too, were to be placed in the great Cardinal
Richelieu, and in the advantages derived
by Portugal from her extensive sea-board;
nor was the fact to be overlooked that the
removal of the greater part of the Spanish
garrison to strengthen the army against the
Catalans, rendered the actual moment
especially propitious for revolt. The answer of
Duke John was provokingly safe. In the
main he thoroughly agreed with all that
had been said, but he doubted whether the
proper moment for decisive action had
arrived.

Fortunately he had a wife of a stronger
mind than his own—Louisa, daughter of
the Duke of Medina-Sidonia, who, although
a Spaniard, and, moreover, a relative of
Olivarez, had no objection to sit on the
throne of Portugal. To her, on his return
to Villa Viciosa, he communicated all
that had passed, and found that she
thoroughly entered into the views of the
conspirators. The court of Madrid, in the
mean while, had been rendered uneasy by
the duke's brilliant reception at Lisbon,
and another stratagem was attempted.
John was definitively ordered to show
himself at Madrid, and report by word of mouth
the real condition of Portuguese affairs.
Here was an order that could not be
slighted without open revolt and capture,
but which involved utter destruction; so
he was at his wit's end. He could only
hope to gain time; and therefore, by the
advice of his duchess, he despatched a
trusty gentleman to the Spanish capital,
who informed the king that his master was
on his heels, and, to confirm the truth of
his statement, fitted up an hotel for his
reception. The delays that ensued were
excused by various pretexts; and, in the
mean while, Mendoza was sent by the
conspirators to Villa Viciosa to caution
the duke that his only choice was
between death and a crown. A declaration
by the duke that he was ready to put
himself at the head of his partisans was the
result of this mission; but again his old
timidity recurred, and all the eloquence of
his duchess and Pinto was required to keep
his courage screwed to the sticking-place.
At last he declared that if he was sure of
the Portuguese capital, he would cause
himself to be proclaimed king in all the
other cities of the kingdom, and despatched
Pinto to Lisbon with credentials for
D' Almeida and Mendoza.

The conspirators had now a basis for
action. Pinto, by means of two wealthy
citizens, secured the adherence of the artisans,
and on the 25th of November, 1640,
a meeting was held at the hotel of Braganza,
where it was made evident that there was
a force, consisting of one hundred and fifty
nobles, with their dependants, and about
two hundred citizens and artisans, ready to
do the work of insurrection. It was settled
that the insurgents, in four divisions, should
enter the palace at so many points, before
the Spaniards could collect their forces.
Dom Miguel d' Almeida was to attack the
German guard at the entrance of the palace;
Mello, and his brother Dom Estevan
d'Accosta, at the head of the citizens, was
to surprise a company of Spaniards who
mounted guard every day before a part of
the palace called the Fort; De Menejès,
Manuel, Saa, and Pinto were to occupy the
apartments of the hateful Vasconcellos, who
was to be despatched at once; and Dom
Antonio d'Almeida, Mendoza, Dom Carlos
de Noronha, and Antonio de Saldanha were
to secure the vice-queen and all the
Spaniards in the palace, to use them, if
necessary, as hostages. In the mean while,
a few cavaliers were to go about the city,
with some of the principal citizens, to
proclaim Duke John of Braganza, King of
Portugal. The first of December was fixed
upon as the day on which this bold plan
was to be carried into execution.

The deities, Pavor and Pallor, to whom
Tullus Hostilius paid such extraordinary
honour, seem to have been very busy with
everybody concerned in this glorious
revolution. No fewer than three panics, which
occurred before the middle of December,
varied the ennui of the genteel comedy with
scenes of a broader sort of humour. There
happened to be a certain enthusiastic
patriot who was always declaiming in public
against the tyranny of the Spaniards, and
who had grown louder than ever on the
subject of the hateful expedition to
Catalonia. To him therefore, as a safe ally, did
D' Almeida communicate the project of the
conspirators; but he was alarmed as well
as surprised to find his confidant suddenly
cool down to the very freezing point of
prudence, and throw cold water on the entire
scheme. The sight of a sword, which
D' Almeida drew, had indeed the effect of
frightening the inconveniently prudent
gentleman into a consent to join the
conspiracy; but the others, when they heard
what had happened, were so dreadfully
uneasy, that they forced Pinto to write to the
Duke of Braganza, and thus sprinkle upon
him a little of the cold water in which they
had been themselves immersed.