• Their bold and honest looks presage,. Thus Cælia fpake with modeft grace, A hag in look, a fiend in foul: To the PROPRIETORS of the UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE. GENTLEMEN, HE report having ways an offenfive poc Taufe, pligned for the King of Spain's key to his mouth, track of it from his pet melancholy, is an apprehenfion he has entertained of being poifoned, I could not help reflecting on the uncomfortable condition that Royalty too often is found in; and how far from exciting envy the ftate of Princes in general is found to be. Whether your informations are right concerning his prefent Catholic Majefty, I know not; but it is certain a great part of his father's life was paffed in the same melancholy manner. Philip the Vth of Spain was next heir in blood to his prefent Moft Christian Majefty, had he died in his minority; and, though he had renounced his right of fucceffion to the French throne, for the fake of mounting that of Spain, yet it was imagined he would have profecuted his natural claim, had the failure of the elder line afforded him a pretence for the doing of it. While the Duke of Orleans therefore (who must in fuch a cafe have been his competitor) was Regent of France, Philip entertained a strong apprehenfion of becoming poisoned by his means; and, in confequence thereof, habituated himfelf to the eating of Venice treacle, by way of antidote; which he did fo continually, that he had a pocket lined with metal (I fuppofe filver) in which he carried that remedy, and was for ever taking it, in pub. lic or alone; infomuch that there was al in general an unfightly figure. Habit wit him had the effect, in this application, tha it has with fnuff, and the other ufes of to bacco, in other men. Having accuftome himself to the use of it in his youth, he al ways continued it to his dying day: And it was perhaps from the fame apprehenfion that he acquired fuch an antipathy to new cloaths, as not to change his old ones til he was often even in rags. He was more. over fubject to continual fits of melancholy and defpondency, infomuch that his diadem may be faid to have been a crown of thorns. He actually did refign: it to his eldest fon but, he dying foon after, without children, Philip was prevailed on to refume it again, but was however with great difficulty perfuaded to retain it. The fon's melancholy, therefore, may perhaps be confidered as an hereditary diforder; but, whether it be actually fuch, or whether it is owing to the fame caufe as his father's, it is certainly a moft lamentable cafe: And the confideration of it fhould have the good effect on the minds of men in humbler stations, to make them rather rejoice than repine at an inferior condition, which fecures them from fuch apprehenfions as they may fee infeft the minds of Princes, elevated even to uncontroulable sway. An Account of feveral curious and interefling PARTICULARS in Relation to the Discovery of the late Confpiracy against the King of Portugal; with a circumfantial Narrative of the Behaviour of the principal Confpirators at the Place of Execution, January 13, 1759. ABOUT ten at night, on the 3d of Nobleman of the first quality being in the September laft, as the King of Portugal, after having been to pay a vifit, was returning to the royal palace of Belem, a calafh along with him, he was attacked in the close road, about three quarters of an English mile from that place, by three arm ed ed men in difguife; one of which, bolting fuddenly from behind fome trees, difchar. ged a blunderbufs, loaded with flugs, full in the back of the carriage; by which the King was defperately wounded in the arm, and the Nobleman, who fat by him, in two or three different places; but, having the prefence of mind to couch down in the bottom of the machine, which was very large, they fheltered themselves from the fucceeding fhot, and fo escaped otherwife inevitable death: For, almoft inftantly after the firft fire, three blunderbuffes were discharged at once, which went through and through the calash on every fide, killing the coachman upon the fpot, and wounding the poftilion and one of the mules. After this the affaulters favoured by the darkness, or rather dufk, got clear off. As a kind of teftimony of joy, when his Majefty recovered, the English factory gave a ball, to which most of the Portuguese Nobility were invited, and among the reft the Duke of Aveiro, his Duchefs, and fon. About one the next morning the company broke up; and, as precedence is greatly minded in Portugal, nobody would prefume to ftir till the Duke was gone. But how were fome of the company furprised, when, coming to the outward door foon after, in order to go home, they were denied permiffion; and, looking a little clofer, faw all the avenues full of troops! The Duke of Aveiro, his Duchefs, and fon, were arrested; and nobody was fuffered to ftir out till after they had been fafely lodged in prifon. In the afternoon all the colleges of Jefuits were furrounded by troops. Ten of the principal of that order, who were inftigators of this horrible affair, are prifoners; and it is fuppofed they will be executed, after a licence is procured from Rome for difrobing them. The account of the discovery of this confederacy is as follows: The Duke of Aveiro and his two bravo's, having, as they thought, executed their horrid defign, immediately made off towards Libon, where they came to the houfe of one of the ruffians. His wife feeing the Duke, and having her brother (a glover in the town) with her at that moment, thrust him into the clofet of the room where the then was, and the confpirators immediately after entered: Her hurry and confufion was fo great (for it feems this had been a ufual place of meeting, though it appears that the was totally ignorant of their fecrets) that the poor woman did not know what he was doing. Here this glover remained during the reft of the night; and to this infignificant fellow was owing the difcovery of the confpirators; for the Duke began to talk of their exploit and defigns with the utmolt freedom; the Duke faid in particu lar, That his mind mifgave him, they had not dispatched the King quite;' but the other two faid, They were fure he could not escape.' 6 Aye, anfwered the Duke, with an oath, but we fhould not have left the place till we had ocular demonstration of his being dead.' The fellow thought that the discourse he had heard was very extraordinary, yet he did not know what to make of it: But coming into town afterwards, and hearing the rumour that flew about of his Majefty's having been affaulted, &c. he put all things together, and went directly to the Secretary of State with an information; and, this evidence being corroborated by certain advice that the King received from other hands, every thing was regulated accordingly. The prifoners were difpofed of, upon he ing feized, in the following manner: The Duke of Aveiro with his fon, as well as the Marquis of Tavora with his two fons, and the Count of Atouguia, his fon inlaw, were all prifoners in the castle of Belem, and loaded with irons. Their food was nothing but bread and water; and they were each of them put to the rack fix times. All the relations of the principal confpirators were feized, but they were not all treated with the fame rigour. Some of them were allowed to have their ordinary domeftics, and were neither guarded nor bolted. Don Manuel de Caltioris and Antonio de Cofta are in St. John's Tower. The old Marchionefs of Tavora was closely fhut up in the convent de Grilles, till two days before her execution, when the was brought to the caftle where her fons and her husband were, but she was not fuffered to fee or speak to either. The Duchefs of Aveiro is in the convent de Madre de Dio, with her daughters. At Belem, on the key, just over-against the royal palace, was a stage erected, about twice as high as a man: There were flairs on one fide to afcend. There might be 70,000 fpectators; and the fcaffold was furrounded both by horfe and foot, all with their bayonets fixed; and, on Saturday, January the 13th, juft as the clock ftruck nine, the tragedy began. The Marchionefs of Tavora was the firft who fuffered; and, though the castle was but a little way off, he was brought to the place of execution in a covered waggon. She was reported to have loft her fenfes.. Her arms were tied down with a common rope; he was a very tall woman, and might be, as near as could be gueffed, fry years old. When the afcended the fcaffold, there was a horrid fhout from the populace; and, at the fame time, the executioner placed a fool in the front for her to fit down on; instead of which the immediately fell on her knees, and continued bowing her body backwards and forwards for about five minutes in great diforder, She had a kind of white hood on her head, very much foiled; a black mantle about her fhoulders, and her gown was of a reddish colour. The executioner made a fignal to the two men who guarded her, upon which they took her up, and placed her on the ftool, feemingly with fome difficulty. Here fhe was tied, and, her hood and mantle being taken off, the executioner laying hold of her hair, with one blow of a large backfword, almost cut off her head; I fay al. moft, for it hung upon her breafts, and afterwards fell from thence into her lap. Now there was another loud fhout, and the body was taken up, laid upon the ftage, and covered with a black cloth. The fecond perfon, brought to the feaffold, was Jofeph-Maria of Tavora, youngest fon to the Marquis and Marchioness of Tavora, a youth of beautiful face, agreeable deportment, and amiable difpofition. He was conducted on the scaffold between two friars, and feated to a stake in form of St. Andrew's cross; and, being first ftrangled, an executioner broke his arms and legs with eight blows, and his mangled body was laid on the wheel, and covered with a black cloth. ན The Count of Atouguia had been in a high fever for fome days; he was conducted, executed, and laid on the wheel, in the fame manner as the former. The fourth perfon executed was LewisBernard of Tavora, the eldeft fon of the Marquis and Marchioness, and called the young Marquis of Tavora. He was aged 35, and behaved with great intrepidity. He was executed exactly as the two laft mentioned, and his body laid on the wheel. Emanuel Alvares Ferreira, and JohnMichael, fervants to the Duke of Aveiro, were next executed. They behaved frantic, ftruggling with the Officers, and making a great noife. After being ftrangled, they were taken from the cross, laid on the ftage, and their bones fo mashed with eight blows, that it was with difficulty the three executioners placed their mangled bodies on the wheels. The feventh was Blaize- Jofeph Romeiro, an Officer of horse, and a long time fervant to the Marquis of Tavora. He was executed in the fame manner as the two latter, and his body placed on the wheel. The old Marquis of Tavora was broke on the wheel alive; he had received the rack fo often, that he was hardly able to get up the ftairs. He came to the place of execution in an open cart with the Duke of Aveiro, who remained in it, at the foot of the fcaffold, while the other was dispatched before his eyes. After they had taken the ropes from his arms, and the irons from his legs, in order to fix him to the cross, he went towards the cloths on the wheels, and lifted them up every one; but, when he came to his younger fon's body, he kneeled down, kiffed the corpfe, and wept aloud; he then spoke something to the executioner, and took hold of the iron crow with which he was to be broke. The exe. cutioner feemed to fhew him fome refpect. He was then tied to the cross; in that manner he was laid on the stage; and, after breaking his right arm, an Herald proclaimed his crime. His fhrieks, which would have pierced the hardest heart, did not cease for near a quarter of an hour, till he received the coup de grace. The ninth was Jofeph Mafcarenhas, Duke of Aveiro. His hands were inftantly chopped off, under a fuppofition that he had fired one of the blunderbuffes at the King: Then he was tied to the cross in the fame manner as the Marquis, where he languifhed an hour and a quarter, receiving eight ftrokes. In about half an hour his face became totally black, and his fcreams at every ftroke were enough to frighten one. With the laft ftroke they broke his belly, and his bowels came out. After this two men came upon the ftage with tools, and fixed up a couple of stakes, with pitched feats, and a quantity of fuel was brought, to burn the Duke of Aveiro's bravo, who had fhot the King. He mounted in a pitched coat; and, being forced to fit down to the stake, to which he was chained, the bodies were brought, one by one, and placed round him, being all ftrewed over with rofin about an inch thick. The effigy of another of the Duke's fervants, who had efcaped, was faftened to the stake. Then the faggots were laid on, and fire fet to that part of the stage where the bravo was fixed, who faw the clouds of fmoke afcend around him with surprising resolution; not fo much as moving or crying till the flames reached him; then his violent ftruggles and frightful cries were greatly affecting to the fpectators. After the fcaffold and the bodies were confumed, the afhes were swept up, and thrown into the Tagus. During the time of the execution, all the confpirators houfes were pulling down to the ground; and, as foon as the rubbish can be removed, the places on which they flood will be fown with falt. All thofe of their families, which fhall be fpared, will be obliged to change their names; for the confpirators were degraded from their honours the day before they fuffered, and their eftates were publickly fold by auction. To the PROPRIETORS of the UNIVERSAL MAGAzine. SOME Of this kind is the ferocious revenge that is profecuted in Portugal, on the principle of honour: A paffion that is infatiable in its operations and terrible in its effects. They will be patient in indigence, and endure injuries in property; but the wounds of honour are never to be healed but by the blood of those who gave them. Of the fury and inextinguishable rancour of this paffion, numberless inftances might be produced; but I fhall content myself with relating two, and thofe of living people, that will be fufficiently illuftrative of my fubject. The Marquis of Gouvea (elder brother of the late unhappy Duke of Aveiro) hereditary Lord Steward of the Houshold, and a particular favourite of the late King's, had an intrigue with a married woman of quality, but of a rank that was inferior to his own. The affair happened to be difcovered, and the Marquis and Lady immediately made their efcape out of the kingdom. The Lady was placed in a convent in Galicia, and the Marquis came over to England. The dishonoured family no fooner difcovered where this unhappy woman was sheltered, than they found means for difpatching her with poifon. Nay, one of the family is faid to have purfued the Marquis hither, with a fixed determination to murder him; but the Portuguese Envoy, then refident in London, by accident got fcent of his arrival, and, on finding him out, fent a meffenger to defire to speak with him. their proper effect; and he was accordingly carefully fent back to his own country. At their interview he told him, that, as he had not vifited him on his arrival, the caufe of his coming over was but too evident; and therefore it became his duty to advise him to return immediately again, without rafhly undertaking what would infallibly coft him his life, and a new difhonour to his family, and with it produce fcandal to his country; for he might moft certainly depend, that, if he ventured to violate the laws of this kingdom, by committing a murder, he would most afsuredly be hanged for it at Tyburn. Thefe remenftrances, fupported it may be fuppofed by menaces at the fame time of caufing him to be apprehended on a difregard of them, had But no fubmiffions from the Marquis, nor any interpofitions of the King, could ever prevail for the making up of this matter. The offending Nobleman still lives an exile in Italy, and muft never think of returning again to Portugal. It was in confequence of this unhappy affair, that the elder Marquis, for the prefervation of his family, was prevailed upon to consent to the refignation of his estate to his younger brother, referving to himself no more than a yearly allowance out of it. Upon the making of which contract the brother married, was first made Earl of Santa Cruz, and atterwards Marquis of Gouvea, and with these titles enjoyed the hereditary office of Lord Steward of the Houfhold, belonging to his family. It is but very lately that he had obtained the eftate and title of Aveiro, in right of a female defcent; all of which we have feen loft, with his life and family, in fo lamentable a manner, The other I fhall produce, is one that the public has already been acquainted with in the following mannere At a French ball, where many of the Portuguese Nobility were prefent, a difpute arofe, while the company were at fupper, between Don Jofeph de Noronha, a fon of the Count of Aicos, and Don Antonio de Menezes; in which the former struck the latter, who, in return, had feized a bottle, and was going to repay the injury by throwing it at his adverfaty's head, but was unfortunately prevented. Had he done it, his honour had been recovered; but, as he could not, he remains with the indelible ftain of a blow. Both were immediately laid under arrest; but, to prevent cool mifchief, the aggreffor was fuffered to escape out of the kingdom, where he continues in a miferable indigence, his family being too poor to furnish him with the means for his decent exiftence; while the other remains in a state of so much infamy at home, that he cannot go to Court, affift in any public act, nor be received into any honourable company. For, till he has caused the man who ftruck him to be muidered, no equal in birth will be seen by him, nor even fit down, or ftay, in a room where he finds him. Yet is this difhonoured young Nobleman a man of sense, and of N 2 a yor a worthy character; but he must at all events commit murder, or patiently submit to contempt. After the late dreadful earthquake, the starving exile wrote to Don Antonio, telling him, that he embraced that time of general distress and compassion to implore a reconciliation, and offering to make any fatisfaction for the injury he had done him. But the offended's relations obliged him to fign a letter they took upon themselves to write in anfwer, which was fuch a one as cut off all hopes of accommodation for ever.' These two ftories which are true, of actual living perfons, plainly evince that no Portuguese of diftinction can encounter difhonour without revenging it: It is a principal equally adopted by the Court, the Judicature, and the whole people. There are no inftances of men going to law for difhonour of any kind; and they ever speak with the highest contempt of all people, of whatfoever nation, that in fuch cales apply for judicial fatisfaction. It is not therefore to be wondered at, tha revenge is a ruling principle in that king dom; and it appears so warrantable among them, that any man who kills another in a caufe of honour will be fo far from being impeded in his efcape, that he will, on the contrary, be affifted by every one in the ma king of it: And, if he should be arrested and even arraigned for the offence, if he proves but a provocation in the injuring of his honour, he is rarely, I may fay never, punished for his act of revenge. To judge rightly of the actions of any people it is certainly neceffary to be well acquainted with their ruling principles. The moft ruling principle of the Portuguese is a high fenfe of honour, along with the conceived neceffity of their revenging any attacks on it. This we may think an erroneous one, but they never will; for it is there too deeply and univerfally rooted for either laws or executions to eradicate. I am yours, &c. The BRITISH MUSE, containing original Poems, Songs, &c. L One Thoufand Seven Hundred and Fifty-eight. A BALL A D. AST year all the cry And commerce quite gone to decay. Port-Mahon we had loft, But return'd moft inglorioufly back. For the fcourge of our foes, A PITT then arofe, Th' afferter of Liberty's caufe; Corruption then fled, Nor could Vice fhew her head, For Virtue was guarded by laws. The trumpet of Fame Then founded the name Of Howe, as to Gallia he paft; And bid her prepare Such a clarion to hear That the bulwarks would fhake at the blaft. Nor warn'd' fhe in vain; For France once again Felt the force of a maritime pow'r; British hearts were employ'd, France's ftrength was deftroy'd, And her conqucfts were talk'd of no more, |