June.

CHAP. and though others insisted upon carrying him before the Bishop, X. it appeared very doubtful whether he would reach the palace 1808. 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 he reNeves, iii. mained till the heat of these tumults had abated; he was then released, and honourably distinguished himself afterwards.

192-196.

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. 66 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

X.

June.

endeavour should be to be unseen and unheard, that they might CHAP. the more fatally be felt; . . to conceal their movements, that they might strike when the blow was not expected. The government 1808. 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 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.

a

Neves, iii. 196-198..

conclude an alliance with the

Galicia.

Subordination being now in some degree restored, the Junta The Junta entered with alacrity upon their arduous duties. They raised loan, and imposed new taxes, as the exigencies of the time re- Junta of quired; 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, after her own deliverance should be accom- Neves, iii. plished, 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 ful

199.

June.

ity is ac

throughout

Portugal.

CHAP. filled to the letter of the bond. The Junta of Porto had another X. object to accomplish, more difficult, and at that time not less 1808. 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 author at Viana on the same day; others at Torre de Moncorvo, Miknowledged randa, and other places of less note; all these submitted readily the north of 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

X.

of Braganza had assumed. Opposed in their pretensions on CHAP. that side, after contesting the authority of the Porto Junta, concluding a treaty with it, and then again disputing with it, and 1808. arraigning its measures, the Junta of Braganza ended at length in obeying the advice of the Bishop of Porto, which was re- 151-162. peated in strong terms by Sepulveda, and dissolving itself.

June.

Neves, iii.

180-185.

rection ex

wards Co

The whole of Tras os Montes and of the province between The insurthe rivers had now declared against the intrusive government, tends toand acknowledged the Junta of Porto. The same spirit was imbra. 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 offered to obtain the desired June 22. 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

June.

CHAP. on his journey, overtook them at Mealhada, a village about X. twelve miles from Coimbra. Exulting that they had advanced 1808. 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 Neves, iii. armed men; the people of Mealhada volunteered their services, and the two parties were to meet at Carquejo, half march.

200-205.

Scheme for surprising

in Coimbra.

way on their When the men of Mealhada began to prepare for their exthe enemy pedition, 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 ven