his Sword in the Palace and given a Challenge which is a Capital Crime by the Laws These three had in the beginning of this Government constituted a kind of Triumvirate among themselves tho' the Conde always bore the greatest Sway but he is accus'd of having us'd those under Arts that are so much practis'd at Courts to work the other two out of Favour And I have not heard what is said in his Defence in regard to the former but as for this whom he found tampering with Conti I cannot see why he should be blam'd for disarming an Enemy whom he caught contriving his own Destruction The Conde having now clear'd the Court of his Enemies both publick and secret saw his Prediction fully accomplish'd and himself without a Rival in a manner sole Governour of Portugal and he might have continued so had he not unhappily laid a Train for his Master's Ruin and his own in the way that he took more firmly to establish the Throne of that unfortunate Prince Alfonso had now no longer cause to apprehend any Designs of his Mother she had before been obliged to retire into a Monastery and the Plot to restore her by so contemptible an Instrument as Conti seem'd to be the last Struggle of the Party However she died soon afterwards and by the Conde's prudent Management and good Fortune there seem'd to be such an Union between the Royal Brothers that there was no cause to fear any thing from the Infante the only Person that could give Umbrage to the King so that had it not been for his unhappy Marriage he might have dy'd with his Scepter in his Hand But no sooner was this fatal Marriage contracted than all things seem'd to go backward and tend directly to the Ruin of them both the Conde had been the Contriver of the Match as the King when in an ill Humour us'd to reproach him and he was the first that suffer'd by it He had been perswaded that there was nothing wanting to the King's Security but his Marriage which might possibly take him off from his wild Courses but he thought it a sure way to silence a Report concerning a certain Weakness in him which was whisper'd about in order to make People believe that the Infante was alone capable of securing the Succession the Conde being himself fully satisfy'd that this Report was groundless at least he solemnly protested that he look'd upon it as an Imposture when ask'd about it by the Marquess De Sande as he was going to France to conclude the Marriage he assuring the Marquess That he had a Natural Daughter of the King 's at that time in his own House But the Match concluded on he soon found cause to repent of his Diligence for the Faction began to revive and re-assume new Vigour and to prosecute the same Designs under the Infante's Name which they had before been carrying on in the Queen-Mothers The Queen-Mother is reported by her Friends as well as others to have endeavoured what she could to set up this young Prince in his Brother's place She had settled his Court when he was but Fourteen Years old in almost as great Splendor as the King 's who was Sixteen before he had so much as a separate Apartment in the Palace This look'd as if she was providing a future Head for the Party for their Encouragement to stick the closer by her for the present But after her Retreat the Ministers with great Prudence and Success endeavour'd to endear the two Brothers to each other having them often together at the Palace at Alcantara and Salva terra the Infante partaking with the King in all his ordinary Recreations and sometimes in his less innocent Diversions The Ministers did not a little value themselves on this to the great Regret of their Adversaries thinking that they had brought them to a perfect Agreement and put an end to all those little Jealousies and Animosities that had been between them But no sooner was the Princess d'Aumalle design'd for the King but a Breach began that never could be clos'd The Infante's Refusal to approve of the Match that was made at the same time by his own Consent between him and Mademoiselle de Bouillon reviv'd the King's Jealousies insomuch that he began to accuse him of having still his Mother's Design in his Head to make himself King and threatned to clap him into a Tower but all in vain for the Infante persisted in his Refusal I know not but it may be about this time that he was highly exasperated by an Expression the Infante had let fall That he was sure the King could have no Children by his Marriage When the new Queen's Arrival was expected the Infante found himself destitute of Persons of Quality to attend him the Queen-Mother when she settled his Houshold had plac'd about him several Lords of her Party not much inferiour either in Rank or Number to those in the King's Service but these being employ'd elsewhere he had others given him that were in the King and the Conde's Interest and it fell out luckily as it was then thought for the Conde that the Infante took such a liking to his Brother Simon de Vasconcellos that of his own accord he took him into his Service and this Favourite seem'd to have no less share in his good Graces than the Conde had in the King 's But the preference of Vasconcellos so disoblig'd the rest that they withdrew from the Infante's Service they return'd indeed again at the King's Request but upon the Infante's making his Favourite Governour of his Houshold they retired a Second time and the King thought it too great a Condescension to recal them The Infante demanded to have others in their room the King gave him the Nomination of such he should think fit he named those that were disagreeable to the King who refus'd to confirm them and offer'd to restore the old ones But the Infante would not accept of them and so he was fain to be attended by the King's Servants when he gave Audience to the Marquess de Rouvigni who conducted the Queen to Lisbon After her arrival he desir'd leave of the King to retire from Court since he could not continue there in a State agreeable to his Quality The King told him He might go if he pleas'd but should have no Order from him Yet he thinking fit to stay 'till the Queen had made her Publick Entry the King would several times ask him in Raillery Why he was not gone But otherwise treating him with great Kindness Upon which the Infante took occasion to declare before Vasconcellos That he perceived some malicious Persons had done him ill Offices with the King and that the Conde de Castelmelhor was not free from suspicion but in case he prov'd guilty he would find a way to chastise him according to his Demerits Vasconcellos offended to hear his Brother so ill treated would stay no longer in the Infante's Service The Conde
left the Court first threatning that if he continued there he himself would depart the Kingdom The King orders the Case to be drawn up and laid before a Consult of the Counsellors of State the Chancellor Judges c. and it was concluded among them by the Majority of Votes That the Infante not being a Sovereign Prince his bare Affirmation was not to be taken for Proof that the Suspension and Removal of the Conde was in it self a Punishment as it reflected Dishonour upon him and his Family but that he ought not to be punish'd 'till some Proof was made of his Crime The Infante would not yield that the Case had been fairly stated or the Votes free and signifies the same in a Letter to the King wherein he expresses his Resentments of the whole Proceeding with some heat While the Business was thus agitated by way of Letters and Messages each side was seeking by other ways to make his Party good the Infante had written to the Courts of Justice the Chamber and Council of Lisbon to acquaint them with his Case sending them Copies of his Letters to the King He afterwards called together at his Palace the Counsellors of State and the Nobility to inform them of what had past among whom besides those that had been all along devoted to the Cause the Conde had gain'd himself many new Enemies by his Advancement and his over-haughty Carriage as it seem'd to them in the time of his Greatness And the Party was so strong against him that 't was now evident his Ruin was at hand For many of those fawning Wretches on whom by a Fault common as 't is said to great Men he had misplac'd his Favours having rais'd them by his Bounty were now not only ready to abandon him but they would needs be employ'd in avenging the Infante's Quarrel upon their Benefactor The Infante at the beginning of this Broil was made to remonstrate in his Letters That if the King refus'd to do him Justice he should be forc'd to leave the Kingdom and end his Days in a foreign Country But was now put upon another Resolution which was to retire to the Province Tras Os Montes and join that part of the Army which was commanded by the Conde de St. John one of his principal Confidents many of the disaffected Nobility proffering themselves to follow him and share in his Fortunes The Conde upon the Infante's first Complaint petition'd the King for leave to retire but it appearing that the Contrivers of all this Bustle aim'd not so much at the Conde's removal from the Government as the King 's who was not like to stand long after the Fall of his Minister he was oblig d to continue at Court and they were not wanting about the King that were putting him upon vigorous Resolutions which might if followed have recovered his expiring Authority Some advised him to go in Person to Corte Real the Infante's Palace attended with his Counsellors of State the Nobility and Officers of the Army and Arrest the Infante together with the Camarists those he had named for Gentlemen of his Bed-Chamber supposed to be the Managers of all this Disturbance but this Counsel never took effect some think because it was delay'd so long that the Infante being inform'd of the Design had time enough to put himself in a posture of Defence it is certain that he immediately after declared He would run the same Fortune with his Gentlemen and never suffer them to be Arrested It is reported of a certain Person and as I remember I have been shewn the Man that he came and offered to the King and Conde That with his Majesty's Leave he would go to Corte Real and give a good Account of the Camarists but this Proposal was rejected as it well deserved to be The great Courage the King us'd to shew on other Occasions to the loss of his Credit now fail'd him when he had so much need of it his Authority and his Honour lying as they did at stake He seems to have been so much sunk at this time as to become incapable of conceiving or entertaining a Resolution befitting a King in his Circumstances The Conde when he saw that he cou'd do no good any other way wou'd have had him retire to Alemtejo and there put himself at the Head of his Army there being reason to believe that the main Body would prove faithful to him after having gain'd so many signal Victories under his short Reign Both sides were endeavouring about this time to make a Party among the Soldiery the Infante had wholly gaind the Conde de St. John but he had receiv'd Orders from Court that neither himself nor any Person under his Command shou'd stir out of his Province 'till further order and it could not be in his power to do any great harm supposing the rest continued in their Duty The Commanders had been made acquainted with the Differences at Court by the King's Order who had signified to them his Resolution to protect the Conde representing the Infante's Complaints as groundless The Fleet likewise which had been cruising on the Coasts was commanded into the River and Order given that none belonging to it should come ashore without leave It does not appear that they who were for setting up the Infante durst as yet openly solicit the Army It 's true the Queen had a very strong Party in it as appears by the strict Guard that was kept on the Frontiers this Year to prevent the coming of any Overtures of Peace from Castille which the French Faction that was headed by the Queen labour'd all they could to hinder but it was not as yet pretended that the King and Queen had separate Interests However her Majesty was working under-hand to promote the Grand Design sounding the Inclinations of those in Command against the time when it should be ripe for Execution Count Schomberg who was General of the Strangers and had in effect at this time the Direction of the whole Army was oblig'd by Orders from France to hold Correspondence with the Queen and to support her Interest The Queen took occasion to acquaint him by Letters how that all things were like to run to Ruin through Alfonso's Extravagances should he continue in the Government desiring to know of the Count What Reckoning might be made of the Officers in the Army in case the Differences at Court came to an open Rupture It is not probable for Reasons to be mention'd anon that the Count gave her any great Encouragement to proceed in the Design however he did as he was order'd and inform'd her Majesty how the principal Commanders stood affected and what might be expected from each of them severally in rhe Case propos'd he was so very particular in his Account that it took up about four Sheets of Paper and this Pacquet had like to have preserv'd the King and ruin'd the adverse Party for it narrowly escap'd falling into his Majesty's Hands
other Person then the Gentleman that then executed it just cause to despair of doing any good upon them However the English Envoy was not Idle to bring two Nations to a Peace and make them Happy though against their Wills after they had been destroying one another for seven and twenty Years together was an Enterprize so glorious for a young Minister to effect that one of Sir Robert Southwell's Character was not to be deter'd from the Attempt by any Difficulties but in order to accomplish his Design he was forc'd to go a great way about it was in vain to think of succeeding by any direct Application to either Court he was therefore fain to choose other Instruments to work with and his choice was so good and he manag'd them so well that he wrought out his ends by them by disposing both Courts for that Peace which was concluded in the beginning of the Year 1668. to the unspeakable satisfaction of the two Nations At the Battles of Amexial and Montescloros several great Persons of the most Illustrious Houses in Spain were taken Prisoners in the former Don Gaspar de Haro Marquess de Eliche five times Grande of Spain and Heir to the two great Favourites the Conde Duque de Olivares and Don Luis de Haro he being Son to the Latter Don Anielo de Gusman eldest Son of the Duke de Medina de las Torres and Don Juan Henriques Conde de Escalante at Montescleros Don Diego Correa General of the Cavallery and several other Persons of the first Quality These Noblemen had ever since their Misfortune been confined to the Castle of Lisbon where they were frequently visited by the English Envoy They had all along express'd a great Esteem for our Nation and would sometimes Treat our Officers amongst them acknowledging them for their Conquerors for they would by no means allow that Title to the Portugueses The Envoy having contracted a more particular Acquaintance and Familiarity with them thought they might be of great use to him in prevailing upon the Court of Madrid to renew the Treaty he saw that their Prison was very uneasie to them and that they were impatient to be at Liberty of which they could have little hopes till the Peace was made and the knew their nearest Relations to be Men of the greatest Power in Spain who might by their Solicitation be prevail'd upon to think of a Peace Coming once amongst them he began to upbraid them in a familiar way for their Remisness in not endeavouring to free themselves from their wretched Confinement telling them that they seem'd to have a worse Opinion of their own Condition then some of the Fathers had concerning the state of those in Hell from whence as they thought there was some Redemption But he found them desparing of being ever able to regain their Liberty so far were they from entertaining any hopes of it that they told him if Origen had been a Spaniard he had never been so favourable in his Opinion however the Envoy to show that he did not advise them to Impossibilities undertook to overcome the greatest Difficulty and make way for a free intercourse between them and their Friends This offer incourag'd them to write their Minds to their Relations in Spain in order to set them at Work to bring on the Treaty of Peace again They delivered their Letters to the Envoy who so manag'd the matter that the Governour of Elvas one of his particular Acquaintance though wholly ignorant of the Design conveyed the Pacquet to a Servant of one of these Noblemen who was employed on the Frontiers to provide him with Necessaries But to get Answers to their Letters which they could not well expect by the same way the Envoy took another Course He had at that time an English Frigat watching for him in the River but he finding his Negotiations to be now in a fair way towards a happy Conclusion instead of imbarking for England order'd the Captain to make a Voyage to Cadiz sending on board him a Servant of his who had been frequently employed in Messages of a like Nature with another Pacquet from the Spanish Noblemen who arriving at Cadiz rode Post to Madrid where the Letters he brought with him soon produc'd their desired Effect Whilst the English Envoy was thus contriving ways to bring the Court of Spain to sue for a Peace he had a harder Game to play still which was to dispose that of Portugal to a Compliance it was to no purpose for him to motion the matter to that Court at a time when it was become wholly French As for the Nobility that were then uppermost they were either ingaged in the Queen's Party or had Commands in the Army which made it to be for their Interest to have the War continue But then there was at the same time in Portugal a Power superior to both these and he thought fit in this case of necessity to serve himself of that for the common Good of all The People ever since the Revolt from Spain had been in Possession of an absolute kind of Sovereignty and had on several occasions exercised the same over those in Authority without Exception as all the late Turns and Changes in the State had been brought about by their means they pulling down and setting up as they pleased so they kept those they placed in the Government in subjection to their Wills Their Power was never more uncontroulable then whilst they were deposing King Alfonso and placing Prince Pedero in his room but had not yet fixt him in the Government They were at that time in a great Ferment and according as their Motions were directed by such as had the Art to manage them they were like to bear down all before them Now while the greatest Men in the Kingdom were tampering with them that by their means they might destroy one another the Envoy did not think it beneath him to be dealing with them too in order to preserve the whole Nation to this end he thought the fittest Instrment he could make use of was the Juis do Povo and therefore he took Acquaintance with him and to keep him well affected gave Orders that the Juis should have such Work as there was occasion for in the House that was proper for one of his Calling and he would sometimes condescend himself to Discourse the Man incouraging him to contribute on his part by that great Authority which belong'd to his Office towards settling the Nation by an Advantagious and Honourable Peace The Juis do Povo is accounted the chief Magistrate of Lisbon his Office somewhat resembling that of a Mayor he is not indeed of equal Dignity with my Lord Mayor of London which perhaps may be the reason why he hath a much greater Power for he must be of one of the meanest Hardicraft Trades whereby he is more fitly qualified to become the Peoples Head and he does not think himself too good to become the Ring-leader in Popular
AN ACCOUNT OF THE Court of Portugal Under the Reign of the present King Dom PEDRO II. WITH Some Discourses on the Interests of PORTVGAL with Regard to other Sovereigns CONTAINING A Relation of the most Considerable Transactions that have pass'd of late between that Court and those of Rome Spain France Vienna England c. LONDON Printed for Thomas Bennet at the Half-Moon in St. Paul's Church-Yard 1700. THE CONTENTS PART I. OF the King of Portugal Page 3 Of the Publick Revenues and the Forces of the Crown both by Land and Sea 19 Of His Majesty's first Queen 43 Of the late Queen 109 Of the Queen Dowager of England 125 Of the late Infanta 128 Of the King's Issue by his second Marriage 148 Of his Natural Daughter 160 Of the Ministry 164 Of the Marquess of Alegrete 165 Of the Duke of Cadaval 171 Of the Archbishop of Lisbon 172 Of the Marquess of Aronches 178 Of the Secretary of State 179 PART II. OF the Interests of Portugal with Relation to Rome Page 1 To Spain 44 France 62 The Emperor Holland the Northern Crowns c. 114 England 119 THE PREFACE THE Contents of the following Papers were intended to fill some few Chapters in a General Account of Portugal but the Author in digesting his Materials found them like to swell into almost as great a Volume as he design'd for the whole which made him resolve to venture them out by themselves as despairing of being read should the Bulk become so great as the taking in of the other Parts of his Subject wou'd make it This is the true Reason why the Court of Portugal appears thus unaccompanied with such other Matters as shou'd have been plac'd before and after it which is what the Author was far from designing when he first began to write It was then for many Reasons the least in his Intention to single out the Court from that great Variety of Subjects which Portugal affords to one that is not altogether an idle Spectator in it It is true that he thought it convenient in describing the State of that Kingdom to be more full in this part of his Account than they usually are who write of Foreign Countries For to understand the Affairs of any Nation it is absolutely necessary to have some competent Knowledge of the Court that is to say of such as preside themselves at the Helm or have any great Influence upon those that do The Court in this sense being to a Politick Body what the Mind is to the Natural communicating Life and Motion to all the Members and as that Vital Principle appears to be disposed or affected one may soonest discover the Symptoms of a Vigorous or a Weakly Constitution And one who is well acquainted with the State of That may be enabled to give a good Account of the Publick Proceedings by tracing them to their Original Causes and Motives and may withal make some probable Conjecture what they are like to be in any suppos'd Case for the time to come It was likewise thought necessary in order to understand the true State of Portugal to know in what Terms that Kingdom stands with its several Neighbours those more especially in whose Will or Power it is to do any great Good or Harm Now the best way to know how far Portugal is to expect either the one or the other from them is by considering what it hath receiv'd already former Experience being the surest Evidence in this Case It is therefore the Design of those Discourses that make the Second Part of this Piece to shew how Portugal hath been served by its real or pretended Friends as often as they have been put to the Trial or had any occasion to discover themselves and it is conceiv'd that the Transactions that have pass'd between this and other Crowns since the House of Bragança came to be in possession of the Throne are set in a just Light so far at least as that the Reader may easily perceive what the true Interests of Portugal are and whether or no they have been duly cultivated by such as have the Management of Affairs in that Kingdom But the chief Business of this Preface is to justifie the Author's Credit with the Reader which may possibly be called in question in regard to several Particulars in the following Account He is far from the Folly of thinking himself exempt from Mistakes it is very likely that he may have been guilty of many in that great variety of Matters which he hath had occasion to mention He does not remember that he ever saw any Relation of our English Affairs made by Strangers that had not many palpable Errors in it which makes him the less confident of his own Performance And he expects the like Allowances that are usually made to those that write of Foreign Countries However he must acknowledge at the same time that those grosser Faults that are commonly observ'd in ordinary Travellers wou'd be much more inexcusable in him he having liv'd for some Years in the Country he writes of his Acquaintance was amongst intelligent Persons who had lived there much longer he hath been somewhat conversant with the Portuguese Authors and hath brought away with him a Collection of such of them as are most esteem'd and out of these last he is ready to produce his Evidence for such Passages in this Piece as are most likely to be call'd in question In relating that great Transaction wherein His present Majesty's first Queen had so large a share he hath taken the principal Matters of Fact from the Catastrophe de Portugal written in Defence of the Party which got the Vpper-hand the Substance whereof as the Writer pretends was read before the Three Estates of the Kingdom It is true that Reflections very different from his are frequently made here upon the very same Facts The Author on many Occasions as little approving of that Writers Sentiments as he does of his Stile throughout the Book which is that of a most passionate and furious Declaimer rather than a just Historian In speaking of the Portuguese Affairs with relation to Rome he hath likewise made great use of the Publick Acts of the King and the Estates as also of the Conde da Eryceiras Portugal Restaurado He hath also followed the same Noble Author in what he relates concerning the Negotiations with the Court of France The Conde had Opportunities to inform himself of these Matters at the best Hand that is from the Reports and Letters of Publick Ministers His Lordship hath indeed given us in England great occasion to complain of him but that may have been for Reasons which will never make him suspected of being much prejudiced against either Rome or France Cardinal Mazarine's Conduct in the Cause of Portugal at the Pirenees is describ'd from his own Letters The Information received by the Author concerning the great part which the English had in the Victories obtain'd over the Spaniards and in concluding the
time this Feast usually lasts Perhaps his Compliance in this as that of Augustus was on the like Occasions may be as much to please the People as Himself For the Portugueses from the highest to the lowest are strangely fond of the Sport It hath been an ancient Custom which is still kept up for the Chamber of Lisbon to entertain the People with this Sight in Honour to St. Anthony the Son and Patron of the City and in Gratitude for the Birth of an Infante a Pretence which the King of late hath furnished them with almost every Year Tho' it is thought one Reason may be the raising of a considerable Sum of Money which they make by the Scaffolds that are built about a very large Square before the Palace which are all sure to be fill'd for at the News of a Bull-running the People come flocking in from all parts of the Country round about The King has a fine Balcony built for him out of one of the Palace-Windows where he sits all the time with his Queen and the young Princes attended by a Nobleman who receives his Orders and delivers them out at another Window for the Conduct of the Cavalier and the Management of the Bulls His Majesty tho' he sits compos'd all the while yet is so intent upon the Sport that he is sometimes heard by those in the Seats under him applauding the Cavalier when he hath given a lucky Stroke and one that comes off with Credit shall the next Day be received by him in the most kind and obliging manner and may depend afterwards on his Favour But there lies a great Complaint against His Majesty on this occasion That he for his own private Diversion abates much of the Satisfaction the People would otherwise take For before the Bulls appear in Publick the King on pretence of trying what Metal they are made of will have them to Alcantara where they are commonly so harrass'd out that very few of them will make head against the Cavalier and when a sprightly Bull appears that is likely to make them Sport and do Mischief the King will sometimes order him to be taken in again and reserved for his own use This sets the People a murmuring A happy People were this the greatest Grievance they had to complain of And in truth it seems to be one of the greatest they can lay to their King's Charge or that appears to him to be in his Power to redress For tho' the Opinions of Men are various concerning the Cause and Manner of his first taking upon him the Government yet it is generally agreed that in the Administration thereof he hath all along shewn himself to be most tenderly careful of his Peoples Welfare and in his whole Conduct to have highly deserved the Character that is giv'n him of a truly just and good Prince I confess it would be somewhat difficult to reconcile to this Character some former Transactions wherein his Name was much made use of but then it must be considered that while those things which are most liable to Censure were transacted he was very young and in the hands of others But in what relates to the Administration of the Government I find upon the exactest Enquiry I could make People of all Parties to be generally agreed in their Opinions concerning him and in Portugal they take as great a Liberty in speaking their Minds of their Superiours as in any other Country whatsoever But they have here so high an Esteem for their King that if they blame any thing in his Conduct it is his not making use of his great Power so often as they could wish they think he pays too great a Deference to his Counsellors and to these they impute all the Hardships they suffer The same thing is taken Notice of by Foreigners and reckon'd to be the Cause of any false Steps this Court may have taken inconsistent with the Honour and true Interests of the Crown But it is a Fault the wisest Men are guilty of to have too great a distrust of themselves And this King they say is perswaded to do nothing of Importance without the Advice and Concurrence of his Ministers as thinking it the safest Course he can take for the Discharge of his Conscience He is a Religious Observer of Justice and has thereby delivered his Kingdom from many great Disorders that it before labour'd under Robberies on the High-Way are now seldom or never heard of notwithstanding the universal Poverty that appears throughout the Country and 't is said that before this Reign 't was unsafe for any to be abroad in the Evening about and within the City it self Murders are not near so frequent now as formerly the King growing every Day more and more severe against the Guilty And in truth there was great occasion for it Crimes of this Nature being very lightly made of in this Country if committed in a Fray or upon the slightest Provocation A former Grudge tho' of old standing was used to be taken for a justifiable Excuse even when the Murder was committed in the most cowardly and treacherous manner the Criminal was acquitted or sued out his Pardon of Course or fled to Sanctuary and being once there procur'd a Carta de Seguro which is a Protection given by the Government for one that hath the Priviledge of Sanctuary to appear abroad and sollicit his Cause whereby he has an opportunity given him to compound with his Prosecutors or by other means to take off or elude the Pursuit of Justice But now Cartas de Seguro are more rarely granted and Criminals are oftentimes forc'd from Sanctuary Such Order is taken for preserving the Peace that a Man may pass through the City at any time of Night without meeting with the least Affront or Disturbance Formerly the City was much infested and great Disorders committed by Night-Walkers of all Ranks and Orders from those of the first Quality down to the very Fryars It is reported of an old Porter belonging to a certain Convent that he uses to tell with Regret how mightily the Time are altered from what they were in his Days when a Dozen or more Fryars of his Convent would sally out in a Night upon Adventures And there must be something in it that there goes a common Saying among the People That it is equally dangerous to deal with a Fryar by Night as with a Fidalgo by Day The Reason usually given for it is That in a Night-Scuffle the Fryar will be sure to stand as stoutly to it because he is not known as a Fidalgo wou'd in the Day-time because he is But now all things are still and quiet the Clatterings of Swords and Targets which formerly used to be ever and anon disturbing Peoples Rest are seldom heard except it be on such Nights when People of all Sorts and Sexes are let loose to visit the Churches but those are Times of Indulgence and they take a Liberty then to commit all
manner of Wickedness The Fidalgo's a Title common to such as are of Noble Families who us'd to look upon themselves as above the Law or beyond its reach are now in a great measure reduc'd to order Justice has its Course among them as well as the meanest Subjects Elderly People represent them as a sort of petty Tyrants exercising with great Barbarity a kind of Despotick Power over the Lives and all that belong'd to those about them But if there were any Grounds for such a Character this King's Government can never sufficiently be commended who hath wrought so great a Reformation among them that there may be found at this Day as Noble Instances of Humanity and Courtesie in Portugal as in any part of Europe Three times a Week the King gives Audience to his Subjects Tuesdays and Thursdays to all in general that desire it Saturdays to his Nobility and Officers of State in particular And this is the Morning's-work of each Day On the Days of general Audience the meanest Subject may have free Access to the King whether it be to acquaint him of their Grievances to beg his Charity or Requerer Serviços as they call it that is to petition for a Pension on pretence of Service and Service is pretended not only by those that have done any thing for the Advantage of the Publick or the Crown but likewise by such as have been for any time in Employment which they think entitles them to a Pension or a better Place His Majesty hears all with great Attention and Patience will let the Petitioner perceive he understands his Case and will remember him when he comes again and few part from his Presence dissatisfied The currant Money of this Kingdom was so miserably clipt that it was diminished to near half the Value as appears by an Order made by the Government That no Pieces of Eight should pass that weighed less than four Rials and a half But now it is all reduc'd to a just Standard to which end it being found necessary to Re-coin all the Money both Gold and Silver the King for the Ease of the poorer sort took the Loss of the Silver upon himself The Publick Revenues are managed to the best Advantage The Accounts which were formerly all in Confusion are said to be reduc'd into an exact Order and kept with great Regularity The Customs and Imposts are let out to Farm to Merchants the Contracter is he that will bid most Native or Foreigner The King it seems thinking that Merchants who know best how to deal with one another can afford to give him more than he could make of them himself and his Customs are said to be much improv'd by this Method For the King takes Care to make his Advantage of the Farmer 's Diligence The Contract never exceeds the Term of Three Years which expir'd an exact Account is taken from the Entries in the Custom-House of the Gains that have been made and regard had thereto at the next Auction and the Price through the Emulation of the Bidders is often rais'd much higher than was look'd for A Course not unlike this is taken when the King has occasion to furnish his Magazines with Stores or wants any Foreign Commodities of which Publick Notice is given to the Merchants and the Bargain is made with him that will take care to procure them at the lowest Rate The King is so punctual and speedy in his Payments that the Merchants are encouraged to deal with him for little Profit so that they are never wanting to under-bid each other And I have been told that sometimes the King has generously put a stop to them when in the Heat of Contention they have been descending below a just Price His Majesty it seems thinking it uncoming him to take Advantage at other Mens Follies By this means he has his Stores always at the best hand and no Under-Officers being employ'd in buying them in he never suffers by their Knavery nor can he be cheated by the Merchant who delivers them into his Magazines for it is always a Condition in the Bargain That a fair Trial shall be made of the Goods and no more paid for than will bear the Proof The Revenues of the Kingdom are so very great that did they all come into the King's Hands he would be one of the richest Princes in Europe as will appear by the following Chapter But so many Assignments are made upon almost every Branch of them the King 's private Patrimony as Duke of Bragança not excepted so many Pensions paid to particular Persons and Families that they seem almost wholly diverted from the Publick Treasury This extravagant Alienation of the Revenues was set on foot 't is thought by the Spanish Kings and that in prosecution of their Design to reduce Portugal into the form of a Province they supposing that if the Rents of the Crown were dissipated Portugal could no longer subsist as an independant Kingdom as not having wherewithal to support the Government or encourage any great Men to head them in case the People were dispos'd to a Revolt while the Royal Revenues being divided among private Families might oblige all that shar'd in the Spoils to adhere to the Castilian Interest It hath been often laid to the Charge of the Three Philips That they did their utmost to weaken the Crown of Portugal while they had it in possession they are accus'd of little less than consenting to the Hollanders seizing upon the Portuguese Conquests in the East and West-Indies and all in pursuance of that Maxim of Philip the Second That it is much better to be Master of a ruin'd and quiet Kingdom than one that is rich powerful and turbulent John the Fourth this King's Father when from Duke of Bragança he was made King of Portugal by the Nobility and People thought fit to accept of the Crown with all its Incumbrances and it was not for his Interest to make himself so many Enemies as must have been impoverish'd had he re-united the alienated Revenues to the Crown So that he was fain to maintain his Government and carry on the War by extraordinary Imposts upon the People these have been since increas'd and the Assignments multiply'd And this King tho' perhaps there never was a more frugal Prince in his Domestick Management for they say he knows what every part of his wearing Apparel costs him and will strive as hard as the poorest Customer to beat down the Price yet by giving way to his generous Inclinations to do good to others he has so impoverish'd himself that he is hard put to it to bear the Charges of the Government which as 't is thought could scarce subsist were any other but himself at the Helm especially at this Juncture when he is at such extraordinary Expences in making new Levies and equipping out his Fleet. The People are already so charg'd with Imposts that nothing further can be expected from them For tho' they have had great
Advantages by a free Trade during the late War yet the Money being convey'd out of the Kingdom by such ways as shall be mention'd in another place their Condition is not much mended thereby That this is the present Case of the Kingdom will appear from two Instances of a very fresh Date The King is as all the World knows at this time putting his Kingdom in a Posture of Defence to this end among other things it was thought convenient to secure St. Julian's Castle which stands upon the Bar of the Tagus and guards the Entrance into the River and is in effect the main Bulwark of Lisbon or rather the Key to the whole Kingdom It is strongly built after the Modern Way and well fortified with Guns but hath this Disadvantage that it may be commanded on one side from a Rising Ground that is near it It was therefore debated in Council Whether it were cheapest to level that Ground or to raise a small Fort upon it But after the Place had been survey'd it was at last concluded That both Ways were too chargeable either of them requiring a greater Expence than the State could well bear and so neither way was taken From this Instance which came from a good Hand it appears that the Exchequer must run very low at this time And that the People can afford but small Supplies will appear from hence The King to enable himself to augment and maintain his Army summon'd the Cortes or Parliament to meet at Lisbon the First of December 97 All that he demanded of them was an Additional Revenue of 600000 Crowns a Crown in Portugal is scarce worth Half a Crown English The Parliament considering the Occasion could not but acknowledge the Request to be reasonable but then how to raise the Money was a matter of insuperable difficulty In short they sat down as hath been said the First of December 97 and were sitting in July 98 and were considering all the while of Ways and Means and had made no Progress in the Affair but at last they referr'd it to the King to lay the Tax as he should judge convenient For their parts tho' none could be insensible of the King 's great want of a Supply yet they found the People so burden'd already that they knew not how to lay on them any further Weight without danger of their sinking under it The King as hath been reported since has laid the Tax upon Tobacco which the Merchant thinks is the ready way to destroy that Trade and consequently the best and clearest part of the Revenue The most considerable Transactions of this Reign will fall under some of the following Heads and therefore I have nothing further to add in this Chapter but that the King of Portugal is an Absolute Prince having the Legislative as well as the Executive Power in his hands For the Royal Edicts have the Force of Laws and a Collection of these is much the same thing there as our Satute-Book is in England when these fail the Civil Law takes place There are indeed certain Constitutions chiefly relating to the Succession called the Laws of Lamego made by the Cortes at the first Institution of the Government which cannot be dispens'd with but by Consent of the Three Estates It belongs likewise to the Cortes to lay Taxes upon the People tho' certain Imposts that are now upon Flesh and Wine and were given for a limited time have been continued by the King's Authority and the Pope's together the manner in which this was done shall be told in the following Chapter Of the Publick Revenues and the Forces of the Crown by Land and Sea BEfore I speak of the Revenues c. it is requisite to give an Account of the Money currant in this Kingdom All considerable Sums are here reckoned by Millreis i. e. Thousand of Reis sometimes by Crusado's or Crowns which consist of 400 Reis a piece Tho' great Payments are commonly made in Spanish Pieces of Eight which are reckon'd at 750 Reis There is no such Piece as a Millrei nor indeed a Crown at present for that which was last coyn'd for a Crown-piece is now rais'd to 480 Reis Lesser Coyns in Silver are a Teston 100 Reis a half Teston 50 Reis a Vintain 20 Reis The Gold Coyn called the Moeda de Ouro contains 4800 Reis of which there are likewise Half and Quarter-pieces The Portuguese Money according to the intrinsick Value answers to our English Money thus  s. d. q. A Millrei i. e. 1000 Reis to 05 10 00 A Crown 400 Reis 02 04 00 A Teston 100 Reis 00 07 00 A half Teston 50 Reis 00 03 02 A Vintain 20 Reis 00 01 01 ⅗ The Moeda of Gold 4800 Reis makes 28 s.    The Revenues arise chiefly from Customs Taxes Monopolies Rents belonging to the Orders of Knighthood and Moneys raised purely by the Pope's Bulls The Customs paid here are excessively great all Foreign Commodities excepting some few sorts of small Bulk and easie Conveyance pay no less than 23 per Cent 20 for the ordinary Custom and 3 for a certain Duty call'd the Consulado which last is likewise paid for all Goods exported whether by Natives or Foreigners They are indeed set at a favourable Valuation except Fish from Newfoundland which pays 22 per Cent in Specie Goods brought hither in order only to be transported to other Countries pay 4 per Cent. But it is believed that nothing of all this comes to the King or indeed to the Publick the Consulado excepted which is appropriated to the building of Ships and buying in of Stores The Taxes are 7 Reis per Pound upon all Flesh brought into the Market and as much per Canada upon Wine sold in by Retail few People here keep any in their Houses A Canada holds something less than Three Pints Fresh Fish which is caught here in great abundance in the River and on the Sea-Coasts and is the best part of the Peoples Food pays no less than 47 per Cent and that exacted with great Rigor and paid commonly in Specie At the Sale of Lands Houses Cattle of all sorts and indeed of almost every thing that is known to be bought and sold 10 per Cent of the Price goes to the King A great part of these Taxes were granted by the Three Estates in Cortes to King John the Fourth in 1641 and at other times towards the Charges of the War with Spain but after the Peace was made the Cortes in the Year 1674 rais'd them to what they are at present by giving the Prince a Supply of a Million of Crowns per Annum one half whereof was to be rais'd by an Additional Impost upon Flesh and Wine But this was then given only for Six Years yet it hath been paid ever since The Court in the Year 1675 thought convenient to procure the Pope's Consent to this last Impost that the Clergy might have leave to pay their share because as it
was given for a Reason the last Lateran Council and other Canons of their Church had made it unlawful for any Prince to receive Tribute from the Clergy without the Pope's leave even tho' it were voluntarily offer'd by themselves as this had been by the Ecclesiastical as well as the two other Estates in Cortes And since that time at the end of every Sixth Year a Breve hath been procured from Rome for continuing the Taxes for Six Years longer therein the Pope impowers the Nuncio residing at Lisbon to use his Apostolical Authority in obliging the Clergy to pay them This Breve is of course published in Portugal and tho' it chiefly regards the Clergy yet it is not unlikely but it may be design'd to induce the People likewise to pay their Taxes quietly without putting the King and the Three Estates of the Realm to the trouble of meeting together in Cortes For it must needs be a great Argument among them that the thing is but just and reasonable since the Holy Father consents to and approves of it and it weighs much with them no doubt when they consider why his Holiness grants the Breve which as 't is declared in the Narrative of it is The Exchequers being exhausted by the vast Expences that the Crown hath been continually at for the maintenance and propagation of the Catholick Faith in the Dominions abroad especially in Brazil and the East-Indies where the Dutch Hereticks and other Infidels were endeavouring to extirpate it Which Reason is said to continue still or rather to become more strongly urgent every time there is occasion for a new Breve The Pope gives Commission to his Nuncio to enquire into the Truth of this and other Allegations as that the Three Estates the Clergy more especially have given their Consent the Nuncio cites the King's Procurator before him and puts him upon the Proof He shews that the Nobility and People have agreed to the continuance of the Taxes because they still pay them and that the whole Body of the Clergy are likewise willing because the Bishops have given their Consent which as he pretends to prove withal comprehends that of all the rest But it does not appear how he makes good the Main Point viz. The Danger that the Catholick Faith is in from the Dutch Hereticks and other Infidels As for the Dutch they renew'd their Peace with Portugal in the Year 1669 and have kept it ever since However the Nuncio is entirely satisfied with the Proofs whatever they be and thereupon gives order for the Execution of the Breve requiring Obedience thereto from all Persons Secular as well as Ecclesiastical upon pain of the greater Excommunication and 500 Crowns applicable to the Reverend Chamber Apostolick as the Words of the Order run Under the Title of Monopolies we may reduce the other part of the Supply granted at the same time which was an Impost upon Tobacco made into Snuff by which 500000 Crowns per Annum were design'd to be rais'd In order to make this Sum the King had the whole Trade of Snuff put into his own Hands and it became almost as great a Crime in Portugal for any to Make Snuff for themselves as 't is with us in England to Coin Money tho' People almost universally take it here This Monopoly was let out to Farm to the Duke of Cadaval the principal Person in the Kingdom next His Majesty and it was so managed that 't is said the King receiv'd much more than double the Value of what it was given for The Tobacco as it come from Brazil was bought up for the King at a Teston and half or less per Pound and sold out in Snuff for 16 or 20 and sometimes more the best and 14 the more ordinary sort But 't is said that this Trade is now laid aside and an Equivalent with the Advantage of 600 000 tax'd upon Tobacco in Rolls The King hath likewise in his Hands a great part of the Trade from Foreign Plantations as that of Elephants Teeth from Africa of Wood from Brazil Besides great Duties upon Sugar and of all Goods coming from the East-Indies This last Trade is indeed but of little worth for he hath several times offered to make it over to a Company of Merchants but could never get a sufficient Number of Subscribers The King is likewise Grand Master of the Orders of Knighthood in his Kingdom and has the disposal of all the Commenda's belonging to them viz. of the Order of Christ which in Portugal succeeded to that of the Knights-Templers and is still in possession of their Lands and hath 454 Commenda's belonging to it 2dly The Order of St. Jago which hath 60 Commenda's and those of considerable Profit 3dly Of Avis which hath 43 and these esteem'd very rich Besides the King hath the disposal of the Commenda's in his Kingdom that belong to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem commonly called the Knights of Malta the chief of which viz. the Priory of Crato accounted one of the richest in the World is at present bestowed upon Dom Francisco the King 's Second Son I reckon these among the King's Revenues because they are put to the same use as the greatest part by much of his other Incomes are viz. given away in Pensions or Rewards for Services But the Kings of Portugal have for this last Century made use of one extraordinary way to raise Money which among all Ways and Means perhaps hath never been thought of by any other Temporal Prince the Kings of Spain excepted who first brought it up in this Kingdom and this is by selling Indulgences to the People for the Pardon of their Sins and the Deliverance of their own or their Relations Souls out of Purgatory The Popes having been for some time shamed out of this Trade by the Noise that Luther made in the World the Kings of Spain thought fit to take it up and have made more Money of it with less Scandal To this end Philip the Second after he had got Possession of the Crown of Portugal obtained Bulls of Pope Gregory the 14th in the Year 1591 which since that time have been publish'd almost every Year in Portugal And the Profits arising from them are become a part of the Standing Revenues of the Crown And indeed they may well be accounted a very considerable part of them The Substance of these three Bulls are all contain'd in one which carries for Title The Bull of the Holy Croisade But they are retailed out to the People under the Names of The Bull for the Living The Bull of Composition And The Bull for the Dead They have their general Name from the Croisade as if they were granted for carrying on the Holy War and were we to judge of the Levies I mean of Money that are here made one would think that War was still prosecuted with as great Vigour as it was 500 Years ago It 's true indeed that the Kings of Portugal even
to talk of calling to account such as were possest of any Lands belonging to former Queens and more than this to interpose in Affairs of State and Matters of Government giving the Ministers to understand that she expected to know how things went and she made her self to be obey'd so far that nothing of Moment was transacted in the King's Council but Her Majesty was consulted about it Not content with all this she seemed to have a further Aim still and to design no less than a Total Change of the Ministry in order to engross the whole Power to her self or impart it to such as she should engage in her Interests The Great Men of the Kingdom were at this time divided into Two Irreconcileable Parties neither of which could be safe but by a Total Overthrow of the other the one consisting of those that had been in the Government in the late Queen Mother's time or had done their utmost to continue her Regency and were at this time wholly broken driven from Court or deprived of their Charges and the Principal of them Banish'd into several remote parts of the Kingdom The other was of them that were then in the Ministry or had been instrumental in placing King Alfonso on the Throne in opposition to the Queen his Mother and obliging her to retire into a Monastery The new Queen presently after her Arrival publickly declar'd for the vanquish'd Party at least did that which in effect was the same thing for she openly sollicited the return of the Duke of Cadaval and his re-establishment at Court This Duke was the chief Person of the whole Party and had shewn himself the most active of them all in the Queen Mothers Service and thereby had drawn upon himself the largest share of the King's Displeasure Besides the Conde de Castelmelhor who was then the Prime Minister and the Principal Man next the King at Court had reason to look upon the Duke as his most formidable Antagonist and to apprehend his Return as a Step towards the Ruine of himself and his whole Party especially if it were obtained by the Queens Sollicitation which would have engaged that Great Man to her Service and it might prove impossible for him to hold out against their united Interests There had that passed between the Duke and the Conde that the Court could not well hold them both as it cannot to this day for they are both still alive the Duke is now in the Ministry and for that reason some give it for the only reason the Court for this last Reign hath remain'd shut to the Conde But to put things in their due light I find it will be necessary to look back to the time of the late Queens Regency and give a brief account of some former Transactions particularly those wherein either of these two great Men were concern'd Donna Luisa Francisca de Gusman who by her Courage had animated Duke John of Bragança her Husband to take upon him the Crown which she is said to have preserved likewise upon his Head by her Counsels was left by that King at his Death which happened the Sixth of November 1656 Regent of the Kingdom and Tutress or Guardian to the Princes their Children but her Regency was not like to continue long should the Young King her Son be reckoned to be of Age at the usual time of Majority it having been customary for Kings of this as well as of other Nations to be declared Majors at Fourteen and Dom Alfonso was near the end of his Thirteenth Year at the King his Father's Death for he was born the 21st of August 1643 so that should former Presidents be observed in the present Case she was like in a short time to be forced to let go the Power out of her hands and see a Kingdom which she had contributed so much to procure and preserve for the Family committed to the discretion of a Child or entrusted by him to she knew not whom for he once declared Major would be at liberty to chuse his own Ministers The best-established Governments in such a case must necessarily be exposed to many great Inconveniencies but that of Portugal which was then new and unsettled and struggling as it were for life in a War with the Spanish Monarchy would be in danger of utter Ruine For these considerations as we may well suppose the Queen resolv'd to prolong her Regency for some Years beyond the ordinary time to this end she conferred all Offices of Trust upon Creatures of her own or such as she could conside in and took such ways to engage those in Power as should make them more apprehensive of a Change than her self and in effect she so manag'd Matters as to remain possest of the Government till the King was within a Month of Nineteen and had not the Conde de Castelmelhor by an unexpected Surprize broken all her Measures she might in all likelihood have kept it in her hands as long as she pleas'd and her Enemies used to say That by her good will she had never parted with it while she lived And in truth her Conduct in regard to the King her Son may have given some colour to this Aspersion the Education of that Prince in his tender Age was such as has been now described It s true the Queen Mother took notice with what Scandalous Companions he associated himself and made grievous complaints of it but still they had access to him even while he was of those Years when one would think his Governours should be responsible for his Carriage As the King grew bigger he became guilty of such Excesses as might be expected from a Youth so Bred and left to his own Liberty without a Curb He took great pleasure in walking the Streets a Nights in Company of his Braves to haunt the Houses of leud Women and sometimes he would order the Prostitutes to be brought to him to the Palace he is reported likewise to have committed several Outrages upon those he met with in his Night-Walks nor did he wholly abstain from those Pranks in the Day-time several Instances of this nature are reckoned up by those that have made a strict enquiry into his Faults but I do not find that he ever did any great mischief He often endangered his Person indeed and began to loose himself much in the Peoples Opinion The Queen Mother made loud Complaints of these disorders but then she took such a course as might make her Enemies suspect she desired that the People rather than her Son might become sensible of his Faults she exposing them in as Publick Manner as was possible in order as some imagine to make her self thought more Necessary and him less capable of the Government One time she contriv'd it so that all the Counsellors of State should wait upon him in a Body and let him understand how his Person and the Kingdom were in danger by the Courses he took The young Duke of Cadaval
at this time or all they had been acting hitherto was like to end in their own ruine The King had still his trusty Officers with the Three Regiments at Command who were they to receive Orders from Antonio de Sousa might after all enable him to call them to account As for the Mob this Day 's Transaction shew'd that they were not much to be depended on their Rage dying away as it did when the Business came just to a Crisis even whilst all those horrid Stories that had been spread amongst them with so much Indrustry were fresh upon their Minds and shou'd they now disperse when nothing had been done the same Artifice was not like to serve again they might Cool and come to themselves and possibly in time be entirely disabus'd and then it wou'd be a hard matter to bring them together when there shou'd be further occasion for them Such and the like considerations went no doubt a great way to fix them in the Resolution they then took which was to keep Possession of the Palace 'till they had gain'd the Point that had been the Pretence of their coming thither which was the Removal of Antonio de Sousa this they knew the King wou'd never content to He was by this time sensible of his Error in parting so easily as he did with the Conde and fully resolv'd to keep Antonio de Sousa near him who was now the only support he had left He had shewn in the Morning how great a Value he had for the Man when thinking he was kill'd he cou'd not forbear to repeat his Meanaces to the Company that came to him in his Chamber as well attended as they were that he wou'd see them severely punish'd whoever they shou'd be that had a hand in the Murder And while he was passing to and fro through the Rabble he wou'd always have him by his side and not suffer him to be out of his sight as if he thought that whatever Mischief was done to the Secretary was much the same as if it had befall'n his own Person But the Faction on the other side were satisfi'd that they cou'd never be safe whilst this Man was suffer'd to be at Court and therefore it was concluded amongst them to keep the Infante in the Palace 'till the Secretary was gone they making him declare that now he was there he wou'd never stir 'till he had effected the Business he come about and Orders were given that Necessaries shou'd be got ready for his Lodging The Secretary being given to understand that in case he remain'd there that Night he was like to sleep his last This was the best Course they could take to hinder the Rabble from dispersing who either in expectation of some great Mischief to ensue or for fear lest the Infante's Person should be in danger would be sure to keep about the Palace In effect this Resolution did their Business and ruin'd the King For the Secretary tho' he was not to be frightned with either Threats or Dangers while there was any hopes left of his being serviceable to his distressed Master as he shew'd by his embarking himself in an almost desperate Cause yet seeing now that should he persist any longer all he could do was to get himself murdered which probably would but make the Faction the more desperate and hasten their Design upon the King he promis'd to be gone as soon as 't was dark it not being safe for him to appear in the Street before and two Persons of Quality undertaking that he should keep his Word the Infante return'd in Triumph to his own Palace attended as before The next Morning the King finding the Secretary gone as also Manoel Antunes who had made the same Conditions for himself sends all about to look for them ordering all the Convents to be search'd Antunes was found in Alemtejo but the Infante took care he should come no more to Court The Infante before this Business had been very seldom at Court ever since the Conde's departure the Queen as it is like afraid of a Reconciliation between the two Brothers which would defeat her Designs sending him word That it would be dangerous for him to appear there and now when all were gone that they had any Pretence of Complaint against he had the same Messages sent to him as before which kept him still at a distance from the King who as I have been assured by one that had good Reason to know how things pass'd at Court in those Days had during all these Broils some Remains of Love or Tenderness rather for his Brother believing that the young Prince was only made the Instrument of other Peoples Malice This I confess seem'd to me somewhat unlikely considering what had past between them 'till the same Person told me That Alfonso afterwards when a Prisoner hearing the Noise of the Guns and Ringing of Bells for the Infante's Marriage with the Queen when he was told the Cause of this Joy instead of expressing his Resentments of his own hard Usage fell a lamenting the Misfortunes of his poor Brother Pedro Who as he said would in a short time have enough of the French Woman and as much cause as himself to repent that he ever had any thing to do with her But to return Alfonso having now none near him that he could advise with being himself young and unacquainted with Business was for the short time that remain'd of his Reign on all occasions at a loss how to comport himself the Conde for some time after his removal us'd to be ever and anon sending him Instructions but he had now none with him to carry on the Correspondence and therefore was wholly to seek what Measures he should take sometimes he would refuse to be present at the Council as when he was there to confirm their Decrees The Chamber of Lisbon was set on to Petition him for calling the Cortes and he being sensible that this was in order to lay him aside sometimes would refuse to hear them or when they were admitted to return them any Answer Some there were and those perhaps none of his greatest Enemies for having him to allow the Queen and the Infante a Joint-share with him in the Government but he would hear no Talk of it The Council at last after many Denials obtain'd his Consent for calling the Cortes but when they had got the Writs ready they could not prevail with him to sign them Whether he shew'd so much Irresolution and Inconstancy out of Weakness or Design is uncertain his Enemies would have the World believe it proceeded from the former and had the Barbarity to publish several weak things which they report him to have said during the time of these Broils when perhaps a wiser Man in his Circumstances might have found himself at his Wit's-end But it appear'd that he was preparing for an Escape into Alemtejo and that his Horses as also several Barks to transport them over the River
to have the Name settled upon you by a Publick Deed which you were before possess'd of and lawfully entitled to by Right of Prescription and that not without Consent of its former Owner But your Majesty contents not your self with the Glory of so illustrious a Name you equal it by the Resemblance and Condignity of your Actions witness the Image of Xavier which among the rest all Sacred ones like the Sun among the Planets guilds and enamels your Bracelets for not satisfied to have him engraven in your Heart in imitation of a Spouse you have his Impression in your Arm where it is as a Signature or Love-mark or as an indelible Character whence is deriv'd a Coelestial and Superiour Force into all your Majesty's Actions What shall I say to the great variety and multiplicity of Honours that your Majesty bestows on Xavier Your Love never shews it self so ingenious as in contriving for him some new Methods of Veneration The vast distance of Sea and Land will not permit that you present your self as a Royal Pilgrim at his Sepulcher tho' your Heart is so much set upon it that you would do it if 't were possible were it with the Peril of your Life But your Royal Bounty has reach'd where your Person cannot come your Majesty having sent your Xavier as a Token of your Love a most costly Suit of Sacerdotal Vestments wherewith he being still alive after Death may cloath himself in such a glorious manner as becomes one that triumphs over Mortality Sacerdotal Vestments I say as to one that is free from Corruption white as to a Confessor embroidered with Red as to a Martyr of Love and that there should not want Symbols of your Fervour and pure Affection shining with the Fire of Gold and Snow of Pearls I believe Xavier on that Day when dress'd up in all his Finery shew'd himself to the whole Court of Heaven telling every Saint with a holy Vanity His me vestibus Cliens mea Lusitaniae Regina contexit Nor were you content to cloath your Saint in divers Colours but you wore your self the Colours of your Saint For we know that you made a Vow That for the space of a Year you would wear no Silks of any other Colour but that wherewith the Sun of the East Xavier while he suffer'd the Eclipse of a mortal Body mortified and conceal'd the Rays of his Vertue to accommodate himself to the Miseries of this Life only you would admit a mixture of While as a Signal of the Virginal Soul of Xavier and your Majesty Let Lisbon reckon up if it can the holy Pilgrimages by which your Majesty in the Course and Return of the Year humbly and devoutly venerates the Temples and Altars of your Saint to adorn whose Image you consâ—orate all your Jewels offering the best Eastern Spoils to the Apostle of the East the Jewels themselves having the advantage to be plac'd and dispos'd by the Hands of your Royal Majesty I pass by the ten Fridays which your Majesty's Devotion dedicates every Year to Xavier And what shall I say of that most tender and most amorous Affection which all discover in your Majesty every time you speak of Xavier All know that have the Sovereign Favour to be admitted to your more intimate Conversation how often and with what sweetness and dexterity you have hook'd in the Discourse of your Xavier at the naming of Him not only your Tongue by your Speech but your Face by the Colour in your Cheeks your Eyes by their Sparkling your Breast by its Commotion your Heart by its Leaping speak with so much warmth that they seem to lay your Majesty open to the Eyes as well as to the Ears of them that hear whom by an admirable Simpathy and reciprocal Communication of Affections you often melt into copious Tears At one of those Conferences wherein two Religious bore a part Xavier being of course the Subject your Majesty just having done Reading the prodigious Cure that a few Years ago was wrought in a moment by the Hand of this Wonder-worker of the East upon Anna Maria Zambrina a Roman Matron your Majesty full of interiour Delight and Consolation being desirous to communicate the Matter began the Story again and read it over from beginning to end tho' it took up a full Hour and that not only without being cloy'd and tired but without so much as pausing unless it was when your Majesty from time to time was interrupted by your amorous Sighs and by these you enkindled the like Flame in your Hearers insomuch that they could scarce refrain from Weeping I believe that this was the first time that the Humble Xavier was pleas'd with his own Praises and that he was pleas'd with them now because they came from the Mouth of your Majesty Your Majesty like a most pious Mother hath by the imposition of so beloved a Name instilled the same Love into each of your Sons our most Serene Princes who both of them imitate you so happily therein that scarce any Voice came from them before they could Lisp out their Mothers Saint meaning Xavier and even then they could distinguish his Image from among the rest accustoming themselves to the Veneration of it by a thousand innocent Kisses I pass by the Concern of the rest of your House and Family who find that their Emulation and Imitatioc of this your Royal Piety is the only way to please their Mistress and gain her Favour and indeed it is commonly reported about the Court and City that in order to succeed in any Business with Your Majesty there is no Intercessor like Xavier A love so great could not well be contained in one City It has already pass'd the Tagus your Majesty having chosen Beja for the Theatre of your Liberality where mov'd partly by your Zeal partly by the pious desires of the Inhabitants you have rais'd a magnificent House to the Honour of your Saint built and endow'd at your own Charges But why should I say that one City is too narrow for your Love to Xavier when it cannot be confin'd within the limits of a whole Kingdom What Court is there among the greatest of Christendom wherein your Majesty I speak your own Words hath not introduc'd the sweet and powerful Patronage of this lovely Saint Witness Vienna in Austria Madrid in Spain Warsaw in Poland Parma in Italy and lastly all Germany a Country that 's proud that it can boast of your Majesty's Cradle and is enrich'd with the numerous Offspring of your most Serene House in all which places your Majesty hath enkindled the Love of Xavier into such a Flame that few Letters come from thence but are full of his Encomiums written by such as gratefully recount the Favours received from his beneficent Hand Your Majesty is the first by your own Confession that is able and bound after repeated Tryals to bear witness that Xavier's Love for your Majesty is no less than your Majesties Love for
Mistress she was and proves her to have been a most Endearing Wife and a Tender Mother Of the Queen Dowager of England HER Majesty being now to the great Regret of our Nation become a most considerable Part of the Portuguese Court this Account wou'd appear but lame and be more defective than it is should I forbear to mention her I have great Reason to believe that my Country-men wou'd think the Omission unpardonable finding them so very inquisitive as they are concerning her the first Question they put to such as come from Portugal and to which Satisfaction is most earnestly desired being commonly concerning their Queen-Dowager But her Majesty's Character is so well known to the World already that I shall not attempt it here To tell of her most exemplary Piety wou'd be no News in any part of Europe much less in England and it is needless to say that it is now the most distinguishing part of her Character For it was so while she Reign'd in one of the first Courts of Christendom and none will suppose her Majesty to be alter'd in this respect now in the time of her Retirement It did then as it does still give forth so bright a Lustre as to out-shine by far all the rest of her great Perfections which yet as those who are competent Judges and have the Honour to be near her Person affirm are such as would be highly admired in any other Person But tho' her Majesty be her self the same her outward Circumstances are somewhat alter'd since her leaving England her Court is lessen'd almost to a private Family those few Persons that waited on her from hence being for the most part either dismiss'd with their Salaries continued to them or excus'd their Attendance there is now no Noise nor Ostentation of Grandeur about her House but all things are quiet and still except it be on Days of Ceremony when Persons of Quality Will be coming to express the great Veneration they have for her then indeed her Court is as great and full as the Nobility of the Country can make it At all other times she convinces the World that the Formalities of Pomp and State are not inseparable from Majesty and that true Greatness instead of being set off by such Helps appears to the best Advantage without them But the Queen had doubtless a Nobler End still in getting Rid of those Incumbrances there being great cause to believe that it has been all along the chief Desire of her Heart to be at Ease and Liberty that nothing might divert her from enjoying her self as she now does at her Devotions Some speak of it as a considerable Alteration about her Majesty that the Jesuits are become her Directors whereas before she conferr'd that Trust on those of the Franciscan Order But her Majesty is not of a Character to be used by those Fathers as others may have been 'T is said indeed that they have tasted of her Liberality in a most plentiful manner but as great as their Profits are the Credit they have got by being favour'd by so discerning a Princess is certainly much greater since she cannot be suppos'd to have any Worldly Designs to employ them in For my part I take this Honour to be the greatest that ever was conferr'd on the Society and that by this mention of it I have more than made Amends for any thing I have said or may say to their Disadvantage Of the Late INFANTA DOna Isabel Luisa Infanta of Portugal was born the Sixth of January 1669 sworn Princess or Heiress to the Crown in 1680 died the Twenty-first of October 1690. This Princess was accounted one of the most Beautiful and Accomplish'd Persons of her Sex and Rank in Christendom and that not only by the Portugueses who admired her almost to Adoration but by more impartial Strangers such especially as bore a Publick Character who had frequent Opportunities to satisfie themselves that the favourable Esteem the World had for her was not without ground For which Reason and for the Prospect there was of her succeeding to the Crown 'till after the King's Second Marriage she was sought for in Marriage by most of the Princes and among the rest by some of the most considerable Monarchs in Europe as indeed there is none so great but might have accounted it a very advantageous Match The first that pretended to this Princess at least with any success was Victor Amedee the present Duke of Savoy Cousin-German to the Infanta Madame Royale his Mother Marie Jeane Baptist de Savoie Princess of Nemours being Sister to the Queen of Portugal His Pretensions succeeded so well that in the Year 1680 a Marriage was treated and soon agreed upon and nothing seem'd wanting to the final Conclusion but the coming of the Duke to Lisbon according to Agreement It will not be amiss to give what Account I can of this Match as how it came on and was unexpectedly broke off it being no inconsiderable Part of the History of this Age. It may easily be supposed that it was at first contrived between the two Mothers for howsoever it might have proved to others it afforded a very advantageous Prospect to each of them Madame Royale had been left sole Regent of Savoy during her Son's Minority by her Husband Charles Emanuel at his Death in 1675 But the young Duke entring at this time upon his 15th Year had a little before been declared Major and therefore should he have taken upon himself the Government her Authority was like to suffer no small diminution nor was there any so likely an Expedient to continue the Power in her Hands as the Duke's being sent away into Portugal the Desire of Rule together with the Ambition of becoming Mother of a King might make this Princess give a listning Ear to her Sister's Proposals The Queen of Portugal for her part as she had a great hand in the setting up of his present Majesty so she had a great share with him in the Government but her Power was not like to continue so great should a strange Prince be admitted into Court especially in case any thing should befal the King but by this Marriage between her Nephew and her Daughter she secured her Authority and took the best Measures to establish it both for the present and against the time to come These may be supposed to have been sufficient Inducements on both sides for the two Princesses to desire a Match between their Children and considering the great Power that each of them were possess'd of in their respective Dominions one would think there was no need of the Intervention of any others to bring the same about But some will needs bring the French in upon the Stage for in this latter Age there must nothing of moment be done in any Court of Christendom but what they have a hand in The Match indeed was for the Interest of France and that seems to be a great Argument why
could desire or wish for insomuch that the Messineses in our days did not think themselves more happy in the French Friendship at the first Engagement than the Portugueses did at that time A perpetual Peace was presently concluded between the two Crowns each obliging himself to distress the Common Enemy by all possible means to this end the King of France was to send twenty Men of War to join so many of the King of Portugals But I do not find that any great matter came of this Agreement unless it were the taking of Port Longone for the French in 1646. when they perswaded the Portugueses to join them with a Squadron of their Ships for it does not appear that the Portugueses for the space of almost twenty years received the least assistance from France but they were left to shift for themselves unexperienced as they were and unprovided of all Military Preparations They were all that time exposed to the first fury of the Spaniards at their own home while in all other Parts of their Dominions the French were possessing themselves of their Frontier Towns 'T is true the Portugueses were encouraged all along with very large Promises of intended succours but these Promises were turn'd into Excuses as often as they had occasion to make tryal of what their Friends would do for them when they desired a supply of Money towards the Charges of the War the French were in want themselves when they asked for Auxiliary Troops the French on their Part would have Money for them and required such excessive Summs that the Portugueses though they were brought in their necessity to bid high could never come up to their Price Once indeed Mazarin was for sending them a far greater supply of Men than they desired for when the treaty of Munster was on foot while the French were thinking of making their Peace the Cardinal was very desirous to have the War transferred into Portugal and to discharge into that Kingdom the Soldiery that might prove burthensom to France But the Portugueses had no mind to have more French among them than they knew how to deal with and gave his Eminence to understand that they were afraid in case they should accept his offer of being more oppressed by their Friends than they were already by their Enemies so that after almost twenty years spent in Negotiations I do not find that there was so much as one Company of French Soldiers in the Portuguese Service Being thus left to themselves to bear the Brunt of the War they were still encouraged with hopes that their Allies whensoever they made Peace would not fail to procure very advantageous Terms for them who contributed so much as they did to divert and weaken the Enemy At their first making an Alliance with France they found the Ministers of that Court so extreamly obliging and ready to do more for them than they demanded that they did not then think it necessary to press them upon this Point But coming afterwards to perceive their Error they obtained a Promise of Louis the 13th to make with them a League offensive and Defensive and in order thereto a Treaty was entered upon with Richelieu but when they were in a fair way to bring it to a Conclusion that Cardinal died to their great Misfortune For he being of a far more generous Temper than his Successor they had doubtless received better Usage from him than they afterwards met with at the French Court. Mazarin indeed who succeded him in the Ministry was used on all occasions to go beyond him in fair Promises but to come very short in Performances He when the Portugueses proposed the League to him finding them already embarkt so far that there was no drawing back for them would by no means hearken to their Proposal telling them that the Alliance already made was sufficient to enter into new Engagements would argue a Distrust between the two Kings whereas his most Christian Majesty had so tender a concern for his Friends that nothing should be wanting on his part for their Preservation however he did not put them out of Hopes but that such a League as they desired should be concluded some time or other but when they afterwards grew urgent with him he fed them still with Promises or put them off with Delays and sometimes he would keep them in Play by amusing them with all the Formalities of a Treaty which went forwards or was broken off according to the several occasions he had for them While there was any Prospect of concluding a Peace or Truce between the French and Spaniards at Munster the Cardinal was thinking to dispose the French Troops in the manner now mentioned for which and other Reasons he judged it convenient to have Portugal excluded out of the Peace But the Portugueses at the same time were the more importunate with him to get themselves comprehended and to that end solicited with greater earnestness than ever the Ratification of the so long promised League and they pressed so very hard upon him that his Eminence was at a loss how to put by their importunities his Excuses were now spent or by being often used had lost their force and he was reduced to his last shifts for a new one The King of Portugal at last furnished him with one it was indeed such a one as a Body would think was very remote and odd however it served the Cardinal's Turn for that time There stands at Villa Viçosa the ancient seat of the Dukes of Bragança an old Lady of the Conception the most ancient of all the Ladies bearing that Title throughout Spain to whom the Dukes have all along had a most singular Devotion and as they thought not without Reason she having serv'd them in place of a Lar to the Family For as I remember I have been told by one that had reason to know the concerns of that House there have no considerable Alterations happened in the Family but this Image as it hath been believed since hath some way or other given them notice of it before hand King John after he had been pretty well settled in the Throne began to remember his old Penates and thought he could do no less in gratitude for the Favours received from this Lady than devote himself and all his Dominions to the Immaculate Conception declaring the Lady of that Appellation Protectress and Guardian of the Kingdom obliging himself and his Successors to pay her at her House at Villa Viçosa the annual Tribute of fifty Crowns of Gold as an acknowledgment of their Homage and withal according to the Custom of ancient Chivalry he made a solemn Vow to defend her Immaculate Conception with his Arms. Not content to do this himself he obliged the three Estates of the Kingdom assembled in Cortes to enter into an Association to the same purpose every Member engaging himself by Oath to hold and maintain that Important Article At the same time it was Declared
expected to be re-inforced with fresh Supplies in order to return and both secure and enlarge his Conquests The Portugueses began now to take Courage and perceiving Don John's design being press'd withal by repeated Orders from Court to Fight directed their March the same way in order to wheel about and get before him which they might easily do having secur'd their heavy Baggage at Estremos whereas the Spanish Army was much incumber'd with Carriages However the March of the Portuguese Army was so hasty that as the Conde da Ericeyra saith the English bore both that and the heat of the Sun with Impatience It s true the Toil which our Country Men under went at that time was very great but least any should gather from that Expression that they show'd any great Backwardness in the service I shall tell the occasion of it which his Lordship is pleas'd to omit The two Armies were at a small distance over against each other both making what hast they could to pass a River Tera before the Night that preceded the Battle of Amexial The English being in the Rear of the Portuguese Army I suppose because that was to become the Front when they got before the Enemy as Evening drew on the Alarm was taken in the Front that the Enemy was at hand but then the English were at a great distance from that part where the Action was like to be and without them it seems nothing was to be done Orders were thereupon given for them to Advance with all speed which they did as fast as 't was possible for them to run throughout the whole length of the Army Their eagerness to engage with the Enemy and their Pride no doubt to see so many thousands of Armed Men look upon them as their Guardians spurring them on beyond their strength insomuch that several of them thro' Heat and want of Breath fell by the Way and some were lost but by that time they came up the Alarm ceas'd and there was nothing for them to do as 't was well there was not for as some of the Officers have assur'd me the Men were so Faint and Weary as to become altogether unfit for Action such was the occasion of the Impatience taken Notice of by the Noble Author in his Account of this days March The next day the Spaniards by reason of their slow March occasion'd by their heavy Luggage put it in the Power of the Portugueses to oblige them to Fight As the Armies came in sight of each other the English Horse with a Party of Portugueses were commanded to dislodge several Battallions of the Enemy that had possessed themselves of a rising Ground which the Portugueses thought necessary for them in case they should come to a Battle They did not only do as they were Ordered by driving those Batallions from the Hill but they followed them into the Plain on the other side and found themselves insensibly ingag'd in a hot Skirmish with the whole Body of the Spanish Cavalry that was conducting the Carriages towards another Hill a League off where their Foot had already posted themselves but they were so surprised and disorder'd by this sudden Attack that had our Men been seconded as 't was expected they should be from the Army 't was thought they might have put them intirely to the Rout. Count Schomberg saw what Advantage was to be made of the Confusion he perceived them in and was marching towards them in all hast with such of the Cavalry as were near at hand but giving notice of what he was doing to the Conde de Villa Flor He in all hast sent positive Orders to command him back possibly for no other Reason but to keep up the Custom of Thwarting the Count who had hitherto been opposed in almost every Motion he made The Portuguese Commanders seeming resolv'd to spare the Enemy or give him any Advantage over them rather then suffer the Count to know more of their Trade then themselves which without Question was one Reason of their former Losses as the Deference they paid him afterwards was of the Success that follow'd The Count obey'd the General 's Orders though with some Reluctancy but it was not long before he took the liberty to act more of his own Head and thereby saved Portugal The Portugueses possessed themselves of the rising Ground from whence the Spaniards had been beaten they on the other side retir'd to two opposite Hills drawing up the Horse in a large Plain at the bottom of that on the right Hand and their Foot on the tops of both planting a Battery of four Guns on each Till three a Clock in the Afternoon they spent the time on both sides in Canonading each other and some light Skirmishes without doing any considerable Dammage on either side but by this time it was observ'd that the Spaniards fired more slowly then before and played but four Guns of Eight that they began with which made the Portugueses suspect them to be designing as they were to draw off and continue their March hereupon it was debated in a Council of War what was to be done in the Case They had positive Orders from the King and the Conde de Castlemelhor to Fight upon the first occasion which they had great cause to dispair of ever being able to do should Don John give them the slip at this time and be re-inforc'd with the Troops that were ready for him on the Frontiers On the other side the Spaniards had so placed themselves that there was no Fighting with them but at great Disadvantage their Horse which were double in Number to the Portuguese being six thousand to three had a large Plain before them and in regard to the Foot their Advantage was much greater yet not on account of their Number indeed for the Portugueses had Eleven Thousand to Ten of theirs But they had so Fortified themselves upon one of the Hills or rather Nature had done it for them that Don John thought he could not have found a better or more secure Place of Arms as he told the King his Father in a Letter after the Battle in which he compar'd it to the Castle of Milan adding that he thought himself so safe there that he was almost asham'd of his over great Precaution and that the Enemy in mounting it came scrambling up like so many Cats Como Gateando But the truth is his Highness did a little exaggerate the matter as two of the Officers who commanded the Party that did this Feat most ingenuously acknowledg'd and thereby undeceiv'd me of an Error who could think little otherwise of it then as a direct Precipice Each of them severally affirming that neither they nor their Men made use of their Hands in mounting it they said indeed that it was very steep but according to their Discription it could not be near so inaccessible as the Spaniards themselves have made it However these Difficulties weighed so much with the Portuguese Commanders
Persons excepted who came and Fought by our Country men the English as 't is said contributed no less to the Victory then they did in the former But an Account of these and some other very considerable Transactions would come with a much better Grace from a Portuguese then an English Hand to commemorate Benefits being an Office properly belonging to the Receivers wherefore it is to be hoped that some Person of that Generous Nation will save us the trouble If any such shall undertake to write a Supplement to Portugal Restaurado the Portuguese Mercury of July 1664. will furnish him with a Precedent in one particular Instance that 's not unworthy of his imitation which since it proves the Portugueses to be not altogether insensible of kindnesses done them and shows that they may be ready to make amends for such Omissions as we now complain of I shall here set down after having given a short Account of the occasion of it At the Siege of Valença when the Portuguese Batteries had made a Breach in the Wall wide enough for an Assault as 't was judg'd by the general Officers The Governor of the Place refusing to Capitulate but on such Conditions as the Besiegers thought unreasonable it was resolv'd to attempt the Town by Storm accordingly the two English Regiments were order'd to be in a readiness to mount the Breach they being to begin the Assault at the firing of 6 Guns all at once At the same time false Attacks were to be made in other Places to divert the Besieged and two hundred French with Scaling Ladders were to endeavour to enter the Town where they found least Resistance When the English were upon beginning the Assault amidst vast quantities of Artificial Fires which the Besieged who were upon their Guard poured down upon them These Fires happen'd to put the Fascines that were in the Besiegers Works below into a Flame which the Marquess de Merialva then General thought none so fit to extinguish as those that were to make the Diversion and therefore gave Command that the 200 French should lay aside their scaling Ladders and together with the rest that were to make the false Attacks be employed in quenching the Fire This being done there was no body to renew their former Orders the Marquess indeed had call'd them off from what they were about but 't was pretended that to command them on again was none of his Business but Count Scomberg's against whom the Marquess at that time had a great Pegue the Count was then taken up in giving necessary Directions for the Assault in the mean time the Signal was given the English mounted the Breach with great Resolution as many of them as could stand in it maintaining a very unequal Combat against the whole Force of the Town while those that were below to support them were gall'd by the Enemies shot on all sides insomuch that when they retired at last it was with the loss of about three hundred of their Companions The place Capitulating soon after the next News-book gave an Account of the Siege and just made mention of this Action but in such a manner as to make People believe that about Ten or a Dozen English men and two Portugueses had through their own Rashness got themselves knock'd on the Head for it was said that the information which had been given concerning the Breach proved a Mistake and so only the foresaid Number went very bravely up and were Kill'd and that many were Wounded although they did not come near the Breach This Account coming out while the Army was in Quarters there being some of our Officers at that time at Lisbon they resolved to wait upon the Secretary of State to demand Reparation for this Slurr put upon them and the Memory of their deceased Friends They had all along observ'd the Portugueses to be free indeed of their Verbal Acknowledgements but very backward in trusting them to Writing and they were now at last so far incensed that some of them did not spare to give Antonio de Sousa the Secretary very heard Names even when they came within his Hearing The Secretary to their surprize told them in their own Language that some of them spoke broad English however they insisting in their Demand of satisfaction for the Wrong that had been done them he promised them they should have it accordingly in the next Mercury appear'd this additional Account which though it wants much of supplying the Defects of the former yet as it must be acknowledg'd abounds with very Honourable Testimonies of Gratitude If Mercury were a Spaniard he would make Relations of things that never were done but being Portuguese he does not mention those that were unless it be upon exact Information Since the last was Printed he hath receiv'd Advice of certain Actions worthy to be remembred perform'd on our Side at the Enterprize of Valença and it is but just that they should be related that they be not deprived of that glorious Precomum which consecrates them to Eternity and to such Honourable Guests as the English are the first Place in this Relation is due Four Regiments were commanded to the Breach two Portuguese and two English one of these was Count Schombergs the General of the Strangers Commanded by his Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Hunt the other was Colonel Henry Persons They went to the Assanlt with the greatest Valour twenty with an Ensign that carried the Coulors mounting the Breach there not being room for more but some of the Gentlemen under Named will tell that they had much more Company For as 't was said in the last the Breach was not yet compleated it being a mistaken Information that was given concerning it The Twenty seeing themselves unaccompanied were not discouraged but they all fought till they Died the Combat was so furious that the Coulors were burnt within the Breach The two Regiments disparing now of being able to enter might have made their Retreat but their great Courage would not suffer them so they drew up at the foot of the Wall and though they stood with their Breasts exposed yet they fought to Admiration with those within as if they had been on the Level in open Field so 150 of them were kill'd falling in the same order in which they stood Among these were the said Lieutenant Colonel Hunt and his Major John Whitmore and John Fitz Patrick one of his Captains Of Colonel Person ' s Regiment William More Gregory Noland and H. Traverse Captains there were killed besides these three Lieutenants four Ensigns and seven Sergeants all worthy to live eternally in our Memory and our Gratitude who with so much constancy expos'd their Lives for us There were 300 Wounded among these were Captain Francis Stanly and Captain Nathaniel Hill of the foresaid first Regiment and Captain Thomas Bonser and Captain John Roch of the other and without doubt they had all died for they had no Covert were it not that the General