surrounded by a powerful army, ready to be reinforced at any time by 5000 British troops, all the attempts of the rebels after this time, were mere expiring struggles, not deserving of detailed notice. As

the Portuguese entered the Spanish territory, they were met and disarmed, and the sick and wounded distributed in various places in the interior; Chaves and his uncle Silveira, it is said, being obliged to return into France.

In the accounts of the arrival of the English army, as contained in the English newspapers soon afterwards, a highly coloured de. scription was given of the acclamation of joy which greeted their landing in Lisbon. But the fact was precisely the reverse of this. Most of the troops remained at Lisbon the whole of January, no occasion for their services in the field having occurred during that space. When the rebels re-ap. peared in the neighbourhood of Oporto, in the beginning of February, as just related, Sir William Clinton issued orders for the whole army to rendezvous at Coimbra, on the 18th of February. He arrived there on the 19th, large detachments of the troops having preceded him ;-and except some unimportant movements, there the brigades remained stationary, as no hostile demonstration was afterwards made by the disaffected Portuguese, and the Spanish army of

observation, under general Sarsfield, effectually preserved tranquil. lity on the frontier. By a convention between Great Britain and Portugal, the latter stipulated to provide the necessary barracks, and quarters, and buildings for hospitals, stores, and magazines, and the necessary rations of provisions, for the officers, soldiers, horses, and cattle of the auxiliary army, according to the regula. tions of the British service; in consideration of which Great Britain engaged not to bring forward any pecuniary claims against the Portuguese, for the assistance afford. ed them against Chaves and the Spaniards. These terms were suf. ficiently favourable to Portugal; and but for the particular circumstances of the case, the Portuguese would have received the succour with proper sentiments of gratitude and good will. But, unfortunately, the Portuguese very generally regarded the British army as being sent, not to repel invasion, but to uphold the constitutional cause. However unlucky this may have been, it was perfectly natural, and produced a manifest coldness of feeling among the better class of the Portuguese, and of antipathy among the lower orders, towards the British troops, which could not but attract the attention of every unprejudiced observer.

If the arrival of the British army had been generally accepta

ble to the people, the occasion of their landing would have been peculiarly likely to call forth emotions of pleasure and exultation. But the utmost which can with truth be said of their reception on landing is, that they met with no insult. Among the crowd of spectators who witnessed it, there were, doubtless, many warm constitutionalists, who felt anxious to give them a gracious reception; and there were many Portuguese, who, enriched by profitable contracts during the Peninsular war, anticipa. ted, with much satisfaction, the renewal of their old advantages for pecuniary gain. But all the ef forts of these persons, added to the numerous English residents in Lisbon, did not succeed in producing the ordinary tokens of hearty welcome. The mass of the population remained silent and indiffe. rent; and the appearance of some of the finest military corps in Europe, failed to call forth any of the expressions of admiration, so commonly produced by the spectacle of a body of brilliant and well appointed troops. The British officers were billeted on those householders in Lisbon, who were supposed to be best able to afford them hospitality; but, instead of being received with enthusiasm as deliverers, a majority of them were refused admittance on presenting their billets. Afterwards, various other indications of want of cor

diality between the citizens and the British troops, were observed. At their parades, scarce any emo. tion, other than a dull curiosity, could be witnessed in the specta. tor. Several of the soldiers were stabbed in obscure streets by low Portuguese, whose expertness in the use of the knife, is too noto. rious. And the gentry did not show any such disposition to unite with the British officers at public ball rooms, and other places of amusement, as they must have done, if they had been animated with sentiments of gratitude and attachment towards their allies, and a desire to give them an adequate welcome. These, and va rious other little circumstances, bespoke the feelings of the people on the subject, in a manner not to be mistaken.

In order to understand the rea son of this, it is to be considered that, ere the last detachment of the auxiliary army had arrived, the occasion, which originally called for their presence, had ceased to exist. The concessions made by the Spanish government deprived the war of the character of a foreign invasion, and left it only that of a struggle between two parties, maintaining their opposite political opinions by arms. Mr. Canning had stated that he did not intend, by sending the troops, to give a preponderance to one party in Por tugal over another; yet such was

precisely the operation of the measure. They went as the auxiliaries of the regency, which subsisted only by the appointment and as the organ of the constitutional party; and they went nominally it is true to oppose Spain, but in fact to oppose Chaves and the party averse to the constitution. In fact, as later events have clearly shown, the presence of the British troops was the great means of supporting the authority of the regency; and its recent withdrawal has been the signal of new revolutions. monks and clergy, and the other violent enemies of the constitution, were indefatigable in their efforts to influence the people; and they did not address unwilling ears. Of course a large portion of the community regarded the British troops with distrust and dislike; and a minority only looked upon their coming as a blessing to the country.

The

Nothing of any consequence took place in Lisbon until the 31st of March, when the session of the cortes was closed with the usual formalities. The peers and depu. ties assembled in the Ajuda palace to be prorogued; and the princess regent being unable to attend in consequence of indisposition, they were addressed in her name by the bishop of Viseu, the minister of the home department. Thus far the cortes had done nothing towards altering the laws, to make them

conformable to the liberal principles contained in the constitution; and the ancient usages of the kingdom remained untouched, notwithstanding the constitutional provisions, which could be considered as nothing better than a dead letter, until their details were embodied in the municipal laws of the land.

In April, a mutiny broke out in the fortress of Elvas, a strong castle on the frontiers, only a few leagues distant from Badajoz, which served to keep alive the anxiety of the government. On Sunday the 29th, four companies of a regiment of the line marched out of their barracks, without their officers, and with colours flying, followed by a great crowd of the lower classes, shouting “ Don Miguel and the Silveiras for ever." They proceeded to the quarters of their colonel, in hopes that he would join them; but being disappointed in this, they marched towards the fort de Graca, and and were joined by some companies belonging to other regiments. The officers remained faithful to their duty; and it was expected the mutineers would soon disperse of their own accord. This not proving to be the case, general Caula, the governor of the place, marched up a regiment of cavalry and another of infantry, and made a general attack upon the mutineers in the course of the night,

by which means the revolt was completely quelled, but not with out the slaughter of a number of the misguided soldiery. Many of them were taken prisoners; and some escaped into Spain, by different ways, between Merida and Bada. jos.

Accounts from Portugal in May, represent the situation of things as precarious, notwithstanding the late success and apparent strength of the regency. Of the great body of the people, a part, perhaps the larger part, were considered as opposed to the constitution; and another large class, who desired only to be permitted to enjoy the fruits of their industry in peace, were indifferent whether the constitution fell or not. Its most deci. Its most deci. ded friends were those intelligent persons in the seaport towns, who, in the pursuits of commerce or ma. nufactures, had acquired a know. ledge of a better state of things than the domination of an absolute king and a bigotted priesthood. The termination of the session of the cortes had separated the pledg. ed supporters of the constitution, and left the peers without the energy derived from the facility of acting in concert, and reduced the deputies to the level of private life. Although the ministry acted under authority emanating from the emperor of Brazil, yet they were charged with refusing to promulgate important decrees from Don

Pedro, of which Dr. Abrantes was the bearer; and although England stood before the world as a patron and defender, and almost as the author of the constitutional system, yet Sir William A'Court, the British resident minister, who had assisted at the funeral ceremonies of the Neapolitan and Spanish constitutions, was reputed to enter. tain no friendly feelings towards that of Portugal.

During the summer months, the court of the princess regent appears to have been given up to a series of intrigues, and puerile mutations of policy, which boded no good to the constitutional cause. On the 9th of June it was an nounced that all the members of the cabinet, excepting general Sal danha, the minister of war, and Sr. A. Manuel de Noronha, the minister of marine, had resigned; and the vacant departments were filled by the appointment of the marquess de Palmella, to be minister for foreign affairs; the count de Louza, for finance; the viscount de Santarem, for the interior; and the bishop of Algarve, for grace and justice. This change of ministry was deemed to be favourable to the liberal party; and as the distracted and dependant state of Portugal caused every act of the government to be ascribed to foreign influence, Mr. Canning was groundlessly accused of being the means of bringing about this mea

sure. The marquess of Palmella being absent in London, as Portuguese ambassador to the court of St. James, it remained to be seen whether he would accept his new office. Meanwhile, an edict was published, dated June 28th, relative to the liberty of the press, which, in its operation, put an end to all discussion concerning the laws or government of the country. In July, again, the minister of war, Saldanha, who had produced the late change in the ministry, was displaced, partly by the influence of his uncle and colleague, the vis. count de Santarem. On its being understood in Lisbon that general Saldanha had been dismissed, a popular movement took place among the people, in consequence, and the princess regent was urgently intreat. ed to restore him to his office. The tumult subsided, however, without any injurious effects, no disorder of a serious nature having been intended by the people. General Stubbs, the governor of Oporto, and a meritorious officer, was also removed from his office, for having solicited the princess regent to restore general Saldanha. And in August the bishop of Algarve, and Noronha, the minister of marine, were obliged to leave their offices, either on account of the regret they expressed for the dismissal of Saldanha, or as others conjecture, because they were in favour of observing the decrees of don Pedro.

But ere long, the current of politics set in another direction.The viscount Santarem himself was dismissed, from motives of caprice, or from unexplained reasons of state.

These frequent changes of ministers, and various capricious acts of rigour or folly, which it is unnecessary to particularize, served to bring the government of the princess regent into disrepute, and to prepare the minds of men for their necessary termination in another revolution. Universal uneasi. ness and expectation of indefinite and uncertain changes pervaded the kingdom, and agitated the whole community. The princess regent constantly travelled under an escort, partly of English lancers, unwilling, apparently, to trust herself in the midst of her country. men. Every thing, in short, portended an impending crisis in af fairs; not arising, however, from any apprehensions of military en. terprises on the Spanish frontier, because, on the 27th of August, a decree was published, ordaining the dissolution of the army of operation, under the count of Villa Flor. Well disposed citizens be. gan to express an opinion, that almost any change, which should impart stability and consistency to the government, would be preferable to the present state of things. Many imputed the vacillation and apparent capricious