information of their intention of quitting Lisbon with the property of the deceased merchafit, availed itself of the pretext afforded by the reli- gious profession of Alvarez to apprehend and confine him, as the most effectual means of de- laying the embarkation, relying on ulterior mea- sures for obtaining possession of the wealth of their victims.
Mary Wentworth’s was not a mind to sink su- pinely under misfortune, for she had much ener- gy of character; but this last blow was enough to paralyze it all. She had no difficulty to guess at the object of the Holy Office, and she knew that if any measure could avail her in this emer- gency, it must be speedily adopted. But the power of the Inquisition was a fearful one td contend with. There was but one man in Lisbon who could aid her, and to him she was a stran- ger; yet to him she determined to appeal.
The name of Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho, marquis of Pombal, will b¢ familiar to those who are conversant with the history ef Portugal as that of the prime minister of king Joseph; to which elevation he appears. to have risen from circumstances of extreme indigence and the humble rank of a corporal. He is represented to have been a man of enlarged mind, uncom- mon personal courage, and great decision of cha- racter. On the other hand, he is said to have exhibited a haughty overbearing spirit, to have executed justice with extreme severity, and evinced a cruel and ferocious disposition. It is, nevertheless, universally admitted, that in the majority of his political acts he had the good of his country at heart, which is evidenced by the wisdom with which he met, and the success with which he alleviated, the public calamities conse- quent upon the earthquake at Lisbon in 1755— by the salutary restraints which he imposed upon an arrogant aristocracy, as well as upon the ty- ranny of the Inquisition—and by the decided measures by which he contributed to overthrow the power of the Jesuits. In person he was of gigantic stature; and his countenance was so singularly marked and imposing, that a noble- man, who had opened his carriage-door with the intention of assassinating him, was deterred from his purpose by its awful and terrible ex- pression.
To this man, whom the boldest could not ap- proach without awe, Mary Wentworth resolved to appeal. It was.night when she presented her- self at his palace, where she was refused admit- tance. While, however, she was parleying with the sentinel, Carvalho’s steward, who had accom- ‘panied his master on his embassy to the court of London, approached the gate, and, being inte- rested by her English accent, cansed her to be admitted. We inquired the nature of her busi- ness with the minister, which she briefly qpplain- ed to him.
Alas, my daughter!” said the old man, “I fear your errand to Carvalho will prove a fruit- less one. I may a. procure you an inter- view; but your en, while I sojourned among them, were kind to me, and I would peril something to do you this service.—Follow me.”
He preceded her up a flight of stairs, and, pointing to a door partly open, at the end of a long passage, he said: “There, in that room, is he whom you seek; may God presper your er- rand!” With these words he disappeared by a side-door, and Mary approached the apartment which ke had pointed out as that of Carvalho. The door was sufficiently open to admit her; and, entering, she found herself in a spacious and lofty room, from the ceiling of which depended a lamp immediately over the head of the man at whose frown all Lisbon trembled; and when she beheld his gigantic form and ferocious counte- nance, she felt that nothing short of the stake which depended on the interview could induce her to persevere in seeking it.
His head rested on his hand; his brow was strongly knit; and his eyes were intently fixed upon some papers. The rustling of her dress, as she drew near the table, attracted his atten- He did not start, but, raising his eyes, looked ccldly and sternly upon her; and, with- out uttering a word, appeared to wait for an ex- planation of so extraordinary an intrusion.
Mary possessed shrewdness and discrimination enough to perceive that, with a man of Carval- ho’s strength and decision of character, nothing was more likely to prejudice her cause than cir- cumlgcution. She therefore entered at once upon her story, and told it in the fewest possible words, concluding with an appeal rather to his justice than to his feelings: and in this she did wisely. He listened without interrupting her, or betraying in his countenance the slightest indi- cation of the effect of her appeal. When she had ended, he waited a few moments, as if to ascertain if she had any thing more to say. His reply was—“Senora, were I to try my strength with the Holy Office upon every occasion of its oppression and injustice, I should haye constant oecupation, and gain little by the contest. I am not omnipotent: I have checked the power of the Inquisition, but I cannot crush it, or, credit me, not one stone of that hated edifice should stand upon another. Your case is hard, and I compassionate it; but I fear I can do nothing to aid you in obtaining redress. You say your father was a British merchant; what was his name?”
“Wentworth, senor.”
“Wentworth!—I have good cause to recollect him. Ofall my political opponents, that man, if not the most powerful, was the most persevering and unbending. I adopted certain measures, which he considered to militate against the com- merce of his country, and he combatted them with all his might; but he did it like a man, bold- ly and open-handed. In the very heat of this controversy, when the feelings of both parties were at the height of their excitement, I was walking, unattended, in the streets of Lisbon, when a mob collected upon my path, and dark looks and threatening gestures were gathering
