X. 1808. Junc. Observador 288. CHAP. thing 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 Portuguez, 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. promotion was offered to all officers of that nation 75. X. who should join them, and Kellermann's vigi- CHAP. lance could not prevent the emigration which took place in consequence. 1808. June. French troops in 77. A considerable garrison was required in Elvas, Distribuas being the strongest fortress in the kingdom, tion of the and now of more importance because of the hostile attitude which the Spaniards at Badajoz Portugal. 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. 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 effect. Porto was in possession of the Spaniards, The Spawho had occupied it by virtue of the secret treaty Porto of Fontainebleau. General Bellesta, however, against upon whom the command had devolved, had been the Inplaced under the orders of the French General march into Spain. 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 niards at declare truder, and arrived of the movements in Gallicia, Bellesta, obeying without hesitation the voice of his country, arrested the French and their general, and June 6. convoking the military, judicial, and civil autho X. CHAP. rities, 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 1808. June. 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. the fortress of S. Joam da Foz, at the mouth of the Douro. c. 6. The lawful It was late at night when the meeting broke government restored at up. Raymundo called together his officers; they Porto. 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 X. 1808. June. 85-91. the anniversary of that day by a festival to her CHAP. 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 with him, and was sent to Luiz de Oliveira da Neves, iii. Costa, who commanded at Porto during the absence of General Bernardim Freire de Andrada. Luiz de Oliveira had been present at the meet- The going which Bellesta convened, and assented to heres to the the resolution which had there been taken. French, and supWhether his heart was with his voice on that presses the occasion, or whether he had submitted to the tion. 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 vernor ad insurrec X. 1808. June. CHAP. 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 |