cheers. A large tribute of admiration was voted to him for his manliness and political sagacity.' His sagacity seems to have failed him in regard to his own interests, however; his reputation for prudence and even political honour. If he was surprised, no one else was, when the next English packet brought his recall. He left Ireland. in January, and was succeeded in the viceroyalty by the Duke of Northumberland.

One cannot but see some comic intermixture with the very serious aspect of the times, at the close of 1828. There were the Duke of Wellington and the Marquis of Anglesey made the two pets of the Catholic Associationtheir letters treasured in the minutes, and themselves assumed to be both friends of Catholic objects; while, at the same time, and in consequence of these very proceedings, the duke was recalling the marquis, because the marquis had brought the duke into an irremediable difficulty. The Catholic Association was pledging itself to send seventy county members into the House, while its very existence was for the purpose of obtaining an admission to parliament at all. While the Catholic leaders were assuming that they should have all they wanted very soon, and the Brunswick Clubmen were certain that they would never obtain anything at all, as long as there were true Britons who would make their dead bodies a barrier between the Catholics and the privileges of Protestantism, the English Tories, through the mouth of Lord Eldon, lamented that, 'bit by bit,' emancipation would be granted; and the Liberals were certain that the duke meant to yield everything in the course of the next session; while the duke himself certainly was not aware, in the middle of the closing month of the year, that he meant anything at all. He might appropriate the saying of the sage: 'All I know is that I know nothing.'

Mr. Shiel has left us a picture of the time, in a speech at the association: The minister folds his arms, as if he were a mere indifferent observer, and the terrific contest only afforded him a spectacle for the amusement of his official leisure. He sits as if two gladiators were crossing their swords for his recreation. The cabinet seems to be little better than a box in an amphitheatre, from whence

his majesty's ministers may survey the business of blood.' The viceroy was recalled for desiring and promoting what the head of the government was about to do. As for the great Catholic leader, the most noticeable particular about him was his having pledged himself to perdition, if ever again he would compromise the franchise of the forties.' Times seem to have become too hard for men's wits-for their endowments of sagacity and judgment, and of that prudence which, in affairs so momentous as this, should by the name of conscience.

6

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CHAPTER VI.

Affairs of Portugal-Don Miguel in England-His UsurpationQueen of Portugal in England-Death of Lord Liverpool.

In the speech with which the king, by commission, dismissed parliament on the 28th of July, the first point of interest was a declaration of the reviving prosperity of the people. After the dreadful shocks of 1825 and 1826, it was some time before any revival of trade was apparent, at all adequate to the wants of the working-classes. But now the immense stocks of every species of manufacture which had been prepared under the mania of speculation were pretty well cleared off; money and commodities had resumed an ascertained and natural value; and the state of the revenue and the general contentment indicated that a condition of prosperity had returned. One advantage of this was, that many statesmen, and whole classes of 'interests,' became convinced that free-trade-as the very partial relaxations of former commercial restriction were then called-was not the cause of the late distresses--was certainly enhancing the prosperity-was, in short, found to be a very good thing.

The king's speech carefully indicated that the war which had been declared between Russia and the Porte was wholly unconnected with the Treaty of London; and promised to continue the efforts which had been made, in concert with the King of France, to promote peace between Russia and Turkey. Meantime, the emperor had been

induced not to carry war into the Mediterranean, where so many interests were involved; and had actually recalled his warlike instructions to the commanders of his fleet in the Levant.

It was announced that great disappointment had occurred with regard to Portugal; and that it had been found necessary by all the powers of Europe to withdraw their representatives from Lisbon.

The mistake with regard to Portugal had been in ever appointing as regent such a man as Don Miguel. It might be evident enough that difficulties would be reconciled, and the future would be provided for, by uniting the interests of the different branches of the royal family, in his regency, and his marriage with the yet childish queen; but all political arrangements proceed on the supposition that more or less reliance is to be placed on the acting paties that some obligations of conscience, or at least of reputation, exist in each party that enters into a contract. But the conduct of Don Miguel in regard to his father, and in other instances, had shown him to be not only untrustworthy, but a sort of moral monster who cannot be treated with as men usually are. Yet his brother,

the Emperor of Brazil, thought he had arranged everything, and settled adverse claims, by appointing him Regent of Portugal, and promising him marriage with the young queen.

At the beginning of this year, Don Miguel had been in England. He spent nearly two months in London; and it was regarded as a good sign that he went there, and associated with the rulers and statesmen of a free country, rather than visit the courts of despotic sovereigns. He had taken the oath to preserve the new constitution of Portugal, and had written to his sister-his predecessor in the regency-from Vienna, that he was determined to maintain inviolate the laws of the kingdom, and the institutions legally granted by Don Pedro, and to cause them to be observed, and by them to govern the kingdom. And before he left England, he had, according to the universal belief, written a letter, voluntarily, to George IV., in which he said that ‘if he overthrew the constitution, he should be a wretch, a breaker of his oath, and a usurper

of his brother's throne.' There was never any question of his being bound by the strongest obligations to administer constitutional government in Portugal, if he had been one who could be bound by any obligations whatever. But, as it was proved that he was not such a one, he should not have been trusted with any political powers whatever.

The princess-regent took leave of the cortes in January; and on the 22nd of February, Don Miguel landed at Lisbon. Among the acclamations which greeted him-the cries of 'Long live the Infant!'-a few voices were heard shouting Long live Don Miguel, the absolute king!' Neither on this occasion, nor when he went in procession to the cathedral, and heard more of the same shouts, did the prince take any notice of them. They passed as the cries of a few discontented men among the rabble; and it was never clear whether Don Miguel had at this time any intention of usurping the throne, or whether he was afterwards instigated to it by his mother. From the moment when he fell on his knees before his mother, he showed himself her slave, and wrought out her wicked pleasure most zealously, whatever might have been his previous intentions. He was to swear to the constitution, four days after his arrival, in the presence of the two chambers and of the court. There was something strange about the ceremony, which excited the suspicions of the bystanders. The prince was ill at ease, hurried and confused; and he spoke too low to be heard by those nearest to him. The Archbishop of Lisbon who administered the oath stood directly in front of the prince, with his priestly garments spread wide, so that the regent was little better seen than heard. He is declared not to have touched the book of the gospels, and to have said, when the show was over: 'Well, I have gone through the ceremony of swearing to the charter; but I have sworn nothing.' One significant circumstance is that there was no register, or legal record of any kind, of the event. The next day the new ministry was announced; and the announcement spread dismay among the constitutionalists. The funds fell; the bank, which was to have set off on a new score that day, feared a run, and postponed its payments indefinitely-all business was at a stand in Lisbon. The mob assembled under

the windows of the queen-mother shouting for absolutism; and the prime-minister distributed money among them. During the month of March the proceedings of the regent were so open and shameless in insulting and displacing liberals and favouring the absolutists, that many hundreds of the best families in Lisbon left the capital. Just at this time, the British troops sent by Mr. Canning were embarking for their return; and a large amount of money

a loan from M. Rothschild to the prince--was arriving. The new British ambassador at Lisbon, Sir Frederick Lamb, decided, on his own responsibility, to detain the troops, and send the money back to London; that the usurper-for it was now no secret that the prince was about to assume the title of king-might be awed by the presence of British troops, and unaided in his treasonable purposes by British gold. This was in the middle of March; and it was the beginning of April before the British ambassador could receive instructions how to proceed.

On the 14th of March the prince dissolved the chambers, to evade the passing of a vote of thanks to the British commanders, and some troublesome inquiries into state abuses. On the 2nd of April the British troops were embarked for home, in pursuance of orders received by the ambassador. Before this, the prince had been declared in several provincial towns to be absolute king, Don Miguel I. When the British troops were gone, and with them all the respectable liberals who could get away, there was no further impediment to the proclamation taking place in the capital; and the thing was done on the birthday of the queen-mother, on the 25th of April. The scene was opened by the commandant of police with his guard, before the hall of the municipality, between eight and nine in the morning. Baring their heads, and drawing their sabres, they cried aloud: Long live Don Miguel the First! Long live the empress-mother!' Thereupon the national flag was slung up on the roof of the hall, and the municipal authorities appeared in the balcony, to proclaim the new king. The proclamation was repeated at noon through the city; and all citizens were invited to sign a memorial, imploring Don Miguel to assume the function of king. This memorial was presented in the evening;