Chapter X

INSURRECTION IN PORTUGAL.

♦1808. May.♦

While these events were passing in Spain, Portugal also was convulsed by this political ♦An agent sent from Badajoz to the Spaniards at Lisbon.♦ earthquake. The first insurrection in Madrid had been no sooner known at Badajoz, than an anonymous proclamation from that city was circulated on the Portugueze border; and a lieutenant of the Walloon Guards, by name Moretti, was sent to consult at Lisbon with General Carraffa upon the means of withdrawing the Spanish troops. Carraffa thought it too hazardous to declare ♦Neves, t. iii. 7.♦ himself at that time; but though in other respect acting altogether in subservience to Junot, he did not make him acquainted with the transaction, and Moretti returned in safety.

♦Difficulties of Junot’s situation.♦

Junot was now disturbed from his dreams of royalty; yet his head lay as uneasily as if it had worn a crown. Like the other French commanders, when the insurrectionary movement became general throughout Spain, he thought it impossible that any continued or formidable resistance could be opposed to the power of France: but his own situation was exposed to peculiar danger; he was farther removed from assistance than any of the other commanders in the Peninsula; there was an English squadron in sight, watching the course of events, and in defiance of all his vigilance, well informed of whatever was going on; and it was not to be doubted, that if a favourable opportunity offered, Great Britain would make an effort for the deliverance of Portugal. Pursuant to his instructions from Madrid, he had sent into Galicia the remains of Taranco’s division, so that Carraffa’s was now the only one which remained; some 4000 of these were at Porto, the rest were in detachments at Lisbon, Mafra, Santarem, and on the other side the Tagus at Setubal, Cezimbra, and ♦Neves, iii. 66.♦ other places. In the hope of exciting a national feeling against them, and thereby counteracting that sympathy which their common language, manners, and religion, and now a sense of their common interest, were producing between them and the Portugueze, rumours were spread, that by an arrangement made with Buonaparte, Portugal was to be governed by Spain till its fate should be determined at a general peace. But this artifice failed. The Spaniards were not to be deceived; from the time when they knew that Ferdinand had been inveigled to Bayonne, there was an end of all good understanding between them and the French; and they were so ready to engage in personal quarrels, from the national indignation which possessed them, that it was found necessary to confine them to their quarters at an early hour in the evening. Care was taken to divide them into small detachments, and station every where with them a superior number of French. Many deserted, especially of those who were quartered beyond the Tagus. Some made their way to the Spanish frontiers in strong parties. The regiment of Murcia marched for Spain in a body, in defiance of its colonel; a detachment of 600 French was sent from Lisbon to intercept them; they met at ♦Neves, iii. 67.♦ Os Pegoens; this was a case in which individual ♦Observador Portuguez, 287.♦ strength and determination were of more avail than military discipline; the Spaniards were victorious, and proceeded on their way, receiving the utmost kindness from the people, and nearly two hundred wounded French were landed at Lisbon.

♦Kellermann takes the command in Alem-Tejo.♦

Badajoz was the point to which the Spaniards repaired from Alem-Tejo and the south of Portugal, and the numbers who were collected there made such an addition to the strength of the garrison, that General Kellermann, who was then at Elvas, felt himself ill at ease in the neighbourhood. That general had taken the command in Alem-Tejo upon Solano’s departure, and so different was the spirit of his administration, that one of his first measures was by his own authority to impose an extraordinary contribution upon the exhausted province. Evora was to pay 10,000 cruzados novos, Elvas and Portalegre 8000 each, Villa-Viçosa 6000, and other places in proportion. The sum was exacted within six hours after the demand: but it was restored without ♦Observador Portuguez, p. 277.♦ delay, in consequence of peremptory orders from Junot, when complaint was made to him of this unauthorized exaction. He was displeased with Kellermann for presuming to levy money at his own pleasure, and this was no time for exasperating the people by farther acts of oppression. Already they were in so perturbed a state, that it ♦May 22.♦ was deemed expedient to order all absent bishops and beneficed priests to return to their dioceses and cures, and there exert themselves in preserving order, and exhorting the people to submission. Buonaparte had reckoned upon the good services of the clergy; experience, he said, had shown him that countries where there were many friars were easily conquered; ... he was undeceived of both errors in the Peninsula.

♦He attempts to conciliate the Spaniards at Badajoz.♦

In the hope of reviving old animosities, and exciting the Portugueze to act against the Spaniards, Kellermann called out the Ordenanças, and required the people of Elvas to take arms for the defence of their city, which, he said, the Spaniards, eternal enemies to the name and independence of Portugal, were preparing to attack ♦June 1.♦ from Badajoz. At the same time he sent a letter to the Spaniards of that place, exhorting them to return to their duty, and promising intercession, and pardon and protection. No answer was returned; he then put forth an argumentative address to the Commandant and the Representatives of Extremadura, asking them what end they could propose to themselves from the revolt in which they had blindly engaged? The House of Bourbon had renounced all its rights to Spain; Ferdinand was in France, and the right of appointing a king for the Spaniards had been transferred ♦1808. June.♦ to the Emperor. Did they wish to draw upon themselves the evils by which France had been ravaged during so many years? If that country had come with glory out of a struggle which would for ever be celebrated, it was owing to her internal strength, her valour, and above all the talents of that extraordinary man whom Heaven had sent to reign over her, for her happiness, and for the happiness of the Spaniards also, if they chose it. Could they expect a like issue? Would valour alone suffice to effect it? What was their position? Half Spain had declared for the new order of things. Their own countrymen would take the field against them. The French armies were in the midst of the land, under the greatest generals, without enemies, and abundantly supplied with all the means of war. On their part they had only some soldiers who had murdered their chiefs; a populace vain of their own strength, because they had met with no resistance; and a few miserable English, the eternal artists of discord, active in stirring up enemies to the French, and always ready, like cowards, to abandon the victims of their infernal policy. Nor was there any thing in the change which had taken place to provoke their opposition. At the commencement of the preceding century Spain had called Philip V. to the throne, for the purpose of establishing an invariable union ♦Observador Portuguez, 288.♦ with France. The establishment upon that throne of a prince of the new French dynasty was nothing more than a consequence of the system which Spain had then adopted, and which was now confirmed. There was yet time to choose. The sword was not yet drawn, the door was still open for reconciliation, ... and he requested that they would not close the gate of their city against his communications. To this also no answer was vouchsafed. He made a third effort, telling them that he would suspend hostilities till they should be better informed, and desiring the Junta to meet him at the Caya, the little stream which there divides the kingdoms. No persons were there to meet him; and he then began to store the forts of Elvas, and to devise plans for attacking Badajoz, expecting, no doubt, that some of the troops in Spain would be ordered upon that service. Believing too that fêtes and rejoicings would have as much effect in Portugal as in France, he appointed a day of public thanksgiving for the benefits which Napoleon had promised to confer upon the Portugueze. They were not a people to be thus deceived. Their hearts were with the Spaniards, and so many repaired to Badajoz, where D. Joseph Galluzo, with great activity, was forming a camp, that they were incorporated in a legion of foreign volunteers, the command of which was given to Moretti. Many artillerymen escaped thither from Elvas; some hundred of the Portugueze troops whom the French had ordered away for foreign consumption, had been collected there; ♦Neves, iii. 75.♦ promotion was offered to all officers of that nation who should join them, and Kellermann’s vigilance could not prevent the emigration which took place in consequence.

♦Distribution of the French troops in Portugal.♦

A considerable garrison was required in Elvas, as being the strongest fortress in the kingdom, and now of more importance because of the hostile attitude which the Spaniards at Badajoz had assumed. Strong garrisons were placed at Peniche and Setubal, for fear of the English. Almeida also had been occupied by the French. ♦Neves, iii. 77.♦ Except the troops in that place there were no other French in the whole north of Portugal than the small parties stationed upon the military road, a weak detachment at Figueira, and some fifty men at Coimbra. The great body of the French was collected at Lisbon, and in the adjacent country, where, in case of sudden danger, they might be brought to act promptly and with ♦The Spaniards at Porto declare against the Intruder, and march into Spain.♦ effect. Porto was in possession of the Spaniards, who had occupied it by virtue of the secret treaty of Fontainebleau. General Bellesta, however, upon whom the command had devolved, had been placed under the orders of the French General Quesnel, when the abortive kingdom of Northern Lusitania was no longer held out as a lure to the court of Spain. Quesnel had with him about seventy dragoons, and a few other French, holding military or civil situations. When news arrived of the movements in Gallicia, Bellesta, obeying without hesitation the voice of his country, ♦June 6.♦ arrested the French and their general, and convoking the military, judicial, and civil authorities, explained to them briefly the situation of affairs, expressed a hope that Junot would by that time have been seized in Lisbon, as Quesnel was in Porto, and asked of them what course they would pursue, ... whether they would restore the national government, choose a Spanish one, or remain in submission to the French? The Vereador, Thomas da Silva Ferras, replied, that he, and the chamber, and the city, desired nothing more than to be under the government of their lawful sovereign, and required that the royal arms might immediately be re-established. A Desembargador ventured to observe, that they had no authority to determine such things, not being representatives of the people; that they were without arms, ... that they had no means of resisting so terrible an enemy as the French; and that it was better to wait till they knew what had happened at Lisbon. Reasonable as the fear was which this speaker expressed, a more generous feeling prevailed, and by Bellesta’s orders the Sargento Mor, Raymundo José Pinheiro, went from the meeting to take the command of ♦Neves, iii. c. 6.♦ the fortress of S. Joam da Foz, at the mouth of the Douro.

♦The lawful government restored at Porto.♦

It was late at night when the meeting broke up. Raymundo called together his officers; they bound themselves by a formal deed and solemn oath to act for the service of their lawful Prince against the French, and invoking the aid of Our Lady of the Rosary, to whom that castle was dedicated, vowed in the Prince’s name to solemnize the anniversary of that day by a festival to her honour. At daybreak the Quinas were once more seen flying upon the fortress, a royal salute was fired, and returned from the castles of Queijo and Matozinhos, the bells were rung, rockets were discharged, and the people gave themselves up to joy. The Spaniards without delay marched for Coruña, taking with them their prisoners. An English brig of war, which was cruising off the river, hearing an unusual stir in the city, drew near in hopes of ascertaining the cause; Raymundo went on board, he was received with due honours, and an officer returned to shore ♦Neves, iii. 85–91.♦ with him, and was sent to Luiz de Oliveira da Costa, who commanded at Porto during the absence of General Bernardim Freire de Andrada.

♦The governor adheres to the French, and suppresses the insurrection.♦

Luiz de Oliveira had been present at the meeting which Bellesta convened, and assented to the resolution which had there been taken. Whether his heart was with his voice on that occasion, or whether he had submitted to the prevailing opinion only while it was dangerous to oppose it, the fear of the French returned upon him, now that the Spaniards had left Porto to its own means of defence; and instead of receiving the English officer with open arms, he wrote to Raymundo, calling him to account for having opened a communication with the English brig, and saying that he knew nothing of the business. Raymundo replied with great spirit, that if the governor had forgotten what passed when the government of the Prince Regent was re-established, he had not; he and his officers had proclaimed their beloved Sovereign, he had invited the English commander, in the Prince’s name, to assist him; and if any person disputed the propriety of what he had done, he would make that person know what the power of the royal name was, and that that port was open for the English. Raymundo’s means, however, were not commensurate with his will; the people of Porto were disheartened by the departure of the Spaniards, and the city remained to all appearance in perfect submission to the French government, while the Portugueze flag was flying at S. Joam da Foz. A lieutenant-colonel, by name Manoel Ribeiro de Araujo, now presented himself in that fortress with an order from Oliveira to take the command. Raymundo told him, that if it were taken for the service of the Prince, he was ready to resign it into his hands; but if it were his intention to follow the French part, he might return to the place from whence he came, for within those walls no other name should be acknowledged than that of the lawful sovereign, and not a shot should be fired from them against the English. Araujo returned in the evening with fair words, and invited Raymundo to the governor’s house, there to confer with him upon the best mode of proceeding in the present critical circumstances. The treacherous invitation was accepted, and he had no sooner set foot within Oliveira’s apartment than he was arrested as a disturber of the people. The next step would have been to deliver him up to the French, and to certain death; but though he had with strange want of circumspection walked into the snare, neither his courage nor his presence of mind forsook him. Oliveira, with Araujo and another officer, went out into the varanda to give directions ♦Neves, iii. 91–97.♦ concerning him; Raymundo, who was left alone in the apartment, quietly locked the varanda door, and lost no time in gaining a place of concealment.

♦Junot disarms and seizes the Spaniards at Lisbon.♦

Bellesta had left a letter for Junot, which the Chamber of Porto, as soon as his departure left them to the sense of their own weakness, dispatched to Lisbon, with assurance of their continued submission to the French. The news reached him at the close of an entertainment given by the French officers at the theatre, where, though the Russian admiral and his officers were present, the portrait of Buonaparte was displayed, with the Russian flag lying among other trophies ♦Observador Portuguez, 292.♦ at his feet. A sense of insecurity was manifested amid their festivities; the avenues to the theatre were occupied by armed troops, fire engines were made ready, and all the watermen were ordered to be at hand with their barrels full. The entertainment continued till four in the morning, and immediately afterward movements were observed which indicated that some important intelligence had arrived; couriers were sent off, troops crossed the Tagus, and detachments marched to Mafra, Santarem, and other places. A body of Spaniards who were stationed in the Campo de Ourique were ordered to the Convent of S. Francisco da Cidade, an unfinished pile of enormous magnitude, which the French occupied as barracks, and where a thousand men were waiting to disarm them as soon as they should enter. The Spaniards, when they drew nigh, suspected ♦Observador Portuguez, 295.♦ some ill design, and fixing their bayonets, declared they would not be quartered there. They were allowed to return without interruption; and in the evening they and their countrymen at Val de Pereiro, being in all 1200, were ordered to assemble at two in the morning, in the Terreiro do Paço, there to embark and cross the river on their way to Spain. Thither they repaired joyfully, and found 3000 troops awaiting them, with cannon placed under the arcades of that great square, and at the mouths of the streets which open into it; and they were summoned to lay down their arms and baggage, and surrender. In the course of that and the succeeding day, the Spaniards from Mafra and other parts were brought in as prisoners, in a condition which excited the compassion of the people, their women exhausted with the fatigue of marching in the burning heat of summer, some carrying children at the breast, and some, who were unable to walk, tied upon the baggage carts, lest they should be thrown off. The whole number of Spaniards thus arrested was somewhat above 4500; they were confined in hulks upon the Tagus. The officers were left at liberty upon their parole; but after a few days, when several had broken an engagement, which, considering the manner in which they had been seized, they did not think themselves bound in honour to observe, they were placed under the same confinement as the men. Junot then informed his army, in public orders, that the infamous conduct of the Spanish General Bellesta, the revolt of two regiments, the arrest of some of his officers at Badajoz and at Ciudad Rodrigo, and the inability of the Spanish commanders to control their men, had compelled him to this severe measure. Happily it had been executed without shedding blood. These Spaniards were not enemies; they should receive pay and provisions as heretofore, and their actual situation in no degree altered his good disposition toward them. ♦Neves, iii. 99-109. Observador Portuguez, 300.♦ He expressed his satisfaction at the conduct of his soldiers; and said, that if the English thought proper to make an attack, they were now fully at leisure to receive them.

♦Junot’s proclamation to the Portugueze.♦

He addressed a proclamation also to the Portugueze, wherein with incautious effrontery he avowed the double treachery which had been ♦June 11.♦ practised upon them and upon the Spaniards. After six months of tranquillity, he said, the peace of the kingdom had been in danger of being disturbed by the Spanish troops, who entered the country apparently as allies, but in reality with the intention of dismembering it. No sooner had he in the Emperor’s name taken possession of the whole government, than they had begun to show their dissent: and at length their conduct at Porto, and in other places, had compelled him to disarm all who were within his reach. “Portugueze,” he continued, “I have hitherto been satisfied with your good disposition. You have known how to appreciate the advantages which must result to you from the protection of Napoleon the Great. You have had confidence in me. Continue it, and I will guarantee your country from all invasion, from all dismemberment. If the English, who know not how to do any thing except fomenting discord, choose to seek us, they will find us ready to defend you. Some of your militia and your remaining troops shall make part of my army to cover your frontiers; they will be instructed in the art of war, and if I may be fortunate enough to put in practice the lessons which I learnt from Napoleon, ♦Observador Portuguez, 297.♦ I will teach you how to conquer.” Junot seems at this time to have aimed at conciliating the Portugueze soldiers, and making them act with his army. For this purpose he announced certain new regulations by which they were placed upon the same footing with the French ♦June 14.♦ as to their pay and provisions. Hitherto four-fifths of their pay had been in paper money, which was at a great discount; the proportion was now reduced to two-thirds. A promise was made that the first item in the monthly military expenses should be for the allowance of the Portugueze prisoners in Algiers. The manner in which it was notified that the troops were to be under French command, was not in the imperious tone which the Duke of Abrantes, as he styled himself, heretofore had used; they were to form part of the divisions, it was said, within whose districts they were stationed; consequently the French commanders were to include them in their reports, and inspect and review them, to see that they received what was their due, and to perfect and accelerate their instruction. The ♦Observador Portuguez, 303.♦ artillery, cavalry, engineers, and marine, were to be immediately under the orders of the respective French generals, who by this means would know their force, watch over their instruction, and see to their welfare: the intention of his majesty being, that the Portugueze troops should be treated in the same manner as his own in all respects.

♦Festival of the Corpo de Deos at Lisbon.♦

But it was too late for conciliation and flattery, after so many acts of insolent oppression: and an accident at this time occurred to manifest ♦June 16.♦ with what suspicious apprehensions the French and the inhabitants of Lisbon mutually regarded each other. The day arrived for the annual procession of the Corpo de Deos. In the days of Joam V. this had been the most splendid display which the Catholic religion exhibited in Europe; and though in latter years the management had been less perfect, and there had been some diminution of its splendour, it was still a spectacle of unrivalled magnificence and riches. The streets of the capital on that occasion, and that only, were cleaned and strewn with fine gravel; the houses were hung with damask; the troops in their new uniforms, the various companies and brotherhoods, civil and religious, each with their banners, the knights of the military orders, and all the monks and friars of Lisbon, moved in the procession; which was closed by the dignitaries of the patriarchal church, the Prince in person, and the chief persons of his court, following the great object of Catholic adoration, which on that day, and that day only, was actually carried abroad. The most remarkable object in this pompous display used to be an image of St. George in complete armour, upon a beautiful horse, led by a squire and supported by pages on each side, and accompanied by the finest horses from the royal stables, with rich housings, and escutcheons thrown across their saddles. These horses and the saint had formed part of the procession from the year 1387, with one interruption only, early in the seventeenth century, when, at the instigation of a certain Mordomo, the Archbishop of Lisbon excluded the horses, as thinking it irreverent that the Real Presence should be preceded by unreasonable creatures. St. George’s charger alone was excepted from the prohibition; but in the midst of the procession that charger suddenly stopped, and could neither be induced nor compelled to proceed; it was not doubted that the rider had chosen this means to manifest his displeasure at the privation of his accustomed train; the Archbishop revoked his order upon the spot, and when the horses were introduced as usual, St. George consented to move forward, and the ceremony of the day was concluded with more than wonted satisfaction. The profane Mordomo, however, was not forgiven; on the following Sunday, when he was saying mass at the saint’s altar, St. George let ♦Mappa de Portugal, t. ii. 257.♦ his spear drop from his hand upon the offender’s head.

The image which performed this miracle, after appearing annually in the procession during more than 350 years, was destroyed by fire at the time of the great earthquake. A new one, however, had been substituted, which succeeded to all the honours and miraculous properties of its predecessor. One of the finest horses which could be found in Portugal was selected to bear the saint in the great procession, and reserved for that single purpose, as if any other would have desecrated it. Junot, however, had taken St. George’s horse for himself, and rode it every Sunday when he reviewed his troops. And this year, for the first time, St. George was not to bear a part in the pageant: the reason which the French assigned for excluding him was, that he could not appear with his usual splendour, because the jewels of the Cadaval family, which he always wore in his hat on that day, had been taken to Brazil when the court emigrated. Other motives were imagined by the Portugueze: when the saint returned, after the fatigues of the day, a royal present had always been allotted him; it was thought that the French wished to spare themselves this expense. They were carrying on works within the circuit of the castle which were designed to command the city, and render the place defensible against the English and the Portugueze themselves; these works were carried on secretly, but it was part of the ceremony that St. George should enter the castle, and in that case his retinue would have observed what ♦Neves, iii. 257.♦ was going on. Lastly, the people said that the French did not choose to let St. George go into public because he was an English saint.

♦The procession interrupted by a panic fear.♦

In all other things Junot wished the Lisboners to see that the spectacle had lost nothing of its wonted splendour. The procession had performed half its course when a sudden alarm arose, occasioned, it is said, by a thief, who being detected in some petty larceny, cried out, in the hope of exciting confusion and effecting his escape, that the English were crossing the bar. A general tumult ensued; some of the French formed as if expecting immediately to be attacked, ... others hurried to their posts with a celerity which was absurdly attributed to fear instead of promptitude; a crowd rushed into the church of S. Domingos for sanctuary, from whence the chapter of the patriarchal church were just about to proceed with the pix, in which the Romish mystery of impanation, the object of that day’s superstition, was contained. Some of the insignia which were to form a part of the show were thrown down and broken in the rush, and the clergy hastened to secure themselves each where he could. Not the mob alone, but the persons who were to form the procession, priests, monks, ministers, and knights, in the habiliments of their orders, took to flight; communities and brotherhoods forsook their banners and their crosses; here and there only an aged friar or sacristan was seen in whom the sense of devotion was stronger than fear, and who remained in his place, thinking that if he were now to die, it were best to perish at his station and in his duty. Wherever a door was open, the terrified people ran in, as if flying from an actual massacre; the great streets and the Rocio were presently deserted, and the pavement was strewn with hats, cloaks, and shoes, lost in the confusion. Fewer accidents occurred than might have been expected in such a scene; the alarm abated when it was ♦Observador Portuguez, 306. Neves, iii. 256–262. Thiebault, 122–124.♦ ascertained that the British fleet was not entering; and when the cause of the13disturbance was discovered, the broken parts of the procession were brought together as soon as possible, and Junot with his generals closed it, in place of the Prince Regent and his court.

♦Junot fortifies the castle.♦

Though the tidings of the insurrection at Porto had soon been followed by news that submission had been restored in that city, intelligence of insurrectionary movements or designs was now arriving every day, and Junot thought it necessary to take farther precautions for holding Lisbon in subjection. The water-carriers were employed to fill the cisterns in the Castle, which was now strongly fortified; stores and fodder were laid in there, it was garrisoned with 800 men, and all the swords and small arms from the arsenal ♦June 24. Edict for disarming the people.♦ were removed thither. An edict was issued commanding all persons to deliver up their fire-arms, swords, and hunting-spears, those Portugueze alone whose legal privilege it was to wear a sword being allowed still to retain one. If within forty-eight hours after the publication of that edict arms should be found in the possession of a Portugueze, he was to be imprisoned, and fined according to his means from 100 franks to 1000 cruzados; if the offender were a native of Great Britain, and delayed obedience half the time, his fine was to be from 100 cruzados to 10,000, and greater punishment inflicted if the case required it: for other foreigners the same time was appointed as for the natives, and the extent of ♦Observador Portuguez, 314.♦ their fine was to be 2000 cruzados, but, like the English, they were liable to any farther punishment which the French might think proper to inflict. It was the custom in Portugal, as formerly in England, to celebrate the eve of certain festivals, and especially those of St. John the Baptist, and St. Peter, with bonfires: the custom of kindling festal fires at that season of the year is as old as the worship of the Kelts, even perhaps before their entrance into Europe; and it is one of the many pagan rites which Romish Christianity adopted. The use of gunpowder made it a dangerous custom even among a people so little addicted to mischief as the Portugueze: and at the pretended desire of certain pious persons, who deemed such rejoicings incompatible with that calm and collected state of mind which the church required at such times, all these demonstrations of festivity were prohibited. Any person letting off fire-works or fire-arms, as had been usual, making any use of gunpowder, or kindling a bonfire, was to be imprisoned eight days, and pay a fine proportioned to his means: parents were made answerable for their children, schoolmasters for their boys, masters for their servants, tradesmen for those in their employ; the public walk was not to be open in the evening, and any concourse of people in the streets was forbidden. Orders were given to clear the ♦Observador Portuguez, 311.♦ Campo de Ourique immediately, though the crops were not ripe, that troops might be encamped there, from whence, and from the Castle, the city would be completely under their command. Detachments were sent north and south to keep down a people, who were now everywhere beginning to manifest their long suppressed ♦Observador Portuguez, 317.♦ indignation. The men marched out of Lisbon with provisions and kettles upon their backs, and each with a loaf fixed upon his bayonet.

♦Movements at Braga.♦

The news of the first insurrection at Porto produced considerable effect in the north of Portugal before it was known that that city, through the treachery or timidity of the persons in power, had again submitted to the intrusive government. At Braga the Archbishop gave orders for taking the cover from the royal arms upon his palace, and reciting in the service the collect for the Prince Regent and Royal Family. The restoration of the legitimate government was proclaimed by the better part of the people; but the public performance of that duty was prevented by some of those persons who are to be found in all countries, whose sole object is to advance themselves, they care not by what means. They, putting their trust in Buonaparte and his ♦Neves, iii. 124–6.♦ fortune, drew up formal charges against the primate, and dispatched them to Junot. Had the French remained masters of Portugal, this process would have terminated in his deposition, perhaps in his death; ... but the fire was now spreading on all sides, and breaking out, as in ♦Insurrection at Melgaço.♦ Spain, every where, simultaneously. A Galician gentleman, by name Mosqueira de Lira, having concerted measures at the house of his brother-in-law, who was an inhabitant of Melgaço, with the Corregedor of that place, and with a retired magistrate, entered the town with some other Galicians of the border and their armed followers, on a day when the people from the adjacent country were assembled there at a fair. Encouraged by their appearance, the Portugueze broke out into execrations against Napoleon and his instruments, and proclaimed their lawful Prince. The Quinas, which, during the usurpation, had been covered upon all public buildings and monuments where they had not been destroyed, were presently exposed again to the eyes of a people whose belief it was that Christ himself had in person commanded the founder of their monarchy to bear upon his shield those ♦June 9.♦ symbols of his passion. The next day the acclamation was performed with the same formalities as at the commencement of a new reign, the magistrates and persons in office taking the lead; and the joyful inhabitants sallied out to indulge their overflowing loyalty by repeating the scene in the neighbouring villages. Their hilarity was interrupted by a sudden report that a French army had landed on the coast of Galicia, and that a corps of that army had already arrived at Caniza, meaning to cross the Minho, and attack Melgaço. That town had been founded by the first King of Portugal, and refortified by King Diniz: his works had long since fallen to decay, and the place was open to an enemy. The bells rang the alarm, and the people, resolving rather to meet the danger than to wait for it, set off with two pieces of cannon, tumultuously, and in that state of heated spirits and insubordination which such calamitous times produce. The falsehood of the report was soon ascertained; a fellow then boldly proposed that they should nevertheless march forward and collect forces, and because the Capitam Mor ordered the countrymen to return peaceably to their homes, this man attempted to pistol him; the mischief was prevented by a resolute and right-minded peasant, who seized the ruffian and threw him to the ground. Other indications of the disposition in the populace to abuse their power as soon as they feel it, soon appeared. A rumour went about that the Juiz de fora had struck the red flag which had been planted in the town; a tumultuous sentence of death was passed upon him, and a party set out to execute it. But when they approached the town they saw the flag still flying: it was however true that the Juiz had been advised to strike it, because, if the French arrived, the sight of the bloody flag might provoke them to put all to the sword. The advice was given by an officer, and with no ill intention, for no man exerted himself more actively: but his military prudence on this occasion had well nigh cost him his life, and he only escaped by the swiftness of his horse. Warned by these indications how dangerous any act would be which the people could interpret into an intention of intimidating them or checking their ardour, the Juiz, when he received Junot’s proclamation, communicated it to none but those on whom he could rely; he prepared for action as well as the means of the place would afford, and applied to the Junta of Orense for assistance in men, arms, and ammunition. Some troops accordingly were sent by them to Milmanda and Cellanova, whence they might enter ♦Neves, iii. 126–135.♦ Portugal to assist Melgaço, whenever their assistance was required.

♦The Prince Regent proclaimed at Braganza.♦

While the national feeling was thus displayed in one of the remotest corners of the kingdom, similar scenes occurred in places of more importance, and more exposed to the vengeance of the enemy. The post-office in the city of Braganza was at the house of the Abbot of Carrazedo. ♦June 11.♦ A letter brought him news of the insurrection at Porto; he read it aloud to the persons who happened to be present; their letters confirmed the welcome tidings, and added the flattering expectation that by that time Junot would have been made prisoner at Lisbon. Readily believing what they wished, they set up a shout of rejoicing; the news spread; the multitude joined in exulting acclamations, and the parties from the post-office hastened to a church, where the governor of the province, General Manoel Jorge Gomes de Sepulveda, was attending a service in honour of St. Antonio. This general, though oppressed with age and infirmities, hesitated not as to the course which he should pursue. He left the church to issue such orders as were expedient without delay. The bells of the cathedral were ordered to strike up, and those of all the churches joined presently in expressing and heightening the public joy. There were, however, men in authority who had no generous hopes or feelings to mislead their judgement on this occasion; and they, like others of the same stamp at Braga, thinking to obtain favour with the intrusive government, hastened to the general, and asked him what was the meaning of all this stir. Sepulveda took them to the window, and showed them the streets swarming with people, who were crying out, The Prince and the Royal House of Braganza for ever! the General for ever! Down with the French! “There,” said he, “you hear what is the meaning; ... and you may quiet that multitude if you dare.” He illuminated his house, which was the signal for a general illumination: he ordered such arms as were in the city to be made ready for service, sent to Chaves for more, offered pardon to deserters upon their repairing to Braganza, called upon all reduced officers to come forward, and issued orders to all the governors and Capitaens mores within his jurisdiction to proclaim their lawful Prince, and enrol the peasantry for the service of their ♦Neves, iii. 136–141.♦ country. A solemn mass was celebrated the next day in the cathedral as a thanksgiving service, a sermon was preached upon the occasion, and all who were present mounted the national cockade, the clergy wearing it upon the breast.

♦The Braganzans intimidated by the news from Porto.♦

These festive days were of short duration. The next post, which was expected to confirm the promises of the last, and bring news of Junot’s overthrow and capture, arrived with intelligence that all was tranquil at Lisbon, and that Porto had returned to subjection. It brought also circular letters from the French government, requiring the Portugueze to continue in obedience, and threatening severe vengeance to all who should disturb the public tranquillity. The danger was now deemed as imminent as the triumph had before seemed certain. Loison would hasten from Almeida to punish Braganza for its revolt; and Marshal Bessieres also, they thought, was about to descend upon them from Castille. The time-servers now obtained an ascendancy, and were about to draw up a formal accusation against Sepulveda, and the persons who had taken the lead in this precipitate insurrection. They proposed to him, however, that he should join with them in a representation soliciting pardon for the city, saying that all which had been done, had been submitted to by him because it was not possible at that moment to oppose the populace, and that the illuminations and other demonstrations of joy were only in honour of St. Antonio. Letters were accordingly written to this effect. Sepulveda’s object was to gain time by dissimulation, while he took measures for securing a retreat into Spain, unless affairs in Portugal should take a fortunate turn; and while he let the promoters of this submission ♦Neves, iii. 141–146.♦ send his letter with their own to the post-office, he secretly instructed the post-master not to forward it.

♦Second insurrection at Porto.♦

As the first declaration of the people at Porto had occasioned these movements in the north of Portugal, so these secondary movements, reported and exaggerated in like manner, re-acted upon the public spirit in that city. Oliveira, who had acted under fear of the French, was now in fear of his own countrymen, and soon found himself in such a situation, that he was in danger of being regarded as an enemy by both. On the day of the Corpo de Deos he wished the soldiers to carry the French eagles in the procession instead of the national banner, and this they resolutely refused to do; the end was, that only a few companies, without any colours, appeared in the train. The temper of the people was shown at this time by the groups which collected in the streets, and the agitation which every countenance expressed. Raymundo, consulting at once his own safety, and the furtherance of his country’s cause, had conveyed letters to the city, dated from Vianna and from Valença, saying that he was on his way to Spain, there to solicit succours, with which he should presently return: and the ignorant people, ready to believe any thing, were fully persuaded that he would soon appear at the head of a Spanish ♦Neves, iii. 97.♦ army. A report, with more appearance but as little reality of truth, accelerated the success of his stratagem, though it was intended to intimidate the people. The Juiz de fora at Oliveira de Azemeis received orders to provide rations for a French detachment on the way from Coimbra to Porto. It was part of Junot’s policy to alarm the people by such reports, for the purpose of keeping them in submission. The means of that place were not equal to the sudden demand; the Juiz represented this to the governor of Porto, and bread was ordered from that city, in obedience to the requisition. A few Frenchmen, who had concealed themselves during the first insurrection, and re-appeared when Oliveira restored the usurped authority, imprudently assisted in loading the carts with loaves for this purpose; a crowd collected at the sight, burning with indignation; a native Portugueze artilleryman remarked, that bread enough could be found for the French, though not for the Portugueze; one of the Frenchmen returned an answer which ♦Neves, iii. 163–168.♦ provoked a blow; the mob immediately took part, seized the French, and delivered them to a guard of soldiers, who took charge of them, without knowing for what end, or inquiring by whose authority.

♦Formation of a Junta in that city.♦

This second insurrection had been prepared, though the occasion upon which it broke out was accidental. The Portugueze flag was displayed, Joam Manoel de Mariz brought out from the barracks at Santo Ovidio four field-pieces ready for service, with thirty artillerymen to serve them; the arsenal was opened, and arms and cartridges distributed to all who applied for them. And Raymundo, who had concealed himself in a country-house only two miles from Porto, made his appearance by the convent of S. Domingos, with nineteen Spaniards, armed with blunderbusses like himself, and covered with dust, and with their cloaks upon their backs, like men arriving from a long march. They declared that a Spanish army was on the way, and the people, in full expectation of this support, prepared to defend the city against the French. Some guns were placed upon the bridge, others on the heights of Villa-nova. There was some difficulty in conveying them to the latter position; a Dominican, who had sallied from his convent sword in hand, and with his sleeves tucked up, laid hold of the ropes; friars, priests, and women, followed his example, and the work was presently accomplished. While they were thus exerting themselves to provide for the defence of the city, the rabble exercised their authority in the usual way, discharging fire-arms in the streets, beating drums, blowing trumpets, ordering the bells to be rung in all the churches and convents, breaking open houses to search for Frenchmen and suspected persons. They threw Oliveira and many others into prison, but happily no murders were committed. The mob were restrained in their ferocity by the expectation that traitors would be brought to condign punishment as soon as the lawful authority was re-established, which it soon would be. Till that time it was resolved that a local and provisional government should be formed after the manner of the Spaniards. The authors of the movement had concerted this, and fixed upon persons to constitute the Junta; but while they were engaged in the ceremony of nominating and appointing them, a report arrived that the French were actually at Grijo, within twelve miles of Porto. The question then was, should they wait upon the defensive on the heights of Villa-nova, or hasten to attack them, in the hope of surprising them by night, and finding them exhausted by a long march? The bolder opinion prevailed; and a volunteer party set off for Grijo, and hurried there so fast, that they would have been in worse condition, as well as worse order, than the enemy, if any enemy had been there. But instead of the French they found a few travellers on the way from Coimbra, who assured them that there was no rumour of the advance of any troops along the road. Even a victory would hardly have elevated their spirits more. This was about daybreak; they hastened back to the city. The ♦June 19.♦ soldiers in the Campo de S. Ovidio swore upon their swords to defend the independence of Portugal, their religion, and their King. A public meeting was convoked, the bells of the chamber rung, the soldiers led the way in military order, with two field-pieces; the people followed to the episcopal palace; the Bishop came forth into the varanda, and gave the assembled multitude his blessing; then he descended among them, kissed their banner, and led the way to the cathedral, there to implore the divine assistance in their meritorious undertaking. This done, they returned to the palace, and proceeded to appoint what they called the Provisional Junta of Supreme Government; the list which had been prepared was shortened, as being inconveniently numerous; eight members were appointed, in equal numbers, from the clergy, the magistracy, the military, and the citizens, and ♦Neves, iii. 169–176.♦ the Bishop was placed at their head with the title of President Governor.

♦Measures of the Junta.♦

The Bishop, D. Antonio de S. José e Castro, immediately published a manifesto, in the name of the Prince Regent, declaring that the French Government was abolished and exterminated in that country, and the royal authority restored and to be exercised plenarily and independently by the Provisional Junta of Porto, till the government instituted by his Royal Highness should be re-established. The Junta therefore gave orders, that in all places the Prince should be proclaimed, and the royal arms uncovered and respected as heretofore they always had been, and now again hereafter were to be; and they called upon all constituted authorities to act accordingly. His next business was to dispatch a messenger to General Sepulveda at Braganza, requesting succours, especially in cavalry, and an officer capable of taking the command, whether for attack or defence. The Visconde de Balsamam was sent to the British brig, which was still hovering off the bar, and a communication was thus opened with England. Voluntary contributions were liberally made, the pay of the soldiers was raised, and as a measure not less popular, a Tribunal de Inconfidencia was instituted, to take cognizance of causes in which treason was suspected. The prevalence of suspicion is indeed one of the many dreadful evils in such calamitous times. An example of this occurred before the close of ♦Arrest of Cardoso.♦ the day. Colonel José Cardoso de Menezes Soutomaior had been that day appointed to the chief command, as being the senior officer. Happening to send a messenger that evening with letters upon public business to the Juizes de fora at Oliveira de Azemeis and Recardaens, he forgot to provide him with the passport which was now necessary for crossing the bridge. The messenger was therefore stopped by the guards, and either from the confusion occasioned by fear, or from a confidence of protection, refused to declare whither he was going, or by whom he was sent. Upon this the guards searched him, and found the two letters. These would have explained the matter and cleared him; but perceiving that a third letter which he carried more secretly about his person was in danger of being found, he drew it out, tore it in pieces with his teeth, and threw it over the bridge. A few fragments were saved, but not enough to give any indication of its contents. The messenger was immediately arrested as a traitor, and carried before José Cardoso, who thought at first to end the business by desiring that the man might be left with him, and saying that he would answer for him. The people (for a crowd had collected on the way) transferred at this their suspicions upon Cardoso himself; and to satisfy them, he found it necessary to open the two letters, and thus acquaint the mob with arrangements which it had not been intended that they should know. But he could give no account of the paper which had been torn; and therefore the mob, having thrown his messenger into prison, returned to arrest him and carry him before the Bishop. Protestations of innocence were vain, and it was evident that his life would be in danger on the way; some of his friends, however, bethought themselves of a happy stratagem; they rung the alarm bells, and raised a cry that the enemy was approaching. Evening was now closing; the populace left their intended victim to go in quest of the invaders, and passed the night in hurrying here and there upon the false report. Cardoso meantime got in safety to the Bishop’s palace, and related all that had passed. As far as he was concerned his justification was clear, but of the third letter he could give no account. The messenger, however, gave a plain and credible one; he had not long since been at Lisbon, where a Frenchman had given him this letter for one of his countrymen in Porto; on his arrival in that city he found that the person to whom it was addressed had been carried away prisoner by the Spaniards; and his intention was, when he returned to Lisbon, to deliver it again to the writer. He had torn it in a moment of fear, lest he should be considered a partizan and agent of ♦Neves, iii, 186–192.♦ the French, if it were found upon him. The Bishop was satisfied; but he advised Cardoso not to appear in public till this unlucky accident should be forgotten.

About noon, on the ensuing day, the alarm bells were rung again, drums beat, trumpets sounded, and preparations were again made for an immediate engagement with the enemy. They were at Os Carvalhos, it was said, eight miles off. There was some foundation for this report. The Juiz at Oliveira de Azemeis was in expectation and fear of the French, and not having received the bread from Porto which he had been ordered to have in readiness for them, had sent to this town and to the adjacent villages, to embargo all that could be found. Troops and volunteers now hurried forward with the utmost alacrity, and in the utmost disorder. This was a critical moment for Cardoso: if he went abroad, to put himself at the head of the forces, as his duty required, there was the risk of being again accused and endangered as a traitor: if, on the other hand, he forbore to appear, the very forbearance would be interpreted as a proof of disaffection to his country. After some hours of indecision, he could not bear to remain inactive, and incur the reproach to which it must needs subject him at such a time, and forth he went. He had not gone far before a poor fellow, whom a party of Ordenanças upon some suspicion had seized, met him, and implored his protection. Cardoso inquired into the case, and finding the man innocent, gave orders to release him. His authority was disputed, and presently he himself was reproached and seized as a traitor. Some were for putting him to death upon the spot; and though others insisted upon carrying him before the Bishop, it appeared very doubtful whether he would reach the palace alive. When they met a priest upon the way, the mob called upon him to confess this traitor, who was about to die, and Cardoso himself cried out for absolution, seeing nothing but death before his eyes. The Bishop was convinced of his innocence, but could neither persuade the populace, nor command them; nor could he save Cardoso’s life by any other expedient than that of allowing him to be thrown into one of the worst dungeons of a Portugueze prison. In that miserable confinement ♦Neves, iii. 192–196.♦ he remained till the heat of these tumults had abated; he was then released, and honourably distinguished himself afterwards.

♦Disturbed state of the people.♦

Meantime Porto was in a frightful state of insubordination. The people readily enrolled themselves, but, as if intoxicated with joy, they celebrated their deliverance instead of labouring to secure it: and men who ought to have been practising the drill, or erecting batteries and throwing up trenches, were beating drums, ringing the bells, and wasting powder in empty demonstrations of bravery. The city was illuminated during three successive nights, and they seemed so little aware of the tremendous conflict in which they were engaged, that they were about to march to war as to a festival. From this delusion the Bishop roused them by an appeal well adapted to those for whom it was intended. “Portugueze,” he said, “in the name of Heaven and of Jesus Christ, listen to a government which loves you, which desires your happiness, and is labouring for it! Their turbulence, he told them, their insubordination, their waste of powder, only exposed them to the enemy, who would come upon them by surprise, and surely destroy them, if they would not listen to their rulers and obey orders. Strength without order was like the bull, who, strong as he is, is brought to the ground by a weak hand, with the aid of dexterity and a cloak. Their endeavour should be to be unseen and unheard, that they might the more fatally be felt; ... to conceal their movements, that they might strike when the blow was not expected. The government conjured them, by every thing which was most sacred in heaven and earth, to subject themselves to discipline, and obey their officers. Where they were posted there they were adjured to remain till the time for action arrived: they who were first in the field would diminish the number of the enemy when they engaged them; the second body, when they arrived, would weaken the French still farther; the third would complete their destruction. But if all hurried on tumultuously, all would be lost.” The populace by this time had fired away so much powder, and spent so much of their animal spirits in rioting, and hurrying here and there upon so many false alarms, that they were disposed to listen to this advice. Tranquillity was produced by exhaustion; and to preserve it, order was given that the alarm bells should not be rung till the cathedral ♦Neves, iii. 196–198.♦ began, and that whenever that was necessary, a flag should be hoisted on the tower by day, and a torch by night, to distinguish it from the fire-bell.

♦The Junta conclude an alliance with the Junta of Galicia.♦

Subordination being now in some degree restored, the Junta entered with alacrity upon their arduous duties. They raised a loan, and imposed new taxes, as the exigencies of the time required; among others a duty of four mil reis upon every pipe of wine which was exported. Two deputies were sent to England; and an alliance was concluded with the Supreme Junta of Galicia, the nearest of the newly constituted authorities in Spain; Galicia engaging first to assist in liberating Portugal, and Portugal promising, ♦Neves, iii. 199.♦ after her own deliverance should be accomplished, to co-operate in expelling the French from every part of the Peninsula. Wild as this promise appeared to the French, and to those shallow statesmen by whom the French were regarded as invincible, and the power of Buonaparte not to be resisted, it was faithfully performed by the Portugueze, and fulfilled to the letter of the bond. The Junta of Porto had another object to accomplish, more difficult, and at that time not less important, than an alliance with Spain. Other Juntas were now springing up in the north of Portugal at the first hope of deliverance, and unless these were induced to acknowledge that at Porto as supreme, all plans of defence would be frustrated by the jealousy of contending authorities. One had been formed ♦Its authority is acknowledged throughout the north of Portugal.♦ at Viana on the same day; others at Torre de Moncorvo, Miranda, and other places of less note; all these submitted readily to the superiority which was claimed. Braganza was not so willing to resign its pretensions. The intrusive government had not been re-established in that city, notwithstanding the efforts of its adherents, and the apparent assent of General Sepulveda. Their penitent letters to the French ministry were stopped at Villa Real, where the people proclaimed their lawful Prince; and when the Braganzans, upon tidings of the second insurrection at Porto, formed a Junta, and required obedience to its edicts, its authority was disowned there. Sepulveda was so offended at this, that he sent Brigadier Manoel Pinto Bacellar to arrest Francisco da Silveira Pinto da Fonseca, then a lieutenant-colonel of cavalry, who had taken the lead at Villa Real. Bacellar acted with more prudence than the general who sent him, and endeavoured by amicable means to bring about a good understanding; and Silveira, disregarding the orders of one who had so far been found wanting, that he had at least professed submission to the French after having once thrown off their yoke, crossed the Douro, to spread the revolution in the province of Beira. Sepulveda found as little obedience in Torre de Moncorvo and some other Juntas in that district, when he issued a circular order requiring that every town which was entitled to a voice in the Cortes should send a deputy to assist at the provincial Junta of Tras os Montes, the title which that of Braganza had assumed. Opposed in their pretensions on that side, after contesting the authority of the Porto Junta, concluding a treaty with it, and then again disputing with it, and arraigning its measures, the Junta of Braganza ended at length in ♦Neves, iii. 151–162. 180–185.♦ obeying the advice of the Bishop of Porto, which was repeated in strong terms by Sepulveda, and dissolving itself.

♦The insurrection extends towards Coimbra.♦

The whole of Tras os Montes and of the province between the rivers had now declared against the intrusive government, and acknowledged the Junta of Porto. The same spirit was spreading in Beira. Aveiro declared itself, and a plan was formed for surprising the French in Coimbra, an undertaking of more importance than danger. The details are curious, as showing the disposition of the people, the insignificance of their means, and the disorderly manner of their proceedings. A patrole of armed peasants had been sent out from Porto upon the Coimbra road, to obtain intelligence of the enemy, concerning whom nothing certain was known. Dr. José Bernardo de Azevedo, of the order of Avis, hearing upon what service these persons had been sent, represented to the Junta how little likely it was that such a set of men should act with discretion; upon the first news of the enemy they would hurry back without ascertaining their numbers, position, and probable movements; or if they ventured to approach them, would most probably fall into their hands. He ♦June 22.♦ offered to obtain the desired information himself, knowing the country well, and accordingly laying aside his habit, set off with one servant on horseback. When he arrived at Oliveira de Azemeis, he met the greater part of the patrole on their return in triumph; they had failed to arrest the Juiz as they intended, but they had caught a lawyer, and were dragging him to Porto as a suspected person. They had however sent four of their party forward on the Coimbra road, in pursuance of their original object, and José Bernardo proceeding on his journey, overtook them at Mealhada, a village about twelve miles from Coimbra. Exulting that they had advanced so far without meeting the French, and encouraged by what they heard from the people of Mealhada, that the enemy had only a handful of men in Coimbra, and most of them invalided, they resolved to fall upon them, by surprise if possible, that very day. A reformed colonel of militia at Ois undertook to bring thirty armed ♦Neves, iii. 200–205.♦ men; the people of Mealhada volunteered their services, and the two parties were to meet at Carquejo, half way on their march.

♦Scheme for surprising the enemy in Coimbra.♦

When the men of Mealhada began to prepare for their expedition, there were some whose hearts failed them, and the contagion spread. José Bernardo, however, by reproaching and threatening some, encouraging and praising others, with the seasonable administration of fruit and wine, and the zealous help of a serjeant of the Ordenança, mustered some thirty peasants, with about twenty muskets, the rest were armed with pikes and sickles and other such instruments; and when they set off many of the others followed, ashamed to be left behind. The party from Ois not having arrived when they reached Carquejo, José Bernardo ordered his people to halt for them there, and suffer no person to pass toward Coimbra, while he and two others went on to reconnoitre and form the plan of attack. He found no difficulty in entering the city and obtaining all the information he desired. The French soldiers in Coimbra did not amount to an hundred men, and of these not more than forty were capable of service. There was a rumour that 1200 Spaniards were on the way against them. This the inhabitants were more likely to believe than the French, who, relying upon their Emperor’s fortune, the terror of the French name, and the submission of the Portugueze, were living to all appearance in full confidence of security. Satisfied with this intelligence, and without venturing to concert any co-operation in the city, José Bernardo returned as far as the Bridge of Agua de Maias, and sent to hasten the march of his motley volunteers.

♦The French in that city are made prisoners.♦

When they were not far from this bridge, they were seen by a patrole of four horsemen, two French and two Portugueze, who clapped spurs to their horses, in order to cross the bridge before them and give the alarm. The insurgents, however, equally on the alert, got between them and the bridge, and addressed them with the quem vive? Napoleon, was the answer, and two pistols were fired upon them without effect. A general discharge was returned, which killed two of the patrole and mortally wounded another. The fourth, who escaped unhurt, was a Portugueze; he threw himself off his horse, cried out, Viva o Principe de Portugal! and joined his countrymen. The wounded man was a Frenchman: the insurgents, with a humanity not to have been expected at such a moment, left one of their number to assist him, and he was afterwards removed into the city, and there humanely and carefully attended; but to his latest breath he reviled the Portugueze, and the last hope which he expressed was, that ample vengeance would be taken for his blood. The French guard at the gate of S. Sophia hearing the guns, and seeing a number of men approach, fired among them, and fled to their quarters in the College of S. Thomas. The Portugueze followed close: they were fired upon from the windows without effect, for the French were too sensible of their own weakness to make any regular defence; the doors were forced, and they quietly laid down their arms, and suffered themselves to be bound, ♦Neves, iii. 207–212.♦ happy to receive no worse treatment from such an assemblage, ... for by this time the whole rabble of Coimbra had collected.

♦The Juiz do Povo takes the command.♦

Having thus easily succeeded, the first thought of José Bernardo and his comrades was to obtain the sanction and assistance of some legal authority for their future proceedings. The courage, and perhaps the disposition, of the magistrates was doubted; but the Juiz do Povo was an officer whom tumultuous times had heretofore forced into importance, and the Juiz do Povo was now called for. José Pedro de Jesus, a cooper by trade, who held the office, happened to possess a rare union of upright character, activity, and good sense. He came forward, assumed a power which was willingly recognized, and exercised it in a manner which at once gratified the populace and satisfied the wishes of cooler minds. First he lodged the French safely in prison, then distributed among the people the arms of those cavalry regiments belonging to the northern provinces, which Junot had disbanded. In the depôt with these weapons a flag was found with the royal arms. It was carried in triumph through the streets, while the exulting people hastened to uncover the shield of Portugal upon the public buildings. The bells from all the colleges and convents and churches of that populous city pealed in with the acclamations of the people, and heightened the excitement and agitation of their spirits. Bonfires were kindled, as in old times, in defiance of Junot’s prohibition: the night of St. John’s had always been a festival in Coimbra, but never before had it been celebrated with such uproar and overflowing joy. Some barks on the river, laden with provisions for the French in Figueira, were seized during the night; and in the morning it was deemed prudent to march off the prisoners to Porto, under a strong escort, lest the magistracy, in their fear, ♦Neves, iii. 214–217.♦ should release them, and again reduce the city to submission.

♦Order restored in Coimbra.♦

This apprehension, however, was ill founded. The Juiz de fora came forward to act in the national cause; the students and lecturers formed themselves into an academical corps; and the Vice-Rector of the university, Manoel Paes de Aragam Trigoso, took upon himself the civil authority, in compliance with the wish of the inhabitants. They would have vested the military command in General Bernardim Freire de Andrade, whom the Prince, before his departure for Brazil, had appointed to the command at Porto. Not choosing to exercise it under the intrusive government, he was living privately at Coimbra; but being now summoned by the Bishop and Junta of Porto to his proper station, he declined for that reason the present nomination. The people next thought of D. Miguel Pereira Forjas, but he chose rather to follow Bernardim as his quarter-master general. They then chose Bernardim’s brother, Nuno Freire de Andrade, making him, however, subordinate to Trigoso. The men who thus accepted offices of authority discharged a most perilous duty to their country. They were not, like their countrymen in Tras os Montes and between the rivers, secured in some degree by distance from the French, and within reach of assistance from Spain, or, if need were, of an asylum in that kingdom. Nor would Coimbra be like some of the smaller towns, overlooked as unworthy of vengeance. Next to the capital itself there was no place in Portugal where a terrible example would so deeply impress and intimidate the nation: it was within easy reach of the enemy, from Almeida as well as from Lisbon, and all military means of defence were ♦Neves, iii. 219–223.♦ wanting: a few pounds of powder were all that could be found in the city, and not one piece of cannon.

♦Preparations for defence.♦

On the other hand, more talents and enterprise, such as the times required, might reasonably be expected in Coimbra than in any other of the Portugueze towns. It was a populous and flourishing university, the only one in the kingdom: here therefore the flower of the Portugueze youth would be found, just at that age when they would be most willing and fit for service; and of that rank, and in that place, where national and generous feelings would have their strongest influence. If any where heads to plan and hands to execute might be found, it would be here. Accordingly no exertions were wanting. Chemists made gunpowder, geometricians directed works of defence, old soldiers were employed, some in making cartridges, others in training volunteers; mechanics were ♦Neves, iii. 223–225.♦ set to work in whatever manner they might be most useful; bridges were broken down, roads broken up, means made ready for defending the streets, if the enemy should enter the city, and a strict police established.

♦Successful expedition against Figueira.♦

When one day had been passed in these arrangements and preparations an expedition was planned against Figueira da Foz, a small town and fort at the mouth of the Mondego, on the right bank, seven leagues from Coimbra. The French had a garrison of an hundred men there. Forty volunteers, who were almost all students, under the command of Bernardo Antonio Zagalo, ♦June 25.♦ a student also, set out at evening, in hope of capturing this important point: they relied upon increasing their numbers on the way, and they took with them authority from the governor to raise the country as they went. Zagalo, with four horsemen, took the right bank, the rest of the party the left: they met at Montemor o Velho, and marching all night, appeared with the reinforcements which they had gathered, now some 3000 in number, before Figueira, at seven in the morning. The enemy were taken by surprise; they were dispersed about the town, when they saw this multitude approach; but immediately retiring into the fort, they prepared for defence. The place might have been easily defended against a crowd of peasants, more of whom were armed with pikes and reaping-hooks than with fowling-pieces, and who were likely, upon the slightest loss or disgust, to abandon their enterprise as precipitately as they had engaged in it. But the French, relying too confidently upon the submission of the Portugueze, had neglected to store the fort with provisions; and Zagalo summoned them, saying he knew they had not food for more than four-and-twenty hours, and that if they did not surrender they should all be put to the sword. Contrary to his usual policy, Junot had given the command of this fort to a Portugueze lieutenant of engineers; this person demurred at surrendering, because his family were at Peniche, in the power of the French. But, wanting either the will or the ability to exert himself in the enemy’s service, he remained inactive and confounded, till the following day, when Zagalo received positive orders from Coimbra to return immediately with all his people. This enabled the commander to obtain terms which might be pleaded to save his credit; and he capitulated on condition that the garrison should be allowed to cross the river with their arms and knapsacks, but without powder and ball; and to march unmolested to Peniche, the nearest strong place in possession of the French. Upon these terms the fort was given up; but the peasantry searched the men when they were embarking, and finding that some of them had concealed a few cartridges, declared that the conditions were broken: they themselves were desirous of breaking them, and therefore gladly found this pretext; and the ♦Neves, iii. 226–233.♦ French would have been massacred if the students had not exerted themselves to protect them, and lodged them safely as prisoners at Coimbra.

♦Loison ordered to march from Almeida to Porto.♦

A report of Loison’s sudden approach had occasioned the order for recalling Zagalo. General Count Loison had been sent in the latter end of May, with 4000 troops, to Almeida, in pursuance of positive and repeated instructions from Murat when exercising the command in Madrid. He was to concert his movements with Bessieres, and, if necessary, to join him; he was to observe Salamanca, and secure Ciudad Rodrigo, if that were practicable. But the Spaniards were too much awakened to be again deceived or surprised by the French; and Loison having remained at Almeida from the 5th of June till the 16th, received orders from Junot to march upon Porto, take the command in that city, and keep the northern provinces in subjection. He had previously got possession of Fort Conceiçam. Each party seems at this time to have been strangely ignorant of the movements and means of the other: Loison apprehended that an enemy’s force might render it impossible for the French to maintain this fort; he therefore directed General Charlot, whom he left with the command at Almeida, to remove thither the guns from Conceiçam, keep it as long as he could, and destroy the works if he should be forced to evacuate ♦June 17.♦ it. He then began his march with two regiments of light infantry, fifty dragoons, and six pieces of ♦Thiebault, 148–150.♦ artillery. A battalion of light infantry was to set out from Torres Vedras, and reach Porto at the same time.

On the fourth day he reached Lamego without the slightest resistance, and on the following morning crossed the Douro by the ferry at Regoa, and reached Mezam-frio, meaning to sleep there. ♦He turns back from Mezam-frio.♦ His advanced guard was on the way to Amarante, which is only forty miles from Porto, when news was brought him while he was at dinner that the mountaineers were defending the pass at Os Padroens da Teixeira; and presently a second ill messenger arrived with intelligence that his baggage was attacked at Regoa. These operations had been ably planned by Silveira, and were well executed. In so strong a country he deemed it better to turn back than to proceed at the risk of being surrounded by an armed population. An ambuscade among the vineyards at Santinho annoyed him greatly on his way toward the Douro, and he himself was slightly hurt. The Portugueze, when they were dislodged, retreated to the heights; the French took up a position for the night, and in the morning sacked the villages of Pezo and Regoa, where neither age, nor infirmity, nor sex, nor childhood, were spared by them; for Loison was one of those men after Buonaparte’s own heart, who, being equally devoid of honour and humanity, carried on war in the worst spirit of the worst ages, plundering and massacring without shame and without remorse. He now understood that Porto, which he had expected to find discontented indeed, but passive and in subjection, had thrown off the yoke; that a Portugueze officer, with whom he maintained a secret correspondence, had been fain to abscond from that city; that the disbanded soldiers had reassembled; and that the insurgent peasantry, in such numbers as to be truly formidable, were moving ♦The peasantry harass his retreat.♦ against him from all parts of the two northern provinces. The news of his retreat was presently known throughout the whole country between the Tua and the Cavado; expresses and telegraphs could not have communicated it more rapidly than it was spread by the voluntary bearers of good tidings. One column came from Villa Real, one from Amarante, a third from Guimaraens; a motlier assemblage had never taken the field; ... the commonest weapons were pikes and long poles armed with reaping-hooks at the end; and there were as many abbots, monks, friars, and parochial clergy in command, as officers. The three columns united at Regoa, too late to impede or molest the French in their passage of the river. The enemy halted for part of the night at Lamego, and resumed their retreat at two in the morning. The Portugueze came up with them that day at Juvantes, and harassed them during three days. The total want of discipline, order, and authority, rendered their great superiority of numbers unavailing; and after they had reached Castro d’Airo, dispersing as irregularly as they had collected, they gave up the pursuit, less in consequence of the loss which they sustained in a few brisk encounters, ♦Neves, iii. 235–248. Thiebault, 150–1.♦ than because they were too numerous to find sustenance, and every man was eager to report the retreat of the enemy and the share he had borne in the success. F. José Joaquim de Assumpçam, a friar of orders gray, distinguished himself in this expedition, by his activity, his strength, and his unerring aim.

♦He goes to Viseu.♦

The loss on either side, in this pursuit, appears not to have been great; the pursuers were too disorderly and too ill armed to make any serious impression upon the enemy, and the French were not strong enough to act upon the offensive with effect. They lost two pieces of artillery, and some of their ammunition and baggage; and a few rich uniforms which fell into the hands of the Portugueze were suspended as trophies in the churches of N. Senhora da Oliveira at Guimaraens, and of S. Gonçalo de Amarante, in the town which was under his peculiar patronage. Being freed from his pursuers, Loison, sending part of his force by the road of Moimenta da Beira, which was the shorter but rougher line to Almeida, took himself the way of Viseu. This ♦Alarm at Coimbra in consequence of his movements.♦ was the movement which alarmed the people at Coimbra, and induced them to recall Zagalo from Figueira. It was not improbable that his intention was to march upon that important city, and there place himself in communication with Lisbon: his own judgement would dispose him ♦Thiebault, 152.♦ to this, and indeed no fewer than five-and-twenty dispatches, instructing him so to do, had been sent, not one of which had reached him. But he had received an exaggerated report of the proceedings in Coimbra, brought by some partizans of the French, who had fled to save their lives, on the night of the insurrection, when their houses were broken open, during the suspension of all order and authority. Their testimony concerning the temper and unanimity of the inhabitants could not be doubted; it was ♦Neves, iii. 217.♦ added, that they were busy in constructing formidable works of defence, and that an auxiliary force of 12,000 Spaniards was expected there. Such strange events were now every day occurring, that nothing seemed too extraordinary to be believed; and Loison, it is thought, in consequence of these rumours, judged it best ♦He returns to Almeida.♦ to change his purpose, and return to Almeida. The Portugueze general who commanded in Beira resided at Viseu; upon the approach of the French he summoned the magistrates and members of the Camara, and they determined not to oppose a premature and unavailing resistance. Loison, though notorious for rapacity, in the most rapacious army that ever disgraced its profession and its country, was at this time sensible how desirable it was, if possible, to obtain a character for moderation and equity. He encamped his troops for the night without the city, in the open space where the fairs were held, took up his own lodging in the general’s house, and on his departure the next day, paid for every thing with which the men had been supplied. He also released three or four prisoners, who, in the late skirmishes, had fallen into his hands. At Celorico, where an insurrectionary movement had commenced, it was suspended by the prudence of the magistrates and the just fears of the people, till the enemy had passed by. The peasantry of the adjacent country were less cautious; they appeared in arms upon the heights, and Loison therefore sent two companies to burn the village of Souropires. Being now within easy reach of Almeida, and knowing that the country about Trancoso and Guarda was in a state of insurrection, his intention was to employ ♦Thiebault, 152.♦ himself in reducing it to submission; but here the only one of the numerous dispatches from Lisbon which reached its destination found him, and, in pursuance of its orders to draw nearer the capital, he hastened to Almeida, to make the ♦Neves, iii. 249–253.♦ necessary arrangements for his march. On the way he began to sack the city of Pinhel, which the inhabitants had deserted at his coming; but upon the tidings that a corps from Tras os Montes had arrived at Trancoso, and that Viseu was now in arms, he hastened forward, and on the 1st of July re-entered Almeida.

♦Insurrection at Olham.♦

When Loison, upon the first apprehension of danger, was sent to occupy Porto, General Avril was instructed, at the same time, to take possession of Estremoz and Evora, for the purpose of holding Alem-Tejo in subjection, and to give orders for securing Algarve. General Maurin commanded for the French in this kingdom, as it is designated, the smallest but richest province in Portugal: owing to his illness the command had devolved upon Col. Maransin, who received instructions to occupy Mertola as well as Alcoutim, for guarding the Guadiana against the Spaniards; and to protect the coast from Faro, the greatest port in that province, to Villa Real, the frontier town, at the mouth of the river. Maransin, however, was not left at leisure to do this. Junot’s proclamation, announcing the seizure of the Spanish troops, expressing his satisfaction with the Portugueze for their peaceable deportment, and promising to instruct them in the art of war, had been fixed upon the church door at Olham, a small fishing village about four miles from the city of Faro. The governor of Villa Real, Col. José Lopes de Sousa, happening to be in that village on the day of the Corpo de Deos, as he was going into the church stopped to see what the people were reading. The language of that proclamation proved how little Junot understood the character of the nation to which it was addressed; it wounded that high sense of national honour for which the Portugueze are remarkable, and Lopes, giving way to an honourable feeling of indignation, tore the paper down, and trampled upon it; then turning to the bystanders, exclaimed, “Ah, Portugueze, we no longer deserve that name ... we are nothing now!” But they answered, that they were still Portugueze, and swore that they were ready to lay down their lives for their religion, their Prince, and their country. Though the impulse had thus been given, and the determination of the parties formed, they did not neglect the religious duties of the day, but entered the church peaceably, and attended mass. That done, they proclaimed the Queen and Prince Regent in the porch, and called upon Lopes to be their general. He without delay prepared an address to the people, and sent for two pieces of artillery and some powder from an island at the bar of Armona, and from Fort Lorenzo on the bar of Faro. These were secured before the French in Faro could hear of the projected insurrection. Two agents also went off to the English squadron; the means which were at the commandant’s disposal had probably been all disposed of to the Spaniards; they proceeded therefore to Ayamonte, and performed their errand with such good speed, that on the following night they returned to ♦Neves, iii. 270–275.♦ Olham with 130 muskets from the Junta of that city.

♦Success of the insurgents.♦

The greater part of Maransin’s force was stationed at Mertola, the rest was at Tavira and Villa Real, except 200 men at Faro. But before the news reached Faro a larger body of fishermen and peasantry had collected than 200 men could with any prudence have attacked. The French therefore sent for reinforcements from Villa Real and Tavira. From the latter place fourscore men embarked for Faro in three caics. The fishermen of Olham, confident in their skill upon the water, set out to intercept them under Captain Sebastiam Martins Mestre, one of those persons who had opened a communication with the English fleet and with Ayamonte. So little were the French prepared for such an encounter, that they surrendered without resistance, and thus the insurgents obtained a seasonable supply of arms. They were not long allowed to enjoy their victory; about 200 French arrived from Villa Real to assist their countrymen at Faro, and they marched against Olham. The Portugueze met them half way, and disposed an ambuscade to receive them: their own eagerness prevented its success; but they behaved so well in a skirmish which ensued, that the enemy thought it not prudent to advance. This was the third day of the insurrection, and the people of Faro had as yet made no manifestation in its ♦The Chamber of Faro issue an edict against them.♦ favour. The chamber of that city had, on the contrary, issued an edict against the insurgents, for what it denominated a riotous and scandalous attempt against the security of the nation, saying that their conduct would brand the Portugueze with the infamous stain of ingratitude, and warning them against the severe punishment which awaited them if they persisted in their frantic and desperate attempt. This edict was posted up in Olham; and it so evidently affected the people, in whom great excitement and fatigue had now produced proportionate exhaustion, that ♦Neves, iii. 275–281. Observador Portuguez, 332, 333.♦ Lopes and Mestre, who had been hurt in the skirmish, thought it prudent to carry their prisoners to Spain, and go themselves to solicit aid from the Juntas at Ayamonte and at Seville.

♦Insurrection at Faro.♦

Maransin, not aware of their departure, and anxious to lose no time in suppressing a spirit the consequences of which he had so much reason to dread, sent out three pieces of cannon to his detachment, and for want of French troops, a party of fifty Portugueze artillerymen, under Lieutenant Belchior Drago, an officer much more inclined to act against the enemies of his country than with them. Meantime the commander of the French, having learnt that the people of Olham were wavering, succeeded in obtaining a conference with some of them, and proposed terms. He promised them a free pardon, if they would return to their obedience; said that they should be protected in their fishery, and that even Lopes himself should be no otherwise punished than by forbidding him to appear in that place. The persons to whom these conditions were propounded listened to them willingly, and expressed an opinion that the people would probably assent, if the Portugueze authorities in Faro gave their sanction to the proposals. Some of the magistrates accordingly went to conclude this agreement with the Prior of Olham, a zealous Portugueze, to whom, in the absence of Lopes and Mestre, the insurgents looked as their proper counsellor and ruler. But at this moment, when the French by mere authority had nearly quelled the insurrection, the spell was broken, and they were made sensible that they had relied too confidently upon the terror of their name. A few Faro-men met in the shop of one Bento Alvares da Silva Canedo, and determined, while the French troops were absent, to raise the city against them. They hired a fellow for a few moidores to give the signal, by chiming the bells of the Carmo church at a certain hour, in the manner usual in that country when prayers are solicited for a woman in labour. They who had concerted the scheme sallied into the streets, and proclaimed their native Prince; the populace gathered together at that welcome acclamation; a colonel of artillery joined them, and sent advice to Belchior Drago, who immediately returned to the city with his detachment; two of his brothers, both in the Portugueze service, appeared in the same cause, and the rest of the native troops without hesitation ♦The French excluded from that city.♦ did the same. The French, when they would have re-entered the city to restore order, found cannon planted against them by men who knew how to use them; and, being repulsed in two attempts, retreated towards Tavira. Their magazines, their military chest, and all their papers, were taken14, General Maurin, sick in bed, was necessarily left to his fate; and the populace would have killed him in their first use and abuse of power, if some humaner spirits had not interfered to preserve him. The Bishop also exerted ♦Observador Portuguez, 333–335.♦ himself to prevent this inhumanity, and had him ♦Neves, iii. 282–289.♦ transferred to the episcopal palace for security.

♦A Junta formed at Faro.♦

On the following morning an assembly of the people was held in the Alto da Esperança. The magistrates, the Bishop and his chapter, the clergy, the monks and friars, (who had all taken arms), the troops and the nobles, met and solemnly proclaimed their lawful Prince; the Quinas were hoisted, and an oath was taken that they would each to the last drop of his blood defend the rights of the house of Braganza. Circular letters were dispatched to all the towns and villages in Algarve. The next day some instances of insubordination, and the reasonable apprehension of an attack, induced one of the canons to propose, and the people to consent, to the appointment of a Junta. The Chamber nominated seven electors for the nobles, and as many for the people, the chapter seven for the clergy, and the army seven for themselves. By these electors eight members were chosen, two for each of the four orders, and the Conde de Castro-Marim was appointed president. This nobleman had been governor and captain-general of Algarve at the time of the invasion; under the intrusive government he resided as a private individual at Tavira, and the popular desire of re-establishing the order of things to which they had been accustomed, was shown in nominating him to the presidency, as it was indeed in all the circumstances of the insurrection throughout ♦The insurrection spreads through Algarve.♦ Portugal. Emissaries were now sent to the east and west: in the west there were no enemies, and within eight-and-forty hours the acclamation was effected in Loule, Sylves, Lagos, at the fort of Sagres, and in the little towns to the north of Cape St. Vincent. From the east there was reason to apprehend an attack; the enemy, who had been compelled to retire from Faro, had retreated to Tavira, and had been joined there by a detachment from Mertola. But the English squadron was in sight; and the French commander, knowing how inadequate his whole force was to the dangers which menaced it, knew also that Algarve might, with little inconvenience, be left to itself, and that his business was to place himself in communication with the ♦The French retreat to Mertola.♦ troops in Alem-Tejo. He therefore withdrew to Mertola, and the people of Tavira, rising as soon as the enemy retired, harassed them on the way. Juntas, subordinate to that of Faro, were now formed in Tavira, and in other smaller places; a red riband upon the right arm was assumed as the badge of patriotism, and they who ventured to appear without it were in no small danger from the people; but though many persons were insulted and menaced, and some imprisoned as partizans of the French, the better orders exerted their influence with such effect, that no blood was shed. Preparations were made for defending the passes of the mountains which divide Algarve from Alem-Tejo; and accredited agents were sent to Ayamonte, Seville, and Gibraltar. Arms were without delay supplied from all these places, and from Gibraltar a considerable quantity of ammunition. A circumstance, however, occurred, which seemed likely at first to occasion a misunderstanding with the Spaniards; for the Portugueze, upon the retreat of the French, having thrown up some works at Castro-Marim, the Spaniards crossed the river and destroyed them. This measure, so rash, and in appearance so hostile, was occasioned by an apprehension that the French might return there, which they had made a demonstration of doing before they ♦The people of Algarve form a treaty with Seville.♦ abandoned Tavira. It was soon explained, when each people had so strong an interest in being upon the best terms with each other, and a formal ♦Neves, iii. 290–303.♦ treaty was concluded with the Junta of Seville.

Before the insurrection in Algarve had succeeded, and even before it was known beyond the mountains, the same national feeling had ♦Insurrection at Villa-Viçosa.♦ manifested itself in Alem-Tejo at Villa-Viçosa, the place of all others where the national and loyal feelings of a Portugueze would be most elevated by local associations, having been the residence of the Braganzan family during the Spanish usurpation. Early in the month the inhabitants had been exasperated by the passage of a French escort through the town, with the contributions that had been levied in that Comarca and the plate of the churches. They were farther irritated by an order for the militia to repair to Elvas at a time when Kellermann hoped to employ them against the Spaniards at Badajoz. But Elvas, where the main body of the French in Alem-Tejo were stationed, was only four leagues distant; there was a strong detachment still nearer, at Estremoz, and a French company was quartered among them, in the castle: they knew not that any movement for the recovery of their country’s independence had been made; nor, owing to their peculiar situation, were there any people in Portugal by whom it could be made with so little hope or possibility of success. Thus they had borne oppression, and might have continued to bear it, if their oppressors, in the wantonness of power, had not added insult to wrong. There was an image of N. Senhora dos Remedios, which, after having by a supernatural declaration of its own pleasure, changed its name, ♦Santuario Mariano, t. vii. 571, 579.♦ made sundry voyages to and from India, and travelled from one place to another in Portugal during more than fourscore years, had at length obtained a settlement at Villa-Viçosa, in a chapel of its own, where, being in high odour for its miraculous powers, it was visited with peculiar devotion on its own holyday, the 19th of June, by the people of that town, and the adjacent country. The history of this idol might excite a mournful smile for human weakness, not without indignation at the systematic frauds which have been practised upon a religious people. The French were too irreligious to see any thing in it but matter of mockery; and some of the soldiers, placing themselves in a gateway near the chapel, amused themselves with deriding the Portugueze, who were going there to worship, in ignorance indeed, and in delusion, but in simplicity and sincerity of heart. Some of the peasants resented this insult by manual force; more Frenchmen came to help their comrades, more Portugueze to support their countrymen; the scuffle became serious, for life or death, ... the bell of the Camara was rung, the ♦Neves, iii. 305–309.♦ French retired into the Castle, and succeeded in closing the gate, which had been so well secured with iron in old times, that the people were neither able to break it open, nor to hew it in pieces. This was towards evening, and the riot continued all night.