Second; but he was about the last person
that one would pitch on as the chief of a
revolution. He was a good-natured, agreeable,
affable gentleman, largely endowed
with shrewdness, but lazy to the last
decree. Whenever he "gave his mind" to
anything, he understood it thoroughly; but
the gift of his mind was the only donation
in which he was a decided niggard. We
may be allowed to conjecture that if Mr.
Richard Carstone, of Bleak House, had
been the best claimant to the throne of
Portugal, in the year 1640, he would have
come off just as well as the Duke of
Braganza. Nevertheless, so peculiar were the
circumstances of the situation, that we are
justified in believing that Duke John was
the right man in the right place. Intrinsic
greatness was not required, but somebody
upon whom greatness might be
conveniently thrust by the force of events, was
the article in demand, and such a
somebody was Duke John. His late father,
Theodosius, had been a fiery child of the
south, who possibly taking for his model
Hamilcar's education of Hannibal, had
endeavoured to inspire him with an early
hatred of the Spaniard, and to keep present
to his mind the irritating fact that he had
been deprived of a crown which rightfully
belonged to him. John entered into his
father's views, but held his tongue, and
bided his time. Had he done otherwise
he would probably have stepped into
trouble, and never have worn the crown of
Portugal. He was extremely rich, and
this was enough to attract the suspicious
attention of the Count-Duke; but he only
expended his wealth in harmless pursuits,
and it seemed a waste of sagacity to look
too sharply after lazy John. There he was
at his paternal residence, Villa Viciosa—an
ugly name for a delightful place—hunting,
and feasting, and enjoying the company of
boon companions, and never apparently
allowing the thoughts of the morrow to
interfere with the pleasures of the day.
No creature in the world could look more
innocuous.

In the mean while the storm was gathering.
The citizens of Lisbon, stung to the
quick by new taxes, were all astir, and
were heard to pour disloyal benedictions
on the House of Braganza. Duke John,
whether he liked it or not, began to find
his personal safety diminish. His removal
was deemed expedient at Madrid, and the
king very handsomely offered him the
government of the Milanese. But his
health, as he said, was delicate, and he
was not well posted up in Italian politics;
so, with all becoming gratitude, he declined
the boon of his royal master. This bait
not being honoured with so much as a
nibble, another was tried. The turbulent
Catalans were in open revolt against the
Spanish government, and John was
eventually advised to place himself at the head
of the Portuguese nobility, and join an
expedition, headed by the king in person,
against the malcontents. Here the voice
of duty, it seemed, would be sufficient to
force the duke into active compliance; but
the provoking man, rich as he was, now
pleaded in formâ pauperis. The expenses
necessary to keep up his dignity were so
very heavy that he must really beg the
minister to convey his respectable excuses
to the king. A third plan was tried.
France and Spain were at war with each
other, and the French fleet had been
observed off the Portuguese coast. A
general was wanted for the western
seaboard, and that post was offered to the
Duke of Braganza, with powers so ample
that it seemed as though, in an excess of
blind confidence, all Portugal was
delivered into his hands by Olivarez, while, in
point of fact, Lopez Ozorio, the
commander of the Spanish fleet, had orders to
enter any port where he might expect to
find the duke, and to secure his person.
On this occasion Providence seemed to
favour the House of Braganza. Ozorio
was surprised by a violent tempest, which
destroyed many of his ships, and so
dispersed the rest, that it was impossible to
effect a landing. Still Olivarez did not
lose heart. He sent Duke John a pathetic
letter, complaining of the misfortune which
had befallen the fleet, and expressing the
king's desire that he would visit all the
ports that seemed accessible to France.
The letter was accompanied by a large
remittance to cover necessary expenses,
but orders to arrest the duke were at the
same time despatched to the governors of
the ports.

Duke John accepted the honourable post,
and pocketed the money: but he expended
it in placing his most trusty friends at
stations where they might best serve his
purpose in case he thought of reascending
the throne of his ancestors; and though he
visited the required forts, he was always
escorted by a guard sufficiently strong to
avert personal danger; taking care wherever
he went to augment his popularity by
showing himself to the greatest advantage.
While he was thus gaining partisans in all