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that an ancient copyist, meeting with a copy of each edition, inserted them both in one copy, from which association our present copies are descendIt is impossible to conjecture over what extent of country either edition might prevail; but the first edition was, in all probability, the most generally dispersed.

In my next, I propose to to inquire what effect this view of the subject would have on the contested text of the heavenly witnesses; and I am, &c.

FIDELIS.

Suppose the passage were completed by combining the two editions thus:

I have written to you little children, because ye have known the Father, and your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

I have written to you young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

I have written to you fathers, because ye have known Him that is from the beginning.

Love not the world, &c.

Biographical Notice on the Marquis de Pombal, formerly Secretary of State, and Prime Minister of Portugal.

DON SEBASTIAN JOSEPH CARVALLO MELHO, so well known by the title of marquis de Pombal, was born in 1699, of a noble Portuguese family, of the second rank. Eminently gifted with advantages of person, he married in the early part of his life, a Portuguese lady, of birth superiour to his own, and this ill sorted union embittered his days. He, however, attempted, by means of his new connexions, to make his way at court; but all his endeavours proved at that time fruitless. Disappointed in his ambitious hopes, he shut himself up in his country residence; and, to avoid, as much as possible, the intolerable company of his lady, he gave himself up entirely to study. The laws of his country, and the laws of nations as publickly avowed in Europe, were the principal objects of his researches ; and from that kind of study, he contracted a diffuse and pedantick manner of writing, which was afterwards conspicuous in all his productions.

After several years of political seclusion, Carvallo saw at last the long wished-for prospect opening to his view; he had been a widower for some time, when, in 1745, he was sent to Vienna, on a secret mission. He was then forty-six years of age; but neither his time of life, nor his diplomatick occupations, prevented him from paying his addresses to a young countess of the Daun family, whom he married shortly afterwards. This marriage was the principal cause of his fortune. The court of Vienna, where his lady's family was highly considered, interested itself powerfully in favour of Carvallo, and at the death of John V. king of Portugal, in 1750, king Joseph, his successour, appointed him secretary for foreign affairs. In this situation he remained five years, without any marked preeminence over his colleagues; but, a calamitous circumstance soon_gave him an opportunity of displaying the superiour powers of his mind. Every one knows, that in 1755, Lisbon was visited by an earthquake, which laid the whole city in ruins. In that awful situation, the king, his ministers, and his courtiers, unmanned by terrour, were incapable of any resolution, and vented their fears, in womanish superstitions. Meantime, fires had broken

out in many places among the ruins, and numerous banditti were ransacking the desolated city, as their lawful prey. Carvallo alone, undismayed in the general consternation, gathered some soldiers, and at their head, perambulated the ruins. He stopped the progress of the flames; punished the banditti on the spot; and, with the utmost presence of mind, and the greatest activity, established regulations which saved the remnants of Lisbon. The king recovered at last from his panick, and appreciating the courage of Pombal, from the extent of his own fears, considered him as a being of a superiour order; and this minister's ascendency over his weak mind, was thus established for ever.

Pombal abused this ascendency but too much. He kept his master in a state of almost degrading subserviency; while he was himself surrounded with all the outward pomp and trappings of absolute power, to dazzle the eyes of the gaping multitude. He obtained a body of horse guards, under pretence of his personal protection. Wherever he went, his coach was preceded by eight or ten horsemen, with drawn sabres, making way for him; and a smaller number followed it. But the object he had most at heart, was that of humiliating the high Portuguese nobility. There was an absolutely exclusive distinction established in Portugal, between seven er eight families of that class, and the rest of the nobility. They boasted of being free from all blots; such as intermarriages with Moors, Jews, and negroes, judgments of the inquisition, &c. To preserve this purity spotless, they intermarried among each other only. M. Pombal attempted to annihilate this distinction, so humiliating to the rest of the nobility. It was a customary thing for him, to make use of the king's authority, to further his own designs; and he had recourse to it in this undertaking. He forbad, in the name of his majesty, such and such marriages, which he knew were in contemplation, between members of these exclusive families; he thus forced them to stoop to the second class for connexions, which answered the double purpose of lowering their pride, and of elevating that class to which he himself belonged.

Before Pombal's administration, the Portuguese noblemen made it a constant practice to set at defiance even the most sacred laws; but he soon curbed their licentious spirits, by the most inflexible restrictions; they murmured, but they trembled, and obeyed-Even the continuation of their titles depended on the king's will, and consequently on the minister's whim. By the custom of Portugal, the son of a deceased nobleman cannot assume his father's title, till it is confirmed to him by the king. This confirmation Pombal often withheld for eight or ten years. By such means he reduced them to the blindest submission, though accompanied with the most inveterate hatred. It was, especially, on his birth day, that he received from them those unanimous testimonies of seeming obsequiousness, which he well knew how to appreciate. This was a day of triumph for his pride, and for his malignity. He then beheld collected in his palace, the most illustrious, and the proudest grandees, of Portugal. In that crowd of suitors, he took a secret pleasure in remarking such a one, whose father he had brought to the block; such another, whose brother lay at that very moment in a dungeon, by his orders, &c.

This unlimited power extended even over the ministers, who seemed to share with him, in a certain degree, the king's confidence. The marquis of Pombal was nominally minister of the interiour only; but, in fact, he presided likewise over all the other departments. His colleagues, deco rated with empty titles, did nothing but through him, as they sometimes were forced to own. M. Pombal often kept them in ignorance of the

business of their own offices. Every thing went through his hands; and he entered into the minutest details. A note was once brought to him for signature, containing only a permit for a traveller to take post horses. He found fault with the style, and dictated another. He was indefatigable in the labours of his office; busy from the dawn of day, he never had fixed hours for his meals; he usually dined very late, and ate most voraciously; for which he was visited by frequent indigestions. After dinner he used to take a ride in a coach, with a monk, a relation of his, who was said to be a man of uncommon stupidity. This man was his sole company; and that ride was his only recreation. He soon afterwards returned to his closet, where he remained occupied till late at night. He had two secretaries to write under him. They were mere machines, without any understanding, without eyes. He had trained them himself, and they were constantly at his disposal. One of them was a German, whom he had brought from Vienna He made him at first his footman, then his porter, and lastly, his secretary. These two poor scribes were often so overloaded with business, that both were ill at the same time.

Notwithstanding his excesses in living, and his laborious life, the marquis de Pombal enjoyed a state of health so robust, that he indulged the strong hope of a long career. At the age of seventy-seven, shortly before his disgrace, he used to talk about finishing the rebuilding of Lisbon, and even of building a palace for the king; as if he had been in the vigour of youth. Excessively attached to life and to honours, he was no less addicted to the love of money He even committed the most shocking vexations to gratify his rapacity. He often confiscated the property of those whom he sacrificed to his ambition or to his resentment. Born to a small fortune, he had accumulated about 15,000l. a year; an immense revenue for Portugal. He had built on his estate of Oeyras, the finest mansion in the country; but that magnificent residence displayed no taste, because he was himself deficient in that respect; and he had employed only Por. tuguese artists. For the same reasons, Lisbon, which he has raised from its ruins, is far from gratifying the eyes of connoisseurs. Monstrous defects are strikingly obvious in the finest quarters of the town; and above all, in that famous square Prazo del Comerçao, where he has placed a monument to the late king.

This capital, however, in its restored state, evinces in a striking manner, the power, and the activity, of the marquis de Pombal. The other parts of the country, also, were gradually assuming a new face under his administration. He used to say, that "he could not do every thing at once; and that time only could show the advantages to be derived from his operations." For instance, he was the protector of the useful, and even of the fine arts, so far as his judgment, none of the surest in that respect, could direct him. He had established woollen manufactures; he had attempted to form architects, and sculptors, in Portugal. After the expulsion of the Jesuits, which was in a great measure his work, he went to visit the university of Coimbra, over which they had exerted a great influence. Here he made many reforms; among others, he established several Italian professors, who had the reputation of being learned men. The Jesuits were not the only religious order that he persecuted. He never disguised his aversion for monks, in general; and he gradually undermined the power of the inquisition. It was, perhaps, with a view to further these designs, that he allowed the dangerous works of Voltaire, and those of Rousseau, to be translated into the Portuguese language; but, on the other hand, he exerted all his power to prevent the introduction of maxims, or ofi deas,

which might have stood in contradiction to his despotick principles. Never, for instance, would he allow the post to arrive in Lisbon more than once a week, although the Spanish mail was received twice at Badajoz, the frontier town. For the same reason, he never permitted the establishment of a Portuguese gazette. He feared, above all things, that the people should conceive a liking for arguing on politicks. He wished them to be ignorant of whatever was passing in the rest of Europe; and that no news from Portugal should transpire but through him, as its channel.. Among his commercial regulations some were of real advantage to the country. Thus he succeeded in drawing a considerable benefit from the smuggling trade, which has always subsisted between Spain and Portugal; because he had the good sense to lessen the duties, while the Spanish government was following principles directly opposite.

In

This leads us to examine the conduct of the marquis de Pombal in his relations with foreign courts. In this branch of administration, this man, in other respects so haughty, and so overbearing, assumed a new character, and conscious, perhaps, of the weakness of his country, had recourse to duplicity, and to deceit. Indeed, he considered the most sacred engagements as a mere matter of form; fit only to gain time, as the Spanish minister, Grimaldi, experienced to his great vexation, in 1776. A dispute had taken place between the two courts, respecting the limits of their respective colonies in South America. Things had been carried to such a length, that a European war seemed to be the natural consequence. these circumstances, the marquis de Pombal affected the most earnest and most sincere wishes for an amicable settlement. He called upon the courts of London and of Versailles for their mediation. He even insisted that the matters in dispute should be entirely referred to those two powers; and that Spain and Portugal should abide by their decision. “People talk so much about your Family Compact," he used to say to the French ambassadour, "it is represented as a most formidable league against all other nations. You see I do not consider it as such. I trust entirely to you. I put myself into your hands." In short, he had succeeded, in making the courts of Madrid, London, and Versailles, adopt his plan for negotiation. A congress had been actually appointed, to meet at Paris, when news arrived that the Portuguese troops had advanced on Rio Grande and taken forcible possession of the territory in dispute. Pombal, availing himself of the contempt in which his nation was held by the Spaniards, had prepared much better means of defence than he was supposed to possess. He had, without being noticed, raised the army to 40,000 men. The fortresses were amply provided with every necessary, and experienced officers had been received into the Portuguese service. The marquis de Pombal was, however, well aware of the inferiority of his country compared to Spain; but he relied on the assistance of England, on the difficulty of maintaining an enemy's army in Portugal, on the nature of the country, intersected by large rivers, and by ridges of mountains, &c. However, the death of the king, and the dismissal of the minister, soon put an end to all warlike preparations. The marquis de Pombal had, for a long time, apprehended that event. The king's health was precarious; and he knew the general hatred he had incurred. To guard against impending danger, he had sought all the means of embroiling the affairs of the kingdom in such a manner, as to make his assistance necessary to the new sovereign, to guide her steps in a maze whose intricacies were known to him alone; and his plan was near succeeding. Hardly had king Joseph paid the last tribute, when the young queen, her present majesty, went to consult her mother, as to what line of conduct

she should follow. I suppose, said the queen dowager, that you are going to dismiss Pombal. The young queen, who was of a mild disposition, and felt the danger of her new situation, answered in a faultering tone: I suppose I must ; since every body wishes it. In that case, answered the queen-mother, cease from this moment to transact business with him. She foresaw that in seven or eight audiences, the crafty minister would have obtained a complete ascendency over the mind of the young queen; and would have persuaded her that the country could not be saved, but by him.

The marquis de Pombal, after his disgrace, retired to his estate of Oeyras; where he sought, and found, the means of ending his days in peace: a circumstance not very usual for disgraced ministers, in that country. A single trait will show the line of conduct to which he was indebted for that signal favour. His estate lay at no great distance from Coimbra, the bishop of which city had been for several years shut up in a dungeon, by order of the marquis of Pombal. On the disgrace of that minister he was reinstated in his see, amidst the acclamations of his flock; and to enjoy his triumph more fully, he immediately set about visiting his diocese, before the enthusiasm of the people had time to cool. In the course of his apostolical journey, he stopped, perhaps, on purpose, at the village belonging to Pombal, and close to his residence. This circumstance excited universal expectation. As soon as the ex-minister knew of the arrival of the bishop, he sent to inquire, at what hour he would be pleased to receive him. He was punctual to the time appointed, and began by throwing himself at his feet; nor did he rise till he had received his blessing. They afterwards remained in conversation for a quarter of an hour. The bishop returned the visit, punctually. As soon as Pombal saw the coach entering the gate, he ran to meet it; flew to the carriage door, and threw himself again on his knees, to receive the good prelate's blessing. At the foot of the stairs, the bishop met Pombal's daughter, who went through the same ceremonies, &c. The exiled minister followed the same line of conduct towards the monks, whom he detested and despised so much. And to many this may seem to imply no ordinary degree of meanness. But the clergy were all-powerful under the new reign; and the slightest want of respect to one member of this body, might have provoked the resentment of the whole. Pombal had, besides, in the person of the queen's husband, a personal enemy, eager to seize every opportunity of avenging his private injuries, on the discarded minister, who now wished only to end his days in peace.

*

In his retreat, Pombal continued to indulge his fondness for study. Well informed people affirm, that he kept a constant correspondence with the queen, on the various objects connected with government. Several political publications were expected as the produce of his leisure hours; but those expectations have been disappointed; whether through the interference of the Portuguese government, is not known. He died on May 8,

1782.

Were we to give our opinion on the character of this famous statesman, we should not hesitate in saying, that the marquis de Pombal was a man much above the ordinary level of mankind. Circumstances, indeed, eminently favoured the display of his great abilities, in a contracted sphere. An earthquake brought his country to a chaos-like confusion; thousands of con

* Don Pedro, who was at the same time her uncle. He never forgave Pombal: because that minister advised king Joseph, his brother, to have him arrested, as being implicated in the conspiracy of 1756.

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