directions, his intendant, Pinto Ribeiro, a
shrewd, active, ambitions man, was busy
at Lisbon increasing—if, indeed, increase
was possible—the hatred of the citizens
against the Spaniards; raking up the
memory of old grievances, and dwelling on
those of recent date, as abominations not to
be borne. Pinto had great talent for treading
on the most susceptible corn of the
person he addressed. If he had to deal
with a merchant, he expatiated on the ruin
of commerce by the transfer of the Indian
trade to Cadiz; the clergy of Portuguese
extraction were reminded that the loaves
and fishes, so justly due to their piety
and learning, were distributed among
foreigners; the nobility were taught to
regard the summons to Catalonia as a virtual
sentence of banishment. If a man already
sufficiently disaffected fell in his way, Pinto
would sound him as to his disposition
towards the duke, warning off all suspicion
that he was acting under the direction of
his master by artfully regretting his inert
disposition and unpatriotic love of ease—
qualities much to be lamented in the only
man who could save his country from
destruction. The general result of his
operations was that he had gathered together a
large number of the nobility, at the head
of whom was Acunha, Archbishop of Lisbon,
a learned prelate in high favour with his
countrymen, and detested by the Spaniards,
whom he hated cordially in return, on
account of their preference for Noronha,
Archbishop of Braga, who was a creature
of the vice-queen and took some part in
the government. Among the noble
malcontents whom Pinto had assembled were
Dom Miguel d' Almeida, a stern patriot,
who had always refused to attend the
court; Dom Antonio d'Almada, an intimate
friend of the archbishop; his son-in-law,
Dom Louis d'Acunha, the prelate's nephew;
Dom Mello, titular master of the hounds,
and George his brother; Pedro Mendoza
and Dom Rodrigo de Saa. To the
illustrious assembly Pinto delivered an
inflammatory speech, which provoked an
outburst of patriotic indignation, the
Catalonian affair being the grievance which
provoked the largest amount of wrath. But
though hatred of the Spaniard was
universal, opinions as to the future were at
first divided. Some, with the example of
the Netherlands before their eyes, were for
a republic after the Dutch model; and by
those who were for a monarchy, the Duke
of Braganza, and the Duke of Aveiro—
both of the Portuguese blood-royal—were
respectively recommended as fitting
occupants of the throne. However, before the
meeting broke up, the archbishop contrived
to obtain an unanimous vote for the Duke
of Braganza, expatiating at large on the
superior wealth, power, and virtues of the
prince, and arguing that nobles could not
conscientiously break their vow of
allegiance to the King of Spain except in
favour of the legitimate heir.

Deeming that the time had now arrived
for the duke to take an active part in the
movement, the ever-busy Pinto secretly
wrote him a letter insisting on the
expediency of showing himself in the capital,
and there encouraging his partisans.
Prudent John accordingly quitted Villa Viciosa
and arrived at Almada, which is close to
Lisbon, although on the opposite bank
of the Tagus, as if he had merely come to
inspect a fort in discharge of the duties
recently imposed upon him; and the retinue
that he brought with him made a strong
impression. Being so near the Residence,
he could not, in common courtesy, do less
than pay a visit to the vice-queen; and he
called upon her accordingly, accompanied
by all the nobles, while the city gave every
sign of a public festival. John, however,
was not to be blinded by the applause of
the mobile vulgus; so, when his visit had
been duly paid, he went back to Almada
without even stopping at his hotel in the
capital. Pinto, appreciating the occasion,
called the attention of the conspirators to
the cautious disposition of the man of their
choice; adding that advantage ought to be
taken of his proximity, and that, pro bono
publico, it would be expedient respectfully
to force a crown upon a head so
imperfectly occupied by ambitious thoughts.
This counsel having been approved, a
communication was opened, via Pinto, with the
duke, who graciously consented to receive
a deputation from the conspirators, consisting
of, at most, three persons.

Almada, D'Almeida, and Mendoza, the
chosen delegates, visited the duke by night,
and the first of these, acting as spokesman,
represented to him that his only place of
safety was the throne, and that, if he
claimed his rights, he might rely on the
assistance of the nobles. Spain, he
observed, was no longer the formidable
power of the days of Charles the Fifth,
and his son, having often been defeated by
the French and the Dutch, and being now
occupied with the Catalonian revolt, and
ruled by a weak monarch, who was himself
governed by an unpopular minister. Hopes,