incurred the displeasure of the king, was ordered to retire to Gouvea, in the province of Beira. In the following year, Dom Eodrigo de Noronha, general of the Portu- guese infantry, was sent prisoner to the Castle of Peniche. The second daughter of Pombal was contracted in mar- riage to Dom Christovao de Vilhena, a nephew of Dom Luiz da Cunha. In the month of March, 17G4, Pombal was very seriously ill at Salvaterra, and in the course of the year was again confined from the effects of a blow, which brought a con- siderable quantity of humour into one of his legs. In the May following the Custom-house was burnt down, with a loss of £000,000. S06 PombaTs eldest son Henry was married in August, 1764, to Donna Maria Antonia de Menezes. In December of this year, six judges of the Court of Relacao at Lisbon, and ten at Oporto, were dismissed from their office for various malpractices of which they were guilty. On the 22nd of the same month Mr. Hay writes : — tl There was a public execution of several criminals who were brought out some time ago from Cabo Yerde, and were tried before the Regedor, or Lord Chief Justice, in the Court of Relacao, for the murder of John Vieira d'Andrade, the judge of those islands, the 13th of De- cember, 1762. The principal person concerned in this cruel murder was Antonio de Barros Bezerra d'Oliveira, a colonel in the army, who before had made attempts to poison the judge ; but this not taking effect, he, with several others, broke open his doors at night, and murdered and robbed him. His sentence was that he should be dragged through the city at a horse's tail to the gallows, and there be hanged. Nine others were hanged the same day. One died in prison. The heads of all these criminals are to be sent to the island, and exposed in the town of Villa da Praia. Seven others were sentenced to be whipped through the streets, others to be transported, and one pardoned. Part of the sentence being the confiscation ot effects, his Most Faithful Majesty has been graciously pleased to grant the same to the widow and children of the deceased judge." 20? CHAPTER XV. All intelligent Portuguese admit that the acquisition of the South American colonies, and the discovery of the gold mines, as previously remarked, proved the ruin of their country. For the incredible quantities of gold and silver that were annually imported from Brazil prevented them pursuing the steady improvement and encouragement of their indigenous products ; since the most enterprising and active abandoned their homes in the search after those rapidly accumulated fortunes, which the slow operations of continuous industry neither promised nor afforded. It was in this tottering condition, as we have already seen, that Pombal found his country, when the fields were either totally uncultivated, or lying in long fallows; and the natural resources neglected or forgotten to such an extent, that Portugal, which formerly had exported corn, was now dependent on other nations for its supply. It does not enter into the plan of this Memoir, nor is this a fitting place, to attempt to trace the steps by which the Portuguese South American Colonies at a later period* threw off the domination of the mother country. A very little reflection will enable us to perceive how impossible it was for an impoverished and decaying nation to hold in subjection a populous, industrious, and thriving colony. And in this circumstance we may discover sufficient ground for the declaration of Brazilian independence * In 1822. 208 without speculating upon more remote causes, such as the alleged intrigues of the British Government, which many very noisy politicians in Portugal presume to have led to the dismemberment of that empire. This is one of the numerous absurdities in the mouths of the Anti-Anglican Portuguese, who desire apparently to see the friendly alliance between England and Portugal at an end, indiffe- rent whether their country became a prey to foreign in- vasion or domestic anarchy. And as the mention of the condition of the country during the period immediately anterior to the ministry of Pombal has, as it were, brought the subject of agriculture — the first and most useful of sciences — before us, I shall venture to make a few remarks on its present state in Portugal, because they will serve to show that much of the distress of her people is owing to their own lack of industry and want of knowledge, and not, as some vainly imagine, to the nature of the soil, or the intrigues of England. It is scarcely credible that the various means which science has pointed out, and experience confirmed, for improving and fertilising land, are almost totally unknown. All the implements employed in tillage are of the most uncouth and barbarous construction ; artificial manures are seldom employed, while, from the scarcity of animal compost, lands are often obliged to be left fallow for several years consecutively. In the northern wine provinces, the culture of the vine, which is best suited to the soil, being encouraged, the lands are well tilled, and in many parts highly cultivated ; consequently, the country is well popu- lated, and thickly sprinkled with villages. In the province of Minho, according to the census of 1864, there are 396 persons to the square mile, whilst in Estremadnra there are but 92, and in the Alemtejo only 27 ; and yet Estre- madura and Alemtejo are not deficient in fertile land for 209 supporting a large population, if their resources were fully developed. In fact, those who are qualified to make such calculations, and whose opinions are entitled to respect, assert that the soil of Portugal is capable of supplying food for a population of ten millions ; while at present only one- half of the available lands are under cultivation, meagre as that cultivation is. In the districts round and about Oporto, so peculiarly adapted to the culture of the vine and the production of the richest wines, the establishment of the Oporto Com- pany gave great encouragement to agriculture. But while Pombal fostered the cultivation of the vine on soils suitable to its growth, he did not neglect the attempt to render his country independent of the supply of wheat from foreign States. Some of the best arable lands, he found planted with vines, which produced only a sour wine of trifling value. To prevent this misapplication of so much valuable soil, he took advantage of an old law of March 17th, 1691, to restore them to their primitive uses. This law provided for the proper planting and sowing of the lands on the banks of the Tagus, together with all the wide open country that extended on either side. But the farmers had contrived to evade this law; and land, that would have been otherwise fertile and valuable, was rendered by unskilful husbandry nearly barren and un- productive. To restore these soils to their legitimate condition, Pom- bal published his celebrated decree, dated 26th October, 1765, which directed so many vines to be rooted up in the space of three months from the date of the decree, and the lands to be sown with corn. It is not to be supposed that an act apparently arbitrary and coercive, would pass without remarks and without censure. And, accordingly, numerous were the attacks, and frequent the complaints, p 210 urged against the minister. Many of these were futile, some dictated by jealousy, and all characterised by in- justice. For it must be borne in mind that it was no new decree on the part of Pombal, but merely the enforcement of a law which had been enacted lonff before his time. This, however, is but one of the many cases in which writers have thoughtlessly blamed this statesman without a due examination of facts, and have censured his measures without understanding their objects ; nor can it be matter of surprise that what knaves invented, fools readily be- lieved. The lands thus ordered to be sown with corn comprised the Lezirias, from the Sacavem River to Villa Nova da Rainha ; the banks of the Tagus and the plains of Vallada, Santarem, and Gollega ; together with the banks of the rivers Mondego and Youga. Walled quintas, heights, and declivities, and such places, where the vine enjoyed a good reputation, were excepted from this law. Where the land on the banks of the rivers was not suited to the growth of corn, two or more rows of trees were ordered to be planted. Thus, by restoring these lands to their natural cultivation, a sour and profitless vintage was exchanged for a valuable and abundant harvest. If it could have been shown (which, by the way, was never attempted) that the vines grown on these lands could have been improved, and that a more rich and generous wine could have been made, Pombal would doubtless not have interfered with that branch of industry. But he saw that this was impossible ; and when it is remembered that the wines grown on these lands were of a poor and wretched quality, we may reasonably conclude that the minister was justified in these measures of interference, and the revival of a neglected law. To encourage still further the cultivation of wheat, Pombal in the same year appointed Luiz Ferrari, Inten- 211 dant-General, with a salary of two eontos, to examine into the condition of the land of the Alemtejo, and to report on the best means of improving the agriculture of that province. Ferrari was also directed to procure a statement of the application of all soils throughout the country, and to ascertain what quantity of land was in cultivation, and w r hat was the nature of its produce. These directions were given with a view to acquire such statistical informa- tion as should enable Pombal to introduce improvements in agriculture, and thus develope the latent resources of the country. The Portuguese, as I have before remarked, when pos- sessed of opulent colonies, and enjoying the means of purchasing, with Brazilian gold, the necessaries of life, neglected to encourage their manufactures ; so that already, in the reign of John V., food and clothing w T ere supplied them from foreign countries ; and, by the celebrated Me- thuen Treaty of 1703, England was permitted to export her woollen goods to Portugal, on condition of receiving Portuguese wines in return, at a duty of one-third less than was charged on those of France. It must not be imagined that all the gold of the country went to England ; on the contrary, England took in ex- change for the merchandise she sent, more native produce of Portugal than did all other nations put together. How- ever, it cannot be denied that Portugal was drained of her gold, and almost exhausted. Among others, the Pope had his share.* To afford some idea of the immense sums of gold with which Portugal at that period (from 1696 to 1726) supplied the other nations of Europe, it is sufficient to add, that one hundred millions sterling entered her *Lord Kinnoul informs us, in a despatch dated August, 1760: — 11 The revenue which the Pope drew from this country is computed to have amounted to no less than £200,000 annually." p 2 212 ports; yet in 1754 all the specie in the kingdom did not amount to a million, whilst the nation was burdened with a debt of three times that amount. Even at the present day, it is said, nearly half a million is annually taken out of the country into Spain by the Gallicians or Gallegos, who do the labour, both in the capital and in the provinces, which the Portuguese are unable or unwilling to perform for themselves. It had been attempted to prevent this continual abstrac- tion of specie from the kingdom. A decree had been issued prohibiting gold and precious stones, imported from the colonies, to be exported without permission. It was hoped that by this measure the foreign trader would be compelled to exchange his merchandise for Portuguese produce. But the principle upon which these hopes were founded was fallacious, and no good resulted from the scheme. A better plan to preserve the gold and silver of the country from exportation, and based on wiser principles, was laid down, by Pombal in 1755, after the great earthquake, and in part carried into effect. This was the example set by the king and his courtiers, of wearing a very coarse kind of woollen cloth, of home manufacture ; and, as clothing of all kinds was at that period extremely high-priced, it did, in some respects, encourage the productive industry of the country. 213 CHAPTER XVI. During the entire period of PombaPs administration, the complaints of the foreign merchants resident in Portugal form an important part of the difficulties he had to en- counter. The establishment of the Wine and other Com- panies, excited the continual anger and jealousy of all such as were not immediate participators in the profits. Volume after volume of remonstrances, as Pombal himself informs us, were forwarded to the British Government from the English merchants and traders established at Lisbon and Oporto ; and these complaints became the subject of re- peated controversies between the Portuguese Minister and the English envoys. In all of these, Pombal con- tinued inflexibly to support his plans, and the system which he had conceived when he first entered the ministry. In a despatch addressed to the Secretary of State for the Southern Department, Mr. Hay thus elucidates the pro- jects of the Portuguese Government: — "March 18th, 1763. After giving your Lordship the substance of the conferences I have had with the Count d'Oeyras upon commercial points, I take the liberty to lay before your Lordship what appears to me to be the system adopted by him. " The Count d'Oeyras, from his first entering into the ministry, took into consideration the state of the trade of Portugal. He found the commercial treaties with foreign nations had all been made soon after the House of Braganca came to the crown, and at the time when the 214 king, wanting tho countenance and protection of foreign Powers against the kingdom of Spain, made many con- cessions in those treaties, little advantageous to this king- dom. He found foreigners of all nations established in Portugal, who receive their merchandise and sell it to the Portuguese, either for the home consumption or that of the Brazils ; so that he looks upon the Portuguese mer- chants here as no more than shopkeepers, and the Brazil merchants no more than commissaries or factors to the foreigners. And at Oporto, the English merchants esta- blished there bought the wines directly from the farmer, and reaped all the benefit and profit from the trade of this article. " This put this minister upon a scheme to put the trade into the hands of the natives, and to make them the importers and wholesale dealers in foreign goods, and to throw into their hands the profits arising from the exporta- tion of wines. The great difficulty was the finding men of substance and credit sufficient to undertake this wholesale trade. There being very few of these, he entered upon the project of forming trading companies. That of Maran- hao and Grand Para was the first, and since that the trade of Pernambuco. These companies are encouraged by many extraordinary privileges and powers. All those who take actions* in the Company are countenanced and protected, and those who do not are looked upon in a very disagreeable light. It is a doubted point whether these companies will succeed in time of peace. If they should, they must become the importers of all foreign commodities, and thus in time make it unnecessary for any foreign merchants to reside here. " The establishment of the Wine Company at Oporto appears to be upon the same plan, of encouraging the * Shares. 215 natives to take that trade into their own hands. And their privileges and statutes are so extensive, that they give room for foreign merchants to trade only in the manner the Company thinks proper. u Therefore it appears plain that the design is to esta- blish an active trade among the subjects of Portugal, and to make foreign factors useless. And hitherto all the ex- traordinary events which have happened in this kingdom during the present reign — events which have been far from giving any idea of independency — have, notwithstanding, not been able to divert this minister from the prosecution of his scheme of forming an active commerce. " He allows that England is the only proper and natural ally of Portugal, and he admits, with propriety, that the defensive treaties make up to Portugal the disadvantages of the commercial treaties." ****** " This minister has undoubtedly great and avowed abili- ties ; but I am afraid it will be found that the foundation he has to build upon is too narrow for the superstructure of his plan. The subjects of Portugal have not funds of their own sufficient to carry on the trade upon their own account." Such were the patriotic plans of Pombal, which he steadily pursued to the latest hour of his administration, and which he succeeded in accomplishing, notwithstanding the misgivings expressed in the concluding part of this letter. In a subsequent despatch from the same minister, dated February 18th, 1766, the character and intentions of Pom- bal are still further described and explained. "I don't know," says the writer, "a more upright man than the Count d'Oeyras, nor a man more thoroughly attached to the alliance between Great Britain and Portugal, 216 " When he first came into the ministry, he undertook to put the trade upon a better footing. Whether he thought the foreigners in general, or the English in particular, enjoyed too much, and the natives too little, he has un- doubtedly made several innovations. But I firmly believe he does not imagine that he has advised anything that every sovereign has not a right to do, independent of treaties, within his own dominions. Many of these establishments are hurtful even to the subjects, but he is so steady to his point, that he will persist in them to the last. He is equally firm in his political system. He has often told me that he is sensible Portugal cannot supply the Brazils ; therefore they must have recourse to some foreign nation, and no nation more proper than Great Britain, which has always been the natural ally of Portugal, and has an in- terest in supporting that alliance, which other nations have not. He is not fond of the French ; and his idea of inde- pendency will not suffer him to listen to any proposals of close connections with the Spaniards. And a man of his spirit does not easily forget the contempt with which this nation was treated in being made the first and immediate object of the Pacte de Famille." The value Pombal placed on the British alliance is still more fully developed in a subsequent despatch, dated March 1st, 17G6 : — "The Count d'Oeyras began by saying that as long as he had been in the king's service he had known many attempts to separate this kingdom from its alliance with England — a project which the French have had in view ever since Louis XIV.'s time, and in which they almost succeeded by a negotiation in the year 1745, which he put a stop to, being that year come from England to Lisbon upon leave." * * * " He ended by saying that these matters admitted of no difficulty ; that England and Portugal were like man and wife, who might have 217 little domestic disputes among themselves, but if anybody else came to disturb the peace of the family, they would join to defend it. " The king has ever since the beginning of his reign acted a steady, uniform part. The Count d'Oeyras, who has been in public business these eight-and-twenty years, knows perfectly well the value of the alliance of Great Britain, and has often said that our nation is the only one who has a constant interest in an alliance with Portugal, and which is thereby rendered reciprocal. The Frenc can have none. u The Count d'Oeyras has the entire management of the affairs of this kingdom. He carries a high hand, and makes all ranks of people stand in awe of him ; therefore, of course, must have many enemies. But he preserves the entire confidence of his royal master, and, to say the truth, with all his faults, is the only man in this kingdom proper to be at the head of affairs. He is now better in his health than he was before his last dangerous illness ; and, being naturally a robust man, he may live many years, for I take his age to be about sixty-six. Should any accident happen to the Count, it is difficult to say who would succeed him, or what turn the affairs of the country might take. Therefore the present system seems to depend upon the kind's life and his." At the same time that we perceive, from these extracts, how highly Pombal valued the alliance with England in a political point of view, it is evident that he was steadily determined on supporting the commercial companies which he had established, and the independence of his govern- ment in the regulation of its internal affairs. In vain Mr. Hay remonstrated, and urged the pretensions of the British merchants — Pombal was inexorable. At length Mr. Lyttle- ton was sent out to Lisbon with very detailed instructions 218 from his government, to demand redress for various specific grievances complained of by the subjects of Great Britain. Shortly after the arrival of this minister, in the month of August, 1767, he presented along list of complaints against various decrees that had been enacted during Dom Joseph's reign, and various innovations that had been made in the commercial regulations of the kingdom. Most of them being frivolous, and many inadmissible, Pombal replied to them at various times, and skilfully exonerated his govern- ment from the charge of having arbitrarily interfered with the privileges or immunities obtained by treaty or other- wise for English subjects carrying on trade in Portugal ; at the same time firmly refusing to acknowledge privileges or exemptions inconsistent with the constitution and inde- pendence of his country, or vfith those necessary laws which were enacted for the administration of the domestic affairs of the kingdom. And he further declared, that unusual cases rescind all former promises and contracts, and that public necessity, when it occurs, constitutes the supreme law. Amongst the great variety of complaints which were preferred on the authority of the British merchants resident in Lisbon, one of the principal was directed against the establishment of the Maranhao and Grand Para Company, and of that of Pernambuco and Paraiba. It was stated, that in consequence of many Portuguese merchants, who formerly were permitted to trade to these places, being no longer suffered to continue this commerce, the English were unable to recover the money that was owing to them for goods which they had advanced on credit. Complaints were made of the exclusive privileges granted to these companies ; and it w r as asserted that the trade to the colonics had fallen off in consequence. 219 To these charges Pombal replied by satisfactorily proving that, before these companies were established, the natives of the South American provinces, labouring under the grossest ignorance and barbarism, consumed few or no manufactured goods ; that they had no products even of the land to offer in exchange for such goods, agriculture being almost un- known to them ; so that it was not probable mercantile speculation could have been previously directed to countries so wretched and so barbarous ; but that already, since the fostering care of his Most Faithful Majesty had been ex- tended towards them, there were no less than twenty vessels at all seasons lying in the Tagus engaged in the commerce of Para and Maranhao. He concluded by saying that this was but the complaint of a few interested individuals, for that the English nation had no cause to complain of, or even reason to regret, the establishment of the companies, since by it the demand for British manu- factures had greatly increased, while at the same time they were purchased by solvent companies, and not by specu- lating individuals liable to ruin and insolvency on the slightest failure of enterprise or absence of remittance. By the secret article of the treaty of 165-i between England and Portugal, it had been stipulated, " that the people and inhabitants of England, &c, shall not pay more duties and taxes than only in the following manner — viz., that the English goods, merchandise, and manufactures shall never exceed 23 per cent, on their valuation for the pay- ment of the duties; and they shall be favourably valued according to the regimen of the custom-house, and the ancient laws of the kingdom." Shortly after the earthquake, a duty of four per cent, had been voluntarily proposed, by the principal Portuguese merchants, on all goods entering the country, the amount of which duty was to be expressly devoted to rebuilding the 220 Custom-house, and the other principal public edifices which had been destroyed. It was further declared that the tax should be levied upon the real value of the merchandise, and not upon the old and former valuation. This, the English declared, was in contradiction to the letter of the treaty just quoted ; but Pombal so skilfully rebutted their statements, by referring to the tariff of fixed duties, which had become now so favourable to the English, since the value of money had declined, that, finding themselves touching on dangerous ground, they wisely let this question quietly drop. The other complaints were, respecting the abridgment of the authority of the Judge-Conservator ; of the decree which made the actions of the trading companies a legal tender in payment of debts ; of increased fees levied on British shipping, and paid to various public officers ; of the laws against the exportation of gold ; in short, of a variety of similar grievances, which, whether real or imaginary, need not detain us lono;. In every conference on this subject with the British Minister, Pombal continued incessantly to attach the highest importance to the alliance and a good understand- ing with England. After one of these, Mr. Lyttleton writes as follows: — "The Count d'Oeyras thought the mutual interest which bound England and Portugal to- gether in so close an union was a security to us superior to all treaties. That when treaties are concluded, the princes who make them consult the general interest of the king- doms, and not the account-books of individual merchants. That in the sentiments he knew his Court was, it was im- possible she could have any serious difference with Great Britain, however particular men, who thought their private interests affected, might complain. And that he did not doubt, founding our proceedings on the basis of that 221 national friendship, we should soon settle everything in a satisfactory manner." At this period Pombal's ill health was a cause of con- siderable delay in arranging these long-pending questions. He had been for some years past subject to disorders in his legs ; but in the month of January, 1768, he was very severely afflicted with a tumour near the ankle, which was attributed to a hurt he received from his stirrup in getting on horseback at Azeitao, and which he took no notice of until it became so bad that surgical assistance was indis- pensably necessary. This illness lasted nearly four months, during which time Pombal was several times blooded, and so much reduced in strength, that he was quite unable to continue his conferences with Mr. Lyttleton ; and no one was able to supply his place. Indeed, a short extract from another despatch written at this time, will show that the management of the whole country, both in its internal and foreign relations, was entirely in the hands of Pombal, and under his sole guidance : — " It may not be improper to acquaint your lordship with the manner of doing business here. The Count d'Oeyras has the entire confidence of his master. Da Cunha never takes the least step without conferring with the Count. There are here no under-secretaries ; and none of the clerks of the office admitted to any confidence further than the papers set before them, and no one is to know what the other is about. The fixed salary of each clerk is very near £200 per annum ; the first clerk about £300, besides rewards of sinecure places to those who do any particular service. So that there are some of the clerks who have six or eight hundred or a thousand pounds a-year. But if any should be suspected of the least breach of trust, they have nothing to expect but a dungeon. Thus, all business remaining in the Count's breast, and the ample rewards he 222 gives to his clerks, with the awe they stand in of punish- ment, shut the door entirely to all hopes of any secret intelligence from that quarter more than the Count pleases to communicate himself." It was the constant and darling wish of Pombal' s heart, to leave his country in as great a state of independency as was possible ; and it was upon this point that his enemies sought most constantly to annoy him, by representing Portugal as a slave to England, in the same manner as a factious party at Lisbon in our own days has endeavoured to disunite the two countries. Most violent pamphlets were often published and circulated in London, with a view of bringing down odium on the conduct of the Portuguese Government. Pombal complained to Mr. Lyttleton that his enemies "filled the public papers of London with invectives against Portugal, to make the most ancient and constant ally of the Crown of England as odious to the common people of Great Britain, as Great Britain would have been odious to the common people of Portugal, from the want of competent knowledge, if his Most Faithful Majesty had not opportunely suppressed it" — alluding to a certain political tract which the Jesuits had endeavoured to circulate in Portugal. Mr. Lyttleton was not successful in arranging these commercial differences before his departure ; and he was succeeded in the month of January, 1772, by Mr. Kobert Walpole, who went out to Lisbon with a document con- taining no less than 127 pages, entitled, "Draft of a Keply to be read at a Conference with the Minister." We will not follow the course of the negotiations. The continued illness of Pombal was one great obstacle to their completion. The nature of the claims themselves, and the voluminous despatches by which they were sup- ported, likewise precluded the possibility of an early settle- 223 ment. Pombal, nowever, applied all his energies to the discussion, until, after a period of years, some points having been reciprocally conceded, and others mutually aban- doned, the subjects of contention descended to the hands of other statesmen unconnected with these Memoirs. 224 CHAPTER XVII. The order promulgated in 1760, by which all Portuguese subjects were commanded to leave the Ecclesiastical States, and those of his Holiness to evacuate Portugal, having been strictly enforced, an accommodation between the two Courts seemed impossible ; especially as no communication or correspondence was permitted between them, and a strict prohibition had been issued against having recourse to Rome for any Bull or dispensation. The spiritual weapons with which the Popes were accus- tomed to strike terror into the bosoms of their opponents began in the eighteenth century to lose much of their original influence. The right which they claimed of direct interference over " all the kingdoms upon earth," was vain and unmeaning. Even the most servile worshippers of power soon begin to despise lofty pretensions based on inadequate founda- tions. What man, however he may venerate the spiritual authority of the Pope, would, in the broad daylight of this reason-searching sera, venture to affirm, as was gravely done by the older writers, that "Papa est supra jus, contra jus, et extra jus," or that " potest de injustitia facere justitiam" ? Could the force of folly go further ? Or is it surprising when such monstrous sentiments were inculcated and sup- ported, that the See of Rome should have raised to itself myriads of opponents, and that the successor of St. Peter should have been led captive to a foreign country by a Corsican adventurer ? 225 The Jesuits throughout Europe, but especially at Rome, were not idle in endeavouring to blacken the characters of Dom Joseph and his faithful minister. Falsehoods, libels, satires, misrepresentations, every means that malice could devise, were adopted to accomplish this purpose ; while volume on volume was published by these rebel eccle- siastics, under pretence of defending themselves, but with the more real object of casting odium on the government of his Most Faithful Majesty. In a despatch from the Portuguese minister then resident at Vienna, dated April 8th, 1759, we find the following account of their success : — " The falsehoods propagated by the Jesuits at Rome and in other parts of Italy find their way to Vienna. Last Thursday an assembling of the troops in Lisbon was reported ; that they had burnt the city, and obliged the king to seek refuge in England ; and that M. de Carvalho was assassinated." And in another despatch, dated August 3rd, 1760, the same writer states: — " The Jesuits report that their persecution in Lisbon arose from their having opposed the abolition of the Inquisition, and the marriage of the princess with the Duke of Cum- berland." And still further to show to what a pitch their infamous calumnies reached, the minister writes to his government in a subsequent despatch, dated March 8th, 1761 : — " The Jesuits invent and falsify as usual, and have propagated a rumour that the king our sovereign has con- voked all the prelates to a synod in Lisbon, in order to change the religion of the country." Such were the means employed to render Dom Joseph and his minister odious throughout Europe ; and from such sources were compiled the volumes that describe the history of those passing events. Neither Dom Joseph nor his minister were to be intimi- dated, or driven from the positions they had taken, by Q 22G Jesuit intrigues or spiritual threats. Pombal's sentiments at this period are aptly expressed in a despatch from Lord Kinnoul, dated June 21st, 17 GO : — " The Count d'Oeyras told me, i that he himself had written a private letter to the King of Portugal's minister at Rome, that he might tell the Cardinal Secretary Torregiani, that if his Holiness chose to push things to extremity and break with the King of Portugal, the only consequence of the rupture would be, that whenever a Nuncio from the Pope should return to Lisbon, he would come thither in the same manner and with the same authority as to Paris or Vienna ; that the king would maintain the authority of his crown ; that all the usurpations which had been introduced by the See of Rome and their Nuncios into Portugal would be abolished ; that we did not live in the fifteenth century ; that the limits of the ecclesiastical and temporal power and their respective jurisdictions were well known and easily to be settled; and that as to the manner in which the disposal of ecclesiastical benefices should be conducted, the Court of Spain had already shown a precedent.' This step, I believe, has stunned and astonished many who never thought to have seen such a measure taken in Portugal ; and there are, who doubt whether the King of Portugal's ministers will be able to carry him with success through this dispute with the Court of Rome. But, for my part, I am of opinion that if the Count d'Oeyras continues in power (which I make no doubt he will as long as the king and he live), he will, by his firmness and resolution, get the better of the Court of Rome (which, if the king but remain steady, will be forced at last to make terms), and reduce the usurped authority of the Pope in this kingdom. And I told him, if he did so, he would add new dignity and authority to the crown, and eminently contribute to the happiness of his fellow-subjects and the welfare of his country." 227 Pombal lost no time in contriving measures to effect the patriotic objects suggested in the concluding para- graph of the foregoing despatch. A decree, dated Feb- ruary 17th, 1761, confiscated all the property of the Jesuits in Portugal, and negotiations were opened with other Courts of Europe for the suppression of the Society in their dominions. In the meantime, the Spanish Govern- ment anxiously offered its mediation to bring about a re- conciliation between the Courts of Rome and Lisbon. Some hopes were entertained that i,ts offers would have been successful, on the occasion of the Prince of Beira's birth, when Dom Joseph wrote to his Holiness to inform him of the event, and in reply received the customary answer. But these negotiations were on a sudden im- peded by the bad understanding which sprang up between Spain and Portugal, and which terminated in hostilities. And, independent of those which have been already enumerated, additional subjects of contention arose to continue and widen the breach between the govern- ments of Lisbon and Rome. It will be recollected that, in the manifesto published by the Court of Lisbon against the Court of Rome, one of the causes of complaint was respecting the resignation of the Archbishop of Bahia, which the Pope had professed to disbelieve, notwithstanding Dom Joseph's assurance of its truth. Besides this, the appointment of his successor had been declared by his Holiness null and void. Pombal, however, was determined to support the authority and in- dependence of his sovereign, and consequently ordered the newly-appointed archbishop to proceed immediately to his diocese, and at the same time filled up the episcopal chair of Angola, which, by the appointment of its late occupant to the See of Bahia, had become vacant. Both these pre- lates, therefore, proceeded to their respective Sees, with Q 2 228 directions to govern in the meantime as vicars-general, until their election should be confirmed by the Pope. About this period, 1765, an event occurred which still more fully disclosed the principles and intrigues of the Jesuits. When the Spanish galleon, the Hermione, was taken by the Active, English frigate, off the coast of Portugal, a chest of papers was thrown overboard, and driven by the waves to the port of Lagos in the Algarves. It was immediately forwarded to, and opened in the pre- sence of, Dom Joseph. Among other despatches from the Provincial of the Jesuits in Peru to the General of the Society, a packet was found, the seal of which the king himself broke. Without entering into any particulars, it will suffice to say, that this document was found to con- tain the most important, the most pernicious, and the most secret mysteries of the Society. A despatch from Mr. Hay, written in the course of this year, may be quoted as an impartial exposition of the extravagant fanaticism by which the supporters of the Jesuits endeavoured to discredit the salutary measures ot the minister : — " The emissaries of the Jesuits endeavour to w r ork upon the minds of the people, by persuading them that this kingdom is under the immediate chastisement of Heaven, and may expect some direful calamity. That as our Saviour's sufferings were for the redemption of mankind in general, so the present sufferings of the Jesuits are for the reclaiming of Portugal from its present errors, and which cannot be safe unless it returns to them (the Jesuits). These and such-like absurdities impose greatly upon an ignorant people, who have for their teachers but a very ignorant set of clergy ; but which the ministers seem determined to put a stop to as much as possible." Notwithstanding, however, the storm that was thus 229 gathering in Portugal against the Jesuits, and which shortly spread itself over other parts of Europe, and the manifest necessity for abolition of this society, which had now rendered itself notorious and hateful for its pretensions, its intrigues, and its crimes, its members had the address to procure from Clement XIII., in 1765, the famous Bull ApostoHcum Pascendl Munus, which confirmed both the institution of the Order itself, and the authority of those Bulls and Briefs which the Parliament of Paris had decreed should be publicly burned ; and though all communication between Portugal and Rome was strictly forbidden, means were found to introduce copies of it into the former country. This impolitic conduct of the Pope added fuel to the fire. It was both his policy and his interest at this critical moment, when the annihilation of the Jesuits was certain and inevitable, to take the lead, and by judicious measures gently to suppress a falling body, whose actions and conduct had been not only disgraceful to themselves, but hostile to that religion, the supreme head of which still continued to protect them. But such is the blindness and obstinacy of kings and governors, that few know how to yield at the right moment to the just pretensions of their sub- jects. It may be curious to learn the opinions entertained of the Jesuits, and the light in which they were viewed by the Austrian Government, during this important period of their history. We have already seen, in a former chapter, the means employed by the minister of Maria Theresa to deprive them of the education of the youth of her dominions ; nor can any person, however favourably in- clined towards that religious Order, pretend to doubt the justice and expediency of the measures then taken. In a despatch dated April 2nd, 1758 (Portuguese Lega- tion, Vienna), the minister writes : — " The Emperor spoke 230 to me of the Jesuits in Brazil, and declared their crimes most horrible " February 25th, 1759. " The Jesuits in Vienna do not speak with the same liberty as in other places (concerning the Aveiro conspiracy), because they are afraid of this Court." March 8th, 1759. "The Jesuits had procured a false translation of the sentence on the Aveiro conspirators to be inserted in the Vienna Gazette. The Archbishop, Count Migazzi, sent for the editor, and threatened to punish him, if he did not immediately give a true one." March 18th, 1759. " The Archbishop, having forbidden all allusion to the Jesuits in the pulpits and confessionals in his diocese, has ordered one preacher who disobeyed his orders to retire from Vienna." "The Count Chotek, president of the bank, informed me that the Jesuits have 400,000 florins in the bank of Vienna." March 8th, 1761. "The Empress has ordered that all the universities which the Jesuits have hitherto governed, in her hereditary dominions, should be put in the same state with that of "Vienna — that is, with Benedictine, Dominican, and Augustine professors. This determination, executed in Bohemia and Hungary, has very much morti- fied the Society." December 18th, 1763. "A letter from Munich states, that the Elector has driven away his Jesuit confessor, for having meddled with civil and political affairs." May 30th, 1767. "The Empress Queen has discharged her Jesuit confessor." August 1st, 1767. "The Duke of Modena begged the Empress Queen to receive five hundred Spanish Jesuits in her Italian Dominions. The request was refused." September 2nd, 1769. "A Jesuit has run away with the daughter of the Count de Stirum from Prague." 231 These extracts, though presented to the reader in an un- connected manner, deserve a place here, as they serve to show how general was the opinion of the Society's mis- conduct, and how indispensable the reform or the suppres- sion of the Order had become. To return to our narrative. The Papal government still continued inflexible respecting the confirmation of the Archbishop of Bahia's appointment, and the publication of the ill-advised Bull. Affairs being in this state, the Attorney-General, in a long requisition, called his Most Faithful Majesty's attention to this last instance of the determined opposition of the Court of Rome to his Majesty's views ; recapitulating the various instances of the mis- conduct, intrigues, and wickedness of the Jesuits, and concluding by lengthened arguments deduced from his- torical records, that the infallibility of the Pope was itself a fallacy, only tolerated when unexamined. Nor were previous examples wanting in the history of Portugal, to prove that her earliest monarchs boldly resisted the en- croachments and the threats of the Court of Rome. In the thirteenth century Portugal was twice put under an interdict, the second of which lasted twelve years ; and the king himself (Alphonso), who had endeavoured to restrain the power and pretensions of the clergy, was excommuni- cated. Dom Joseph, having approved the arguments adduced in this document, pronounced the Papal Bull null and void ; and ordered that a decree to this effect should be formally enregistered and published throughout the kingdom. The celebrated Father Fereira also printed his famous thesis to prove that the infallibility of the Pope was not, and had never been, considered an article of Catholic faith. This work, on its publication, was noticed by Mr. Lyttle- ton in his despatch dated July 27th, 1769, in the following 232 terms: — "A book was lately published, ( A Theological Demonstration of the Right of the Metropolitans of Por- tugal to confirm and consecrate the Suffragan Bishops named by the King, and of the Right of the Bishops of each Province to confirm and consecrate their respective Metro- politans also named by his Majesty, even in case there were no rupture with the Court of Rome.' These are very bold steps in a country where, before the present king's accession, the clergy was all-powerful, and where the body of the people still retains all its old prejudices and super- stitions ; but I believe it is the intention of the Court to attempt no alterations in points of faith, and to confine itself to such changes as are requisite to make the Crown as absolute in ecclesiastical matters as it is in civil ; and should an accommodation with the See of Rome take place during the continuance of the present administration, I am persuaded it will be upon terms which that Court will have little cause to boast of." It would be tedious to enter into further details respect- ing the Bulls and decrees, rejoinders and replies, which, promulgated by the two Courts, followed each other in rapid succession. The quarrel still continued, notwith- standing several attempts on the part of the Court of Rome to induce the Portuguese monarch to cede a portion of his rights. In the year 1767, overtures were made by Count Piccolomini and his brother the Cardinal, through Madame Tarouca, to persuade the Portuguese Minister at Vienna to take steps for a reconciliation between the two Courts. But the minister declined to forward any com- munication of the kind to his government except in writing. It appears that the Cardinal Torregiani was the great obstacle to any mutual accommodation. The public now began to be accustomed to talk of the separation; and as frequent conversation on any subject, 233 however at first alarming or repulsive, soon familiarises us to its details, and robs them of their supposed importance and imaginary horror, the Portuguese looked on with indifference at an act, which they saw every day was nearer and nearer its completion, as inevitable, and there- fore not to be deplored. The clergy soon partook of this feeling, and the Archbishop of Evora did not hesitate to set the example of granting dispensations for marriage, without the concurrence of the Court of Rome. The first he granted was in 1767, for the marriage of Count Vimieiro, with his cousin, Donna Theresa de Mello. All the other bishops followed his example, and the govern- ment proceeded at once to fill up the various benefices vacated since the year 1760. Mr. Lyttleton thus alludes, subsequently, to this re- markable innovation upon the prerogatives claimed by the Roman Pontiff: — "The compliance of the Cardinal Patriarch in granting dispensations is a saving of large sums of money, which used to be sent to Rome, where favours of that kind were to be obtained by persons of rank. And I am told he does it without any pecuniary consideration from the parties, enjoining instead thereof, the performances of slight penances. Dom Diogo, son to the Marquis of Marialva, is contracted to the sister of the Duke of Cadaval ; and instead of paying three or four thousand moidores at Rome for his dispensation, he is enjoined by the Cardinal Patriarch to attend the sick ward of the great hospital in this city for two days." The determination to oppose Papal authority was becoming at this period almost general. Not only Por- tugal, but most of the Catholic sovereigns, in 1767, had suppressed in their dominions the famous Bull In Ccend Domini; and in the following year all copies found in Portugal were ordered to be delivered up to the govern* 234 ment, under the penalties inflicted upon those guilty ot high treason. This Bull, which was promulgated by Pius V., it was customary to read with great ceremony every year on the Thursday of the Holy Week. It excommunicated all individuals, whether magistrates, bishops, or others, who should venture to propose a future Council ; while kings or their chancellors, parliaments or superior courts, who should compel the clergy to pay tribute to the State under any pretence whatever, as well as all parliaments, magis- trates, and others offering any opposition to the discipline of the Council of Trent, together with all others offending, were specially denounced in this most comprehensive Bull. Great indignation was again excited by a Brief fulmi- nated in January, 1768, against the edicts of the Infante Duke of Parma in relation to ecclesiastical discipline. Several monarchs, stung with the contumely with which it abounded, declared it was obreptitious, surreptitious, and seditions, contrary to the prerogatives of royalty, and subversive of the independence of all sovereign powers. And in consequence of the insult offered by the Court of Borne to the Duke of Parma, the King of Naples, in concert with the members of the Family Compact, marched his troops to the Papal frontier. Authorised by Dom Joseph, Pombal instantly published two edicts; one dated April 2nd, 1768, suppressing the Bull In Ccena Domini ; and the other, dated on the 30th of the same month, declaring the Brief of Excommunica- tion against the Duke of Parma "incompatible with the spirit and intentions of the Most Holy Father, Clement XIII." There can be no doubt, that the example set by Pombal contributed materially to inflame the hopes, or excite the alarm which at this period spread itself universally among 235 the Roman Catholic Courts of Western Europe against the generally proscribed Order. For the Courts of Madrid, Versailles, Naples, and Parma had already addressed themselves to those of Vienna and Turin, desiring them to apply to the Pope to dissolve the Order of Jesuits. Pombal told the English Minister that it was useless to make appli- cation to Vienna ; for that, although the Empress Queen was a most magnanimous princess, and had very good in- tentions, there was a cabal of women there that had too great an influence, and were governed by the Jesuits. However, while all things thus tended to an universal rupture with the Court of Rome, on the 2nd of February, 1769, at a moment most critical to the unity and integrity of the Catholic Church, Clement XIII. died, and was happily succeeded, on the 1st of May following, by the famous Ganganelli, who assumed the name of Clement XIV. Immediately on the demise of Clement XIII., the Sacred College acquainted his Most Faithful Majesty with the im- portant event, and his Majesty's reply gave every reason to hope that a speedy reconciliation would be effected between the two Courts. The new Pope was a man of far greater abilities, and possessed more political sagacity, than his pre- decessor. He was particularly anxious to avoid all schism in the Church, and to mitigate the evils which had sprung from past dissensions, well aware how destructive is schism to the unity and perfection of Christ's Church. After some negotiations, the Commander Almada was permitted to return to Rome as his Most Faithful Majesty's minister; and, on the 18th of August, he had a long interview with his Holiness, which terminated in the most satisfactory manner — a proof that the rupture had been caused by the obstinacy of the late Pope, and not by any unjust pretensions on the part of Dom Joseph. To 236 manifest how ardently peace and concord were desired on the part of Clement, he had written, immediately on his elevation, to Pombal, urging him to bring about a recon- ciliation, and reminding him of his former services to the Church when at Vienna. At the same time the arms of Rome and Portugal were replaced over the doors of Almada's house with the usual ceremonies ; and, that no possible honour should be omitted on the joyful occasion, the city was illuminated for three nights. But Clement did not stop here. He had long seen the necessity for the suppression of the Society of Jesuits, and on the 21st July, 1773, to the satisfaction of all Christen- dom, he published his famous Bull for that purpose. This Bull, " Dominus ac rcdemptor noster Jesus Christus" on its arrival at Lisbon, was confirmed by Dom Joseph on the 19th of September following; and a solemn Te Deum was chaunted by the Patriarch in the Patriarchal Church, at which the king and all the Court assisted. The same cere- monies were observed at the Church of the Nuncio, at the Loretto, and at the other churches of Lisbon. Illumina- tions and rejoicings were continued during three days, and solemn Te Deums were sung throughout the kingdom. Soon after the reconciliation between the two Courts, Conti, Archbishop of Tyre, was sent to Lisbon as Nuncio, and was received with the greatest possible marks of dis- tinction. When Clement heard of the reception of his am- bassador, he was so overcome with pleasure, that he publicly expressed the most unbounded joy, lavishing unmeasured encomiums on his " beloved son in Christ, Dom Joseph." He soon after created the Archbishop of Evora a Cardinal. This honour had been likewise conferred on one of Pom- bal's brothers, but ere the Brief for that purpose was received at Lisbon, the newly-made Cardinal had ceased to exist. 237 The tribunal of the Nunciature was re-opened soon after the Nuncio's arrival ; on the receipt of the news of which, the Pope again publicly expressed his joy. Nor did he neglect in this document to pay a just tribute of thanks to Pombal, for the part he had taken in immediately meeting the views of the Court of Rome, when they were no longer incompatible with the honour, the dignity, and indepen- dence of his country. " It is due," says his Holiness, " to our dear son the noble Count d'Oeyras, Secretary of State to his Most Faithful Majesty, who, amongst other virtues, has on this occasion shown so conspicuously his attachment to the Holy See, and his zeal and fidelity to his sove- reign," &c. As a still further mark of his personal esteem, and of his high regard and respect for the character of Pombal, he sent him a ring with his own likeness cut on agate, in imitation of an antique cameo, as well as his miniature in oil colours, curiously framed, and two small silver sculp- tures. A still more flattering appreciation of Pombal's real sentiments of devotion to the Church, was by a present of the entire bodies of four saints, three of which, Leonora^ Victoria, and Burcio, are now carefully preserved by the present descendant of Pombal, in the chapel of his heredi- tary estate at Oeyras. The fourth, Saint Prima, is in the possession of the Redinha branch of the family. On the 17th of September, 1770, Pombal, until now Count d'Oeyras, was, as reward for his numerous and imporant services, created a Marquis; and his eldest son from henceforth took the title which his father had hitherto borne. The despatches of the English Minister during this period mention various passing occurrences of which he himself was an eye-witness. In one of these he informs us 238 of an Auto-da-Fe that took place — not a burning of Jews and heretics — but simply the public punishment of crimi- nals condemned by the Inquisition ; a tribunal, as I have before stated, of no more extensive jurisdiction than an ordinary court. " Nov., 1765. A public Auto-da-Fe" was celebrated in the cloisters of the Convent of St. Domingos, fitted up for this purpose, where the foreign ministers were invited to hear the crimes and sentences of the several delinquents, who, to the number of thirty men and seven women, were brought out in procession from the Inquisition to the Convent of St. Domingos. The principal crimes were bigamy, con- tempt of the Court of Inquisition, superstition, enthusiastic and seditious practices. None were capitally convicted." Amongst the few details that are known of Pombal's private life, we are indebted to these despatches for several short accounts of his repeated illness. In the same month as the above, Mr. Hay writes : — " The Count was seized with a very severe fit, in which he lay speechless for some hours. His disorder has since returned to a severe ague, from which it is hoped he may recover, although even this distemper, I should imagine, must be dangerous to a man advanced to near seventy years of age." On the 16th of December following, Pombal was but slowly re- covering. In one of their conferences Pombal told Mr. Lyttleton that the Jesuits had formed a plan of more absolute and universal dominion than ever Mahomet himself had conceived. Pombal's brother, joint secretary w r ith him for the Home Department, died on the 15th of November, 1769, and was succeeded in the ministry by M. de Mello, at that time minister at the Court of St. James's. His other brother was afflicted with a dropsy in the breast, and died 239 on the 17th of January following, a short time before the Cardinal's hat arrived for him from Rome. We have seen with what joy the Pope received the news of the Nuncio's arrival at Lisbon, and of the flattering reception he met with. On this occasion, however, Pom- bal remarked to the English Minister, with a smile, " that, although it was resolved to admit the Lion (the Nuncio), it was with his nails cut and his teeth drawn." Fortu- nately the Roman envoy was of a mild and amiable dis- position, and little likely to give cause of offence to the Portuguese Government. " One of the chief objects of the negotiation," says Mr. Lyttleton, " between this Court and that of Rome, is an intended reformation of some of the monastic orders here ; and another will be to obtain the Pope's consent to tax the clergy in equal proportion with the laity, and to re- duce the great number of holy days that are now observed in Portugal and its dominions." The Archbishop of Evora, who acted so distinguished a part in the management of the ecclesiastical difficulties of the kingdom, was a member of the Tavora family, but had changed his name to that of Da Cunha, in order to comply with the law which sought to abolish all traces of that family's existence. He remained to the last a firm friend to Pombal ; and, as I have already mentioned, was honoured with a Cardinal's hat, which was brought to him by Monsignor Lambertini. The famous Bull In Caend Domini, which we have seen suppressed in the dominions of so many European sove- reigns, was not absolutely annulled by the new Pope, but he ceased to publish it in the Ecclesiastical States. The Emperor Joseph ordered it to be erased from all the rituals in his dominions. 240 CHAPTER XVIII. We will now turn our attention to, and examine some of those great institutions which Pombal founded or recon- structed. One of the most important was the establish- ment of the royal Collegio dos Nobres, for the better education of the nobility. The laws and ordinances of this seminary were entirely framed by Pombal — so universal was his genius, and so capable was he of perceiving and remedying every kind of evil that afflicted and depressed his country. As the old custom of conversing in Latin was still observed, to the utter destruction of good taste and good Latinity, he directed that the students should for the future converse either in Portuguese, French, Italian, or English, and never in Latin ; as, he very properly remarks, the familiar use of this dead language tends more " para os ensinar a barbarisar " than to facilitate the know- ledge of it. With respect to modern languages, it was directed that all lessons, as far as that was practicable, should be given u viva voce, without overwhelming the pupils with a multi- tude of useless rules ; since living languages are more readily acquired by conversation and reading, than by elaborate grammars and abstruse philological works." How far we are from following such valuable precepts parents must have often felt, for it too frequently happens that after their children have been ostensibly learning French for several years at an English school, they have come home as unable to converse in it as if they had never opened a 241 French grammar. And from what does this arise, but from the inefficient system of teaching pursued at most places of instruction ? In this same year permission was granted to foreigners to introduce new inventions and works of admitted utility into Portugal, as Pombal hoped that the mechanical arts would be advanced by thus taking advantage of the improve- ments of other nations ; and at the same time attempts were made to eii£ja£je foreign artificers in the service of Portugal. About this period a most curious law was enacted. It had become a custom among ladies of rank, on the death of their husbands, to close the windows of their houses, and to retire into some dark corner of a gloomy chamber, where, often for the space of an entire year, they slept on the floor, stationary themselves, and inaccessible to visitors. By this absurd mode of mourning the death of a husband, serious maladies were frequently contracted, which eventually proved fatal. It was therefore enacted, that widows should not be allowed to shut themselves up in dark rooms ; or deprive themselves of the use of a comfortable bed ; or remain within the house for a whole year. They were, moreover, enjoined to remove to another abode on the death of their husbands ; and if this were not practicable, they might remain in the house, " but without closing the shutters, or mourning more than eight days, or staying at home more than a month, or sleeping on the ground in the corner of a dark room." This singular decree, and the cause that occasioned it, may probably excite some surprise in the minds of my readers. It affords, however, a curious illustration of the customs of by-gone days. I am unable to say what degree of opposition or complaint this salutary law elicited ; but there is little doubt that the widows of the last century 242 were more willing to comply with the abolition of the custom, than those of this generation would be to accede to its revival. One of the clearest and most remarkable proofs of Pombal's liberal and humane mind, was his law of Sep- tember 19th, 1761, by which all slaves arriving in Portugal, and touching her soil, were declared to be, ipso facto, free MEN. In the following year, a sumptuary law was passed, for- bidding all persons, within a league of Lisbon, using more than two horses in their carriages under penalty of forfeiture. It was also found necessary to restrain the increasing luxury and extravagance of the army, by limit- ng the use of plate and china, and diminishing the number of dishes at the mess. Peace having been concluded with Spain in the year 1763, the military establishment was reduced, and fixed at 30,000 effective men ; while the former mode of paying the troops was abolished, and many abuses which had crept into the army were reformed. Mr. Hay, in a despatch written about this time, declares " that most of the regiments of foot are well disciplined, and make a handsome appear- ance. All regulations relating to the army come from the Count d'Oeyras ; and the generals and officers in their several departments apply chiefly to him." It was thought necessary, among other reforms at this time, to prohibit the soldiers from carrying their side-arms in the streets. This salutary regulation was decreed by a Portuguese minister in the year 1764; and it is curious that a similar enactment was net made in England until a very few years ago. To preserve a proper discipline in the army, and to effect such reforms as the nature of the service demanded, much courage and energy were required. Nor were these objects 243 attained without many severe punishments, which it was necessary to inflict upon several officers of rank, holding commissions in the Portuguese service. In the month of October, 1765, the Royal Regiment of Foreigners, com- posed chiefly of Swiss, was ordered to inarch to Lisbon from its quarters at Abrantes. A few days after its arrival, the staff officers and some of the subalterns were arrested and conveyed to prison. The men, to the number of 800, were immediately disarmed ; and a troop of horse, together with a company of foot, were ordered on guard to watch, day and night, the disgraced regiment. The colonel, who had assumed the name of Graveron, was tried by a court- martial, and shot in the following January, in the presence of two regiments. The lieutenant-colonel, Kinloch, a Swiss of Scotch extraction, was sent out of the kingdom ; the major was dismissed with infamy ; and the regiment was broken. The effects of PombaPs excellent management of the army is seen in the following despatch, in which we find that both La Lippe and himself had great confidence in the efficiency of the troops : — " December 4th, 1767. The Count d'Oeyras, in a con- versation I had with him concerning the military state ot this country*, declared that, if a new war should break out with Spain, Portugal would ask but a small aid of troops from Great Britain — three thousand five hundred, or four thousand men, in order principally to excite emulation in the national ones ; that he thought that was all that would be necessary, and that the Count La Lippe was of the same opinion." (This officer was then in Portugal.) * * * " He said he had committed a great fault, soon after his master's accession, in advising him to prefer those Portu- guese officers, who then remained that had seen service, to some others who had not ; that such officers were apt to r 2 244 be too much attached to old notions, while the art of war was perpetually undergoing great alterations ; and that the King of Prussia had beat the House of Austria in his first war for the acquisition of Silesia with his father's troops, who were admirably well disciplined but had seen no service, whereas those of the Queen of Hungary were, in great part, veterans ; yet admitted, in conclusion, that when two armies were alike well trained and ordered, and the one had seen service and the other not, it was an ad- vantage in favour of the former." The attempts to introduce home manufactures now began to be successful — the natural result of a thriving commerce, and a prosperous cultivation of the indigenous products of the country. The importation of French manu- factured goods w r as absolutely prohibited — France being a nation with which Portugal had nothing to offer in ex- change. In the year 1764, the famous Iacome Patton established a very considerable calico manufactory. He subsequently opened the first private hat manufactory introduced into the kingdom ; a paper manufactory ; and the extensive fabric for spinning cotton at Tliomar. A decree dated September 10th, 1765, gave a new impetus to maritime enterprise. It permitted merchant vessels to sail from Lisbon at any time the most convenient to their owners, without waiting for periodical convoys, as they had previously been compelled to do. They were also allowed to trade direct with Bahia, Rio Janeiro, and all other places save those specially excepted in favour of the trade of the chartered companies. The old law T s had not only clogged industry and damped speculation, but encouraged fraud, and caused severe losses to the merchants. The state of the royal navy was also in a most flourishing condition, and on a footing equally respectable with that of the other maritime Powers. Portugal, at this period of 215 her history, could command a force of thirteen ships of the line and six frigates. An event occurred at Lisbon, in the course of the year 1765, the circumstances of which are fortunately detailed by Pombal himself, in a letter to M. de Mello, the Portu- guese Minister at the Court of St. James's. This despatch is dated March 30th, and is in French : — Letter written by the Count oVOeyras to M, de Mello. « Le 30 Mars, 1765. " Je profite du depart du paquet-boat pour vous participer encore, que les ennemis de cette Couronne, et pas moins de celle de la Grande Bretagne, chaque jour nous donnent des preuves reiterees de la necessite extreme qu'il y a de prevenir ses vastes desseins; et de profiter pour les deconcerter des jours et des heures, pendant qu'il est terns d'y apporter quelque remede. Car il est evident, que pendant qu'ils tachent d'entretenir la Grande Bretagne avec des bonnes paroles, ils ne cessent d'avancer, avec toute la vigueur, leur projet contre ses royaumes et ses colonies." Pombal then complains of the preparations for war made by France and Spain in Europe and America, and con- tinues : — " Pendant que nous voyons tous ces orages au dehors s'approcher visiblement de nous, nos voisins ne perdent pas l'occasion de nous inquieter au-dedans. Les maximes de Philippe II. regnent et regneront toujours en Espagne. Nous venons heureusement de decouvrir un complot qui ne nous men ait pas k moins qu'une conspiration, sous pretexte de religion, entamee et dirigee parle General de l'Ordre des Dominicains Espagnols, d'accord avec le General des Jesuites ; et tous les deux soutenus et proteges par la Cour de Madrid. Yoici le fait. "II y a & Lisbonne un couvent de Keligieuses de l'Ordre des Dominicains, connues sous le nom des Eeligieuses 246 du Saint Sacrement, gouvernees immediatement par leur General ; ct an nom de cos Religieuses, fit le dit General passer ici, par le canal d'un moine aussi Dominicain, et par d'antres du meme Ordre connus en Portugal sous le nom de la Reforme da Serra do Montejunto, des lettres remplies de ces maximes : — i Que nous etions des heretiques, des impies, et des profanateurs du Saint Sacrement : que par la communication et l'union intime que nous avions avec les metnes heretiques, nous participions et nous adoptions leurs impietes ; et que pour le bien, et le soutien de la religion, il fallait venger le Saint Sacrement, offense par les profanateurs et les impies.' " Les moines Dominicains et leur suppots firent passer ces lettres sous main a tous les Eveques et Prelats des Ordres Religieux, pour les indisposer contre les pretendus heretiques, et convinrent enfin, que le nuit du 24 de ce mois de Mars, ils feraient ouvrir toutes les eglises de Lis- bonne ; qu'cntre liuit et neuf heures du matin on sonnerait toutes les cloches, a fin d* assembler le peuple, et qu'on l'exhorterait alors a venger le Saint Sacrement et la religion, contre des sacrileges et des heretiques. " Les Echevins de la ville de Lisbonne, repre'sentatifs du peuple, ayant connaissance de cet horrible complot, quatre jours avant qu'il eclatat, vinrent d'abord, avec la fidelite qu'ils out toujours marque dans de pareilles rencontres, avertir la Cour ; et le Provincial des Dominicains, qui n'etait pas de ce complot, a fit de meme ; sans quoi nous aurions vu dans la nuit du 24 Mars, et dans la meme eglise de Saint Dominique, une repetition de la tragedie qu'en 150G remplit d'horreurs la ville de Lisbonne." * * Translation. — I take advantage of the packet-boat's departure, again to inform you that the enemies of this Crown, and not less so of the Crown of Great Britain, afford us every day reiterated proofs of the extreme necessity there is for anticipating their vast designs, 247 The English Minister, Mr. Hay, confirms the preceding statement, and congratulates the nation on having escaped another St. Bartholomew. It will not, therefore create much surprise, when we find that by far the greater num- ber of criminals punished during this boisterous reign were ecclesiastics. Capital punishments were rare ; but it was no unusual thing to punish by imprisonment, twenty or thirty at a time, implicated in conspiracy or other seditious practices. In a country where the courts of justice are not public, and the proceedings of trials are kept a profound secret, it is impossible always to vindicate each particular act of a minister. At the same time we should refrain from condemning him. Open the prisons of the Spielberg, and let out their miserable inhabitants ; and should we not and for taking advantage of every day and every hour in order to prepare timely remedies against them. For it is evident that, whilst they are endeavouring to amuse Great Britain with fine words, they do not cease to advance, with all their might, their projects against that kingdom and its colonies. * * * # whilst we behold these storms visibly approaching us from abroad, our neighbours do not lose the opportunity of troubling us at home. The maxims of Philip II. reign, and will always reign, in Spain. We have most fortunately just dis- covered a plot, which was nothing less than a conspiracy, organised and directed, under pretence of religion, by the General of the Spanish Order of the Dominicans, in concert with the General of the Jesuits, both of whom are supported and protected by the Court of Madrid. These are the particulars : — There is at Lisbon a convent of Dominican nuns, known by the name of the Nuns of the Holy Sacrament, under the immediate govern- ment of their General. In the name of these nuns, the said General, by means of a Dominican monk and others of that Order, known here by the name of the Reform da Serra do Montejunto, found means to bring into this kingdom letters containing such maxims as the following : — " That we were heretics, impious, and profaners of the holy sacrament ; that by the communication and alliance that we had with these heretics, we participated in and adopted their im- piety ; and that, for the welfare and the support of religion, it was 248 find, in our own times, under the mildest of absolute governments, and with the most humane of ministers at its head,* wretches who would fill the world with details of the hardship of their destiny, and the despotism of their judges ? One Jesuit was imprisoned for having openly declared that it was without doubt an angel from heaven who fired the shot at Dom Joseph ; and the rector of the Society's college at Santarem was confined for having attempted to set fire to the papers belonging to the establishment when the troops surrounded it ; while at the same time Pombal did the Jesuits strict justice by the imprisonment of a necessary to avenge the holy sacrament, insulted by these profane and impious persons." The Dominican monks and their agents forwarded these letters privately to all the bishops and prelates of the religious Orders, for the purpose of prejudicing them against these pretended heretics, and finally determined that on the night of the 24th of this month all the churches of Lisbon should be left open ; that between eight and nine o'clock in the morning all the bells should ring in order to assemble the people, when they would be exhorted to avenge the holy sacrament and their religion against the heretical and the sacrilegious. The chief magistrates of the city of Lisbon, who represent the people, having information of this horrible plot four days previous to its intended outbreak, came at once, with the fidelity they have always evinced on similar occasions, to warn the Court of the danger ; and the Provincial of the Dominicians, who was not in the plot, did the same ; without which, we should have seen, in the night of the 2-ith of March, and in the same church of Saint Dominic, a repetition of the tragedy, which in 1506 filled the city of Lisbon with horror. (*) (*) An allusion to tlie massacre in the churches and streets of Lisbon of two thousand converted Jews, who had professed Christianity in order to avoid being driven from their homes and country. The people were incited to these frightful excesses by two fanatical friars, who were subsequently executed, with many others, for their crimes. * The late Prince Motternich. 249 blacksmith for having made a false denunciation against them. Indeed, it was very difficult to escape the vigilance of this active minister, which caused Mr. Hay to declare, speaking of an Englishman of suspicious character who had arrived at Lisbon, " He is come to a very wrong place to play tricks." The man was already in the Limoeiro, or common prison. So early as the reign of Doni Manoel, a most excellent establishment had been organised at Lisbon, for the pur- poses of remedying the bad consequences of a scarcity of corn, of securing a regular supply, of checking monopoly, and of counteracting the evils induced by the conduct of dishonest traders. But the success of this institution was not always as signal as its intentions merited ; and not only before Dom Joseph's reign had its purposes been frustrated, but the mischief was increased by the nefarious conduct of the retailers, who mixed deleterious ingredients, consisting for the most part of spoiled wheat, barley, and other inferior kinds of grain, with the flour, which they sold at an exorbitant price to the consumer. To remedy a practice so dishonest and so injurious to health, a decree was issued in 1768, prohibiting all corn merchants and chandlers from selling any grain in their own shops, and compelling them to bring it into the public market. It was by these and similar regulations that Pombal created so many enemies, who longed to drive him from the seat of power whenever a favourable opportunity should occur. Another somewhat similar interference with free trade, but founded on excellent motives, called down much abuse on the minister's head, and was considered a proof of the despotism of the government. Many foreigners, and espe- cially the English, had possessed themselves of a consider- able portion of the retail trade of Lisbon, by carrying on 250 business in the names of Portuguese, who lent themselves to that purpose. And, notwithstanding a decree in the year 1759 had forbidden any individual to have two shops, the English, with characteristic spirit, had become pos- sessors or sleeping partners in many. To prevent this evasion of the law, a decree was issued by the Junta do Commercio, which directed that all shops should be closed, unless the ostensible owners could prove that one-half of the profits belonged bond fide to them. This naturally formed one of the numerous complaints alluded to in a previous chapter. In the year 1768, the Index Expurgatorius was abolished, and a new tribunal was erected for licensing all such books as would tend to the advancement of the sciences and of useful learning. This Board of Censure (Real Mesa Cen- soria) was composed of a president, seven ordinary and ten extraordinary deputies, who were invested with full powers to license or suppress the publication of any papers, books, pamphlets, &c, imported or written within the kingdom. In the same year the Royal Press was instituted, the superintendence of which was given to Nicolas Pagliarini, a Roman printer, who had been expatriated for printing anti-Jesuitical works. Previous to this period, such was the deplorable state of letters, that almost all Portuguese works were printed in foreign countries. Another important law now promulgated was one to restrict superstitious and imbecile persons from leaving their property to convents and religious houses, to the detriment of their families and relatives. This practice had become very common, had produced indescribable mischief, and promoted a reprehensible spirit of litigation. Mr. Lyttleton expresses himself on this subject in the following manner : — " A law has been enacted here pre- scribing sundry new regulations relative to last wills and 251 testaments ; and therein are clauses restraining his Most Faithful Majesty's subjects, either by testamentary dispo- sitions, or by any act or deed, from charging their estates with the payment of any sums of money for masses for the souls of the dead ; an evil which the law sets forth to have gone already to a great extent. And no man for the future can erect even a chapel except with ready money which he has in his hands for that purpose ; and that not without the king's special licence. "Another edict is also come out for the amendment of the law, and abridgment of law-suits, by which this country has been as much harassed as any in Europe ; and although the edict itself is comprised in a few pages, the Count d'Oeyras, whose work it chiefly is, hopes it will be as effectual in answering the good ends proposed by it as the Code Frederic was in Prussia, or that of Christian V. in Denmark, and considers it as one of the principal features in his administration." The fame of these achievements was spread in other countries. A resident at Vienna declared that the Em- peror Joseph bestowed the greatest eulogies on the Count d'Oeyras, and appeared to be remarkably well versed in every circumstance relating to Portugal. I have already remarked in a previous chapter the severe illnesses that Pombal at various times suffered. In the month of January, 1764, he had a paralytic stroke, which ex- cited great anxiety in the mind of Dom Joseph, and created an alarm throughout the country. Two years afterwards he was again attacked in so serious a manner, that both the Blessed Sacrament and Extreme Unction were ad- ministered to him. It is impossible to express the conster- nation into which the king and the whole nation were thrown when this afflicting intelligence was published. Never, perhaps, at any time was the life of one man of 252 so much importance to his sovereign and to his country. Happily the prayers for his restoration were heard, and his recovery to health was celebrated by Te Deums through- out the country. The unusual severity of the weather at this period may have been one of the causes of Pombal's excessive suffering and imminent danger. Mr. Hay writes : — " "We have had the coldest winter ever known in Portugal. The frost set in at Christmas, and lasted about six weeks." And General Irwin, then Governor of Gibraltar, in a despatch to the British Government, dated February the 1st, 1766, gives a most astounding account of the effects of the season. Indeed, were it from a less authentic source, some little exaggeration might be suspected. " Towards night, on the 30th of last month, there fell so much hail, that it ran down our rock with such violence that many persons and cattle, and some houses, were de- stroyed by it. The drains being suddenly choked up, and the ramparts confining it, the lower part of the town is almost buried in it — many people suffocated in their houses — others escaped with difficulty out of their upper windows. It has done much damage, particularly made two breaches in our line wall, and, I fear, ruined many shopkeepers. I have, however, put everybody in motion, and hope to clear the town in a short time." Amongst the remarkable occurrences of this period, we may include the opening of the New College for the Nobles, on St. Joseph's Day, March 19th, 1766— that day being selected in compliment to the king. And in the course of the year, Pombal had the jurisdiction of the town and territory of Oeyras conferred upon him ; and was ap- pointed Alcaide Mor of the city of Lamego. In the following December, the Count d'Ega came home from India, where he had been as Viceroy during eight 253 years, and was immediately sent prisoner to the Castle of Outao, at Setubal. " It is remarkable," writes Mr. Hay, " that the Count d'Ega has been many years in intimate friendship with the Count d'Oeyras ; so that his conduct must have been very flagrant, when so powerful a protector could not plead his excuse." This nobleman was succeeded in the viceroyalty by Dom Joao de Lencastre, afterwards Count de Louza. He remained in prison until the month of January, 1769, when, by the intercession of Pombal, and the king's recollection of his former services, he was released from his confinement. At this time, considerable sensation was created by the arrest of two ecclesiastics of the Patriarchate, Monsenhores Sampayo and Magalhaens. These, together with several others, were found guilty of holding illicit correspondence with the proscribed Order, and were sentenced to a short imprisonment. Although the nobility of Portugal was extremely limited n its number, and remarkably pure in its blood, there had sprung up a certain exclusive class, consisting of six or seven families ; and these, distinguished by the name of Puritans, refused to marry with the other members of their caste. To get the better of this prejudice, absurd in itself, and founded upon false pride, the king, by the prerogative he enjoyed, refused his permission to such alliances, and commanded the chiefs of those houses to look out for matches for their sons and daughters among others of the nobility. At the close of the last century there were but fifty-three families, including the barons, who formed the upper or superior class of fidalgo. Mr. Hay, in one of his despatches dated in the year 1767, makes us acquainted with a curious but tragic event, which was related to him by Pombal himself: — "He told me an anecdote that the late Duke of Lafoens had certainly 254 been poisoned.* lie had been many years in friendship with the Tavora family. The Marchioness of Tavora had proposed to the Duke their plan of assassinating the king, which the Duke refused to engage in, but was too much a man of honour to discover. But this refusal disconcerted the Marchioness, who, to prevent his disclosing the secret, either through remorse of conscience or other motive, as being himself allied to the Royal Family, administered poison to him, which, instead of working an immediate effect by sudden death, got up into his brain and made him mad, of which madness he died some time after." Another of those remarkable sacrifices to justice, called Auto-da-Fe, was this year offered up at Lisbon ; but these exhibitions, by the mildness and humanity of Pombal, were now always bloodless. (i On Sunday last," writes the British envoy, " an Auto- da-Fe was celebrated here, in which eleven men and three women received sentence. Not one was condemned to die, and most of them were convicted of offences for which much heavier punishments would have been inflicted on them had they been proceeded against in the king's tem- poral courts. Since his Most Faithful Majesty's accession the burning of heretics has been disused." Throughout the whole period of this long administra- tion, we are struck by the tact and ingenuity with which Pombal either contested the prejudices of his age and country, or made use of them to support his authority. "While he introduced no reform but what he judged * This duke, and his brother, Dom John de Bragaina, were the sons of Dom Miguel, a natural child of the king Dom Pedro II. ; and their near relationship was acknowledged by Dom Joseph, with whom, and with the nation in general, they were held in high esteem. Dom John de Bragauca held the office of High Admiral in the Portuguese navy, and was also for many years in the Austrian military service. 255 necessary for his country's prosperity, he abolished no usage that was beneficial in its effects, however little consonant to reason its theory might be. He was in this respect the great legislator — the great conservative legislator — who knew that the difficulty of improvement does not lie in resolving what is to be established, but in discriminating between what should be retained and what destroyed. The objects of every institution must be modified by a variety of circumstances, which depend so much on the nature of the country, and on the disposition and prejudices of the people, that it is extremely difficult, to introduce a reform or correct an abuse in an established government, without doing mischief to the entire structure. It is, apparently, this principle of non-interference which is adopted in the extensive dominions of the Austrian emperor; but all, who have the opportunities of judging, know how well for many years past the illustrious statesman at the head of affairs in that empire has been gradually relaxing the severity of the laws, and improving and consolidating the antiquated and discordant institu- tions of his country.* In a neighbouring State, the King of Prussia, from the nature of circumstances, has been enabled more openly to advance the liberal institutions of his kingdom, and to prepare it for the spread of those opinions, and the possession of those rights, which in the next century will probably be claimed by all Europe. It is within the history of our own experience that modern attempts to introduce popular systems of government have hitherto been peculiarly unfortunate ; and it would be not a little instructive to inquire into the causes of so many complete failures. In consequence of the many illegal appropriations ot property that had been made in the last reign, a special * In 1843. 256 tribunal was constituted in the year 1769, for the purpose of inquiring into these abuses ; and all persons who en- joyed any grants from the Crown, of what antiquity soever, were ordered to bring them to be confirmed by this court. An event occurred on the 3rd of September, 1769, which had nearly convulsed the kingdom. This was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the king. It was made on a Sunday, while his Majesty, accom- panied by his whole Court, was leaving his palace at Villa Vicosa on a hunting excursion. Having crossed the court- yard on horseback, and going out by a narrow door called the No, he was suddenly and furiously attacked by a ruffian armed with a heavy club. The blow was intended for the king's head, but with admirable promptitude and presence of mind, he received it on his arm ; and on the man aiming a second, it fell on the horse. His Majesty's suite had by this time emerged from the narrow door, and instantly attacked the assassin, who continued to defend himself with singular courage and determination, inflicting blows on all sides, one of which severely wounded the Count de Prado. However, he was at length vanquished and taken to prison, and the king pursued his intended sport. This assassin was a native of the town of Fundao, and was commonly known by the nickname of Migas Frias. It is singular that this attempt w T as made on the anni- versary of the Aveiro conspiracy, and that both these murders were to have been committed on that day in the calendar which is appointed to be observed in honour of St. Francis Xavier, so renowned a Jesuit. About the same time (December) the king's life was again in considerable danger, from the extraordinary con- duct of an individual who was supposed to labour under 257 what the Portuguese denominate partial madness. Mr. Lyttleton describes the circumstances in the following manner : — " About ten o'clock the same night that I was with the Count d'Oeyras, as the king was near getting into his chaise after the opera, to go from thence to his apartments in the palace of Ajuda, a man, indifferently dressed, with a sword by his side, told some of his Majesty's servants that he wanted to speak to the king, having somewhat to say to him from God (da parte de Deos). The servants would not let him come up to the chaise, but reported what they had heard, and were thereupon ordered to look for the man, whom they found in or near the same spot where they had first seen him, and bade him go on to the king's apart- ments, where the Marquis de Marialva, his Majesty's Master of the Horse, came out and asked him what ho wanted ; to which he answered, that he had a petition to present to the king. The marquis told him he might deliver it to him, and he would give it to his Majesty ; to which he replied that he must speak to the king in person. Upon which, he was immediately sent in custody, under a guard of soldiers, to the Count d'Oeyras, for further exami- nation, about an hour after I had left him." To these accounts of the dangers to which the country was exposed by the loss of her rulers, I will allude to one more, which is narrated by Sir John Hort, British Consul- General at Lisbon, in a despatch dated September 11th, 1771:— " An attempt of equal boldness (with that on the king) and folly was made upon the person of M. de Pombal, on Friday last, at the gate of the king's palace, at noon, amidst of no less than three parties of guards, horse and foot. An ordinary fellow, barefooted, threw a stone, and failing that, a second, into the carriage of that minister as 258 lie passed. Fortunately, they both missed him ; but they were thrown with such force that one of them, it it is said, shattered one of the pillars which support the chariot roof. The villain was instantly secured, but refuses obstinately, as well as with steady composure, to make any discovery of motive or accomplice. Other recent acts of his — I know not if sincere— induce a belief in some that he is mad." The man was in danger of being sacrificed to popular indignation, had not Pombal, with his usual courage and presence of mind, hurried to his assistance. In the month of June, 17G9, Dom Antonio de Saldanha d'Oliveira, afterwards Count de Eio Mayor, was married to the youngest daughter of Pombal, Donna Maria Amalia de Carvalho. Donna Isabella Juliana de Sousa Coutinho had been betrothed, in the month of April, 1768, according to the custom of the country, to Pombal's second son, Jose Maria de Carvalho. But when the time approached, in the year 1772, for the solemnisation of the nuptials, the young lady expressed such a repugnance for the consum- mation of the marriage, that it was judged advisable to permit her to retire into a convent until the wishes of her father, who was then ambassador at Paris, might be known. It is with great pleasure that the author is enabled to contradict the many foolish stories that were circulated respecting this affair, some of which, it is true, might afford some amusement to his readers. From the corres- pondence of Mr. Walpole, the real state of the case is explained. Immediately on the young lady's refusal, and her retirement into the convent, Pombal sent off a special messenger to her father at Paris, and in the course of two months, on the 16th of July, 1772, the marriage was declared null, and the parties were at liberty to follow their own matrimonial desires. 250 It is singular that this son of Pombal, the Count de Redinha, should have afterwards married a niece of the Marquis of Tavora ; and it is from this union, which took place on the 24th of September, 177G, that the present Marquis of Pomhal is descended. s 2 200 CHAPTER XIX. AVe have seen that, notwithstanding the tremendous hold which the Jesuits obtained over the public mind in Portu- al, their influence was destroyed, their Order suppressed, and their property confiscated, by the energy, the policy, and genius of one man. Prejudiced indeed must be those who regret that the mask of hypocrisy was plucked from them. Hypocrisy — . "The only evil that walks Invisible, except to God alone," a vice which, if discovered, discredits the very cause which it seems so anxious to support. Immediately after the expulsion of the Jesuits, a sect sprang up, under the name of Reformers, the Blessed, or Jacobeos. It attracted considerable attention, but one Gaspar da Incarnacao, one of those " Who practised falshood under saintly show," was its acknowledged head and spiritual director; and very shortly after, no less a personage than the Bishop ot Coimbra, of the Povolide family, adopted its tenets, and upheld its opinions. These fanatics exclaimed loudly against the general wickedness of the whole nation. They pretended great piety, indifference to all the amenities of life ; and assumed a great outward simplicity and severity of deportment. Had these men contented themselves with the quiet en- joyment of their own opinions, they would have remained 261 unmolested. But such was not their disposition. They aimed at what they called a general reform in Church and State. Nor were they scrupulous in the means resorted to, to bring about what they sought to achieve. The Bishop of Coimbra, their chief supporter, was a wild enthusiast — a man whose uncontrolled temper was so agitated by con- tinual excitement, that he committed himself to the dis- semination of seditious writings and inflammatory libels, till their repeated publication compelled the government to take active steps for their suppression. In most of his writings he boldly asserted that Pombal was not only English in his politics, but English in his religion, and that his heart was contaminated by heresy. But, not contenting himself with such absurd and malicious charges, he added that heresy was advancing with rapid strides to the very throne itself, and that the whole nation was in danger. So false and impudent an attack could not fail to be personally offensive to Dom Joseph, whose real but unaffected piety, as well as that of his minister, was apparent in every act of their lives. The charge of impiety brought against Pombal is replied to by an extract from his " Apology," written some years after, and to which we shall have occa- sion again to refer : — " The greatest affront that can be offered to an honest man and a Christian is to accuse him of irreligion. For this purpose, mine enemies (though now long since forgiven) have gratuitously sought to wound me in the innermost recesses of my heart. They have endeavoured to penetrate it with the mortal blow of this ill-devised calumny, without reflecting that in no way can their assertions be reconciled with the whole tenor of my life." After indignantly disclaiming these unfounded charges, and enumerating the repeated proofs he had given of his attachment to the Catholic Church, he proceeds to add : — 262 Ci The judgments and decisions of men can only be formed by the observation of our external actions and behaviour ; and it is not the province of men, nor even of the Church itself, to decide on the secret sentiments of the human breast, which are reserved, for the immediate cognisance of the all-knowing God." At the same time that the Bishop of Coimbra was ful- minating these attacks on the kino- and his minister, he also published a mandate to all the clergy and. faithful in his diocese, declaiming violently against all heretical works, and specially forbidding the perusal of the following, viz : — The Turkish Spy, Cabalistical Letters, Chinese Letters, Jewish Letters, Letters on the Religion Essential to Man, Works of the Philosopher of Sans Souci, Picture of the Age, Essay on General History by Voltaire, The Henriade, Substance of the Ecclesiastes and of the Song of Songs, The Spirit of Voltaire, Encyclopaedia, The Spy in the Courts of Europe by Thomas Kouli Kain, The Social Contract, The Philosophy of History, Discourse on the Inequality of Man by Rousseau, Philosophical Dictionary, Oriental Despotism, Dupin Do Antiquao Ecclesia3 Disciplina, Dissertationcs Historical, The Maid of Orleans by Voltaire, De Statu Ecclesia) et Legitima Potestate Romani Pontificis, Belisa- rius by Marmontel. " The culpable authors of these pernicious works," adds the Bishop, " seem to have proposed to themselves no other object, than to root out from the hearts of the faithful the holy maxims of morality and religion, and to substitute for them, indifference and fatality ; doctrines equally pernicious and criminal, and calculated to cause many persons to make shipwreck of their faith, to expose the precious lives of kings and princes to the greatest dangers, and to subvert the foundations of all lawful administration, by disturbing 263 the harmony which should reign between the temporal power and the priesthood. For (says Isidore de Peluse) it is from the unity of the priesthood and the temporal power, that the perfection of government springs. What- ever difference there may be between these two authorities, they nevertheless concur as to the same object, which is the salvation of souls. " These false prophets, it is true, do not overthrow the altars, but they drive away from them, by their pernicious doctrines, the worshippers of the true God, who requires to be worshipped in spirit and in truth. They do not come armed with swords to put the faithful to death ; but by the deadly poison of their knowledge, or, to speak more pro- perly, of their ignorance, they endeavour to deprive them of another life, infinitely more noble and. more important, that of the soul," &c. s &c. All this and much more was levelled at the king and his minister, and was too pointed to be passed over in silence. Besides, there was pretty certain evidence of the Bishop's being an accomplice in a conspiracy, one of the many constantly in a state of organisation, but which Pombal by his vigilance always managed to strangle at their birth, by a timely imprisonment of the leaders. The Bishop probably aspired to the honours of martyrdom, but in this hope he was disappointed. However, on the 9th of December, 1768, a few days after the publication of this mandate, the king issued a decree, addressed to the dean, dignities, and chapter of the Cathedral Church of Coimbra. In this, it is declared that the Bishop of Coimbra, Dom Miguel da Annunciacao, having caused to be circulated under false titles, sundry seditious writings which attack the most sacred rights of the Crown, and affect the public peace, and having com- mitted high treason, the said Bishop is from henceforth to 264 be reputed dead, and the government of his church to be considered as vacated and deprived of its pastor. The dean and chapter are therefore ordered to proceed to the election of a vicar-general to govern the said church, until the nomination of a new bishop and lawful pastor. And for this purpose the king is pleased to recommend Fran- cisco de Lemos Faria. The Bishop was conveyed to prison, where he remained until the death of Dom Joseph ; and all his followers, the Jacobeos, were excluded from the university, by a decree of December 14th in the same year. Pombal, in order to ridicule the hypocrisy of this sect, and to represent it in its true colours, ordered at this period the " TartufFe " to be translated, and performed at the national theatre, before the king and all the royal family. The TartufFe appeared in the garb of a Jesuit, and the piece was repeated many times with great applause to crowded audiences ; thus illustrating the motto of the stage, castigat ridendo mores. At one of these representations, however, three persons were arrested for making too free allusions to what was going forward on the stage. It may here be proper to mention an occurrence which took place at this time, because it led afterwards to con- sequences very important in the history of Pombal's administration. In the month of June, 1771, M. Seabra, the Attorney-General, was declared Assistant Secretary of State with the Marquis of Pombal. This gentleman, by his sole talent, unsupported by wealth or high birth, had ingratiated himself very much into the favour of the Mar- quis, and by his appointment — a reward for his tried attachment — overleapt many steps in the progress to such an office. Surmises were not wanting as to the future destiny of this new minister. 265 A despatch from Mr. Bobert Walpole, dated July 4th, 1772, enables us to get behind the scenes, and examine the acting that was now £joiii£j forward, and the intrigues that O DO' O were in preparation to undermine the power of the minister whenever an opportunity should offer itself. This docu- ment will also give a clear insight into the position in which M. Seabra stood previous to the events which caused his ruin and disgrace. " The Marquis of Pombal has, by his personal credit with his Most Faithful Majesty, an entire possession of the government of this country, and will certainly support his credit with his Most Faithful Majesty to the last. In case of any fatal accident to his Most Faithful Majesty, it is probable that a removal of him might ensue ; for it is cer- tain that the Queen of Portugal, and the rest of the royal family, who have a great deference for her Majesty's senti- ments, are very much adverse to the Marquis of Pombal. " M. de Mello was formerly much commended and esteemed by the Marquis of Pombal, so far as to have been recommended frequently by him to his Most Faithful Majesty, which had induced his Most Faithful Majesty to send for M. de Mello from England upon the death of one of the Marquis's brothers, without consulting the Marquis upon it ; and probably the king w r as persuaded to this measure by the queen. " M. de Mello was received by the Marquis ot Pombal with open arms ; and at the beginning nothing appeared more cordial than the friendship of the two ministers. But soon M. de Mello's hasty presumption on the strength of his credit broke forth in some indiscretions against the Marquis; and though the general business is carried on with union, or rather by the directions of the Marquis and the acquiescence ot M. de Mello, yet there is a want of cordialitv between them. 266 "M. de Seabra, the Secretary of State adjoined to the Marquis of Pombal, was educated a lawyer, and before his promotion to this office was Procurador da Coroa. The Marquis was formerly much connected with the father of this gentleman, and has always kept up a friendship for the family. The present M. de Seabra has had a great hand in the books that have been written and compiled against the Jesuits under the inspection ot the Marquis, which are published under the name of M. de Seabra. rt The Marquis, therefore, having a great opinion of, and confidence in this person, has introduced him into the cabi- net, by procuring him to be made Secretary of State ad- joined to his department ; and this seemed to be a measure not a little necessary, since the appointment of M. de Mello, as the Marquis's age and health obliges him sometimes to desire his Most Faithful Majesty to dispense with his attendance at the councils, and particularly from the journeys which the king makes to Salvaterra and other places, where the ministers attend his Most Faithful Majesty ; and as Dom Luiz da Cunha, a worthy and quiet man, has no other ambition but to keep within the mere line of his department, the Marquis of Pombal could not much depend upon him, who, from his nature, has not activity enough to pursue any other business than what is immediately the duty of his office. " This promotion of M. de Seabra was therefore a wise and considerate measure of the Marquis of Pombal, who could depend upon him, both as a check upon M. de Mello, and upon account of his talents, and the confidence and friendship that has been between them for many years, to pursue in the absence of the Marquis the plan and system of government to the utmost of his wishes. "But still, notwithstanding this, there was something 267 more wanting in order to secure his Most Faithful Majesty, and to prevent the effect of access and advice from the other parts of the royal family in opposition to the Marquis; and this could not be done by M. de Seabra, who as Secretary of State has no privilege of audience of his Most Faithful Majesty, but at the same time with the other Secretaries of State in the Council of Despatch — the Marquis of Pombal being the only one of the ministers who has permission to have access to his Most Faithful Majesty whenever he thinks proper. " But it being a prerogative of Cardinals to demand access to kings and princes whenever they please, this of- fered an advantageous opportunity to the Marquis of Pom- bal in procuring the Cardinal da Cunha to be appointed a Minister of State. The Marquis, having introduced his friend the Cardinal da Cunha into a knowledge of the de- spatch of business in general, has this further advantage, that whenever he is not able to go to the king himself, he can make use of the Cardinal for any business with his Most Faithful Majesty, which he might not think proper to bring before the Council. " I look upon this as a very wise measure of the Marquis of Pombal ; for as long as his Most Faithful Majesty lives, the Marquis, in case of his own death, leaves behind him a friend who, in all probability, may succeed him as Prime Minister, and who, whatever may be the event of political plans, will still have credit enough to secure the property and relations of the Marquis from any persecu- tions. And in case of the death of his Most Faithful Majesty, whatever may be the event with respect to the change of ministers, the Cardinal's general good character and credit will be of equal service to the Marquis in letting him dowm gently and without disgrace. u I say the general good character of the Cardinal, for 2G8 by all accounts lie is universally esteemed. He is not a man of great parts, but he is a very good and an honest man ; and if he is not in particular credit with the Queen of Portugal, it is because it is sufficient that he is a friend of the Marquis of Pombal, not to be liked by others. "I imagine that this promotion of the Cardinal is not very agreeable to M. de Mello, though this latter has in other respects a regard for the Cardinal. His Most Faithful Majesty's Cabinet consists now of the Marquis of Pombal, the Cardinal da Cunha, Dom Luiz da Cunha, M. de Mello, and M. de Seabra. It is probable that on a division of opinion, M. de Mello would be single ; for though Dom Luiz da Cunha does not like the Marquis of Pombal, he is so passive in his temper, that the Marquis has nothing to fear from him. "About the time that the Cardinal was to be introduced into the Cabinet, his Most Faithful Majesty declared that for the future the ministers should have leave to sit in his Majesty's presence ; whereas before, they used to stand or kneel the whole time of despatching of business with his Most Faithful Majesty." We have already seen the successful result of Pombal's negotiations with the Court of Pome for the abolition of the Jesuits. The Court of Portugal was the first that discovered the mischievous and wicked intrigues of these men ; and from the beginning to the end acted wholly and solely by itself. For although France and Spain, influenced by the example of Portugal, inquired into the cabals of the Order, and discovered its mischievous sys- tem, and from thence took upon themselves a share in the common cause against the Jesuits, yet Portugal, in all its proceedings against the Society, and in its disputes and contests with the Court of Pome, had continued to act by itself, and had never at any time made any joint appliea- 260 tion, in either one or the other case, with any of the other Courts. Pombal was justly proud of the work he had accom- plished, seeing, as he did, his measures finally sanctioned by the Papal authority. The English Minister was not wanting in his tribute of praise on this great and impor- tant occasion : — " The news of the total abolition of the Society of the Jesuits by the Pope has been received here, as your Lord- ship will easily imagine, with the greatest satisfaction by the Court; and the Marquis of Pombal in particular is highly gratified in this last step to the extinction of a body with whom he has been contesting so many years, and is not insensible to the good fortune of seeing the proceed- ings of this Court against the Jesuits, since he has come to the administration of the affairs of this country, justified in so complete a manner ; especially as he must be allowed the merit of being the first in this century who has ven- tured openly to attack this Society, which has had so much influence in many Courts, and particularly in this, till the accession of his present Most Faithful Majesty." Clement XIV. did not long survive these events. His death caused an irreparable loss to the Catholic Church ; and all Europe was anxious to know, at this critical moment, who would be his successor. That Pombal was fearful of the consequences of an imprudent election may be seen from the following conversation which he had with Mr. Walpole : and which is thus related by the English Minister : — "In his correspondence (as the Marquis has told me) with the Duke do Choiseul, during the pontificate of Clement XIIL, the Marquis of Pombal did not hesitate saying, that it was beneath the Court of France to treat with the Court ot Pome in a suppliant manner; that 270 Franco ought to have marched a body of troops to Rome, and, separating the Pope from the General of the Jesuits and his other bad councillors, treating him with the incense due to his sacred person, ought without delay to have put the others in chains. That, if France had acted in this manner, it would have relieved the Pope from his fears and apprehensions of the Jesuits, and Europe would so much the sooner have been relieved from that order of men, and the Duke de Choiseul would still have continued at the head of affairs in France." * * * "I have no doubt," continues Mr. Walpole, " that the Marquis of Pombal still thinks (notwithstanding the abolition of the Jesuits) that such a measure as he recommended to the Duke de Choiseul may yet become necessary to compel the Court of Rome to have a due regard to the dignity and authority of the Roman Catholic princes of Europe. "In a conversation the Marquis of Pombal had some time ago with the Sardinian Minister, he said that it was to be wished that a Pope be chosen, who should be of such a character and temper as to form a system for the ap- proaching of the Romish to the Protestant Church, which would be of general public advantage, and particularly so to those Courts of different professions, who are connected by friendship, and would wish to seek a nearer alli- ance. That the Court of Turin, for example, would no doubt prefer a marriage with the royal family of Great Britain to any other alliance, if certain religious obstacles w r ere removed. I mention this only as an instance of the liberal way of thinking of the Marquis of Pombal in re- gard to religious matters, which has shown itself in many particulars, whereby the superstition in this country is in many respects diminished from what it was some years ago. " The correspondence between this Court and that of Rome was established upon so amicable a footing since the 271 late reconciliation, that Clement XIV. was disposed to acquiesce in every measure that could be agreeable to this Court ; and gave a remarkable instance of this not long before his death, in the depriving of the Bishop of Coimbra, alleging in general terms, in the preamble of the Bull, the Bishop's age, and reasons well known to himself (the Pope). I understand that the words nolente etiam ac invito are in- serted in the instrument ; for the Bishop, though he is in prison, has constantly refused, to resign his Bishopric. This act of the late Pope is a single event of the hind in Church History." To this unequivocal proof of the Pope's compliance with the measures of Pombal, may be added another case, to show the influence he was supposed to possess at Rome. The following despatch from Lord Rochford to the British Minister at Lisbon will best explain the circumstances alluded to : — "Nov. 30th, 1773. I am informed from Italy that cer- tain papers, relative to that horrid and execrable gun- powder plot designed to sap this happy constitution, have been lately found in the Jesuits' college of St. Andrew's at Rome, which, being carried to the Pope, and sealed by him with the seal of the Inquisition, were afterwards sent to the Deputation of Cardinals, to whom the sole management of everything relative to the Jesuits is confided. As it is not improbable but the Court of Portugal, from their con- nections at Rome, might be able to procure these curious anecdotes concerning this country, which his Majesty wishes to see, you will, without mentioning the king's name, desire the Marquis of Pombal to employ his good offices for that purpose, which I should think he would not be likely to refuse, when I consider that the Marquis is a professed enemy to this Society, and would probably spare no pains to expose them to the utmost." 272 The preceding extracts demonstrate the energy of Pom- bal, and shadow forth the still vaster designs he would probably have conceived and accomplished, had he moved in a more enlarged sphere of action. 273 CHAPTER XX. I have alreadj- more than once alluded to the anxious desire Pombal felt, and the pains he took, to educate the people. He hoped by these means to lay the foundation on which, at a future period, the superstructure of a free government might be erected. He was well aware that if popular governments are to be anything but shadows, they must be based on popular knowledge. He felt that his country without the aid of education would be unfit for any of those forms of free government which, when the people are ignorant, too frequently confer absolute power on factions, who enjoy the good for which others have toiled. The talents of that statesman are not to be esti- mated very highly who has so little knowledge of history, and is so ignorant of human nature, as to imagine that constitutions are to be modelled and remodelled, and worked with the same ease and regularity as an inanimate machine. Pombal perceived that the spirit of revolution was already abroad in his time, that its progress was slow but irresistible, and he thereupon wished his countrymen to be prepared for its advent. "With a presentiment of the evils that menaced his successors, he frequently exclaimed, " Os meus filhos ainda poderao viver descancados, mas ai dos meus netos." (" Our children may live to end their days in peace, but God help our grandchildren.") This remarkable prophecy has been but too truly fulfilled in the various T 274 disasters which have distracted, and still continue to dis- tract, the once rich and happy Portugal. To prepare his countrymen, then, for the changes he saw to be inevitable in Europe, he endeavoured to raise them to the same state of education which some European countries already enjoyed. But various obstacles impeded his progress, and foiled his best directed efforts. For a long period the University of Coimbra had been in the hands of the Jesuits, whose system of education was con- fined and illiberal. The number of books permitted to be read w r as extremely limited, and only such as furthered their own narrow and contracted notions of science and general literature. Amongst others equally obnoxious, were many writings of pretended prophets, the predictions of whom were found strangely to coincide with the suc- cession of events which the Order desired to see. The abuses in the college had become so notorious, that Dom Joseph, in August, 1772, ordered Pombal to proceed to Coimbra as Lieutenant-Generalof the University, and there effect such reforms as upon careful inquiry he should find necessaiy. His first act w r as to publish an account of the University at the period when the Jesuits introduced them- selves into it and usurped its powers, which clearly and distinctly proved that from that time began the rapid decline of literature, science, and philosophy in the king- dom. Some idea may be formed of the low ebb to which learning had been reduced, from the fact that in 1766 there were but seven students in the Greek class, out of about 6000 who had their names on the University books. Having at once perceived the causes of the evils which afflicted this ancient seat of learning, Pombal immediately applied the necessary remedies. His first step was to ap- point professors of acknowledged talents and acquirements, 275 without regard to the solicitations of those drones, who had been so long in the enjoyment of lucrative sinecures. Two new faculties were also founded ; one of natural history, the other of mathematics. The latter excited the enmity of the clergy, who exclaimed it was heretical. The discipline of the University was also entirely re- modelled. Two months only were allowed for vacation, instead of the long periods hitherto wasted under that name. Regular attendance at lectures and lessons was strictly insisted upon, unless illness or any other sufficient cause was pleaded. Fines were inflicted for the first and second absence, and confinement for the third. By these wise ordinances, all idlers were compelled to take their names off the books, and in a short time the number of students fell from several thousands to six or seven hundred. Previous to this, many whose names were in- scribed on the books, passed their time away from the University, and only appeared there when they went up for their degrees, which were granted as a matter of course. Pombal entirely forbade this malpractice, by directing that no degree should be conferred without a strict and im- partial examination, and that no degree of Doctor of Theology should be granted without an acquaintance with Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. To afford the best means of obtaining information of every description, museums of natural history, of medical science, and of chemical objects, together with an observa- tory, were founded. So rapid did the work of improvement proceed, that in a short time no less than eighty professor- ships were established ; all sciences that either sweeten life or improve the condition of men were taught ; languages, both ancient and modern, history, rhetoric, logic, poetry, architecture, drawing, and music. So great a reputation did the statutes and regulations of Coimbra obtain in t 2 276 Europe, that other governments adopted them, with the view of improving their own seminaries of learning. The following letter will prove how nicely Pombal discriminated between what is necessary and useful, and what is useless and ostentatious : — " To the Rector of the University of Coimbra, respecting the formation of the Botanic Garden planned by the Italian Professors of Natural History. " I have delayed hitherto replying to the plan for a botanical garden, which these professors have presented, in order to address you more fully on this matter. These professors are Italians, a people that are accustomed to see hundreds of thousands of cruzados sent from this country to Rome; and, full of enthusiasm, they imagine that everything not exceedingly expensive is unworthy of the Portuguese name, or of their own. From this I found, where I least expected it, that they had uselessly laid out the exorbitant sum of more than one hundred thousand cruzados, in forming, as a mere object of curiosity, a little garden near the Ajuda Palace. With the same idea, they have been led by their vast whims to form the extensive scheme described in their plan, which, I see, being in imitation of their other small specimen of a botanical garden, all the money of the universe would scarcely suffice to complete. I have always been of the opinion, and shall always remain in it, that things are not good because they are expensive and on a large scale, but because they are fit and adequate to the purposes for which they are required. This has always been the practice in the botanic gardens of England, Germany, and Holland; and, as I am told, of Padua; because none of these were made with Portuguese gold. All those gardens are reduced to a small walled inclosure, with the 277 necessary conveniences for a certain number of medicinal herbs proper for the use of the medical profession, without a collection of herbs, shrubs, and even trees from different parts of the world, with which the followers of Linngeus have wasted their fortunes to show a marigold from Persia, a lily from Turkey, and a tribe of aloes with an infinity of pompous names. You will accordingly reduce the number of plants to those necessary for botanic studies, in order that the students may not be ignorant of this branch of medicine, as it is practised with little expense in other universities. And, to leave no doubt on the subject, you may say that his Majesty will not allow a larger or more sumptuous garden than that of Chelsea, near London, the most opulent capital in Europe; and add, that on this same principle the plan is to be formed, and a calculation made of the expense of raising a garden for the study of boys, not the ostentation of princes, or of those extravagant individuals who ruin themselves to be able to show blites, purslanes, and pudding-grass, from India, China, and Arabia. "Marquez de Pombal." Having completed his important task of refounding the University, Pombal took his leave of it on the 22nd of October, after first publicly expressing himself in the following discourse : — " The benignity of his Majesty the king was never more powerfully displayed, than in availing himself of so feeble an instrument as myself, in order to complete his magnifi- cent enterprise, the refoundation of this illustrious Uni- versity. For two-and-twenty years this has been one of the principal objects amongst so many continual and stupendous works that have occupied the attention of his Majesty's august and paternal solicitude. lie had, 278 however, to vanquish and destroy, by the strength of his powerful arm, many domestic monsters, and many foreign enemies, before it was possible for him to arrive midway in his most glorious career. But it will constitute one of the greatest causes of the satisfaction that his Majesty receives from his faithful subjects, to find, by the result of my honourable commission, that this laudable academical body had already begun to establish wise and excellent regula- tions from the period of the promulgation of those laws, which dissipated the clouds wherewith the enemies of light had almost impenetrably concealed the natural talents of the Portuguese. " This faithful proof, of which I found in Coimbra so much to praise, will be in the mind of his Majesty a certain guarantee of the accomplishment of his well-founded hopes concerning the literary advancement of the University, the members of which have thus anticipated the new laws and statutes by their successful studies. They will now find themselves assisted by the Throne itself, with the wise directions and regular methods that in Portugal have lain buried under the ruins of two centuries of fatal ravages. For my own part, I feel confident that they will in every- thing answer the royal expectation. " This well-founded certitude is what can alone sweeten the painful feeling with which it is indispensable that I leave this illustrious academy, in order to fulfil my duties at Court ; auguring, at the same time, that its success will be such as to renew in their former purity the splendour of the Lusitanian Church, the glory of his Majesty's crown, and the nunc of the illustrious heroes who honour by their reputation the annals of Portugal. "To effect such desirable ends, his Majesty has appointed the worthy prelate, who hitherto with such success has governed the University as Rector, from the day of my 279 departure to preside as Reformator ; confident that, by his cultivated talents and exemplary virtues, he will not only preserve the exact observance of the wise statutes of which the execution has been confided to him, but will, at the same time, enlighten the University by his directions, raise it by his consummate prudence, and animate it by his beneficial applications in everything that may lead to the greatest improvement and greatest honour of the academic body (faciddades academicas)." But Pombal's attention was not exclusively turned to the education of the higher classes. In the same year, November 6th, 1772, he established in the Portuguese dominions no less than 887 professors and masters for the gratituous instruction of all his Majesty's subjects, and of these, ninety-four were appointed to the islands and colonies. Each professor was ordered and directed to send a yearly account of the progress of his pupils. Four hundred and seventy-nine masters were appointed to give instruction in reading and writing; 236 for Latin, and 88 for Greek classes. To which were added 49 schools for rhetoric, and 30 for philosophy, which soon began to scatter the blessings of education gratuitously throughout the kingdom. Small taxes, under the name of " the literary subsidy," were laid on various articles of general consumption, in order to pay the salaries of these professors, We may here introduce a few of Pombal's sentiments on education, and the measures which he took to improve the method of instruction then in vogue. Theso w r ere published in the king's name, in a decree dated September 30th, 1770 :— " The improvement of the national language is one of the most important means for the refinement of civilised 280 nations, since on that depends the perspicuity, the energy, and the majesty with which the laws are written, the truths of religion manifested, and writings rendered both useful and agreeable. Ou the contrary, nothing more clearly de- monstrates the ignorance of a people, than the barbarism of their language. It is certain there are no better means for polishing and giving perfection to a language, than for youth to be instructed in the grammar of their own tongue, in order that they may be able to speak and write it with purity and elegance, avoiding those errors which so greatly disfigure the nobility of their ideas. And, since all lan- guages are founded on the same general principles, they are thus enabled to acquire others with greater facility, and with a better understanding of the difficulties that usually embarrass them in the study of foreign idioms. In this manner were the ancient languages of Greece and Rome brought to that perfection which so many excellent and in- imitable works sufficiently prove, and which have been handed down to us from the times of Athens and Rome. In conformity with the example of these and of other en- lightened nations, and desiring as much as in my power to further the cultivation of the Portuguese language in my dominions, in order to procure useful members for the ser- vice of the State, I hereby ordain that the professors of Latin, when they receive fresh students into their classes, shall begin by instructing them in the knowledge of Portu- guese grammar during the space of six months, if such time should be thought necessary ; and that the grammar of Joz6 dos Reis Lobato shall be used for that purpose, on account of the excellent method, simplicity, and clearness with which it is arranged. And, as I am informed, that in the schools for primary instruction, it has hitherto been the custom to indulge in the study and practice of captious arguments (a licao de processos litigiosos e sentencas), 281 which only serve to waste time, and to accustom youth to conceit and wranglings, I hereby order that so prejudicial a habit shall be for ever abolished." Such were the measures by which Pombal strove to pre- pare his country for free government, by diffusing education into the remotest corners of the empire. Nor could better means have been devised so to enlighten his countrymen that they might see through the thin veil of policy by which, in the representative system, ambition too frequently seeks to conceal its aims, objects, and ends. We have already alluded to the admission of M. Seabra to a share in the administration in the year 1771, and to the variety of speculations which it occasioned. The sub- sequent fate of this unfortunate man is still often the subject of conversation and argument in Portugal. Probably the following despatch from Mr. Walpole may afford some insight into the cause of his disgrace : — t( January 22nd, 1774. M. de Seabra, the Secretary of State adjoined to the Marquis de Pombal, is disgraced. " On Tuesday last he went as usual to the Secretary of State's office at the Marquis of Pombal' s, and after de- spatching some business, he went into the Marquis's apartments, who delivered him the king's decree of dis- mission and exile into the country. The Marquis, after acquainting him that he must be persuaded that the king had sufficient motives for this measure, and that he, the Marquis, had as much mortification in being obliged to signify the king's orders on this occasion as he had had satisfaction in presenting him to his Majesty, concluded by telling him that he ought to be sensible of the king's goodness in permitting him to go to an estate which had belonged to his (M. de Seabra's) father, which is at the distance of about forty leagues from Lisbon, near Vizeu. "M. de Seabra accordingly set out on Wednesday 282 morning early with his lady ; and though it is not said whether any officers or magistrates accompanied him, it is believed that the magistrate of the district where he is to be, is ordered to watch him very closely. "The king's decree was directed to Doutor Jos6 de Seabra, without any titles of office ; so that he is deprived of every employment he had as Dezembargador, Secretary of State, and Keeper of the Kecords in the Torre do Tombo. There are no reasons given in the Decreto for this measure. " This is an event that surprised everybody ; and it is almost inconceivable how M. de Seabra could bring himself under this misfortune, in whatever respect one considers M. de Seabra's situation. " He is a man of talents, of great application, and of pretty extensive knowledge, and was conversant in foreign languages : he had had the confidence of the Marquis of Pombal many years, and formerly as Procurador de Coroa (or Attorney-General), and since as Secretary of State, has been in the secret of the great affairs of this country, and was certainly looked upon as a person the most likely to succeed to the greatest share of the administration of the affairs of this country, after the decease of the Marquis of Pombal. His situation in point of emolument was by no means inconsiderable; he had the usual appointment of Secretary of State, 25,000 crowns a-year; 6000 crowns a-year as Keeper of the Records in the Torre do Tombo; and an estate which had belonged to the Jesuits, reckoned to produce 12,000 crowns a-year. He is about forty years of age. " He seemed to me to be of a most amiable character, and formed to do business to the satisfaction of everybody ; and to have such a frankness and openness in his disposi- tion as to make himself beloved ; and I have been told that since his being brought to Court, his behaviour had 283 acquired him the countenance of the queen, and of the Infant Dom Pedro, the king's brother, who were at first very much prejudiced against him. " Various are the reports and stories in regard to the cause of his disgrace ; and it is very difficult to give any credit to any of them, as I cannot affirm that they are related as from any authority. " M. de Seabra had in his department the ecclesiastical correspondence and jurisdiction, and it is said, that it appears that during the two years and four months that he has been Secretary of State he has, without the king's knowledge, disposed of 2922 avisos or orders to the dif- ferent bishops of the kingdom, for the ordaining as many priests ; for every one of which he is said to have received ten moidores, which, your Lordship will observe, must have amounted to a considerable sum of money. " There is a story also of his confining a young man in a convent, with a view to the forcing him to take the religious habit, that he might secure the inheritance of the estate ; and this, notwithstanding the king had ordered the young man to be set at liberty. " One really cannot as yet depend upon what is said ; for there are persons that will attribute his disgrace to his imprudence in giving his opinion too freely on business in opposition to the Marquis de Pombal, which the Marquis had long endured patiently ; and in endeavouring to make himself a set of friends independent of the connections of the Marquis of Pombal, and in other respects assuming too much presumption in his office and situation. " But whatever may be the true cause of his mis- fortunes, I fear they will not end here. For, if his crimes are great, I think the Marquis of Pombal will not let it be said, that through friendship he has protected him from the banishment which would have been the fate of any other 284 person in the same predicament ; and if his disgrace is merely the effect of jealousy, it is likely that he may be treated with severity, in order that the public may be made to believe that his crimes are of an enormous nature. "I fancy M. de Mello is not sorry for the removal of M. de Seabra, especially as I understand that of late he gains ground, despatches the business of his department to the satisfaction of the government, and conducts himself with prudence and discretion. This event will certainly put him in the way of seeking the confidence of the Marquis of Pombal. He is not gone with the king to Salvaterra, which is a sign that he is fully employed with the Marquis of Pombal." In a subsequent despatch, Mr. Walpole again alludes to this event : — " March 23, 1774. I have nothing further to acquaint your Lordship with relative to M. de Seabra's disgrace. At present everything is quiet in regard to him ; and as yet it seems as if he might be left to remain in his place of exile. This event has had no effect to the disadvantage of the Marquis of Pombal : on the contrary, it is looked upon as a fresh instance of the great confidence that his Most Faithful Majesty has in the Marquis; for it is believed that the king himself pointed out to the Marquis of Pombal ex- amples of M. de Seabra's ingratitude and disrespect to- wards him." In the course of the year M. Seabra was sent as a prisoner to the colonies. It is impossible for us to decide on what were the real motives for the punishment of this gentleman, who, by all accounts, enjoyed not only the countenance and protection of the minister, but the general esteem of all who knew him. Peculation was a crime very generally committed in Portugal at this time ; but if this were the real cause, 285 Pombal was certainly not a man to allow such a breach of confidence to remain unpunished in one, on whom he had already showered down so many riches and rewards, and in whom he reposed entire faith. Another reason of Seabra's disgrace is very current in Portugal. The succession to the crown had always been a subject of great difficulty and anxiety ; and suitable mar- riages for the various members of the royal family had occasioned much intrigue both at home and at foreign Courts. The king, fearing the consequences that might result at his death from the accession to the throne of his daughter — a weak, bigoted woman, who had already given signs of that insanity which at a future period compelled her to relinquish the reins of government — resolved, after the example of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, to alter the succession to the crown in favour of his daughter s son, the Prince of Beira. For this purpose, it is said, every- thing was already arranged with his minister, no one being in the secret but Seabra, when it was discovered that the princess had been apprised of her father's intentions, and, by the advice and exhortations of her friends, resolutely refused to become a party in any way to her own dethrone- ment. We will not pause here to examine a monarch's right, or the justice of altering the succession to the throne in any country ; but there can be but one opinion as to the propriety of the punishment inflicted on the betrayer of his master's secrets. 286 CHAPTER XXI. That colossal equestrian statue placed in the centre of the principal square in Lisbon sufficiently testifies that the arts were not neglected during PombaFs administration. On the completion of this square, one of the finest in Europe, the idea naturally presented itself of erecting some memo- rial, that might commemorate the successful and glorious reign in which so many great undertakings had been com^ menced and completed. For the whole of this quarter of Lisbon had been previously one heap of undistiuguishable ruins. It was therefore determined that a statue in bronze, representing Dom Joseph on horseback, raised on a marble pedestal, ornamented with allegorical figures, should be erected. A Portuguese brigadier named Bartolomeo da Costa, a man of considerable talent, was charged with the casting, and the superintendence of the whole design. Eighty yoke of oxen were employed to bring the pedestal from the quarry, a distance of two miles ; and it cost, ere it was completed, with its sculptured ornaments, 24,010,443 reis.* This superb statue, which is probably larger than any modern work of its kind, required 84,000 pounds of molten bronze for its formation — the whole mass of which was successfully cast in the space of eight minutes. To describe the preparations for the three days' rejoicings, says an eye- witness, would fill a volume. Such parts of the great square where the statue is erected, and which were then unfinished, were completed in wood, so as to represent the * About £G00O. 287 entire design of the spacious square. The total expense incurred was estimated by Mr. Walpole at no less than £200,000, including the cost of the statue. On the 6th of June, 1775, everything being prepared, and the day being the king's birthday, the curtain which had hitherto concealed the work was withdrawn by the hand of Pombal, with great ceremonies and public re- joicings, in the presence of the king, the Court, the foreign ambassadors, and the whole city. The public jubilee lasted three days, during which time every variety of amusement diffused universal joy. Fire- works, feasts, illuminations, allegorical processions, and triumphal erections, banquets, and balls, together with every device for pleasure that imagination could conceive or talent invent, were liberally granted to the people, and proclaimed the opulence and happiness of the nation. Medals were struck to commemorate this glorious day, and, with the exception of State criminals and those guilty of enormous crimes, all prisoners were released from their captivity. On this triumphant occasion the king and the royal family were present, for the first time in Portugal, at an entertainment where the nobility danced. The Count d'Oeyras, Pombal's son, distributed gold medals to the foreign ministers, on one side of which is represented the statue, with the motto " Magnanimo Bestitutori "; on the reverse are allegorical figures representing the raising of Lisbon after the destruction by the earthquake, with the words " Post Fata Re sitr gens Olisipo." Silver medals with the same devices were given to the charges d'affaires, to whom, and to the ministers, were likewise distributed engravings of the equestrian statue.* * One of these gold medals is now in the possession of A. J. 13. Hope, Esq. 288 As a mark of peculiar distinction, Dom Joseph was pleased to order that a bronze bust of his minister, in alto relievo, should be inserted in the pedestal underneath his own statue. This monument of a happy and flourishing reign will for ages remind the people of the most glorious period of their history ; and gradually, as Time, that dis- penses justice to all, rolls on, the name of Pombal will be mentioned with increased respect, admiration, and gratitude by every Portuguese in whose heart a feeling for the honour of his country finds a place. But these rejoicings were preceded by an affair which had well nigh changed the character of the scene, by turning the mirth of the people into grief, and converting a festival of joy into an occasion of bloodshed and of crime. The circumstance to which I allude was a diabolical attempt to assassinate Pombal on the first day of this jubilee. The timely discovery of the conspiracy prevented the intentions of the miscreants; and by the prudent secrecy observed on the occasion, the appointed festivities were not deferred, nor was Lisbon the theatre of conster- nation and horror. The principal author of this plot was one Joiio Battista Pelle, an Italian, who had resided some time in Lisbon. It is from this period that we may date the origin of those infernal machines which have of late created so much mischief and alarm in France. The plot, how- ever, was not contrived with such secrecy but that Pombal got information of it ; and the house of the murderous con- spirator being searched on the eve of the intended assas- sination, in his apartment was found a most destructive machine, consisting of three tubes like pistol-barrels, each containing 1-Jlb. of powder, four flasks with a pound of powder in each, and a very strong wooden barrel with four pounds more in it. Attached to this horrible engine was a match, arranged so as to burn fifteen hours before the 289 powder should ignite. There was also discovered in Pelle's apartment a drawing on paper of the key opening Pombal's coach-house door, besides two models of the same in wax. It was the intention of the conspirators to place this de- structive machine under the seat of Pombal's carriage on the night previous to the inauguration of the equestrian statue, in order that it might explode during the long procession which was to take place on that occasion. Had the intentions of the assassin been carried into effect, cer- tain death would have been the consequence, not only to Pombal, but to those around him. Providence, however, defeated the wicked plot, and ordained that its author should be delivered over to the hands of justice. The wretch was afterwards tried, and eventually made a full confession. He was accordingly executed on the 9th of October of the same year, his body quartered, and exposed to public view. By the timely and fortunate discovery of the plot, Pom- bal's life was rescued from one of the most apparently ef- fective attempts that history narrates for the destruction of any individual. Te Deums were offered up in the churches; and the nation poured forth its gratitude in public and solemn thanksgivings for the valuable life that had been preserved. Sermons were preached commendatory of Pombal's ministry, and expressive of the general joy for his escape. In one delivered in the king's presence, we find the following flattering encomiums : — "If in thy provinces, O fortunate king, manufactories have been established ; if thy navy has increased its ships ; if thy agriculture abounds in the fruits of the earth ; if arts, if sciences, if armies — what if I say % — Yes — if religion itself flourishes, it owes all its force, its union, and its purity to the most illustrious Marquis of Pombal," &c , &c. "And thou, O fortunate people, who seest increase at u 290 every instant thy glory, thy tranquillity, thy abundance, thy learning, and thy strength, thou shouldst humbly beseech the Most High that He may be pleased to spare the life, the ever necessary life, of thy chief minister," &c. A few days after the erection of the royal statue, Pom- bal place;! in the hands of Dom Joseph the following re- flections, which, after having read, his Majesty deposited in his despatch-box, observing, at the same time, that they ought to remain there for the instruction and direction of future ministers in all succeeding reimis : — Observations written by the Marquis of Pombal on the Inauguration of the Equestrian Statue of his Most Faithful Majesty, June 6th, 1775. " The curtain which on the 6th of the present month so gloriously disclosed the royal statue of the king my master, made known on the following days to all those who, not stopping at the superficial qualities of objects, seek further to investigate and comprehend them, that his Majesty has not only dissipated the darkness that reigned in his king- dom, and repaired the ruin in which he found it buried ; but that he has once more made the happy times of Dom Manoel and Dom John III. reappear in Portugal, and even surpassed them, by his paternal, magnanimous, and inde- fatigable care. " All the elements that government and policy have established were made apparent on this joyous occasion, in order that from them a complete idea might be formed of the actual condition of national civilisation, police, opulence, and power, which have so much astonished both natives and foreigners. " The very first and most simple rudiments of this pro- gress may be seen even in the acquirement of a correct and intelligible handwriting. For, previous to the year 231 1750, it was a rare event to meet with an individual capable of composing a legible letter, whilst it is now equally rare to find a respectable person in Lisbon who writes badly. So much so, indeed, that when it it is necessary to appoint a clerk to any of the accountants' offices of the Koyal Treasury, or other public offices, reams of memorials and petitions are sent in, all written in the most beautiful hand. " The second step is in the progress of the mechanical arts, which are, as it were, the hands and arms of a State. And although formerly every article of manufacture en- tered the port of Lisbon from foreign countries, we now see the native manufactories furnish works of gold, silver, wool, silks, steel, mercery, &c. — everything necessary for the dress and ornament of both sexes, as well as for the fur- nishing of houses, and for the rich and numerous carriages used on this most brilliant occasion, without anything coming from abroad : for even the looking-glasses, candle- sticks, and drinking-glasses are fabricated by his Majesty's subjects. " The third step is in the progress of the liberal arts. This progress is shown by the numerous excellent paint- ings of our distinguished countryman Francisco Yicira, and by his many pupils and imitators, that we now possess* * The magnificent full-length portrait of the Marquis, which is in the possession of the family, sufficiently testifies the encouragement which the arts received. In the background the painter has repre- sented the embarkation of the Jesuits at Ilelem ; and a smile of satisfaction is visible on Pombal's countenance, as he points in that direction. A fine line engraving was made of this picture, and underneath is the following inscription : — "Sebastiano Joscpho Carvalio Melio Marchioni Pombalio. Maximi animi, et consilii Viro ob Regis auctoritatcm, Lusitani Populi felicitatem auctam, Hempublicam temporibus difficillimid bene ac fortiter gestam, atque optimis legibus constitutam, David Furry et Gerardus de Yisme, grati lcetique banc emgiem exprimi 292 It is also shown by the extensive diffusion of mercantile knowledge through the means of the Aula do Commercio. For it had previously been necessary to send to Venice or Genoa for competent book-keepers, who received an annual salary of from £240 to £300 ; whereas there are now, on a vacancy occurring, twenty and more qualified persons always ready to occupy their places — persons whose know- ledge enables them to conduct every branch of mercantile correspondence. The sumptuous and well-built edifices of Lisbon demonstrate the state of architecture. The colossal equestrian statue; the superb and delicately-sculptured pedestal on which it is erected ; the raising and placing of those magnificent objects, and the beautiful engravings that were published from time to time to illustrate the progress of the work, manifested to the public the merit of this difficult undertaking, completed entirely by the hands of Portuguese. All these things abundantly prove to foreigners that Portugal has no cause to envy them either their draughtsmen, or their painters, or their sculptors, or their most renowned founders, or their most skilful mechanists. " The fourth step is in the progress of literature, or the helles leitrcs, which in reality serve as the foundation to all sciences. And the multitude of works, both in prose and verse, which have been presented to the Board of Censure, composed in Portuguese, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and Ara- bic, with an elegance and purity of style worthy the age of Demosthenes, Homer, Tully, Virgil, and Horace, in Greece curarunt. Ex autographo pedes septem et pollices sex alto, ac pedes novem et pollices sex Parisienses lato, quod Henrico Josepho Carvalio Melio Comiti Oeyrensi Filio dicarunt. Olisiponc MDCCLXXn." At the period of the French invasion this picture was already- shipped for the purpose of being transported to the Louvre, but was fortunately regained. 293 and Rome, and of Teive, Andrade, Gouvea, Rezende, Barros, Camoens, and Bernardes, in Portugal, sufficiently show that these studies were not more flourishing at the period of the Jesuits' fatal invasion than they are now. " The fifth step is in the progress of the higher sciences. These have been advanced by the restoration of the Uni- versity of Coimbra, and by its new and royal statutes ; by the establishment of its rich and perpetual revenues ; by the appointment of so many learned professors in every branch of science ; by the rewards and advantages held out to those whose studies are most difficult and ungrate- ful ; by the establishment of the sacrosantas laws, which, by abolishing the Expurgatorios Romano-Jezuiticos, have banished many pernicious books, and opened the doors to those of sound and useful learning, and filled the kingdom with the clear lights with which it now abounds; and lastly, by the formation of the important Board of Censure, which, with indefatigable wakefulness, watches over the exact execution of the above laws. All these establish- ments constitute so many authentic testimonies, not only of the rapid progress that the sciences have made in this kingdom and its dominions, but likewise of that just ad- miration with which all the universities of Europe are regarding that of Coimbra ; an institution by which Portu- gal has raised so sublime a monument to her august Restorer, in order to perpetuate her gratitude to all eter- nity. " The sixth step is in the progress of domestic trade ; and by observing that every article that was displayed in the streets, squares, and windows of Lisbon was the pro- duce of the national manufactories ; and that, notwithstand- ing the number of shops and workmen were greater than at any previous time, yet their utmost exertions were unequal to meet the demands made on them ; and observing the 294 sum total of the capital that is employed in so many dif- ferent branches of commerce in this populous city, it will be clearly imagined how many millions must necessarily be devoted to the interior commerce of the country. " The seventh step is in the progress of foreign com- merce ; and the importance of this step will be evident if we reflect on the millions that have entered Portugal by the lucrative extraction of diamonds from Brazil, which up to the year 1753 were not sought after; on the vast sup- plies of sugar which, from having been often insufficient to meet the demands of the country, have, since 1751, become so plentiful as frequently to fill all the warehouses of Lis- bon; on the important article of tobacco, and raw and tanned hides, which have produced many millions of cruzados ; on the trade in salt, which had become almost annihilated, in which, by the wise measures of his Majesty, there are now every year, between Setubal and Oporto alone, more than three hundred vessels employed. ; on the wines — the produce of the Douro — which annually yield four millions of cruzados ; on the fruits, which are exported by foreign vessels to such an extent, that in Cintra and Colares alone each orchard is reckoned a mine of gold ; on the supply of cocoa, coffee, rice, cotton, cloves, spice, and the various products of Para and Maranhao, from which places, previous to the provident directions of his Majesty, the Portuguese obtained no profits ; on the trade in Bra- zilian wood, and others, so much used in dyeing, together with the orchel weed, which has proved of so great advan- tage ; finally, on the restoration of the Asiatic commerce to the subjects of his Most Faithful Majesty, who by his many decrees has so re-established this source of riches, that during last year Portugal despatched no less than eleven vessels to Groa, whilst England did not send more than three. So that from this we may conclude that his 295 Majesty lias rendered the external commerce of his king- dom more flourishing and extensive than it was in the days of Dom Manoel and Dom John III. ; since the Indian drugs which these monarchs then monopolised, when Brazil produced nothing of worth, have been greatly surpassed in value by the precious productions of America peculiar to that continent ; at the same time that the produce of Asia is not wanting, although now .divided amongst the various nations of Europe. "The eighth step consists in the social feelings that exist between the various grades of society; and greatly have these been manifested in the harmony that is pre- served between the high nobility and the middle classes, as also between both with the lower orders ; for, although more than one hundred and fifty thousand of the commonest rank were assembled together on this late joyous occasion, not one voice was raised either of complaint or clamour ; nor did any one venture in the slightest degree to offend the modesty of females, either by their words or actions — not even by such freedoms as but a few years since were tolerated by gallantry even at the doors and in the congre- gations of churches. " The ninth step is in the wealth of the people. Observ- ing foreigners did not fail to remark the many millions that in a few years were expended on the public and private buildings raised upon the ruins of the disastrous earthquake of November the 1st, 1755. They beheld a most magni- ficent square formed in less than six months, by constant labour both by day and night, and surpassing all others in Europe in size and beauty. They saw the costly and un- exampled colossal statue erected in the centre of that square. They saw the city corporation not only giving the most splendid balls in a vast room, so superbly decorated as to outvie every preceding example, but also a magnificent 200 supper in another hall, ornamented, at a great expense, with every variety of embellishments suited expressly Tor the occasion, at which supper no less than four hundred persons were seated, and served with the greatest luxury and delicacy, on the most costly and beautiful national plate, without using one article from abroad. They saw the rooms of the Junta do Commercio similarly fitted up with every article that taste and riches could procure ; and all the tribunals of the Court, and all the various companies of the city, strove to exceed each other in the costliness of their preparations and the richness of their entertainments. They saw the chief magistrate of Lisbon and his deputies erect, spontaneously, and at their own expense, out of love and gratitude to their august benefactor, seven allegorical triumphal cars, significant of the great occasion. They saw all the windows of the nobility and gentry teeming with the most costly orna- ments, with splendid diamonds and precious stones. They saw the streets rendered impassable by the extraordinary multitude of rich and sumptuous carriages. They saw the whole population gaily and richly dressed, from the nobility to the humblest individual. Every foreigner then, I say, that observed with proper attention such a reunion of riches displayed on this important and august occasion, could not but be convinced that the capital and kingdom were in the highest state of prosperity and opulence. " These nine observations afford me the certainty that the following convictions were produced on the foreigners who were present on this important occasion : — " First, that those nations which, with arrogance, vain- glory, and imaginary superiority, have hitherto regarded the Portuguese people as ignorant, rude, inert, and destitute of all the elements and principles of the mechanical and liberal arts, and of a real knowledge of the higher sciences, 297 will now be convinced that with respect to the first we are completely on a par with them ; and with the second we surpass most of them, as the French and Italians have often been obliged to confess, respecting and imitating, as they have, the laws and decrees of his Majesty ; seeking for, and envying the statutes of the Coimbra University, and desiring their correspondents in Lisbon to forward all the writings which are published in this glorious reign, called even by foreigners themselves c felicissimo? " Secondly, that the contempt which those nations for- merly expressed for our domestic, and foreign trade has also ceased, and even has become an object of emulation and envy. And they have seen, hitherto without example, a public and magnificent commercial seminary, from whence three hundred pupils, accomplished in every branch of mer- cantile knowledge, are produced triennially, and fill the city with the benefits of their acquirements. " Thirdly, that these nations having always accounted the Portuguese people barbarous, ferocious, and unsociable, they with astonishment now discover their error, and find themselves not only equalled but surpassed. It is notorious that at the Court of London, on frequent occasions, the common people have committed various excesses, whenever there has been an assembly of more than three or four thousand individuals. In Paris, we have seen, but a short time since, that the fetes given on the occasion of the Count de Provence's marriage, produced the death of no less than three hundred persons, owing to the riots and savage beha- viour of the people. From whence, all well-informed foreigners cannot fail avowing that we are much more sociable than they are — having seen, on the one hand, all the upper classes in Lisbon united in the most perfect harmony and mutual goodwill, at the late feasts and as- semblies; and, on the other, having seen more than 150,000 2V8 persons ; of both sexes, crowded together in the great square during several days and nights, with the same quiet and order as if they were assisting at their church devotions, and behaving to each other like children of one family, uniting as much as was in their power to demonstrate the love and gratitude with which they came to applaud the inauguration of the royal statue of his Majesty — a fact hitherto unexampled, and which will with difficulty be imi- tated. " Fourthly, that Portugal is not poor, as she has been represented ; and no one is ignorant that England is bur- thened with the fearful debt of more than 1300 millions of cruzados ; and that in France, since the Royal Treasury and public credit have been exhausted, they have been obliged to melt the royal plate, as well as that belonging to individuals, and have even been driven to pull down royal palaces in order to dispose of their materials and ornaments ; whilst in Portugal, on the contrary, the display of jewels, plate, dresses, carriages, feasts, and expenditure of money, on this recent splendid occasion, plainly manifested to all present, that of late years an almost incomprehensible mass of riches has been accumulated. " Fifthly, that whilst the stability of the greater number of European governments is enervated, and weakened by strife and intestine divisions, as in France and England ; or by clandestine seditions and discord, growing from the poisoned root planted by the Jesuits, which cannot yet be eradicated, as in Spain, Savoy, Rome, and the chief part of Italy and Germany ; in Portugal and her dominions, on the contrary, foreigners have not heard any other voices but those of reverence and respect for the throne, and for the will of his Majesty, which always tends to the ad- vantage of his faithful people, whom he loves rather as children than subjects. This was lately shown, when, on 299 the day appointed for transporting the almost immovable equestrian statue, the chief magistrate of Lisbon ( Juiz do Povo) presented himself at the foundery, accompanied by all the most considerable workmen of the twenty-four com- panies, dressed in their holiday suits, and begging to be allowed to execute the arduous task, which they did with the gaiety of a triumph, during the four days that were re- quired for the undertaking. They, moreover, on this occa- sion, distributed money to the soldiers on duty, and pipes of wine and cart-loads of provisions to the labourers em- ployed ; whilst Lisbon teemed with the abundant feasts and numerous balls and assemblies that all classes of people partook of, throughout whom were visibly seen marks of the highest delight, coupled with unbounded love for our most clement and benignant monarch. "From all the above, it is manifest that our national worth and consequence are entirely re-established ; that public credit is consolidated; that the avowed reputation of our political strength, which depends on the preservation of the military power of the country, will still more confirm our allies in their friendship and union with his Majesty, and our enemies in their respect, especially when they see that a people who voluntarily expend such large sums for the love and glory of their sovereign, will be ready to sacrifice everything that they possess for their defence, if attacked ; and, moreover, they see the excellent condition of our troops and navy, for the augmentation of which, means will always be found when required. " I finally must declare that these observations have not been dictated by vanity, since in the prosperity of the country which they prove, and in the glorious government to which they are owing, I acknowledge that no credit is due to myself, but only that I enjoyed the incomparable good fortune, by which his Majesty was induced to confide 300 to my fidelity, zeal, and love for his service, the execution of his enlightened and providential orders and decrees ; my only object, in leaving these observations in writing for my successors, being to recommend them the most exact care in preserving every institution that his Majesty has esta- blished in his happy reign, since it is certain, that whilst they govern by the same principles and maxims, they will meet with the same prosperous results. Let them fly THOSE NOVELTIES WITH WHICH UNPRACTISED MEN SEEK TO IMPROVE W r HAT IS GOOD, IN THE HOPE OF MAKING IT BETTER; SINCE EXPERIENCE HATH SHOWN, THAT BY SUCH INNOVATIONS, INSTEAD OF ATTAINING THE OBJECTS THEY IMAGINE TO BE MOST DESIRABLE, THEY EVENTU- ALLY LOSE THE GOOD THEY ONCE POSSESSED, TO THE IRREPARABLE RUIN OF THE CROWN THEY SERVE, AND OF THE SUBJECTS THEY GOVERN." 301 CHAPTER XXII. Notwithstanding the provisions of the treaty of 1763, which settled all the points of dispute between Spain and Portugal, the Spanish governor of Buenos Ayres still retained possession of some Portuguese territory in South America, under pretence that it was on the Spanish side of the boundary line traced by Pope Alexander VI. Not- withstanding also that all former treaties had been formally confirmed by that of 1763, this governor refused to be bound by them, asserting that, as they were made previous to the war, they were cancelled by the war. When news arrived at Lisbon of the death of Gomes Freire d'Andrade, Count de Bobadella, Governor of Rio Janeiro, Pombal told Mr. Hay that his death was caused by chagrin at the shameful desertion of the Colonia del Sacramento, or Nova Colonia, by the governor. This territory was, however, given up by the Spaniards ; but the province of Rio Grande still remained in the hands of the Spanish general, Don Pedro cle Cevallos. It was not long before the Spanish aggressions in South America became the subject of considerable anxiety to Pombal, and of frequent conference with the British minister. On one of these occasions we find the political opinions of Pombal expressed at some length : — "February 21st, 1765. I had yesterday a long con- ference with the Count d'Oeyras upon this subject. He introduced his discourse with the old subject of the long- projected scheme of the House of Bourbon, ever since the 302 time of Louis XIV., of detaching Portugal from Great Britain, and which was afterwards pursued by Cardinal Flcury, and lately openly avowed by the 'Pacte de Famille.' He then proceeded to say, that an indirect negotiation set on foot for sounding the Court of Vienna, in regard to their disposition towards the marriage of the King of the Romans with a princess of Portugal, had given him much light into the present system of affairs in Europe. That the principal point intended by this marriage was the brin o-ino- back the Court of Vienna to the ancient system of alliance with Great Britain and Portugal. But it was found that the Empress Queen was inaccessible. That the formal declaration which the Count de Seilern had made to the Court of Great Britain, that his Court had not acceded to the i Pacte de Famille,' was absolutely false. Therefore, the two Houses of Austria and Bourbon being thus united, the marriage of a princess of Portugal with the King of the Romans could answer no purpose, except of throwing away money, making her miserable, and no point gained by it. That the Empress Queen had been obliged by the Courts of France and Spain to make choice either of a princess of Saxony or ot Bavaria. The former was so extremely ugly, that the King of the Romans would not hear of her ; there- fore the choice fell upon the Princess of Bavaria. He lamented greatly the situation of the House of Austria, and laid the whole blame upon the Empress's councillors, one of whom, namely, Count Kaunitz, he said, was his wife's cousin ; and endeavoured to prove that that House was in the way of losing more by France and Spain from the present alliance, than ever she did when they were her enemies. But as it is one of the conditions of the i Pacte de Famille,' that the contracting parties are to share in the acquisitions they may make, the Count seems fully persuaded 303 that the promise made to the Court of Vienna is the con- quest of the United Provinces, which are then to be joined to the Austrian Netherlands ; that France and Spain, making every effort that is possible to fortify their several ports in America, numbers of troops are continually em- barking in Gallicia for the Spanish West Indies, and that French as well as Spaniards are sent over to the Spanish settlements; that the French have a great many troops at Cayenne, and the Spaniards at present are in entire possession of the river of Plate, and as long as they keep the Eio Grande de St. Pedro, must command the whole southern coast of America as far as the Eio Janeiro, and, consequently, have an introduction into the back settle- ments of the Brazils whenever it suits them. That it is very plain that the intention of France and Spain is not only to attack Portugal, but to invade his Most Faithful Majesty's dominions in America, the Spaniards to the south, and the French through Cayenne and the Cape du Nord to the north. The Count then proceeded to say, that as this plan was very extensive, so neither France nor Spain were as yet prepared for putting it in execution ; and therefore there is nothing they so much dread at present as the accession of the Court of London to the alliance of the Courts of Petersburg, Berlin, and Warsaw. Thus, in the present situation of Great Britain, it is in his Majesty's power, by a steady remonstrance to the Court of Madrid, to obtain from that Court the restitution on the part of Spain of the Portuguese settlements retained by them ; enforcing the necessity of fulfilling the treaty of Paris in all its points, and pointing out to them the consequences which must necessarily ensue from the contrary — that 01 bringing on a general war in Europe ; affirming that such a remonstrance, made by the British Ambassador at this time, would have the desired effect, and which, if deferred, 304 would protract the negotiation between the Courts of Portugal and Spain, until it be too late to put a stop to the extensive plan of the Courts of Madrid and Paris." In consequence of these representations to the British ministry, England offered her mediation between the two countries, in the hope of procuring an amicable arrange- ment of those differences which she herself, in a great measure, was bound by treaty to terminate. And at this time an event occurred, which promised, from the good feelings that were displayed by Portugal, to produce a reconciliation and an adjustment of all the points of dispute. Serious disturbances arising in 1766 at Madrid, in consequence of some police regulations of the minister Squilaci, respecting the wearing of slouched hats and cloaks, Pombal immediately sent off an express to his Catholic Majesty, with offers of any assistance he might require to quell the disturbance ; and gave orders to the Portuguese troops on the frontier, to hold themselves in readiness to march to the King of Spain's assistance, should his Catholic Majesty require it. The demonstration of these friendly feelings led Pombal to hope that he might soon succeed in coming to an amicable arrangement with the Court of Spain. After some negotiations, it was, in fact, finally concluded that the two nations should send orders to their governors in America to suspend hostilities, and to restore things to the position in which they were on the 28th of May, 1767, the day of this agreement being made. Such was the state of affairs in the colonies until the year 1774, when reports reached Europe, that some dif- ferences had arisen between the Portuguese and Spanish in their American possessions. In a despatch, elated the 4th of June in that year, Mr. Walpole informs us, that — " On Thursday last I talked to the Marquis of Pombal 305 on the late reports of hostilities committed, or intended to be committed, by the Spaniards in the Brazils ; and I asked him whether he was aware of any hostile intention from the Court of Spain. The Marquis said, that he does not appre- hend they mean to make war in those parts ; but that, if the Court of Spain has any such intention, she will, he thinks, have reason to repent, for that the Rio de Janeiro is extremely well provided in every respect, and that Por- tugal has nothing to fear on that side." A very short time after this conversation, information arrived at Lisbon from South America, that a new Spanish governor had unexpectedly published a manifesto at Rio Pardo, " declaring the whole of that territory to belong to Spain, and that he should consider all Portuguese found thereon as intruders and robbers." And still further to give cause of quarrel between the two nations, news arrived that the Spaniards had made a seizure of two Portuguese ships on the Rio Grande de Sao Pedro. Upon the gover- nor of that province reclaiming them, the governor ot Buenos Ayres, in lieu of making restitution, had im- mediately marched towards the Portuguese establishments at the Rio Pardo with a considerable force, collected from Buenos Ayres, Monte Video, and Maldonado, which, with the recruits he picked up on his march, amounted to six thousand men ; and, at the same time, had directed the commander at Corrientes to advance with a body, to be collected from different villages, to the Rio Pardo. By which movements the plan seems to have been for the latter to attack the Portuguese at Rio Pardo on one side, while the governor of Buenos A} r res should attack them on the other. But the Portuguese governor having had timely intimation of the motions of the Spaniards, and learning that they had commenced military operations by attacking and taking a small post, consisting of a few soldiers and x ;jog peasants, immediately put himself in motion, and marched a detachment much inferior to the. Spanish force from Cor- rientes, consisting, it is supposed, of six or seven hundred men. An action consequently took place, the 3rd of January, 1774, between the two parties, near the river Piguiri, when the Spaniards were beaten, a number or them killed, and many prisoners taken. Among the latter was the Spanish commander, a captain, 1010 horses, 300 mules, and a great quantity of ammunition. In the posses- sion of the commander were found the instructions which the governor of Buenos Ayres had given ; these were written in the style of a cruel enemy. The clay after there was another action, in which the Spaniards were again beaten. On the receipt of the news of these occurrences at Lis- bon, it was determined to send out immediately the Guarda Costa, of forty-four guns, another of sixty-four, and various smaller vessels with troops, in order to reinforce the Portu- guese army in South America. The troops already in those parts consisted of three European regiments, two regular native regiments, besides cavalry and artillery, and the ir- regular militia of the country. The whole of these forces were supposed to amount to six or seven thousand effective men. At the same time the Marquis of Pombal told the English Minister that it was not the intention of the Portuguese Court to lay the blame of what had happened to the Court of Spain ; but, on the contrary, to impute it to the intemperate conduct of the governor of Buenos Ayres ; for he would not suppose that the King of Spain would order his officers to act in so hostile a manner in times of profound peace ; and, therefore, Portugal had nothing more to do than to drive the Spaniards back. But, he added, if the Court of Spain should make war with Portugal in Europe, he thought that the condition of 307 the country was such, with regard to its forces, that it would not require more than 6000 men from England, as stipulated by treaty, and perhaps a few experienced officers to act under the Marshal Count la Lippe, for whom his Most Faithful Majesty would send immediately. More- over, that in a very short period the king could assemble 40,000 men. This shows that Portugal was in a situation very different from that of the year 1762. The object of the Portuguese government being at this time to encrao;e Great Britain to interest herself in the approaching quarrel, a variety of documents were delivered to the British minister in order to prove the perfidy of the Spaniards, and the injustice of their claims. These docu- ments accompanied the following letter from Pombal : — " A Bellem, ce 18me Juin, 1774. " Monsieur, " Yous trouverez ci-joint le Precis des infractions, depre- dations, et usurpations commises par les Espagnols dans la Partie Meridionale du Bresil, qui font les objets de l'arme- ment, et de l'expedition que la Cour de Madrid se hate a faire sortir du Ferrol en toute diligence. " On ne balance pas ici un seul moment a croire que la combinaison du meme Precis avec les deux autres Pieces, que j'ai eu rhonneur de vous remettre dernierement, ne fassent tres-clairement voir a Sa Majeste le Roi de la Grande Bretagne, et a son digne Ministere — d'un cote, Pindigna- tion avec laquelle on doit regarder le dit plan de perfidie et de cruaute, que les Espagnols ont toujours poursuivi sans interruption, depuis le Traite de Paix du lOme Eevrier, 1763, jusques a present, pour s'emparer de toute l'Amerique Meridionale Portugaise : d'un autre cote, l'interet reci- proque qu'il y a, tant a deconcerter le meme plan d'iniquite et d'insolence, qu'a detruire entierement les moyens que Ton x 2 308 pretend employer pour le soutenir a la barbe d'une Alli- ance aussi respectable que celle que subsiste beureusement entre nos augustes Souverains : et d'un autre cote, combien il est necessaire d'obvier (tandis-que le terns le permet) a l'accroissement au Ferrol d'une Marine Espagnole, dont le commencement rend deja assez insupportable une nation par sa nature bautaine en elle-meme, et encore plus fiere et plus avide, et par l'etroite union qu'elle a avec la France, et par la facilite qu'elle pense qu'il y aura a faire passer les vaisseaux de Marseilles et de Toulon a Brest et a St. Malo, pour fermer ainsi la Baie de Biscaye, et commander par la dans tout l'Ocean Atlantique. " Ce que votre Cour reflecliira avec ses tres-claires lumieres, et avec rillumination de son discernement, qu'exige d'autant plus de precaution, que la Cour de Paris a com- mence son nouveau gouvernement pour appeler a son Ministere de Conseillers babils. " Pour ce qui concerne l'information des mesures que le Roi a prises pour defendre par terre au Bresil avec la cause commune ses propres Etats, je me rapporte a ce que je vous ai dernierement confie par ordre du Roi, sans la moindre reserve. Sa Majeste se repose sur tout ce qui regarde la mer sur la grand superiorite des forces navales de Sa Majeste Britannique. Et elle a tout lieu d'esperer, que Dieu benira la bonne cause commune tellement, que la convoitise, la perfidie, et l'iniquite aient de quoi se repentir, plongees dans la derniere confusion. " J'ai l'honneur d'etre avec la consideration la plus parfaite, — ^Monsieur, Votre tres-bumble et Tres-obeissant Serviteur, Le Marquis de Pombal. 11 Monsieur Robert Walpole, Envoye I'.xtraordinaire et Plenipotentiaire de S. M. le Hoi de la Grande Bretagne." 809 In consequence of this letter, the good offices of his Britannic Majesty with the Court of Spain were promised, and directions to that effect were forwarded to Lord Grantham, then ambassador at Madrid. But the English government declined entering into any engagements with Portugal, which, as it was declared, would depend upon the particular circumstances that might arise. Pombal said, he hoped very little from these good offices ; for that it was remarkable, that when Spain was contem- plating any measure against England, her conduct towards Portugal was the most friendly and affectionate — as was the case while the Court of Spain was carrying into execution its project against the Falkland Islands ; and he did not doubt, that while the Court of Spain was insulting Portugal, it would wish to keep on the best terms with England. Hoping little from the result of negotiations and good offices, the Marquis of Pombal continued to insist upon the execution of the treaty of 1763, and asserted that the Spaniards were constantly reinforcing themselves in America. He complained that the English ministers satis- lied themselves with the professions of the Marquis Gri- maldi, by whom they had before been deceived. Pombal said, that a little time would show whether M. de Gri- maldi's account of the Spanish forces sent to Buenos Ayres was true or not ; and that, if the Spaniards attacked the Portuguese again, he should recommend it to his Most Faithful Majesty to demand succours of Great Britain by virtue of the treaty of 1703. In a despatch from Mr. Walpole, dated January 24th, 1776, we learn Pombal's opinion of the character and prin- ciples of Grimaldi : — " The Marquis of Pombal says, that upon the unfortu- nate death of the late Pope, the Court of Spain being 310 alarmed with regard to tlie election of a successor, applied to this Court for their concurrence in the common cause, to prevent an odious and dangerous person from being chosen. This Court, in consequence of its uniform senti- ments in respect to the absurdity of a Pope's being chosen in defiance of the Catholic crowned heads, gave its minis- ter at Rome orders to represent to the Conclave, that if a Pope was not chosen that should be unexceptionable, he should be obliged to signify the particular instructions -which he had already received from his Court. This firm and positive language alarmed the Conclave, and kept them in suspense in regard to the election; but they nevertheless divided themselves into two parties, the Royalists and the Zclantes, which the Marquis of Pom- bal looks upon as an insult to all the Catholic mon- archs. However, the Marquis de Grimaldi ordered the Spanish Minister at Rome to reconcile the parties by the means of Cardinal Pallavicini, nephew to the Marquis de Grimaldi, which produced the election of the present Pope, by which the Marquis de Grimaldi has sacrificed the interests of his master to the Jesuits ; for there never was a more firm Jesuit than the present Pope, who has set at liberty persons who were in prison on account of their zeal against Spain and Portugal, and had certainly intended the same favour to the late General of the Jesuits, had he lived a short time longer." It appears throughout these negotiations, that the English ministers were very unwilling to involve them- selves in a quarrel with Spain for the sake of securing Portugal the possession of her colonies. They therefore recommended conciliatory measures with the Court of Madrid. But Pombal, feeling his country injured, replied that reputation was the vivifying spirit of all monarchies ; and that, though the king his master might be ever so 311 desirous of peace, it was not decent for him to order his ambassador to make humble advances — which might be taken in the sense of supplications — at a Court from which he had received such public and unheard-of injuries. After a time, these difficulties were, however, surmounted; and both Courts agreed to send instructions to their gover- nors in South America to suspend hostilities. And in order to bring these lengthened negotiations to a close, Pombai proposed that a Congress should be held at Paris. The noble spirit shown by Pombai on this occasion called forth the approbation of all parties; and the following extract of a despatch from Lord Weymouth to Mr. Walpole will confirm the truth of this observation : — ?' February 18, 177G. His Majesty received much satis- faction in observing that an attention to form had not pre- vented M. de Pombai from taking such steps as should enable M. de Souza (Portuguese Ambassador at Madrid) to enter into the negotiation. This manner of proceeding proved the candour and uprightness of M. de Pombai, and were unequivocal proofs of his desire of settling the differ- ences between the two Courts by a negotiation. The pro- posals made by M. de Pombai are fresh proofs of the rectitude of his intentions." To which Mr. Walpole replied : " I cannot refrain ob- serving to your Lordship, that I find the Marquis of Pombai every clay more desirous of having the affairs between the two Courts settled, that there may be an end to all hostili- ties, and even the apprehensions of them, in those distant parts. And I am persuaded that he sincerely wishes, as he repeatedly declares, to finish with the Court of Spain in a permanent and substantial manner." Pombai, however, did not neglect the means of defence in case his country should be attacked. The greatest activity was manifested in enlisting men to complete the 312 addition of three companies to each regiment of infantry. Twelve men were also added to each troop of cavalry, and fourteen to each company of the two regiments of marines. The whole formed an additional body of eight thousand troops. That these preparations were not unnecessary, will be properly estimated from the concluding part of the following extract of a despatch, written by Lord Weymouth to Mr. Walpole, and dated December 31st, 1776 : — " M. de Pombal is called upon by what he owes to his own reputation and dignity — what he owes to the happi- ness of the nation, whose welfare he has for so many years been so laudably employed to promote — and by what is due to allies who are warmly interested in the honour and ad- vantage of the Portuguese nation, to recommend this measure (reconciliation with Spain). This becomes at this moment the more important, as there is too much reason to apprehend that the efforts of Spain will not be confined to South America, but that there may be an intention of invading the kingdom of Portugal." But these negotiations were still ineffectual. It is diffi- cult to say how far the Court of Madrid was sincere in its desires for peace ; for in the same year news arrived at Lisbon from America, that nine Portuguese vessels had been destroyed by the Spaniards at Rio Grande ; and that the Spaniards had seized and fortified several Portuguese forts, and committed many excesses, in utter violation of the arrangements agreed upon. When, therefore, the Portuguese viceroy in South America, the Marquis of Lavradio, received positive in- structions to order a cessation of all hostilities, he was un- certain how to act. A few days after having despatched the necessary orders to the various governors under Lis viceroyalty, he received information from them, that on the 313 19th of January and 26th of March, and on the 1st and 2nd of April, 1776, the Spaniards had repeated their attacks on the Portuguese forces, and that in consequence they were totally unable to follow his instructions without entirely abandoning their possessions. Spain continued in the meantime to pour in troops to her colonies ; and in November following, Don Pedro de Cevallos left Europe for Buenos Ay res, with an army of 12,000 men. Nothing could resist such a powerful force. The island of St. Catherine was wrested from Portugal ; and, soon after, she lost the long-disputed possession of Nova Colonia. The news of these captures arrived at Lisbon a few weeks after Pombal's resignation ; when his enemies did not fail loudly to proclaim him as the author of all these misfortunes in America, whilst, in fact, the bad faith that the Court ot Spain had observed was the sole origin of the war. Pombal always considered Spain as the natural enemy of Portugal, and was consequently averse to any close alli- ance with that country, well aware that the Spanish policy continually aimed at making a second conquest of Portugal. This was evident by the manifesto published in 1762, to which Dom Joseph so energetically replied. One thing is clear to all persons acquainted with the characters of the two countries — that they can never be firmly and durably united under one monarch, until the nationality of one or the other is destroyed. This war was at last put an end to, and the right to the possession of the disputed colonies finally settled, by the treaties between Spain and Portugal ; one bearing date October 1st, 1777, and the other March 11th, 1778. But, as Pombal's ministry had already expired at the first of these periods, any particular account of the negotiations is not here necessarv. 314 CHAPTER XXIII. Wb must return to an earlier period than that arrived at in the last chapter, in order to describe some of the measures of Pombal's activity, courage, and energy, un- diminished notwithstanding the weight of years with which he was now oppressed. We find him in the year 1771 obtaining a Brief from the Pope, by which the suppression of nine convents of Chanoines regulters of Saint Augustin was effected, and their revenues transferred to the convent at Mafra — an institution from thenceforth destined to be a seminary for the instruction of that Order. It appears that Pombal was desirous of forming a society in this vast and now useless edifice, which should especially devote itself to literary labours. In furtherance of this purpose, a valuable library was completed, to add to the treasures of the establishment. In the same year, all brotherhoods, except four, were abolished throughout the kingdom, and their revenues applied to charitable purposes ; and about this time an edict was published, which ordered that no bishop should give parties permission to marry unless they could show the consent of their parents in writing. Whilst Pombal was planning, superintending, and exe- cuting the numberless plans and reforms with which his whole administration abounds, and which so many volumes of laws and royal decrees amply testify, he did not neglect the economy of his own property, which under his excellent management increased yearly in value. While conceiving the orandest and most complicated projects, he was capable 315 at the same time of entering into the most trifling details of every-day life, and superintending his own private affairs. At Oeyras he added considerably to the already existing mansion, and rendered it one of the most extensive and handsomest residences in Portugal. Here is still shown the little cabinet, in its former state, to which Dom Joseph used to retire during the summer visit which he made to his minister. The ornamental gardens and orange groves are laid out on a vast and princely scale, and the whole economy of the establishment exemplifies those broad views of utility, solidity, and duration, which Pombal displayed in everything he undertook. Amongst other erections, is the magnificent wine-cellar and its conveniences, which is visited by all strangers as an object of interest and curiosity. At this place a fair was established in 1772 ; and soon after, in order to connect Oeyras with the sea, a canal was undertaken, the works of which, with Pombal's usual spirit and perseverance, were carried on by torchlight as well as during the day. The canal is now choked up — the produce of the vineyards, to carrry off which it was formed, has dwindled into comparative insignificance — and Oeyras. still remains a small, unimportant village. In 1773, the Eoyal Fishing Company of the Algarves was established, which gave much activity and employ- ment to the industry of that province, while a city of palaces sprang up at the mouth of the Guadiana to receive the Court, which patronised this maritime undertaking. Beautiful houses were built by the nobility on a regular plan given by Pombal ; but the magnificent Villa Real de Santo Antonio (so was the town then called) is now deserted. A decree, dated in 17G8, had ordered all lists and copies of lists to be destroyed, on which were inscribed the names of the " New Christians," for by such denomination were 316 the descendants of converted Jews styled. In May, 1773, a fresh edict abolished all distinctions between the Old and New Christians — distinctions of a most unjust nature ; for they had closed the path to public employments to a vast number of Portuguese subjects, while they rendered their alliance a subject of scorn, and often exposed them to vexation and punishment from the Inquisition. There is much Jewish blood among the Portuguese, without even excepting many of the highest families. An English am- bassador of those days wittily observed, that he found one- half of the nation looking for the coming of Dom Sebastian, and the other for that of the Messiah. There seems for- merly to have existed in Portugal no small tendency towards the Israelitish religion ; and we learn that in the year 1650, one Manoel Fernando cle Villa Eeal, Portu- guese Consul at Paris, was condemned in that capital to be burnt for having embraced the religion of Moses. Having, however, retracted, the historian relates he was only strangled ! It is a popular story in Portugal, that Dom Joseph, at one time, had insisted upon all those in any way tainted with Jewish blood wearing a white hat as a badge of distinction, or rather of disgrace ; and that a de- cree to that effect was ordered to be forthwith promulgated. Pombal remonstrated, but in vain. Finding reason in- effectual, he pretended compliance, and presented himself to the king with the edict, at the same time drawing out from under his cloak two white hats, which he placed on the table. The king, astonished, inquired the meaning of the joke. " Oh," replied Pombal, " I am only come pre- pared to obey your Majesty's edict, with one hat for you and another for myself." Thus hinting at a well-known fact, that the royal family itself was not entirely free from the imaginary stain. The king laughed, and gave up the point. 317 It would fill many volumes merely to enumerate the steps taken by Pombal to enrich and civilise his country. Each separate law would demand some pages in order to make us acquainted with the abuses which required its enactment, whilst as many more would be filled in illus- trating its beneficial operation. Such details would more properly belong to a history of Portuguese legislation. I therefore content myself with enumerating, for the infor- mation of those who may be disposed to push their inquiries further, a few of the edicts and laws which shed a lustre upon the reign of Dom Joseph, and the administration of Pombal. That, for instance, in 1774, when various im- portant reforms in the army were effected ; that in 1775, by which much valuable property was restored to its original and legitimate owners, of which fraud had unjustly deprived them. In the same year reforms were effected at Goa, and in the other East Indian colonies, for the better administration of government.* At home a law, founded injustice and humanity, was made, which forbade the im- prisonment of debtors who were bond fide unable to meet the demands of their creditors. Thus many wretches were released from prison who had been driven into it by misfortune and detained by cruelty. And in the same year many important regulations concerning the tobacco laws, the lands in the Alemtejo province, as well as measures against contrabandists, who infested the country, were decreed and enforced. Cleanliness in the streets, by several decrees, was also especially provided for. A few * We learn from a despatch in the State Paper Office, that nego- tiations were commenced in 1772, with the States General, for the sale of the Portuguese settlement at Goa. The chief difficulty- seemed to be in estimating its value, so as to satisfy the nation of the advantages to be obtained in exchange, and in procuring a purchaser who would be willing to estimate its value as highly as the Portuguese. 318 years previous it had been actually necessary to order that pigs found running about the streets might be caught and kept by the finder. It had become the custom for piously-disposed persons to leave their property to monasteries and other religious foundations, at the expense of their children and next of kin. To remedy this abuse, a law was made which restrained these legacies to one-third of the testator's property, except in the case of bequests to the Casa de Miserecordia and public hospitals. It was at this period that the new hospital of St. Jose was founded. The building had formerly been the principal establishment of the Jesuits ; but after the extinction of their Order, Pombal devoted it to a charitable and more useful purpose than that to which the Jesuits had applied it. In the month of April, 1775, with great ceremonies — Pombal, the nobility, clergy, and public functionaries being present — this great work of benevolence was opened to the reception of patients. On this occasion not Jess than eight hundred infirm persons, conducted in a solemn procession, chiefly in the carriages of the nobility, who voluntarily lent them, were received and lodged in its wards. A very salutary inquiry was instituted in the year 1775, respecting the private prisons of convents, in which many terrible cruelties had been practised. Dom Luiz da Cunha, who had been for many years Secretary of State, died in the month of June of the above year, and was succeeded in the War and Foreign Depart- ments by M. de Sa. A decree, dated July, 1776 (the English colonies having at this time declared their independence), directed that no vessels should be received in any port of Portugal or her possessions coming from the rebel colonies, u in order," it 319 declares, " that so pernicious an example of rebellion should not be encouraged." It will be recollected that the French monarch paid dearly for observing an opposite, less gene- rous, and less cautious line of policy. The decrees in favour of Aveiro, Penafiel, Monchique, Alagoa, Alcoutim, &c 3 &c, &c, witness Pombal's efforts to increase the internal prosperity of his country. The numerous manufactories of cloth, glass, silk, &c, &c, which he established, show his attention to that branch of industry and endless source of wealth ; and the flourishing and improving condition of maritime commerce will be seen by the following entry from the Lisbon registers : — Ships entered the Tagus, In 1774 In 1775 This period may be considered the golden age of Portu- guese industry in every branch of trade and commerce. A further proof of which may be obtained from the fact, that on the 27th of March, 1771, nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-six mulberry plants arrived from France, for the purpose of being planted in the neighbour- hood of Lisbon. They cost the government five contos and a half. In the following year nineteen thousand three hundred and sixty-one were imported, with five thousand for Pombal's private use, which he planted at Oeyras, where he built a spacious edifice for rearing silkworms. In consequence of this activity, the orders for raw silk for the royal manufactory, which previous to the year 1770 never exceeded sixteen thousand pounds, in one year rose to forty thousand, and in the succeeding year to forty-four thousand pounds. The following is the produce of the manufactory, as officially reported : — Portuguese. English. Foreign. 101 348 193 121 371 168 320 Pieces of Silk, of different qualities, fabricated. In 1769 - - - - 1482 1770 - 1513 1771 - 1807 1772 - 2159 1773 - 2220 1774 - - - - 2485 Pombal not only encouraged but fostered the beginnings of manufacturing enterprise ; not, however, by ex- cluding FOREIGN COMPETITION, AND OBLIGING THE WHOLE NATION TO PAY AT A DEAR RATE FOR GOODS MADE AT HOME, WHICH COULD BE PROCURED CHEAPER FROM ABROAD, BUT BY GRANTING JUDICIOUS LOANS TO ENTERPRISING SPECULATORS, AVHO TRUSTED IN THEIR OWN INDUSTRY AND SKILL FOR COMPETING WITH FOREIGN MANUFACTURERS IN QUALITY AND CHEAPNESS. We find that the government advanced on loan, from time to time, to the Contos. Linen manufactory - - - - 53 Hat ditto - - - - - -17 Iron foundery at Paco d'Arcos - - 1 Cut-glass manufactory £ Louca de ferro estanhado e de Polha de Flandres - 1-J Cotton velvet, bombazines, and fustoes de algodao - 2\ Glass manufactory at Marinha Grande to William Stephens - - - - - 32 Wove and printed cottons manufactory - - 12 Woollen cloth fabric at Cascaes - - - 10 Metal buttons and buckle manufactory - 2 Tapestry manufactory - - - 4 It is curious that the largest but one of these sums 321 should have been advanced to an Englishman ; a proof that Pombal considered that similar undertakings ought to be encouraged in Portugal, when they are likely to prove beneficial to the entire nation, not when merely a projected source of profit to an individual or a native. Portugal was for some time at war with Morocco ; but Pombal, after mature consideration, concluded peace with that empire ; and, setting aside all difficulties of etiquette, the shackles of little minds, he made a commercial treaty with the Emperor, much to the advantage of Portugal. Immediately after, an ambassador was sent to Lisbon with presents for his Majesty Dom Joseph. This was the first intercourse of amity that had ever taken place between Portugal and Morocco. On the 10th of November, 1776, died Cardinal Sal- danha, a man who had always been united in the firmest union and closest friendship with Pombal, and was much esteemed and beloved by Dom Joseph. The health of the king had already begun to decline, and two days after the death of the Cardinal, his Most Faithful Majesty had an attack of apoplexy, when extreme unction was administered to him. The Marquis of Pombal, judging from the tran- quillity of mind in which the king continued, was unwilling to believe that the danger was so near as to require these offices, which the physicians had declared urgent. It was only on the 4th of December following, an edict was pub- lished appointing the queen (his consort) regent during his illness. On the 4th of February, 1777, he experienced another attack, and on the 20th, his Majesty expressed a desire, before his death, to see the nuptials solemnised between his daughter the Infanta Donna Maria Francisca Benedicta, and his grandson Joseph Prince of Beira, the one whom, it is said, he wished should succeed him as king in his own right. The prince was then but in his sixteenth Y 322 year, while the princess had already attained the age of thirty-one. Having the necessary dispensations, this mar- riage between aunt and nephew took place on the following day. It is reported that the French Court was anxious the Prince of Beira should marry Madame Elizabeth, sister of Louis XVI. ; but Dom Joseph being from political reasons averse to this alliance, the celebration of the nuptials w r as hastened. Dom Joseph continued to decline, and after a reign of twenty-seven years, he expired on the 24th of February, 1777, leaving his subjects to deplore his loss, and his aged and faithful minister exposed to the malice and intrigues of his enemies.* * The following is extracted from a despatch from Mr. YValpole, February 26th, 1777 :— 11 The King of Portugal expired on Monday morning, between twelve and one o'clock. His Majesty had for some weeks past suffered extremely under his disorder, which on the latter days had formed itself into a dropsy, and gained upon him considerably, till Sunday, when there were no further hopes of remedy. " The Princess of Brazil, who was retired to rest, being imme- diately acquainted with the king's dissolution, prepared to receive the Ministers of State, and admitted them into her presence to kiss her hand as sovereign. " M. Ayres de Sa, secretary for the department of Foreign Affairs, on the same day, by the queen's order, acquainted the foreign ministers with this event, and also of the Court's having taken mourning for a year, as your Lordship will see by the enclosed letter. The late king's funeral is to be this evening, with the usual pomp and ceremony. " We have had no declaration made to us relative to the style in which the Infante Dom Pedro, the queen's husband, is to be addressed, though it is said that his domestics give him 'Majesty,' and that in the prayers at mass the king is mentioned with the queen, but placed after her ; and it is believed that the queen will admit her husband to govern as king."' 323 CHAPTER XXIY. With the life ot Dom Joseph expired the ministry of the Marquis of Pombal. The whole nation waited anxiously to know when, and in what manner, the great minister would be allowed to descend from his seat of power to a private station. His enemies were not inactive in preparing every means that falsehood could invent, or malignity propagate, in order to obtain such a measure of vengeance as would at once overwhelm and destroy him. The illness of Dom Joseph had prepared all Europe for some great change in the course of events, and the ministers and envoys resident at Lisbon were ordered by their Courts to forward the earliest intelligence of the formation of a new administration. Pombal himself clearly foresaw the angry passions that would be aroused against him, and that, unsupported by his sovereign, he would neither be able to resist the ven- geance of his powerful enemies, nor to frustrate their malice. He knew that a legion of adversaries would appear to accuse the justice of his administration — amongst them some convicted criminals of noble family, who were still suffering the punishments awarded to their offences — and he had every reason to anticipate that they would obtain the support of influential partisans in the State, and find protection from the Throne itself. Even had his apprehensions been groundless, it was natural that a minister, who for twenty-seven years had encountered the fatigues of office, should wish to retire y 2 324 from government, and should avail himself of the oppor- tunity opened to him by the approaching dissolution of that sovereign whose confidence he had so long enjoyed. Accordingly, on the 5th of February, 1777, a short time before Joseph's death, Pombal — advanced in years, afflicted by illness, and exhausted by anxiety — presented the follow- ing paper to the regent : — "Supplication addressed to Her Majesty the Queen Donna Marianna Victoria during her Regency. " Senhora, — On various occasions I have humbly repre- sented to his Majesty that, notwithstanding the unimpor- tance to his royal service of my limited abilities, yet, finding myself on the verge of fourscore years, and feeling the gradual and accelerating decay of my bodily strength, I deemed it incompatible with my honour, my zeal, and my duty, both as servant and minister, to omit the request that his Majesty would take necessary measures for pre- venting the important information and knowledge of affairs, with which an experience of nearly forty years of public employment, and of difficult and weighty negotiations, have furnished me, from being buried with me unexpectedly in the grave. u His Majesty was pleased to deem my humble supplica- tion worthy of his royal attention. Nevertheless, at the moment when it w T as about to be carried into execution, so many untimely accidents occurred to increase that decay which I dreaded, combined with the effect which severe winters like the present produce on old age, that I found my powers so impaired, both in physical energy and in ministerial activity, as to render me unable to complete in a day, a labour for which formerly an hour was sufficient ; added to which, at the period of rest, instead of meeting 325 with the desired repose, I often have cause to believe that on the following morning I shall find myself in eternity. " The consideration of the dangerous state in which I find myself, places its natural consequences continually before me, and reminds me that no one, on my sudden death, would be in a condition (from ignorance of the actual state of things) to execute the duties of the many and very important situations which I have the honour to occupy. This reflection every moment afflicts me, and hastens the last hour of my life, which with some fresh vigour might still endure, if your Majesty, without loss of time, would be pleased to name my successors, to whom I may immediately give an account of the commencement, progress, and last state of everything that respects all and each of the important branches of government with which I find myself charged. For in this manner alone, during my lifetime, will it be possible to explain the various doubts and uncertainties which will present themselves to my successors in the exercise of their respective duties — an ignorance of which would cause an irreparable loss to the royal service. The various departments may be classed as follows : — "The first comprehends everything that relates to the post of Inspector-General of the Royal Treasury, which since 1762 constitutes the fundamental basis of public credit, of respect for the Crown, of the strength of the kingdom and its dominions, and consequently of its safety. " The second embraces every subject connected with the military arsenal, and the payment and government of the army, which his Majesty found annihilated ; but which, from the year 1762, has been created and preserved in per- fect discipline, with the greatest regularity in the payment, and without the contracting of any debts. 326 u The third relates to the management of the buildings, stores, and warehouses of the Eibeira dos Naos, or Naval Arsenal, which his Majesty not only found empty, but indebted to the enormous amount of four millions (cruza- dos), whilst at this moment the said establishment is free from all debts. "The fourth is concerning the necessary examination and vast inquiries respecting trade and commerce, which have with such rapid progress enriched Portugal and Brazil ; and have furnished the means of re-building (with a magnificence worthy of the august mind of his Majesty) the capital of the kingdom, until then a residence unfit for so powerful a monarch ; and have raised the Praca Mercantil of Lisbon, from the lowest degree of poverty, to the highest wealth, both in capital and credit. " The fifth regards the inspection of the manufactories, establishments, improvements, and progress in the mecha- nical arts, which have conferred plenty and prosperity on a nation, that his Majesty found in the most abject state of penury ; and which daily, as is well known, continues to increase the general stock, and the capital of the whole monarchy. " The sixth relates to the management of the public works in the city of Lisbon, in order to carry out the glorious object of emulating the most celebrated capitals of Europe. " The seventh concerns the working of the valuable mines of Serra do Frio, and the extraction of the diamonds from them, which his Majesty found in the year 1753 com- pletely extinct, and without means of continuing the neces- sary labours. From that period, not only has abundant capital never been wanting to work these mines, but not less than a million, to a million and a half cruzados, have annually entered the kingdom, instead of gold coin being 327 sent out of it, and which remains to circulate in the hands of the Portuguese. " The eighth treats of the inspection over the university recently reformed at Coimbra, which constitutes the strongest and most impregnable bulwark, by which Por- tugal must constantly defend herself and her vast domi- nions from the tremendous attacks of that pestilential ignorance which, for more than two centuries, accumulated so many ruinous and deplorable disasters — confounding the priesthood with the government ; the privileges of the clergy with the respect due to their sovereign ; and the attempts of the Pom an Chair with the legitimate authority of the Pope, and of the Church with the essential and indispensable royal authority. a The reflection on the great risk in which I daily see these eight departments, is what afflicts and torments me, and will continue to afflict and torment me, until death comes to my relief, unless his Majesty will determine on listening to the means of avoiding such grievous disasters to the government. " I am persuaded that his Majesty will reflect, with his usual discernment, that I cannot long protract a life that rapidly approaches its term ; and, that in such an event, however superior my successors may be to me in talent, they cannot enter upon the practical management of such ex- tensive and complicated affairs without (as is commonly said) groping in the dark, especially as regards institutions whose origin is of so recent a date, and which are but in their infancy. For neither are my successors yet unborn, nor can they be sought but amongst such as are natives of this kingdom. And in no wise should foreigners be called. sl To those who shall succeed me I could show a clear path in the management of affairs, since it lies, as it were, 328 in a territory, that for six-and-twenty years I trod in a beaten track with incessant and continuous labour. " At the same time I supplicate his Majesty to excuse me from giving an opinion on the choice of these my suc- cessors. Protesting, however, that whomsoever it may please his Majesty to name, against them no possible objection will exist in my mind. But, on the contrary, I will hasten to greet them with the warmest felicitations at the instant of their nomination ; and seek cordially and zealously to render them every assistance and information that can result from my practical knowledge and long experience ; with which, without holding place or appoint- ment, I may still be able to render such service as his Majesty may command, during the short time that still remains to me in this life. " At your Majesty's feet, " Marquez de Pombal." In a note added to this simple request of the aged minister to be released from his arduous duties, he states that, in order to remove any fear of financial difficulty which her Majesty the Regent might entertain, he presented her an account of the money then accumulated in the Royal Treasury, which amounted to seventy-eight millions of cruzados,* together with a statement of the value of the diamonds in the king's cabinet. It would have been fortunate for the country had it been possible to carry out the prudent views expressed in the preceding document ; but the continued illness of Dom Joseph, and his subsequent death, prevented the queen regent from a compliance with Pombal's wishes, and he still retained his high appointments up to the period of the accession of Donna Maria I. On the 1st of March, 1777, the Marquis renewed his * About eight millions sterling. 329 request to resign, in the following letter addressed to her Most Faithful Majesty :— " March 1, 1777. " Senhora, " When I placed in the royal hands of the queen dowager my humble supplication, in order that it might reach the king (whom God has called to His glory), and a copy of which has already reached your Majesty's presence, I could not foresee the unexpected events which now conduct me to your royal feet. tC The great Duke of Sully, founder of the monarchy ot King Henry IV., found that sovereign reduced to such extremities, as to be without the means of supporting the expenses of his table, or of purchasing the necessary apparel becoming his station* ; yet, at the disastrous death of that monarch, this great statesman and warrior found himself in the sad condition which he relates in the eighth volume of his illustrious memoirs. " He immediately saw a numerous party, discontented with the government of the king his master, united in arms against him ; another, of the envious ; and these, com- bining, sought to misrepresent, render odious, and destroy all the establishments of that glorious reign. They sought to publish against him the grossest impositions, falsehoods, and blackest calumnies ; endeavouring, by these wretched means, to represent the important services of so distin- guished a minister as atrocious crimes ; and striving to excite against him the universal hatred of the people, so that he could not present himself in any part of the Court * In 1596, Henry writes to Sully : — " Mes chemises sont toutes dechirees, &c.,&c., &c. Depuis deux jours je dine chez les uns et les autres ; mes pourvoyeurs disant n'avoir plus moyen de rien fournir pour ma table." — Sully's Memoirs, vol. iii. 330 or city without being surrounded by enemies, and every moment in clanger of assassination. "From these motives, lie represented to the queen regent, that her noble mind, and her veneration for the magnanimous king her husband, could not permit that with her consent a minister, who with so much zeal and love had served his king and country, should meet with such a disastrous end ; nor that a man, whom the king himself had so much honoured, should be subjected to the outrages of the nobility, or of the populace. He therefore begged permission from the said princess that he might quit the Court, to retire to his own estate. " I do not pretend, Senhora, to compare myself with the Duke of Sully; but it is without doubt, and publicly known, both in the palace and in the whole city of Lisbon, that I equal him in misfortune, and am thus actuated by similar motives in having recourse to your Majesty's benignity. Beseeching, then, your Majesty to approve my resignation of all the appointments which, up to this moment, I have held, and to permit me to pass the last short number of my days in Pombal, I feel confident that, from the superiority of your Majesty's virtues over those of the Queen Marie de Medicis, I cannot fail of meeting, at the least, with those same effects of benignity, which the Duke of Sully's requests found with that princess. "Marquez de Pombal." It appears that, immediately on the accession of Donna Maria, the life of Pombal was in constant danger from the malice of his enemies : not that they much feared his future influence, but they attacked him from the base spirit of revenge. Perhaps this had some effect in in- ducing him to resign. However this may be, the veteran minister was soon relieved from the responsibility of power. 331 On the 4th of March, the queen signed the following decree : — a In consequence of the high and singular esteem which the king my father (whom may God receive into His glory) entertained for the person of the Marquis of Pombal, and on the representations of the said Marquis, that his age and infirmities no longer permit him to employ himself in my royal service, being mindful of his request, I have willingly granted him permission to resign all the posts and employ- ments confided to him, and to retire to his estate of Pombal, conferring upon him, for the remainder of his life, the same salary he enjoyed in quality of Secretary of State, and adding thereto, by special favour, the Commandery of St. Iago de Lanhozo, situate in the diocese of Braga, of the Order of Christ, which is vacated by the death of Francisco de Mello e Castro. " Ajuda Palace, March 4th, 1777." From the tone of this royal decree, and the rewards which the queen, out of respect for the memory of her father, continued to bestow on Pombal, we might naturally conclude that he would be allowed to pass the remainder of his days in the enjoyment of peace and domestic happiness. But before we proceed to accompany the Marquis to his retirement, let us for a moment review the events that were passing in Lisbon from the period of Dom Joseph's decease. It appears that this great and good monarch was anxious, before his death, to extend that pardon and forgiveness to his enemies which he hoped himself hereafter to receive at a still higher tribunal. It was natural, therefore, to suppose that the beginning of the new reign would offer many examples of the royal clemency. But as it would 332 have appeared unseemly for the queen to have selected the conspirators against her father's life as the fittest objects of her own favour, means were resorted to, in order to ascribe the enlargement of the prisoners to a fulfilment of the king's last wishes. It is difficult to say to what extent Dom Joseph authorised this sudden act of mercy ; we are, how- ever, made acquainted with some of the reports current on the occasion, by a despatch of Mr. Walpole, dated Feb- ruary 26th, 1777 :— "On Sunday, in the afternoon, the Bishop of Coimbra was released from his prison, and was directly carried to the palace to see his sister, who is Camareira Mor, or First Lady of the Bedchamber to the dowager queen ; and it is said, that the Infante Dom Pedro met him, and embraced him. The releasing of this bishop will certainly be agree- able to the Court of Rome. " It had been reported for some days that the enlarge- ment of the bishop was in agitation, and probably the king's confessor was employed to obtain this measure from the king, as it is pretended he likewise prevailed upon the king to signify his orders for the setting at liberty several noble- men, who have been many years in prison, in consequence of the conspiracy against the king's person in the year 1758, or for some conduct (real or suspected) in opposition to his government; and though the mode in which the king's orders are supposed to have been signified, is stated in dif- ferent ways — some alleging that the queen regent had on Saturday night signified, in a very positive manner, the king's pleasure for that purpose to the Marquis of Pombal, who is said to have represented against a hasty order for their liberty, and that it would be proper for a pardon to be previously given ; others affirming that the Infante Dom Pedro, on Monday morning, produced to his servants 333 a paper, which is supposed to have been delivered by the king to his confessor, wherein it is directed that the prisoners should be released, the king's debts paid, and the church which was begun in memory of his escape, in the year 1758, should be finished — it is certain that on Mon- day last something of the kind was mentioned at the palace, for the Marquis d'Anjeja, one of the Lords of the Bed- chamber to the late king, whose brother, the Count de San Lourenco, is confined with several other noblemen at the Junqueira, w r ent about noon to the prison to communicate this agreeable news, which soon after was so public, that a multitude of persons, among which were the relations of the noble prisoners, had assembled about the prison, to await the event of this intelligence, where they remained till nine o'clock at night, when they w T ere ordered to disperse ; and the relations were informed that the individuals when re- leased would be sent to their respective families. But the expectations of the public have not yet been gratified. The delay probably is merely on account of the necessary forms to be observed in such a proceeding ; for I believe there can be no doubt but that they will be set at liberty. "Several ecclesiastics are released out of prison. " These measures have produced reports that the same favour is extended to two princes, natural sons of King John V., who are confined in a convent in the country, and it is pretended that orders are gone for their coming to Lisbon. It is likewise said that Dom John de Braganca, the brother to the late Duke de Lafoens, who has been abroad many years, and has lived a long time at Vienna, has served in the Austrian army, and has lately travelled to different parts of Europe, is also to return. This person was sent abroad, as it was supposed at the time, through a motive of jealousy in the late king. He is said to have been in great friendship with the Infante Dom Pedro, and 331 it is believed he may be designed to have a part in the government of the affairs of this country. " Your Lordship will easily imagine that what I have mentioned are symptoms of the decline of the Marquis of Pombal's credit and influence in the new government; and, indeed, though it is as yet too early to pronounce positively in regard to it, it is generally believed that the Marquis of Pombal will be permitted to retire. " The clergy seem to be in great expectation of a return of their power under the new reign ; and the nobility flatter themselves that they shall be restored to their former consideration and consequence. " The priests of the convent of the Necessidades, who were in disgrace, have received permission to preach and confess." This and the following despatch were both written previous to the resignation of Pombal. Mr. Walpole thus states his anticipations respecting the probable line of con- duct the new government will pursue : — " March 1st, 1777. There is nothing yet done by this government in regard to the appointment of the Ministers of State, which, 1 suppose, is deferred till after the eight days of the queen's retirement are passed ; and, therefore, it is not possible to say, what may be the fate of the Marquis of Pombal. But the following circumstances will pretty well inform your Lordship of what may be the temper of the new reign with respect to the ecclesiastical department. " The execution of the confinement ot the Esmoler At or (a relation of Pombal's) was through the channel of the Nuncio. " The Provincial of the Convent of Jesus, brother to 335 the Bishop of Beja, who is preceptor to the Prince of Beira, having held over his office beyond his term of appointment without a new confirmation, is discharged from that office by the authority of the Nuncio, and another is named in the interim ; such being the intentions of her Majesty (as the Nuncio expresses it), in this as well as the other instance of the Esmoler Mot (Grand Almoner). " The Bishop of Beja owes his preferment to the Mar- quis of Pombal, and has constantly appeared much attached to him. As soon as he heard of the proceeding against his brother, it is said that he took it as a blow meant to be struck at himself. u I do not find that it is likely to be confirmed that the queen will, by any public act, confer the sovereignty on her husband. It is understood that he bears the title ot king, in consequence of the laws of Lamego, established at the foundation of the monarchy, which declare that if the King of Portugal's daughter (there being no males) marries a Portuguese nobleman, he may bear the title of king when he has male issue by the queen, but he shall walk on the left hand of the queen, and shall not wear the crown. " The queen and the king are very devout. They are ot unlimited obedience to the See of Kome, and the juris- diction of the clergy in its most extensive pretensions. The queen is timid, and consequently easily influenced by the clergy, with whom she has very much conversed ; and by the instigation of such as are about her, she has pro- bably been encouraged to speak very positively to the Marquis of Pombal on the subject of the noblemen in prison, when he made difficulties about their being released, telling him, that such were her father's directions, and that she would be obeved. She has a creat deference for her 336 husband, and the king has a great veneration for her, and speaks of her as of a saint. The king is of a confined understanding, hears three or four masses in the morning in the utmost ecstacy, and attends evening prayers as de- voutly. He is liberal in his alms ; talks much in precepts of goodness and justice ; but as he has no knowledge of mankind or business, he is easily governed, right or wrong, by those immediately about him, especially if they belong to the Church. " The persons who are said to be much consulted by the king are, the Marquis de Marialva, the Marquis d'Anjeja, and the Visconde de Ponte de Lima — every one of them known to be enemies to the Marquis of Pombal. u It is pretended that the noblemen refuse to come out of prison till they have had their trial. " A variety of stories are produced of the severity of the Marquis of Pombal's administration, which are said to have been related to the queen ; and the nobility are very active in pursuit of him. But it is not thought that the king, who is allowed to be of a humane disposition, will be pre- vailed upon to consent to any violent proceedings against the Marquis of Pombal, unless he should be induced to it to revenge the cause of the Church" It will create little matter of surprise that these noblemen refused to quit their prison until they were declared inno- cent, as they well knew how easily such a declaration would be procured. The character of the queen, and of her husband, accounts for any concessions which the weak- ness of the sovereign might enable her interested coun- sellors to dictate. On Pombal's resignation, the Viscount of Villa Nova de Cerveira was nominated First Minister, and an almost entire change was made in the various appointments of 337 the government and of the royal household. The Count d'Oeyras, Pombal's eldest son, was, however, permitted to retain his post as President of the Council. The following despatch from Mr. Walpole throws still further light on the occurrences transpiring at this period : — " March 19th, 1777. The Marquis d'Anjeja is appointed Inspector-General of the Treasury. The Viscount de Ponte de Lima is Secretary of State for Domestic Affairs. These were the two principal appointments which were possessed by the Marquis of Pombal. Monsieur de Mello remains, as he was before, Secretary of State for the Marine Department. M. Ay res de Sii continues in his employment of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. " The ecclesiastical affairs, which the Marquis of Pombal had in many respects brought to be in a manner dependent on the State, return to the ancient channel and jurisdiction of the Pope's Nuncio, in regard to the convents and regular clergy, and are exempt from the temporal authority, inas- much as relates to the secular clergy. " The Bishop of Penafiel, a Carmelite friar, and confessor to the queen ; the king's confessor, who is a Franciscan friar ; and the king's secretary, who is also an ecclesiastic, are the persons chiefly employed about the Church business. " The first acts of the new reign were to displace or to punish such of the clergy as had been permitted to act independently of the rules of the Church ; and to release ecclesiastics who had been committed to prison by the sole authority of the temporal power. " In consequence of the late king's recommendations to his successor, several prisoners, laymen as well as clergy, have been released. But the noblemen are not yet out of prison, though it is supposed that they will be soon set at z liberty ; and it is a matter of great curiosity to know in what manner, and whether any declaration will be made in their favour. Others, who were banished (among whom is Mi de Seabra, late Secretary of State, and at present in the neighbourhood of Angola), are permitted to return. " The paper of recommendations which is inclosed, clears up what lias been reported to have been the late king's last intentions ; but its being without date, leaves us still in doubt as to the time when it was signed. M. de Mello told me that it was signed on the day before his Majesty's death ; but others assure, that it was done at the time when he received the sacrament for the last time, about a fortnight before his death.* * The following is the paper alluded to, which is now generally considered a forgery : — Translation. — "Recommendations from the king to his beloved and much-esteemed daughter, the Princess of Brazil, his immediate successor to the government of this kingdom and its dominions. 11 In the first place, I have great confidence, that, by her great virtue, she will govern my people with such mildness, peace, and justice, promoting their felicity as well temporal as eternal, zealously observing the laws Divine and human, protecting the true religion, preserving the royal rights of my crown, always uniting the State with the Church. " Secondly, in the same manner I trust that, by her great virtue, she will always treat with the same love and respect her mother and sisters, and will do them all the good I should, according to the great love that I always have had, and have for them. " Thirdly, I recommend to her to finish the church which I pro- mised to God to build, and which is half done, in acknowledgment of the grace He did me, and which was manifested to the whole kingdom. " Fourthly, that she will pay those debts which till now I have left unpaid, through the apprehension of an approaching and violent war, being in want of large sums of money to prepare for it. " Fifthly, that she will remember my servants ; especially those who, she knows, have served me with affection and fidelity. "Sixthly, that she will pardon the legal punishment of those 339 " I will now endeavour to give your Lordship an idea of the characters of the persons employed in the direction of the affairs of the new government. " The Marquis d'Anjeja is a nobleman who has always had great personal credit with the late king, to whom he was one of the Lords of the Bedchamber ; and has, through- out the Marquis of Pombal's administration, conducted himself so dexterously, that the Marquis has at times con- fessed that, of all the noblemen, he was the only one he could not penetrate. He is allowed to be cunning, and is esteemed among the noblemen as a man of talent. Pie is at present about the age of sixty-six years, and probably not very capable of any laborious business ; and, indeed, the employment he has, though of an extensive nature, is so well distributed as not to require much trouble, provided that the under-departments are properly executed. He was formerly employed in the finances, before they were administered in the new form introduced by the Marquis of Pombal. Besides the Marquis d'Anjeja's credit with the late king, his high birth and his reputation among the nobility (the present king being desirous of being well with the nobility), are probably a principal motive for his being taken into the administration. He will be able by his office to render great service to the nobility, who are in general very much dependent on the Crown for the greatest part of their possessions. "The Viscount de Ponte de Lima was of the bed- chamber to the queen-mother, and is the only nobleman that never paid any court to the Marquis of Pombal ; this latter having had the address by various means, and par- State criminals whom she shall judge worthy of pardon. As to the crime and offence which they have committed against my person or against the State, I have already pardoned them all, that God may pardon me my sins/' z 2 340 ticularly by the late marriage of his second son with one ot the Tavora family, who were of the highest nobility of the country, to bring them all to his house, except the person in question, who, though related to several families with whom the Marquis of Pombal had, by the marriages of his children, connected himself, has constantly stood out. Perhaps he attributed to the Marquis the misfortunes of his father, who died in prison in the year 17 Go. He was always in favour with the queen-mother, the present queen, and her husband. He bears the character of an honest and just man; is devout, and is esteemed to have acquired some knowledge by study ; and by his disposition and inclination, it is thought he will be diligent in the despatch of business. And, not having been in any employment of business before, he probably will not choose to extend his application any further at present than his own office, or interfere in the detail of the other departments. He is related to the Marquis d'Anjeja. " M. de Mello, being conversant with business, and having had experience at home, as well as abroad, has been much consulted and employed in the first clays of the new reign, in matters that were not directly within his depart- ment. And though he has been considered as not very favourable either to the clergy or to their authority, and consequently not well looked upon at the new Court, he is nevertheless likely to continue in full credit — as well because there are few persons in the country who are sufficiently capable of supplying his place, as because he has always paid great court to the Marquis d'Anjeja in the late reign — if he has prudence not to interfere in the Church affairs, which he probably may be indifferent about, if the individuals of that profession should not endeavour to influence the other parts of the government. He is active in his department of the Marine, and is 341 zealous fur putting the army upon a respectable footing. He talks with respect of the Marquis d'Anjeja, and seems to have a great opinion of the Viscount de Ponte de Lima. " M. Ayres de Sa, though under great obligations to the Marquis of Pombal, is universally esteemed for his probity and good character, and may continue in office as long as he pleases, for it is said that he is inclined to retire ; and though he has been employed abroad and at home several years, he does not like any difficult business, but is very ready at the despatch of matters of course Within his department is likewise that of war ; but I fancy he lets M. de Mello regulate the material parts of it, till it comes to the official execution of what has been de- termined on. " Cardinal da Cunha is, as he was before, a mere cipher in the State, as in the Church. " These are, as far as I am able to judge, the characters of the several persons who at present have the direction of the affairs of this government. The Viscount de Ponte de Lima is, perhaps, most in real favour with the queen ; but M. de Mello will probably have great weight in deciding upon matters with which he is already conversant." Pombal, without loss of time, retired to the city from which he derived his title, and was fortunately spared the pain of witnessing the insulting triumphs of his enemies, and the decay and degradation of his country. " He arrived there," writes the British Minister, " after some difficulties from the badness of the roads. I do not find it confirmed that he was insulted on his journey. He is very well, and I imagine will be permitted to remain there. Notwithstanding the freedom with which many persons talk in regard to the severity of his administration, 342 I believe the present ministers are not disposed to en- courage any violent proceedings against him." Bat his persecutors were not inactive in seeking their revenge. In the month of April, 1777, his bronze medal- lion likeness was taken during the night from the pedestal of the equestrian statue of Dom Joseph, and the city arms were substituted in its place. It is easy to appreciate the politic motives which prompted this pitiful meanness. PombaPs enemies wished to deprive the people of the sight of whatever could contribute to cherish the remembrance of that minister, whose constant efforts had been to benefit his country ; and they hoped by this public insult, which might possibly be taken as an expression of royal dis- pleasure, to prejudice the people against him. The great minister smiled at the malicious impotence of his enemies, and expressed a satisfaction, that a portrait so unlike the original should be removed from public view. But, such is the mutability of all human affairs, sixty years after- wards the medallion was restored to its original site, and under rather remarkable circumstances ; a statement of which will be found subjoined.* * The artist who cast the equestrian statue, as we have noticed in the text, was a brigadier named Bartoloineo, and he was after- wards employed to remove the medallion, which he was strictly enjoined to destroy. Having displaced it, he did not, however, commit himself to the Vandalism of destruction ; but fearing the consequences which might attend a discovery of non-compliance with his orders, he contrived, with the assistance of a nephew and a confidential servant, to convey it secretly to the arsenal, where he made an opening in the wall, and then bricked it up. This officer and the servant carried the secret to the grave. But the nephew, who became afterwards an officer of engineers, and as such accom- panied the present Marshal Duke de Saldanha to Monte Video, when he went to take the command of a division of the army in 1817, no longer considered secrecy necessary. He consequently described so accurately the exact position of the medallion, that the Marshal felt 343 The change in the queen's councils was soon apparent. On the 17th of May, 1777, the Marquis of Alorna, and the three brothers of the late Marquis of Tavora, were released from prison, and were ordered to retire twenty leagues from Court, until such time as they could exculpate themselves from the charge of treason. Antonio Freire d'Andrade d'Encerrabodes, late chancellor of the kingdom, was soon himself enabled, whenever he should return to Portugal, to discover the long-concealed treasure. Great political events, followed by- emigration and civil war, prevented the Marshal for a long time verifying the truth of this officer's report. At length, however, after the Queen Donna Maria II. was placed upon the throne, the Marshal acquainted the Duke of Braganoa, Dom Pedro, with the circum- stances. Dom Pedro immediately expressed a wish that the medal- lion should be restored to its former place, and determined that his own birthday should be the day appointed for that purpose. Thus chance rendered Pombal this tardy justice, and chance was the means of making Pombal's own grandson an instrument in effecting it. The following is the decree, published on the occasion, as a grateful tribute to Pombal's memory : — "It is universally acknowledged that Sebastian Joseph de Car- valho e Mello, Marquis of Pombal, is the Portuguese who reflected the greatest honour on his country during the last century. Distin- guished by the variety of his knowledge, and by the firmness of his character ; enlightened by his travels and his reflections ; and, above all, endowed with a love of his country, a zeal for the public good, and an interest in the national honour and independence ; he was always nobly led to promote the good of his country, and to implant in it the advantages of industry, civilisation, arts, and commerce. It is not less well known that, from the inconstancy of the times, and by the caprice of men, it was sought in his own country to sully the brilliancy of the reputation of so illustrious a genius, which elsewhere had never been called in question ; and, with incredible ingratitude, his bust was displaced from the centre of that same city, which, by his ability, had sprung from the ruins in which it was laid, to become one of the finest capitals in Europe. " Taking these circumstances into due consideration, and desirous at the same time of awarding to so great a man the justice that is due, and to extinguish the traces of the ingratitude, of which the 344 afterwards reinstated in his former honours; and the Bishop of Coimbra, on the 7th of July, was restored to his See. The Counts of San Lourenco and San Vicente — the latter a man whose reputation had been rendered infamous by his having contrived and effected the assassination of a person of whom he was jealous — also recovered their liberty. In the following year, Seabra arrived from Angola, was declared innocent of all charges, and rewarded with a commandery of 8000 cruzados a- year. The queen and her advisers soon undid and destroyed many of the wise regulations and reforms that Dom Joseph and his minister had laboured so many years to effect. Among these we may mention, that the court which Pom- bal established, to limit and define the extent of the juris- diction allowed by the laws of the country to the Nuncio's tribunal at Lisbon, was abolished. Pombal had refused to fill up the vacancies as they occurred in the expensive Patriarchal establishment, which cost the nation £80,000 a-year. The queen nominated persons to each of these appointments, as soon as she was seated on the throne. Forty thousand pounds were sent present generation both rejects the responsibility and disapproves the error : This is to order, in the name of the queen, that the bronze bust of the Marquis of Pombal, Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Mello, which had been removed from the pedestal of the equestrian statue of my august grandfather, to whom he was so faithful a servant, and whose memory he always sought so zealously to honour, shall be replaced in its original position ; and that, in commemora- tion of the day on which this act of justice is performed, there shall be placed underneath, in letters of bronze, the following date : — "OCTOBER XII. 1833. " Dom Pkdeo, " Duque de Braganea. " Palace of Xecessidadcs, 10th of October, 1833." 345 to Rome to pay the expenses which the Papal States in- curred by the arrival of the Jesuits at Civita Vecchia. And thus, rapidly, was expended the treasure which Pombal, by prudence and economy, had contrived to leave in the public coffers. Nicolas Pagliarini, who founded the royal printing-press, under the patronage of Pombal, was ejected from his esta- blishment, and quitted the country. On the 5th of January, 1778, orders were given for the opening of the trade to Para and Maranhao. The other Company of Pernambuco was allowed to exist two years longer. In fact, nothing was left undone to destroy the herculean labours of twenty-seven years of wisdom and continual improvement. In the course of the year a decree was promulgated, declaring that the Count de San Lourenco had always served at Court with zeal, fidelity, and attention, without there having been the least cause of complaint against his conduct. A similar decree was made in favour of the Viscount de Villa Nova de Cerveira (father of the Secre- tary of State), who had been ambassador in Spain, and was imprisoned afterwards for alleged misconduct. This exercise of the royal clemency, shown not only in the pardon of State offences, but in the restoration of the offenders themselves to posts of confidence and authority, naturally prepared the way towards the persecution of that minister by whose vigilance the guilt of the parties had been originally detected and punished. 346 CHAPTER XX V. Secluded in the peaceful retirement of the country, and cheered by the society of his affectionate wife, Pombal flattered himself, that the remainder of his days would be passed in that calmness and tranquillity, which his age and infirmities required. His magnanimity and courage did not forsake him, nor was the evenness of his temper ever ruffled by his severe bodily sufferings ; but lie con- tinued to exhibit before his family and the world, a noble instance of patient resignation, to which many of those relations and friends, who attended him in his last illness, lived to our times to testify. His intellectual powers re- mained unimpaired. A few years, however, had wrought great changes in his constitution. Wraxall, who visited Pombal in the year 1772, thus writes: — "At the time I saw him, he had attained his seventy-third year; but age appeared neither to have diminished the vigour, freshness, nor activity of his faculties ; in his person he was very tall and slender; his face long, pale, meagre, and full of in- telligence." Another contemporary writer describes him as of " grande taille, physionomie imposante, tres spirituel et prodigieusement instruit " ; and adds, " politesse envers les etrangers," and of " douceur dans la societe." Indeed, the sweetness of his intonation, the solidity of his argu- ments, and the charms and brilliancy of his conversation, are especially dwelt upon by all those (strangers as well 347 as Portuguese) wlio communicated, or were on terms of intimacy, with him. The following is an interesting account of a visit which the Due de Chatelet made to Pombal shortly after his retirement : — " My letters of recommendation to the Marquis of Pom- bal," writes the Duke, " were of the highest description, and I was accordingly received with all possible attention. The fame of this celebrated minister had given me a most lively desire to make his acquaintance. I arrived at the town which bears his name, and, from the inn, I wrote to the Marquis, requesting him to name the hour at which I could present the letters, of which I was the bearer. At ten o'clock in the morning, I directed my steps to the habitation of this great man. At present, his residence is somewhat improved ; but, at the time of which I speak, he occupied a very humble abode, and slept in a room, the walls of which had been but recently plastered. " The manners of the Marquis are, in the greatest degree, affable and kind. He asked me a thousand questions, and affected to be profoundly ignorant of what was passing in Europe. He begged me to give him all the latest news, and even asked questions about Portugal and the state of Lisbon. He inquired what motive or accident brought me to that retired, spot. I replied, that accustomed from my youth to travel, I always made a point of visiting the interior of those countries through which I passed, not confining myself to the large cities and seaport towns, in which there is little new to observe ; and that, on this particular occasion, I was led by the desire to make the acquaintance of one who had done so much good for his country. By degrees, we entered into unreserved conversation. He invited me to spend a week with him, 348 and insisted on my stopping that very day to dinner and snpper. I expressed my profound admiration of the state in which I found Lisbon so soon after the great catas- trophe. He answered, that lie no longer occupied himself with those subjects ; that he felt his age, and thought but of rest. Still, had it pleased Providence to preserve the life of his master, he would have done his best to carry on, with the same zeal, that work of which he had been only able to lay the foundation. " The Marquis brought with him a great many books, which he reads, or has read to him. The books are nearly all French. He speaks our language (French) with great facility. He always pronounces the name of his respected master with great feeling. 'He honoured me,' said he, 6 with his confidence. To lose one's king, one's friend — this trial is too great for me to resist. Nothing, nothing, can repair the loss I have sustained.' Tears fell from his eyes. In vain I endeavoured to change the conversation. He constantly returned to the same subject. f You see this humble cabin,' said he. 6 It is not mine — I have hired it. The man who is accused of consulting only his own interest has not even built himself a cottage in his native place.' He then pointed to a large new building. ' That,' said he, i is a warehouse belonging to the town ; I built it as a public granary, and it is at this moment full of corn. Like Sully,' he continued, i I shall live happier in my retirement than in the grandeur of the Court. They allowed me to bring my books, and I desire little else.' As he spoke, the Mar- chioness entered, and he kindly presented me to her. She still preserves many of her personal attractions, and dresses with great taste. She is undoubtedly very discreet, but has not the fortitude of her husband to support their reverses. In the days of her husband's prosperity, the Marchioness of Pombal had rich and poor at her feet. Her 349 house was a kind of court. Her visitors knelt and kissed her hand. After such adulation, she can with difficulty support the solitude to which the reverses of her husband have condemned her. Deserted and lonely, in a retired country town, her only satisfaction is to see her children, who occasionally pass a fortnight with their parents. A German by birth, she has all the pride of the great families of her nation ; and after having had so much to pride her- self upon, she repines at her fall. She endeavoured, but ineffectually, to conceal her grief. After ten minutes' con- versation, tears fell from her eyes. 'That is natural to her sex,' said the Marquis to me. ' To console her is another of my occupations, but by following my example, she will soon learn to support our affliction.' Dinner was then announced. ' Come,' said the Marquis, ( and take a share in the hermit's frugal repast,' In place of the frugality I was led to expect, I found a table well served, and which gave neither sign of reverse of fortune nor of sadness. We were but three at table. The conversation was animated. I talked with the Marchioness about her native Germany, and occasionally conversed in her language. The dinner w r as short, or, at least, appeared so to me. The heat was intense. " After leaving the table, we all retired. At the Mar- quis's door I encountered about two hundred poor people, to whom bread and broth were being distributed. By such acts of kindness the Marquis has acquired a vast number of adherents, who praise and honour him in his adversity. He appears to be beloved by all the inhabitants of the town. " I took the opportunity to ramble in the neighbourhood. From an eminence, which is crowned by the ruins of an old castle, the view is picturesque. After a walk of two hours, I returned to the Marquis's house, and found him absorbed in his books. We continued the conversation. 350 lie Inquired if I had been present at the queen's coronation, and if I had remarked the attempts his enemies had made to discredit him. I told him what I had witnessed, and added, that it was a triumph for him to know that the animosity of his enemies was surpassed by the impotency of it. On this he replied, with extreme vivacity, ' Their behaviour is paradoxical. They declare themselves inter- preters of the people's sentiments, and yet they bribe or persuade them to hate me. This is impossible — my conduct and acts assure me of the contrary. The Portuguese people cannot hate me. It is impossible for every reason. What is a Portuguese now, and what was he forty years ago ? Was it not I who made him feel his independence ? Have I not established throughout the country, education, manufactures, and the arts ? Did I not rebuild nearly a third of the city of Lisbon ? Was not industry, with its attendant prosperity, roused to the greatest activity during my administration ? Impossible ! Considering all the claims I have to the gratitude of the people, I believe them too just to wish my ruin. I will tell you who are the authors of all you may have seen or heard during the coro- nation. Such of the nobility whose insolent pretensions I destroyed used every endeavour to encompass my ruin. They could not with decency show themselves at the head of the persecuting party, so they selected some of their creatures, who, disguised as barbers, sailors, servants, and such like, frequented the public places, abusing me, and painting me in the most odious colours !' " In this manner I passed five days in the ministers house, continually engaged in most agreeable and interesting conversations. The Marquis kindly furnished me with a number of notes and observations, which I have found of great use in writing this work."* * '■ Voyage en Portugal," par le Due de Chatelet. Paiis, 1801. 351 Much of Pombal's time was passed in arranging his affairs, and collating his papers, as well as in writing on various subjects connected with his own administration. Amongst the few manuscripts from his pen, which civil wars, emigrations, and other misfortunes have permitted to reach us, is one containing reflections on a small book, written in English, and published in London in the year 1777, which, however, did not find its way to Pombal until the month of January, 1779. This book was composed by the opposition party of those days in England, with a view to censure the conduct of the government, of which Lord North was then at the head ; and its arrival at the town of Pombal elicited the following observations from the aged minister : — "Reflections on the Seventeen Letters Published at London in 1777, and Received at Pombal in January, 1778-9. " The excesses and unexpected invasions which the governor of Buenos Ayres, Dom Joito Joze de Vertes e Salzedo, had committed at Rio Pardo and at San Pedro, from the end of the year 1774, at the head of an army of 6000 regular troops, and a much greater number of Indians, were the causes of those urgent complaints, which the Marquis of Lavradio, Viceroy of Brazil, forwarded to his government, in order that he might be put in a con- dition to repel the injuries committed by the most con- siderable army that had hitherto been seen on that vast continent. " As soon as the above information arrived at Lisbon, the requisite orders were given without delay to strengthen the Viceroy with the most powerful land and sea force that the war and navy departments could afford. In the second place, the most urgent and precise instructions were 352 forwarded to the Portuguese Ambassador at Madrid, Dom Francisco Innocencio de Sousa Coutinho, to demand from that Court, reparation for the conduct of the Spanish Governor during the negotiations for the execution of the Treaty of February 10th, 1763. Thirdly, other pressing instructions were forwarded to the envoy-extraordinary, Luiz Pinto de Sousa, to reclaim the guarantees of Great Britain, as stipulated by Art. 21 of the Offensive Alliance of May 16th, 1703 ; by Art. 5 of the Defensive Alliance of the same date ; by Art. 20 of the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, between Spain and England, and confirmed by the guarantee therein stipulated, which Act passed the Great Seal of England on the 8th of August in the same year; by Art. 22 of the Treaty signed at the Congress of Utrecht between Portugal and Spain, which likewise was confirmed by the same Great Seal in a formal act dated May 3rd, 1715. "All the above may be verified by the three collections which, on my retirement, I left in the Home Office : — 1. The instructions forwarded to the Marquis of Lavradio. 2. Those sent to the Court of Madrid. 3. Those to the Court of London. "The first-mentioned measures produced the effect ot suspending the invasions of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, and of regaining the southern bank of the Rio Grande de San Pedro, with the town of that name, and the adjacent territory as far as the fort of Santa Theresa, where the Spaniards had introduced themselves into Rio Pardo. u The second were entirely fruitless, since, as they did not consist in our abandoning the English alliance, which had been the principal object in view of the Marquis de Grimaldi, all the notes, that Dom F. I. de Sousa Coutinho forwarded to that minister, only served to increase the acrimony between the two Courts. 353 " The third were not more successful. It has always been a pernicious and inveterate evil in the Cabinet of St. James's, that its ministers have preferred their own personal convenience, and the preservation of their lucrative places, to the greatest public interests both domestic and foreign. From these motives originated that unwise policy, which made the house of Austria an irreconcilable enemy to England, otherwise her most natural and indispensable ally, by the closest ties of reciprocal advantage. It was from this system likewise that all the urgent notes were ineffectual which Luiz Pinto de Sousa addressed to the then ministers of the Kino; of Great Britain. " They were continually 'evading the fulfilment of the above-mentioned guarantees, by the most absurd and incon- sistent pleas and subterfuges, until, finding themselves at length overcome by the force of reason and facts, they had recourse to the strange stratagem which I am about to relate. " In the first place, Dom F. I. de Sousa always received the most precise orders to confine himself to requesting the pure, simple, bare, and literal execution of Art. 21 of the Treaty of February 10th, 1763, in which it was stipulated, with respect to the Portuguese colonies in America, Africa, or the East Indies, that if any change had occurred, every- thing should be restored to its former footing, without allowing any questions respecting former treaties to interfere with the simple and literal execution of this. "In the second place, since the Marquis of Grimaldi (probably to evade the pressing requests of the Portu- guese Ambassador) took it for granted that the affair was doubtful, and that he might make a matter of compliment in executing that which was manifestly and indubitably proved just, he had expressed himself in July, 1775, to the said ambassador, in these words : i Say to the king your A A 354 master what you please, since his Majesty (Catholic) will agree to everything, even at the expense of his own rights.' In consequence of this language, the Portuguese Ambassa- dor received orders from his government to declare to the Marquis of Grimaldi that his Most Faithful Majesty (wish- ing to anticipate the good-will of the king Ills brother-in- law) would immediately send a ship to Rio Janeiro, with orders that hostilities should cease, and that everything should be restored to the state in which they were on the day of the above obliging and pacific declaration, provided that his Catholic Majesty would expedite a counterpart conceived in similar terms. Orders which the said ambas- sador immediately executed, forwarding an official copy to the minister, the Marquis of Grimaldi. " Furthermore, the Portuguese Ambassador, from the beginning of his mission to the end, received constant orders that in every step he took at the Court of Madrid, he should act in concert with Lord Grantham, ambassador from the King of Great Britain, in the same manner as M. Ay res de Sa had done with Lord Ivochford. " The result of all this was, that the Portuguese Ambas- sador made known : 1. That, contrary to his order, he had introduced a consequence that involved in it all the ancient treaties, although these were already abolished by the peace of Utrecht. 2. That the said Lord Grantham had taken upon himself the adjustment of all differences. 3. That Lord Grantham had persuaded him that the only means of avoiding doubts, w T as to withdraw 7 the said official letter, and to write another in its place, which Lord Grantham dictated, without determining the dates for the restitutions. 4. That he (the ambassador), trusting to the good faith of those friendly counsels of his Lordship, had taken upon himself to withdraw the said letter, and substi- tute the one suggested by Lord Grantham. OOO u Having seen with astonish men t the above conduct, and from the long conversations which I had with M. Marti nil o de Mello e Castro, and M. Ayres de Sa e Mello, the one well acquainted with the Court of London, the other with that of Madrid, I agreed with them as positively certain, that all the intricate and captious counsels and steps of Lord Grantham clearly manifested a stratagem of the British ministry, to avoid the fulfilment of their unde- niable guarantees, especially the execution of Art. 21 of the Treaty of February 10th, 1763, which got rid of all controversies respecting the former treaties. For this deceitful end, Lord Grantham had taken a sinister ad- vantage of the orders which the ambassador had received from Lisbon, to regulate himself as usual by the direction of the British ambassador ; the mischief of which pro- ceeding has proved boundless. "Seeing that nothing was to be expected from the Cabinet of London, M. Martinho de Mello e Castro re- collected that in a much less perilous case he had obtained the support, in 1762 (with profound secrecy), of the Lords in opposition to the Court, in order to compel the ministers to afford us the assistance agreed on by treaties of alliance. That by these means he had obtained the succour which otherwise, by his ordinary notes and reclamations alone, would have been refused; and that, on the present occasion, this was the only way of neutralising the perfidy of Lord Grantham's stratagem. u Having presented the above account to his Majesty Dom Joseph, who approved of these opinions, and con- firmed them by his royal orders, I succeeded in finding means of opening with the Duke of Manchester (one of the leaders of the opposition) a most secret correspondence, the letters of which I left in the office under the care of Joze Bazilio, the only clerk concerned in their writing, for him A A 2 Sob* to deliver to the minister who might be named as my suc- cessor. "In consequence of our most secret correspondence, the Duke of Manchester assured me that we might feel certain of being assisted, since it would not be in the power of the British ministry to deny us succour. " Such was the state of the negotiations with the Court of St. James's up to the 5th of March in the past year, on which I left Lisbon for this retirement at Pombal. A few days afterwards I found clearly that the promises of the opposition Lords were not vain, and that they were confi- dent of an approaching outbreak between Portugal and Spain, in which England would immediately fly to our succour. " For having arrived at Pombal with my family on the 15th of this month, on the 19th following, two persons presented themselves (coming from the envoy-extraordinary, Luiz Pinto de Sousa, with letters from him, as he supposed me still minister) : one, Mr. Blanket, by whom the nego- tiations with the Duke of Manchester had been carried on ; the other, Lord Charles Montague, brother of the duke of that name, and lieutenant-colonel in the British army. The first of these gentlemen told me, that he had come to serve in the Portuguese army ; the second (when he saw that I excused myself from talking on matters connected with the ministry), said that he had come to see the new University of Coimbra. (t On the same day I participated to my Court informa- tion of what had passed with these officers, in two letters ; one, addressed to the chief clerk, Clemente Izidoro Brandao, forwarding him the packet that I had received from Luiz Pinto de Sousa ; the other from my then unknown succes- sor, detailing what had passed with the two English officers, in order that, on their arrival at Lisbon, they 357 might not take the minister unawares. Copies of which letters I suhjoin at the end of these remarks. Ct From that time I neither saw nor heard anything respecting the negotiations between Portugal and England, nor of the debates between the British ministry and the opposition, beyond what was published in the newspapers ; when, in the beginning of January, I received from my son, the Count d'Oeyras, the papers which I likewise sub- join, stating that they had been delivered at his house. " On opening the packet, I found in it a letter from Mr. Blanket, and the pamphlet containing the seventeen English letters which were the subject of his communica- tion. " In consequence, however, of the multiplicity of studies that were necessary at London, in order to make myself acquainted with the history and intricate constitution of that country, and the great and continued illness that I there suffered, I was never able to acquire a language so difficult for Portuguese. These letters were, therefore, of no use to me ; but the Marchioness of Pombal had the greatest desire to know what they contained, our only diversion in this out-of-the-way place consisting in reading the newspapers that we received. " In this dilemma I received a letter from my excellent friend, William Stephens, director of the cut-glass esta- blishment, who informed me that he was in daily expecta- tion of receiving some letters from London, which he would forward to me as soon as they arrived. " The Marchioness, judging they were the same as those we had already received, begged me to send them to William Stephens, with a request that he would have them translated by some one who might be paid for his trouble. His sister, however, Philadelphia Stephens, who had con- tracted a friends]) ip with the Marchioness, they being 35S neighbours, took the translation upon herself, and fur- warded them to us as fast as they were ready. " The more I reflected on and analysed these letters, the more I became convinced that they were not written by a private individual desirous of instructing his readers in the knowledge of the history of Portugal. Nor was my personal praise, nor defence of the calumnies written against me, the object of this work, as is pretended in the first of these letters, with a view of imposing on the credulity of the public, to imagine that they were written by impartial persons, without other motive than the love of truth. For these letters could have no other object than strong and terrible accusations against the ministry, in order to destroy their credit and reputation. " As to their authors, I concluded they were not the Duke of Manchester or Mr. Blanket alone, but that they were published under the auspices of the whole opposition party. My reasons were the following : — " First, it was clear that the intimate knowledge of the ancient and modern history of this kingdom, its forces, commerce, and agriculture, its treaties with England, its last negotiations with the Courts of London and Madrid, of which every fact is ascertained with the nicest accuracy, could only be obtained by Cabinet ministers who were pro- vided with a complete knowledge of all political interests of the three kingdoms, and of the despatches and negotiations of Dom F. Innocencio de Sousa, of Lord Grantham, and of Luiz Pinto de Sousa — Cabinet ministers, I repeat, such as the Earl of Chatham, Lord Shelburne, and Lord Camden, who were always in possession of the secrets of the British Cabinet. " Secondly, having compared these letters with the most recent debates in Parliament, I found that the style and spirit of the discourses of these three lords were in perfect 351) accordance with the seventeen letters ; from which circum- stance I was confirmed in my opinion of the identity of the authors of both. "Thirdly, I remained firm in this judgment, notwith- standing the manifest errors in some of these letters respecting the tribunal of the Inquisition, and of the ecclesiastical affairs of this kingdom, since in these matters even such great men as these, in northern countries, are still in the most profound ignorance. They are unac- quainted with the laws that separate the sacerdotal from the kingly authority, and the just bounds which God Almighty has set to both. On the contrary, they remain with the most absurd prejudices, which gave me much ineffectual trouble whilst in those countries ; for no one can put it out of their heads but that the Portuguese were always slaves of the Eoman Court, and of the ecclesiastical authorities. "As to it not being of my eulogy, the purpose of these letters, it is certain that, although the Earl of Chatham during his ministry highly honoured my name, although personally unacquainted with me, and I felt that both he and the lords of his party might be willing to show some return for the zeal with which I always en- deavoured to preserve the alliance between England and Portugal, in so far as it appeared of service to my king, and to the commonwealth of my country ; yet in no way could I believe that in the present state of affairs, and of my situation, in which I could neither benefit nor harm these lords, an assembly of so many noblemen of rank would charitably undertake my defence, in the midst of the im- portant debates and agitations of their party. "Moreover, when I attentively and carefully reflected on the subject, it struck me that in these letters my name only served as a pretext to cover the thundering attacks that were made on the British srovernment. 360 " In this manner the ministry was disarmed of every pretext by which it might defend itself in tlie eyes of the nation ; universal odium was thrown upon it ; it was proved guilty of the highest crimes of treason and felony, by de- monstrating that the ministers had sacrificed the honour, reputation, and interests of England to their own personal advantage and passions, by the ungrateful and treacherous abandonment of the Portuguese alliance, which might bring Portugal to the extreme necessity of uniting herself to Spain. " The opposition party saw that the first pretext with which the English ministry had sought to refuse assistance to Portugal in the conjunctures of February, 1735, and March, 1762, consisted in persuading the nation that Por- tugal was a strip of land of little value, with a limited population buried in idleness and inactivity. " To destroy this pretext, it was shown in the first letter that this small country, and these few incapable men, had not only preserved themselves for ages in their limited territory, but had achieved vast and glorious conquests, without help, in every part of the known world. And in the second, that, notwithstanding the powerful forces of Spain, we had shaken off our yoke and regained our liberty ; and the reasons are laid down that have enabled us to retain our independence ever since the acclamation of Dom John IV. " The same party saw that the second pretext consisted in affirming, that sloth and idleness had so reduced Por- tugal to a want of means and political strength, that she would be a dead weight upon England, at whose entire cost her defence must be undertaken. " In the third letter the accuracy of this pretext was denied, by proving the restoration of agriculture in Portugal. In the fourth it was demonstrated that the industrv and 361 manufactures of the country were re-established. In the fifth the order of the finances and the prosperous condition of the treasury were pointed out. In the seventh (although with the prejudices of their country) the authors showed that the royal authority possessed all the power peculiar to the monarchical government. In the ninth, that the arts and sciences were restored in the University of Coimbra. And in the tenth, that all the abuses that had previously existed in the administration of justice, in the collection of the revenue, and in the army, were destroyed. " The opposition Lords likewise saw that the third pretext was, that the Portuguese had not sufficient troops in Por- tugal to defend themselves against Spain ; and that the few they had were in the infancy of military discipline, whilst the English who came to their assistance would be sacrificed. " In reply to this, they proved in the eighth letter, that Portugal, notwithstanding the inevitable decay, in which the long illness of Dom John V. had left the kingdom in 1750, and notwithstanding the devastations of the earth- quake in 1755, yet in 1762, when France and Spain wished to compel Portugal to give up the English alliance, she supported herself with the unshaken firmness so justly eulogised in the said letter ; and that, with the help of the English allies, she had driven away the Spanish army, and brought about the peace of February 10th, 1763. And in the tenth letter it is shown that Portugal after the war, and on the occasion of the threatened hostilities in 1776, had a standing army of forty thousand foot, and eight thousand horse. The fourth pretext with which the ministers sought to cover their conduct was founded on the clamours and public writings with which a few foreigners, enemies of the union between the two countries, and some petty merchants, of kin to those who possess no other but selfish considera- 362 tions, cried out, on the London Exchange, and in the public papers, in the year 1765, and following, against what they called infractions of the treaties between the two countries ; by which they asserted that Portugal had esta- blished many manufactures to render herself independent of England, and had promulgated laws prejudicial to British commerce. "This unjust and malignant pretext was equally de- stroyed by the fourth letter, which proved that all the manufactories and commercial regulations that Portugal had established were just and necessary, and had in no way interfered with the rights of English merchants, who were enjoying the greatest possible privileges. And by the fifth, that the diminution of British commerce in Portugal was not caused by the establishment of manufactories, and commercial regulations, but by other causes therein stated ; concluding by an arithmetical proof, that at present the commerce of England in this country is more than double that of all other European nations together. " The opposition party having thus taken the arms of these four pretexts from the hands of the ministers, they next proceeded to attack them with such strong and pun- gent accusations, in order to wound the sensitiveness of the honour and public interest of the British nation, and to render the ministers odious in the eyes of the countiy. " In order to accuse them of a scandalous infraction of the most solemn treaties and most sacred compacts with their greatest friends, and most ancient and necessary allies, so that no one for the future could rely on the good faith of the British Government, the opposition party established, in the eleventh letter, that the incontestible boundary of Brazil in the south had been the Rio da Prata ever since the Treaty of Utrecht. They brought forward all the formal ojuarantees bv which England secured the 363 said boundary line to the Crown of Portugal. They proved in the twelfth letter, that the Spaniards had never pretended to have any claim on the northern bank of the Rio da Prata, nor had they entered on that side, except the Spanish Jesuits of the Uraguay. In the same letter it was proved, that this was the true and peaceful state of things mutually acceded to in 1750, by both Portugal and Spain. ( fln order to accuse the ministers of a perfidy injurious to the character of a nation so sensitive on the point of honour as are the English, in the thirteenth letter are fully displayed the unheard-of stratagems of the plot formed between Lord Grantham and the Marquis Grimaldi, by which they united to deceive the new Portuguese Ambas- sador, Dom F. I. de Sousa Coutinho, so as to lead him to transgress the orders of his Court, by refraining from insisting on the execution of Art. 21 of the Treaty of 1763. And, to embarrass the said execution, they brought up newly- invented discussions, under the pretence of former treaties, which were expired, and already buried in forget- fulness and unmentioned ever since the Treaty of Utrecht, in 1715. This conduct made the stratagem more scan- dalous and aggravating, coupled with the insults of the Governor of Buenos Ayres, as substantiated by the four- teenth letter. " In order to accuse the British ministers of the blackest and most cruel ingratitude towards their most ancient and useful ally and faithful friend, the opposition party in their eighth letter alluded to the inevitable state of decay that the long peace and continued illness of Dom John V. had brought the army, by the destruction of all warlike spirit in Portugal, by the horrible earthquake in 1755, and by the conspiracy in 1758. They narrated the events that happened in 1762, when France and Spain, considering 361 Portugal incapable of resistance, presented to the Secretary of State, Dom Luiz da Cunha, the memorials of March 16 and April 1, insisting that Portugal should join their alliance and abandon that of England, with the threat that, if she refused, they would declare war against her, and invade the country with the troops already on the frontier. " To this demand the authors of the letters cite, with well-merited eulogy, the heroic reply of the Secretary of State, Dom Luiz da Cunha, dated the 5th of April : — ' That his Most Faithful Majesty would rather see the last tile of his palace fall, and see his faithful vassals spill the last drop of their blood, than declare himself against Great Britain.' " It is added in the two last paragraphs of the fourteenth letter, that the Court of Madrid had offered that of Lisbon to give up all the subjects of contention in Brazil, if Portugal would quit the alliance of England ; but that she had constantly remained firm in her system of union and friendship with the Court of London. Portugal, however (seventeenth letter), finding herself forsaken by England, and incapable alone of resisting the forces of Spain, was ultimately obliged to consent to everything that his Catho- lic Majesty proposed. " Still more to accuse the British ministers, and to excite against them the universal hatred of a nation whose first principle is magnanimity, and which calls itself powerful and free both before all Europe and its lawful sovereign, the authors of these letters transcribe the very words of the two Spanish and French memorials presented to Portugal on the 16th of March, 1762, and on the 23rd of April following. In which memorials the English are represented as tyrants, and usurpers of the property of others, and are denominated, with arrogance and contempt, islanders who insult the rest of Europe. 365 " Finally, in the seventeenth letter it is proved that the said ministers, after having deprived their king and country of their honour and reputation, have ended by sacrificing in the same manner the interests of the trade and com- merce of England, and that they have brought down ruin upon the country. " And so it is in truth, since every one versed in the science of the Cabinet knows, that from the reign of Louis XIV. it has ever been established at Paris as a maxim, that the certain and safe means of ruining at a blow the strength and power of Great Britain, which render her so formidable on sea and land, are to shut her out from the ports and commerce of Spain and Portugal. This is the correct language of the case, described in these seventeen letters, in which the opposition party employed their talents and literature." .-> ,-• ,-> .1 .. CHAPTER XXVJ. It does not enter into the plan of these memoirs to pursue the course of events in the succeeding reign, except where they are intimately connected with the fate of Pombal. The encroachments of the nobility and clergy on the royal authority soon plunged the country into all the misfortunes which attend an impotent government. And whatever were the feelings of justice that the queen might have naturally possessed, she was unable to surmount, much less successfully to defeat, the united opposition of two such powerful classes, who strove to gratify their personal hatred and vengeance by the further disgrace of the late minister. We have seen in the preceding chapter the manner in which Pombal occupied the leisure hours of his declining life. He was now in his eightieth year, but the malice of his enemies would not allow him to pass his few remaining days undisturbed in his retreat. Frequent and violent attacks were made on his character, and on the various acts of his administration ; until at length, roused by a just feeling of what was due to his own reputation, and to the glory of his posterity, he again seized the pen, for the purposes which he ably expresses in the following words : — " In tli is retirement at Pombal I reflected, that my sons and sons-in-law, and their descendants, neither would nor could in these days, still less in after times, obtain the clear and detailed information of facts, which is contained in the documents and evidences now in my possession — 367 information serving to refute those vain and idle calum- nies, which from the death of the king, Dom Joseph, my august lord and master, have been gratuitouly and un- gratefully circulated against me among the whole popula- tion of Lisbon. " This sentiment compelled me to reflect on the justice and propriety of leaving these public defamations to run their own course, while I observed a strict silence. On the one hand, my relations would remain astounded at the con- tinuance of such unjust accusations, and consequently perplexed and in doubt what to reply to their real friends, who might come to condole with them on a misfortune so unmerited ; and, furthermore, they were exposed to the liability of being persuaded that I had bequeathed to them an heritage of disgrace, while, God knows, I laboured all mv life with incessant wakefulness and anguish in the service of my king and country, in order to leave them an example worthy of imitation. u With a view of remedying these two serious disasters, I have applied myself, and continue so to do, to refute distinctly and separately every calumny as it has reached me ; making use of the simplest and most moderate lan- guage that the elucidation of facts will permit, in the spirit of the advice which the great father and doctor of the Church, St. John Chrysostom (Epistle lxiii.), has left written for persons in circumstances similar to those in which I find myself placed. And this is, ( to discover and convict calumnies, not to the end of self-vengeance, but with the sole and pious object of making manifest the offended truth, and of freeing from error those who find themselves deceived.' " The most notorious of these publications, written for the purpose of prejudicing Pombal in the eyes of his country 868 and of all Europe, was the famous " Libel " from the pen of one Francisco Jose Caldeira Soares Gralhardo e Men- danha. This attack was of so scandalous a nature, and supported by such powerful parties, as to completely exhaust the patience of the Marquis. Without delay he published a justificatory reply, which told such unpleasant truths, and laid bare so much of the wickedness and in- gratitude of his enemies, that the Court was alarmed, and prevailed upon the queen to order that every copy both of the " Libel " and the " Defence " should be immediately destroyed. To effect this purpose, the following decree, dated September 3rd, 1779, was signed by the queen, and immediately published : — "A relation having been made to me in my Privy Council, that in the Libel Cause now carrying on in the Civil Court, between Francisco Jose Caldeira Soares Gal- hardo e Mendanha and the Marquis of Pombal, late Minister and Secretary of State, there were several articles defamatory of the said Marquis, and not precisely necessary for the purposes of its author ; and having been informed that the said Minister, instead of applying to me for suitable and just satisfaction for the offence, had seized this pretext for composing a work, dictated by anger, which he sought to circulate and perpetrate by seven authentic copies ; and finding that in this apology he not only illegally endeavours to render public sundry negotiations of his administration, but also states such manifest untruths as even to cast a doubt upon the innocence of many persons of high rank and exceeding virtue, whose reputation I have ordered should be restored ; and that the said Marquis had uttered intolerable assertions exceedingly injurious to the memory of the king, my father, together with other excesses and absurdities worthy of a most severe example — I hereby 3(39 order, in accordance with the opinion of the said Council, and of other persons with whom I have consulted, and until I shall proceed to more efficacious measures in this matter, that all the above proofs shall be separated from the documents necessary to the prosecution or defence of the cause, and that the latter shall be given over to the parties or their attorneys, and that all other documents not necessary to the cause shall be for ever suppressed," &c. Orders were consequently given for all copies to be im- mediately forwarded to the Home Office, that they might be publicly burnt ; and the lawyers who signed such scan- dalous papers were ordered in this decree to be imprisoned during the queen's pleasure. It is to be regretted that this " Defence " was destroyed, as it would have formed a valuable addition to the bio- graphy of Pombal. That its contents refuted every mali- cious and interested calumny of his enemies, may be inferred from the eagerness and care with which the destruction was accomplished. But, not satisfied with the injustice and insult offered to the aged minister of her predecessor and father, Maria lent her ear to the suggestions of revenge ; and, with an un- exampled severity, ordered two commissioners to proceed to the town of Pombal, with full powers to examine the Marquis as to every subject on which his enemies had dared to attack, or of which they had deemed politic to accuse him. Thither these judges proceeded in the month of October, 1799, and after a protracted and wearying series of inquiries and examinations, they went, towards the end of the following January, to Salvaterra, where the Court then was, in order to make a report of their commission. The following letter, written by Pombal at this period to his son, the Count d'Oeyras, will give a faint idea of his B B 370 sufferings, caused, or at least increased, by this cruel in- vestigation : — " Pombal, December 8, 1779. " My beloved Son, " Ever since the arrival of Jose Luiz Franca, deputy of the Board of Conscience, with the royal commission, the result of which will shortly be made known throughout the kingdom, I thought it best to suspend, my correspondence with you. On this account you have not heard from me lately. " I now, however, find myself in such a crisis, that I cannot, without cruelty, leave you in ignorance of my con- dition. On the morning of the 5th * ******* I came to the conclusion that, having suffered for more than two years and a half so many vexations and insults offered to that honour which has always been my idol, without other relief than that of charitably pardoning my enemies, such Christian resignation had not sufficed to prevent nature from forming an impostume, which has for so many months caused me the most severe and ex- cruciating inward pains, and which now outwardly mani- fests itself by the above described eruptions. " Notwithstanding these excessive maladies that had so much reduced me, and the fatigue of an examination which lasted above fifty days, where I had been compelled to attend each time for five, six, seven, or eight hours, at the end of which I retired, extenuated, at forty minutes past twelve o'clock last Saturday night — notwithstanding, I repeat, the distressed and weak state in which I was, no sooner did I hear of the arrival of the ministers at the Court House, than I ordered myself to be carried there on a Here follows a detailed account of the Marquis's illness and sufferings too unpleasant to narrate. 371 a hide by two servants. I immediately signified to the harsh judge, Jose Luiz Fran 9a, as I expressed on former occasions, that my profound obedience to the commands of the queen would always bring me to the spot where he saw me, so long as my strength would allow T , and that if I breathed my last in his presence, I should die in obedience to the orders of my sovereign, w T ith the same honour with which I had always executed the orders of her Majesty's august father and grandfather ; and that I should long since have offered up my life with resignation to Divine justice, but for the fear of being misrepresented by my enemies, slighted by my sovereign, and by my country, which I had always served with equal zeal and fidelity. The said ministers, having seen that my debility and pros- tration would not suffer me to continue my profound obe- dience, ordered me to return to my bed, whither my servants carried me on the same miserable conveyance in which I had been brought. * * * * I besought him (the physician) as a Christian, and without unavailing flattery, to undeceive me by informing me in what state of danger he considered me, not because I dreaded death, but because I trembled for the account I had to render to God, for which I wished to prepare myself in the short time I might yet have. He replied that he could not deny but that I was seriously ill ; that he could not cure the causes of the vexations and agitations of the mind, but that if * * *. This being my present situation, I order yon, with the authority of a father, and the affection of a friend, by no means to ask permission to visit me, both because you have to fulfil your duties to your royal sovereign ; because you ought not to leave abandoned our persecuted house at such a critical moment ; and because, as far as relates to my illness, I have two doctors, which number, you know, I never would exceed in my most serious infirmities. I have, B B 2 372 moreover, for sick attendants, two daughters and your mother, who are inseparable from my bedside. Recollect only to fetch them when I am departed. Adieu, my son, until it may please God to take me. May the Lord God guard and prosper you, as is cordially desired by your father, " Sebastiao Jose de Carvalho e Mello." I need hardly add that the Count d'Oeyras was unable to resist disobedience to the injunctions of his suffering father. He hastened to join his family, and to support them in their trials and afflictions. In the meantime, the greatest secrecy was observed re- specting the late proceedings at Pombal. Great interest was excited concerning the result of so long and important an examination. Pombal's health continued to decline ; but the queen refused her permission for him to go to Coimbra, the waters of which place had been recommended as beneficial by his physicians. The public mind was agitated by intense anxiety to know what fate the Court had in store for the saviour and benefactor of the country. His enemies did not for a moment cease their exertions to procure his disgrace and their own triumph. The infatuated queen, in order to complete the measure of contempt thrown upon the justice of Dom Joseph, signed a decree in the month of October, 1780, which ordered that, on the repre- sentations of the Marquis d'Alorna (on behalf of the memory of his relations), the sentence of the 12th of January, 1759, passed on the conspirators against the life of his late Majesty, be declared unjust and null ; and that it should be reviewed by a certain number of magistrates appointed for that purpose. The consequences of such a decree are easily foreseen. On the 3rd of April following, fifteen judges out of eighteen 373 declared innocent all the conspirators, both the dead and the living, who had been actors in or privy to the attempt on the king's life. This extraordinary decision — perhaps the most scan- dalous example of judicial sycophancy that history affords — was hailed as the final and lasting condemnation of Pom- bal's character. For the result of the inquiries at Pombal had been anything but satisfactory to the Court party, in furtherance of their desire to convict the minister of mis- conduct. After a silence of eighteen months, during which time evidence was in vain sought to render him either guilty or odious in the eyes of his countrymen, it was determined by the queen and her advisers that no further publicity should be given to the results of the investigation, except such as were announced by an infamous decree published on the 16th of August, 1781. Volumes could not speak more than does this silence in favour of Pombal's satisfac- tory defence, and of the purity and excellence of his long and stormy administration. DECREE. u After having decided by the just motives that were laid before me, that it was no longer expedient that the Marquis of Pombal should continue to enjoy in my royal service the post of Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment, and having in consequence ordered him to leave my Court and to retire to his estate at Pombal, it was not to be imagined that after this order he would dare to form an apology of his late administration, under the frivolous pre- tence of defending himself in a civil suit, which apology has since been condemned by our decree of September 3rd, 1779. " Having subsequently questioned him concerning 374 various accusations brought against him, so far from justifying himself, all his replies, and the evidence gathered therefrom, have tended to aggravate those offences which were the subject of inquiry in an assembly of judges to whom I confided this affair. And I was assured by them, after due deliberation, that the Marquis of Pombal was a criminal worthy of exemplary punishment. Nevertheless, out of regard for the advanced age of the offender, and of his heavy infirmities, consulting my clemency rather than my justice, I have been softened by the prayers of the said Marquis, who has supplicated for pardon, detesting his own rash excesses,* and have remitted all bodily punishments, enjoining him simply to absent himself from the Court, at a distance of at least twenty leagues, until further orders on my part; without prejudice, nevertheless, either to the rights and just pretensions that my Crown may have against him, or of those of any of my subjects, who, sup- posing themselves injured by the said Marquis, may like- wise support their claims, not only for the restitution of their property, but likewise for the full and complete in- demnification of all they have suffered. My royal intention being only to pardon him the personal chastisement which justice and the laws require, and not to prejudice either the interests of aggrieved persons, or of our royal domains, so that all parties in general and our royal attorneys will have full power to use all legal means against the estates of the said Marquis, either during his life or after his death. (i Queen. "August 16th, 1781." In this manner were the long and faithful services of the Marquis of Pombal acknowledged and rewarded by his sovereign. The slight veil of humanity ostentatiously * We need hardly remark how false is this assertion. 375 thrown over this decree, in order to render less apparent the encouragement which is offered to his enemies to vex and annoy both him and his posterity, is not sufficient to conceal the base motives which dictated this cruel per- secution. Some respect for the memory of her father might have induced the queen to hesitate at subscribing to measures, in which the condemnation of the king was included in that of the minister. We can only look for a satisfactory cause of this conduct in that fanatical and bigoted zeal which characterised Maria I., and which rendered her the tool of the ambitious nobles and design- ing ecclesiastics who surrounded her. At a later period of this queen's life, her weak intellect, distracted by religious frenzy, was unable to withstand the violence of her uncon- trollable imagination, and she died, after a confinement of many years, in a state of confirmed lunacy. The spirit of gloomy superstition extended its influence even to the amusements and recreations of the Court and people. Dom Joseph had formed an excellent Italian Opera in his palace, and the finest singers in Europe found patronage in the rich and luxurious capital of Por- tugal. At this monarch's decease, the queen, his daughter, abolished from her Court this and all similar refinements of civilised society. And, still further to mark the ascetic character of this reign, females, from henceforth, were not permitted to appear on the stage. 376 CHAPTEE XXVII. T\ r E have thus accompcanied the Marquis of Pombal nearly to the close of his long and arduous career. Although the author was led to commence this undertaking with the desire of doing justice to the memory of an illustrious man, he has preferred rather to present the actions of Pombal's life as they occurred, and the motives which influenced them, than to attempt a refutation in detail of the various misrepresentations which have been given to his conduct. Falsehood and malice were so busily employed both during his lifetime and after his death, that it would have been impossible to enter into the particulars of the absurd charges circulated against him. The long and faithful attachment which he displayed to his sovereign, and the uninterrupted and unbounded confidence that Joseph reposed in him, offer, perhaps, the most extraordinary instance of its kind in the history of government. u Con- fidence is a plant of slow growth," and in a country where the possession of power depends solely on the will and protection of the monarch, and in no way is acquired by corrupting and flattering the passions of the people, a minister can alone seek to retain his position by meriting his sovereign's confidence, and by possessing such qualities as acquire it. And since Dom Joseph was a prince whose private character was never assailed by calumny, and one who, even in his public acts, has escaped his share of the lavish censure bestowed upon his minister, we may reason- ably conclude that the anonymous attacks made on the 377 Marquis of Pombal sprang more from hatred of his person and authority, than from any well-founded disapprobation of his government. We cannot sufficiently eulogise the steady conduct pursued by the king during so long a period — for even Henry IV., with all his talent and judgment, did not so constantly, firmly, and resolutely support his minister Sully, as did Dom Joseph the Marquis of Pombal. Joseph considered that he owed the preservation of his life, and the possession of his crown, to his minister, and under this impression never for a moment wavered in his opinion, or repented of his choice. But at his death the country returned to the most un- fortunate of all conditions, an absolute monarchy with a weak government. " Tous veulent etre souverains," says a French writer, " des qu'un seul n'est plus digne de l'etre." Like the glorious sun, Pombal had shed the life-creating light of his understanding over a desolate country. At his departure, a universal darkness rapidly overspread the land ; and in this equalising obscurity a host of false pretenders arose, like transient meteors, to supply the place of the great luminary that had disappeared. In every country in Europe the name of Pombal is associated with the abolition of the Jesuits. Whatever merit this Order may have possessed in the purposes of its institution ; whatever virtues its members may have prac- tised, or whatever good they may have effected, it is not here the place to inquire. It was not, therefore, without reluctance that the author was induced to recapitulate some of the causes which led to their suppression, first in Portugal, and afterwards in all Europe. But a regard for the reputation of an illustrious statesman, respect for the memory of a pious king, and even a sense of justice towards an enlightened Pope, demanded this exposition of the guilt ;37* for which they suffered. For the Church of Rome herself cannot be unwilling to prove to the world that, as a useful lesson, she is ready to punish those members who have erred from the sacred purposes of their calling, whenever satisfactory evidence is shown of their demerits. Great power is so seldom unattended with an abuse of it, that there is nothing in Pombars character that strikes us with more veneration than the disinterestedness of his conduct in abstaining from all personal aggrandisement during his long administration. AVe know that Henry IV. heaped immense riches upon his favourite minister, Sully, who continued by these means to live in princely splendour after his retirement from public service. Pombal, however, carried the same regard to econonvy into the management of his own affairs as he applied to those of the State. In the month of April, 1779, soon after his resignation, he ordered his son to present to the queen a long and minutely detailed account of the actual state of his property, and of the means by which he had acquired it ; thus anticipating all those popular charges of avarice and corruption, by which his enemies might have endea- voured to render his character odious in the eyes of the public. For in this statement it was proved, that, during the twenty-seven years of his administration, Pombal had never received any salary except that of Secretary of State, and a yearly sum of 400,000 reis (about £100), as Secretary of the house of Braganca. Neither had he at any time accepted the customary gratuities which were from time to time bestowed by the sovereigns upon their favourites, under the denominations respec- tively of "royal donations," "gratifications," "outfits," The only reward conferred upon him by Dom Joseph was the commandery of St. Miguel das tres Minas, one of 379 the many sinecure places then in the power of the sovereign to bestow upon the objects of his favour, and which are since entirely abolished by the constitution which Portugal now possesses. To this was added, at Joseph's death, the commandery of St. Iago de Lanhozo, conferred upon him as a voluntary gift by the queen when she granted him permission to resign. As PombaPs brothers were never married, and always lived in the closest friendship and affection together, their fortunes at their death were united with and increased his own. In the palace at Oeyras is to be seen a fine picture of the three brothers grouped in an attitude, which illus- trates the motto placed underneath — "Concordia Fratrum." They inherited, during their lives, from various branches of their family, above twenty-two contos a-year, besides a sum of twenty-two contos, which one of them received as a legacy at the death of their mother. Overcome at length by age and infirmity, Pombal breathed his last in the arms of his family and relations on the 5th of May, 1782, and in the eighty-third year of his age. His death, we are told, was calm in the extreme — supported as he was by the resignation of a philosopher, and the hopes of a Christian ; and, as a celebrated author expresses it, " that inward sunshine of the soul which a good conscience can always bestow on itself." For many years previous to his death, Pombal was accustomed to dedicate each returning anniversary of his birth to a day of self-examination, reflection, and prayer; thus, amidst his multitudinous pursuits, selecting that day of festivity and joy as one of preparation for another world, and consola- tion in this. The funeral of the Marquis of Pombal was celebrated with the respect due to his rank ; but the Bishop of Coimbra, for having assisted at it, was sharply repri- 380 mancled by the governor of the province. The priest who pronounced his funeral oration, having dared to deplore the ingratitude of Portugal towards the greatest of its ministers, was confined in a convent in the Cape Verde Islands. But even the frowns of the Court could not prevent a just tribute to the memory of Pombal from being inscribed on his tomb. The following epitaph commemo- rates the leading features of his administration, and records his claim to the admiration of posterity : — 381 EPITAPH. TO SEBASTIAN JOSEPH DE CARVALHO E MELLO, &c, &c. AFTER HAVING REBUILT LISBON, RE- ANIMATED COMMERCE, CREATED MANUFACTURES, RESTORED LEARNING, ESTABLISHED THE LAWS, RESTRAINED VICE, RECOMPENSED VIRTUE, UNMASKED HYPOCRISY, REPRESSED FANATICISM, REGULATED THE FINANCES, MADE THE SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY RESFECTED ; LOADED WITH GLORY, CROWNED WITH LAURELS, OPPRESSED WITH CALUMNY, LAUDED BY ALL FOREIGN NATIONS, ABUSED BY HIS OWN ; EQUAL TO RICHELIEU IN THE GREATNESS OF HIS DESIGNS J LIKE SULLY IN HIS LIFE AND LOT, GREAT IN PROSPERITY, LOFTY IN ADVERSITY ; LEAVING AMPLE MATERIALS FOR THE PRAISE AND WONDER OF FUTURE ACES, AS PHILOSOPHER, HERO, AND CHRISTIAN, HE PASSED INTO ETERNITY, IN THE EIGHTY-THIRD YEAR OF HIS LIFE, AND THE TWENTY-SEVENTH OF HIS MINISTRY, THE FIFTH OF MAY, 1782. MAY THE EARTH REPOSE LIGHTLY UPON HIM ! The reader who has perused with attention the latter pages of these memoirs will not be surprised to learn that the government, persecuting the memory of the deceased minister, with the same spirit of vengeance by which they had embittered the declining years of his life, ordered the preceding epitaph to be erased from his monument. 883 APPENDIX. Before closing these volumes, the reader may naturally feel desirous to know some particulars of the posterity of this great statesman, whose blood now flows in the veins of so many noble Portuguese families. His eldest son Henry, who, as we have seen, at the accession of Donna Maria I., retained his appointment as President of the Council, succeeded to the title, com- manderies, and principal portion of his father's estates. The title of Pombal is one of the very few hereditary distinctions in Portugal, for perhaps it is not generally known that the possessors of titles in that country hold them but for one, two, or three lives. It is usual, however, to renew them by the grace of the sovereign. This nobleman, after the death of his father, travelled a great deal, and frequented the various Courts of Europe, where he was remarkable for the distinguished ease and polish of his manners. During his residence at the Court of St. James's, he kept a journal of his observations and amusements, and this record is now in the possession of the present Marquis. Amongst various curious anecdotes which it contains, illustrative of the manners and customs of the last century, there is one circumstance narrated, which may be interesting to the admirers of Sir Thomas Lawrence. In the year 1783, the Count d'Oeyras gives the follow- ing description of the person and habits of young Lawrence, 384 then fourteen years of age, and residing at Bath : — " He is a charming lad, with a handsome countenance and most sparkling eyes, and his whole aspect breathes an agreeable air of innocence. Notwithstanding his youth, he already sustains his parents and brothers by the produce of his pencil; and his neatly-arranged apartment is ornamented with his own works." The Count d'Oeyras was received everywhere with the utmost distinction, and was for some time ambassador at Paris. His journal was continued at various periods ; and the following extract, dated July 29th, 1808, brings us to the latter period of his life : — " Received to-day from Eng- land letters from the Duke of Sussex and Prince Castelci- cala, recommending M. Humboldt to my attentions." He afterwards accompanied Dom John VI. in the emigration to Brazil, where he died without children, in the year 1812, and the title and estates of the family devolved upon his brother, the Count de Redinha. We have already referred, p. 259, to the marriage of this nobleman with a niece of the Marquis of Tavora ; and thus, by one of those singular revolutions which are some- times produced by the inter-marriages of ancient families, the nearest living personal representatives of Pombal may be supposed to hold a divided, perhaps an irreconcilable, duty between the glory or dishonour of two rival ancestries. The son and successor of the Count de Redinha married a granddaughter of the Marquis of Pombal, by which union the present Marquis is the son both of the grandson and granddaughter of the founder of the title. To this short notice of Pombal's posterity, the author may be permitted to allude more fully to one other mem- ber of the family^ who has gained for his own name so distinguished a reputation. The Marshal Duke de Sal- danha is the son of Antonio de Saldanha d'Oliveira, Count 385 de Rio Mayor, and of the youngest daughter of Pombal.* Destined for the service of the Marine, he had, at the age of sixteen, completed his studies at the Naval Academy, where he carried every prize. In his nineteenth year he had already been rewarded with two medals, one from the Prince Regent of England, the other from the Regent of Portugal ; both of which were conferred for his conduct at the celebrated battle of Busaco, which the Duke of Welling- ton gained over Marshal Massena. After being engaged in all the principal actions of the Peninsular war, Joao Carlos de Saldanha, at the age of twenty-two, commanded in 1814 the tenth brigade of the Portuguese army, under the orders of Wellington. Marshal at the age of forty-one, he had been actively engaged during a six years' war in South America, and in the long civil strife for the restora- tion of the Queen Donna Maria II. to the throne of Portu- gal, when he had the good fortune to defeat eight of the generals commanding the army of Dom Miguel, amongst whom we may mention the General Clouet, and Marshal Bourmont. The Marshal Duke de Saldanha has not only served his country in his military capacity, but in the various appoint- ments of Governor of the Northern Provinces in Portugal, Captain-General in Brazil, Deputy and Peer in the king- dom, Prime Minister, Councillor of State, and in various diplomatic missions of importance ; in all which he acquired the esteem and respect of those who obeyed his orders, or enjoyed his society. In the vicissitudes of his stormy career, he has never lost sight of the welfare of his country, to which his whole life has been devoted. The following is a translation of the letter addressed to the Marchioness of Pombal, who, it may be remembered, was an Austrian subject, and a niece of the Marshal Daun, * See page 258. c c 386 to whom, as Maria Theresa confesses, she owed the preser- vation of her throne. The two postscripts alone are in the handwriting of the Empress. Accompanying this letter, which is most carefully preserved by the present Marquis, were the portraits of Maria Theresa and of her son, sent by her Imperial Majesty as a token of her esteem for, and rememberance of, the Pombal family : — " Schonbrunn, June 16, 1770. " My dear Duchess of Oeyras, " To afford a further proof of the satisfaction with which I regard the Chevalier Lebzeltern, our charge d'affaires at the Court of his Most Faithful Majesty, I have willingly condescended to permit that the child of which his wife will shortly be delivered shall be held at the baptismal font in my name. I know too well the former sentiments both of yourself and of the Duke of Oeyras towards myself to doubt for a moment your acceptance of this commission with pleasure ; and I cannot, for my own part, put it in better hands than in those of two persons for whom I retain a most peculiar esteem. It will therefore be most agreeable to me that you and your esteemed husband will represent me on this occasion. If a girl, call her Marie Therese ; and if a boy, Francois Joseph. Assuring you in return that it will not diminish my desire to prove at all times my former and constant love towards you. "Marie Therese." "You and your husband have known the young queen, but not the old dowager. I therefore send you, with the young monarch, the old mamma, who retains neither her vivacity nor activity, but only her tenderness for her family and ancient friends. The esteem which I have always had for your husband will finish but with my 387 sorrowful days, as well as that for your own virtues and merits, and for those of the Daun family, to whom I owe the preservation of the monarchy.* Believe me always, " Most affectionately yours, " Marie Therese." " I recommend the Lebzelterns to you. They cannot be too well satisfied w 7 ith the kindness they receive. The same of the young Baroness for whom I am interested." * Marshal Count Daun was the first man (not being a prince) that received the Order of Maria Theresa. THE END. BA.NKEK AXD CO. PRINTLHS DKUHY HOVSE, ST. 3IAUY-LK-STKAM), LOKDOS. 5'^$?s BOSTON COLLEGE 3 9031 01568360 ftPfWHi DP 641 .C3 1871 CARNOTA. Bapst Library Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02167 w&m ■<** mm