of her brother Philip with Mary Tudor of England. The young widow seems to have loved her country and her family next to her religion, and, almost wholly forgetful of her son, became alternately absorbed by ambitious projects and the most rigorous devotional exercises. vorite saints of Portugal vouchsafed to appear to and encourage him in what soon became manifested as the settled purpose of his life. Constantly courting danger in his desire to inure his body to fatigue, he so often hazarded his life, that his grandmother (who must have regarded him much as a hen might do an eaglet which she had hatched) found his guardianship more than sufficient to engross all her attention, and therefore resigned the regency to the Cardinal-Infant Don Henrique, who, in his turn, formally relinquished it when, at the age of fourteen, Sebastian, by the law of Portugal, attained his majority. adventure and foreign travel, were Sebastian's delight, to the exclusion of the subtile mysteries of statecraft, to which his grandmother wished to turn his attention. Daring even to temerity, the youth had no sympathy with diplomatists and their cobweb scheming; he burned Queen Catharina, meanwhile, being a with martial ardor, and the devout longwoman of strong sense and sound judging to secure the triumph of the Cross ment, devoted all her energies to the over the Crescent, and even in early well-being of her grandson. The frequent childhood was wont to be visited by seaintermarriages between the houses of sons of ecstatic reverie, in which the faAvis and Hapsburg had produced their natural effects in revoltingly-near relationships between the royal spouses of the two races, and the transmission of diseases, both bodily and mental. Queen Catharina determined to counteract Don Sebastian's hereditary delicacy of constitution by all the means at her command, and so judiciously did she regulate the training of the royal child, that his fretful, fragile infancy was succeeded by a robust, hardy boyhood. Strong as a peasant, and delighting in the roughest sports and most violent exercises, the prince yet inherited from his parents a wild religious enthusiasm, which was still further fostered by the Jesuit Mentors with whom Catharina surrounded him. King John having died when Sebastian was but three years old, Catharina was nominated Regent of Portugal and guardian of her grandson during his minority, and it was at that period that Doña Juana made her only attempt to reassume her maternal rights. Her claim, however, to be entrusted with her son's education fell through from two causes, the one being the Portuguese jealousy of the Hapsburg influence, and the other the lukewarm support afforded her by her father, who was anxious, by propitiating Catharina, to obtain from her a recognition of the right of King Philip and his son, Don Carlos, to the throne of Portugal, in the event of Don Sebastian's death. As the young king grew in years and intelligence, his hereditary bias became more strongly marked, the favorite themes of his studies were the records of the magnificent exploits of Ferdinand and Isabella, and the no less remarkable achievements of his maternal grandfather, the Emperor Charles V., in the wars against the Moors. These, with books of wild The young king astonished all parties by the ease and power with which he assumed his new duties. Declining his uncle's offered assistance, he firmly grasped the reins of government, read all despatches, summoned cortes, exhibited the keenest interest in the military details submitted to him, but above all, true to his leading idea, manifested supreme solicitude in the affairs of the Portuguese colony of Goa and the settlements on the coasts of Barbary. The populace and the army adored him, the Jesuits hailed him as the champion of their order, the bolder and more chivalrous portion of the young nobility also looked fondly towards him as their future leader in wellfought fields; but with the luxurious court and those whose well-being depended on its magnificence, Sebastian was in sad disfavor, the gorgeous pageants and gay revels of King John's time were evidently things to be reproduced no more; severe almost to asceticism in his personal habits, the young king discouraged everything which bordered on effeminacy or luxury, and the lovely young doñas of Lisbon saw with mortification that their sweetest smiles and most bewitching glances were wasted on one who preferred a boar-hunt in the forests of Cintra, or the braving of wind and wave in a small vessel (which he put forth in the wildest weather,) to all the charms of youth and beauty. Another great enjoyment of Sebastian's was the drilling and reviewing of a corps of volunteers, composed of the most abandoned ruffians and rogues in Portugal, who flocked eagerly to his standard. Still keeping in view the conversion and subjugation of the Moors, and with reason believing that the wild and scorching regions so dear to his heart might be less efficacious in exciting the zeal of the regular officers, Sebastian dispensed with their aid in reducing his ragged corps to proper discipline. And taking for his lieutenant one Juan de Gama, habited in a hermit's robe, girt with rope, he unweariedly toiled in the endeavor to initiate his disreputable army into the proper use of their weapons and some semblance of military uniformity, and in these efforts he more than once was in imminent peril from the extreme awkwardness of his recruits. Sebastian's rashness and daring naturally caused his people much anxiety, and the desire to have the succession secured, produced a negotiation for the young king's marriage with the young Archduchess Elizabeth of Austria, second daughter of the Emperor Maximilian. It may be imagined that Sebastian was an unwilling wooer; indeed, he openly declared that women were a mistake in creation, and sent into the world only to create confusion and mischief. No ladies of the court, save those whom age and ugliness combined to render repulsive to others, were treated with civility by their monarch; the bitterest sarcasm, the most pitiless ridicule of their fruitless efforts to charm him, were all the attentions he had at the service of the darkeyed daughters of the noblest families in Portugal. Sharp reproofs for their frivolity, and sneers at their vanity and feminine artifices, caused the court beauties to flee from before the king, whom they looked on as something between a savage and a saint. For a long time Sebastian systematically avoided all discussion of the hated marriage, and refused to entertain the idea of this or any other matrimonial compact; but a length, wearied by the incessant importunities of Queen Catharina, and the urgent letters of Doña Juana, he yielded, with cold and ungracious reluctance, and the courts of Lisbon, Vienna, and Madrid were filled with joy and gratulation. Fate, and the scheming Empress Marie (mother of the destined bride,) had, however, willed that the marriage should never take place. The empress regarded Sebastian as almost a monomaniac, and, moreover, desired to match her youngest daughter with Charles IX. of France. Fearing that Philip of Spain might resent her preference for Charles, she sought to bribe him to overlook the slight offered to his nephew, by tendering him the hand of her eldest daughter for himself, at the same time suggesting that the Spanish king should smooth down matters with Sebastian, by giving him, in lieu of Elizabeth, the beautiful Marguerite de Valois, afterwards wife of Henry of Navarre, and sister to Philip's dead wife, Elizabeth de Valois. Sebastian's wrath and indignation at the slight, offered to him were quite disproportioned to his indifference, and even repugnance, to the matrimonial negotiations, and his grandmother, herself deeply offended, reproached Philip and the Austrian empress in the bitterest terms. Philip, cautious, crafty, and plausible, defended the change of partners with specious arguments, and, after a time, molified Catharina, and even Sebastian so far, that, although the latter refused obstinately to make a formal demand of Marguerite's hand, or send a properly accredited ambassador to Paris, he yet began once more to entertain the idea of matrimony, and consented to allow his uncle and grandmother to arrange the matter as they pleased, so that he himself should have no more trouble respecting it. It would seem, however, that, while Sebastian amused his relatives with projects for marrying him, his own mind never wavered in its allegiance to his darling project. Barbary was still the goal of his hopes; its complete subjugation and the conversion of its people were ever the subjects of his glowing aspirations. And in 1572, Mahomet, Emperor of Morocco, besought his alliance and aid in opposing the claims of Muley Maluc, who, according to the will of Mahomet I., was the rightful heir to the crown of Morocco. Sebastian hailed with joy this opportunity, and, contrary to Queen Catharina's expressed wishes, he provided a fleet, which was stationed off Cape St. Vincent awaiting the king's orders. Before all was arranged, Doña Juana died, and Sebastian found himself compelled to defer his expedition for some months, in order to be present at his mother's obsequies. Catharina, hoping that this delay might cause him to relinquish his project, set on foot various intrigues, which threw innumerable difficulties in the way of his departure; but a strong will and a fixed purpose defeated all the engines of priestcraft and diplomacy. On pretence of suffering from the summer heat, Sebastian retired to Cintra, where he secretly prepared for his departure, and on August 14, 1575, he went on board the flag-ship, and commanded the admiral, Don Fernando de Noronha, to put to sea. From the Bay of Lagos the king sent powers to his uncle, the Cardinal-Infant Don Henrique, to conduct the government in his absence, and, without awaiting any reply, he continued his voyage, and landed at Ceuta on the 3rd of September. All Portugal mourned the departure of the young king, and mournful presages and disastrous omens filled all hearts with boding fears. In the tower of St. Nicholas de Xelva, an Aragonese village close to Villila on the Ebro, hung a miraculous bell, said to have been cast by a pagan Gothic king, who had caused to be fused in the metal one of the pieces of silver for which Judas betrayed his Master. This bell was said to be tolled by spiritual agency whenever death or danger threatened any of the Spanish Hapsburgs, and on the occasion of Sebastian's departure, its wild tones were heard, night and day, for twenty-four hours. Admiral de Sousa ran his ship into a Flemish merchantman, which sunk at once, and a gunner on board Sebastian's galley was killed while firing the royal salute. Undaunted by portent or danger, Sebastian continued his journey, and at Tangiers met Mahomet, who urgently implored immediate succor against Muley Maluc. The king wrote urgently to his uncle the regent, and his council, stren uously entreating them to send sufficient forces to enable him to combat Maluc with success. The reply to his letters came in the shape of a formal refusal, signed by the cardinal-regent, the queen, and council. Funds were wanting, it was averred; fresh levies of soldiers and seamen must be made; and the king was reminded that Amurath II. had threatened to devastate Italy, and probably Andalusia also, in which event Portugal would need not only all her available forces, but also her absent king, who was conjured to return without dely. Finding himself forced to fail in his promise to Mahomet, urged by the admiral and the prelates of his suite, and burning with rage and mortification, Sebastian, after an absence of four months, returned to Lisbon, where his measures excited equal anger and astonishment. He removed the Jesuit fathers. from all government offices, and took into his own hands the management of affairs. Recruiting and drilling troops went briskly on, and, despite the obstacles which were thrown in his way— despite the bad faith of Philip, who, having promised assistance, now drew back, alleging that, as he had made a treaty of peace for three years with the Grand Turk, his assailing the Moorish kinsmen and allies of Amurath would be a violation of that treaty, and further pleading the increased violence of the war in Flanders as a reason for his breach of faith. In defiance of all these obstacles, Sebastian's purpose knew no change, and once again the king left Portugal with a fleet of fifty ships, and five galleys, twelve cannon, and transports and tenders-in all a thousand sail. In July, 1577, Sebastian landed at Arzila, on the African coast, and Muley Maluc, though dangerously ill of a fever, headed his troops in a litter, and advanced to engage the Christians with a force of sixty thousand horse and forty thousand foot. A frightful carnage ensued. Sebastian's troops fought on unfamiliar ground, and were, moreover, badly, or at least imperfectly trained, nine thousand of them were Portuguese, two thousand Castilians, three hundred volunteers, three thousand Germans, and seven hundred Italians, under the command of Sir Nothing could exceed the dismay which spread through all ranks in Portugal when news of the disastrous defeat reached the council. The populace, idolizing Sebastian, mourned him bitterly, and were scarcely to be persuaded of his death; and in addition to his loss, the nation had to deplore the flower of its chivalry. There were few families who had not lost some friend or relative in the terrible slaughter, and through the length and breadth of the land there was mourning and desolation, business was almost entirely suspended, and exaggerated reports lent a new ghastliness to horrors which needed no aggravation. Thomas Stukely, a brave English exile. | deposited in an apartment of the Castle All behaved valiantly, with the exception of Alcazar. of the Portuguese, who were panic-stricken, but gallantry and daring availed them little against overwhelming numbers, the field was covered with dead and dying, and Sebastian's army, with the exception of about fifty men, was exterminated; the king himself fought like a lion, had two horses killed under him, and having seen all his body-guard fall, save Don Nunez de Mascarenhas, fell beneath the sword of Mustapha Pique, the alcayde of the Moorish body-guard. The blow sev ered Sebastian's right eyebrow, cheek, and lower jaw, and the assailants seeing him whom they most dreaded laid low, hastened away to complete their victory. Sebastian's two intimate friends, Don Christovao de Tavora and the Duque de Aveiro, were said to have fallen in defence of their beloved master, and with them the ruling spirits of the Portuguese army departed, and all was dismay, bootless flight, and slaughter. Meanwhile, the enemy had had their own share of disaster. Numbers were killed and wounded, and Muley Maluc himself had died in the very heat of the battle, his brother Hamet assuming at once the vacant dignities and offices of the deceased. At the close of day, the Moorish army was commanded to bring all the Portuguese prisoners of rank to Hamet's tent, and a select guard was sent, under the command of Mustapha Pique, to the spot where Sebastian had fallen, to bring the dead body, that the fallen nobles might recognize their king. The guard returned, leading a mule, across which was thrown a body said to be that of Sebastian, but so disfigured by innumerable wounds, and the decomposition produced by exposure to the sorching rays of the sun, that recognition might well have seemed impossible. Nevertheless, Don Nunez de Mascarenhas, and five other noble cavaliers, at once attested that it was assuredly the body of Sebastian, and demanded the right to ransom it, but Hamet stipulating in return for the cession of all the Portuguese forts on the coast of Barbary, and the nobles being of course unable to yield so great a point on their own responsibility, the Xerife caused the corpse to be enclosed in a chest, sealed with his state signet, and The churches were crowded to suffocation, and holy men and women were visited by celestial visions, in which they beheld the glorified spirits of the slain ascending to heaven. One important exception there was, not one of all the privileged seers alleged that Sebastian was among the number of those who were now reaping their reward in a better world, and, on the contrary, it was openly averred that Sebastian had not been killed, for (argued the populace) who would have a higher or more conspicuous place in heaven than a king whose dearest object was the glory of the Church? In fact, so dearly did the Portuguese love Sebastian, that it was said by Philip (who had reasons of his own for being angered by the tenacity with which the people clung to the hope that their king still lived), that had an ape come to Lisbon, and said he was Sebastian, he would have been received with acclamations and triumph. Meanwhile, those in authority saw no reason to doubt the fact of the king's death; his body, disfigured as it was, had been identified by Don Nunez de Mascarenhas (who was, however, notoriously in the Spanish interest), and several others, and many averred solemnly that they had seen him fall beneath such wounds as he could not have survived, and as some guiding hand was needed at the helm of government, the Cardinal-Infant Don Henrique took possession of the crown. Ten days after his accession, a monk, footsore and travelstained, demanded private audience of the king, and although at first denied 452 VIS-A-VIS; OR, HARRY'S ACCOUNT OF HIS COURTSHIP. may dismiss the subject, with the brief verdict: 66 'Players deserve to lose-but the bank does not deserve to win!" The aërial machine is once more spreading its wings. Lady of the dogs, Sir Dandy of the football, miserable pawner of the diamond, farewell! London Society. VIS-A-VIS; OR HARRY'S ACCOUNT OF HIS COURTSHIP. I was going down to Dover, Some one whispered, "Good-bye Kitty, I'll come down and see you soon. Twas her father, and he lingered In the crowd, to see her start; She looked up with eyes that glistened With the fullness of her heart. For an hour and forty minutes Kitty was my vis-à-vis, And I did my best to please her, But she would not speak to me. When I spoke she seemed to shun me, Of a monthly magazine. She was not exactly pretty, But she looked so kind and good, I'd have altered if I could. I had never seen the woman I could think of as my wife. Strange it was how little Kitty Crept into my heart that day; Strange it was how well I loved her Ere an hour had passed away. Strange the hopes and fears she wakened While she looked so sweetly shy, Strange how sad I felt on seeing How the milestones flitted by. Every moment little Kitty Grew more precious to my heart, To the spot where we must part! Came to claim my vis-à-vis ! [October, How I trembled with emotion. Stole across her wistful face, Thus we parted. All in silence Of my life had passed away. When that night I crossed the sea; How I hoped that she was thinking At that very time of me. Often did prophetic fancy With sweet visions fill my brain, Till I sometimes felt quite certain That we soon should meet again. I a thousand times decided Every word that I would say, And a thousand times imagined How she'd blush and turn away. Time passed on. I Came to London She was sitting on a platform Very near to Temple Bar, And looked up with glad surprise, I could tell she half repented How it made my pulses beat! With her friends she gaily chatted After long impatient waiting, The beloved bride appeared, With the young and princely bridegroom, To all English hearts endeared. When they halted just before us, Kitty gave one glance at me, Full of loyalty and feeling, Full of loving sympathy. |