for the Castilian guttural, which so much displeased them, by the sonorous accentuation of the Castilian words; but the Spaniards found much of this accentuation lost in Portuguese by abbreviations of the very words in which it occurs in Spanish. The Castilian too was regarded as the more dignified tongue, because its unabbreviated words, for which it is indebted to the latin, excited more precise recollections of the language of ancient Rome.* It is probable also, that

color, palacio, pueblo, padre, madre, poner, tener, and similar comparisons may be made of a multitude of others. Let the reader also take into consideration the clipping pronunciation of o and a when these vowels terminate words in the Portuguese language. The Portuguese articles o and a, abbreviated from lo and la, together with the compounds formed from them, as no and na, instead of en lo and en la, must necessarily be offensive to the Spanish ear. It is singular, however, that the Portuguese language has a tendency to lengthen those particular words in which the Spanish cannot tolerate any further extension; for the Spanish Universidad, Magestad, &c. become in Portuguese Universidade, Magestade, and so forth.

* It deserves, however, to be noticed, that of all the sister languages of Roman descent, the Portuguese alone has preserved, in its grammatical structure, a remarkable fragment of the ancient latin conjugation, namely, the pluperfect of the indicative, viz. fora, foras, fora, from fueram, fueras, fuerat. But this pluperfect has also the signification of a preterite of the subjunctive; and through the ambiguity, which thus arises, the value of this grammatical relic in the Portuguese language is in a great measure lost, notwithstanding that the connection may easily mark the proper sense. But how happens it that of all the languages claiming a Roman origin, the Portuguese, though in other respects remarkable for a certain simplicity of character, is, upon the whole, distinguished by the most numerous and subtle tenses in the conjugations of its verbs?

Castilian pride after the union of the Castilian and Arragonian provinces contributed its share in rendering the Spaniards insensible to the peculiar beauties of the Portuguese language. On the contrary, the flexibility of the Portuguese character more readily accommodated itself to foreign forms. Finally, the dependence of the whole government of Portugal on the court of Madrid, during the space of half a century, rendered the knowledge of the Castilian language indispensable to those Portuguese who were destined to fill the first ministerial departments in their native country; but the Spaniards had no such inducement to learn Portuguese, as they were not permitted to hold any public office in Portugal. Thus did the Spanish language during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, acquire that degree of consideration in Portuguese literature which it afterwards maintained. It should besides be recollected, that during the period in which Portugal continued under the dominion of Spain, a great portion of the bookselling trade had been transferred to Lisbon, the first commercial city in the two united kingdoms; and trifling as this circumstance may at first sight appear, it cannot be doubted that it co-operated to the diffusion of the Spanish language in Portuguese literature.

RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL CHARACTER OF THE PORTUGUESE DURING THIS PERIOD.

The polite literature of Portugal experienced no disadvantage from certain traits of difference in the Spanish and Portuguese character and manners. The Portuguese who were less addicted to pomp than the

Spaniards, were also less inclined to religious fanaticism. The monarchs of Portugal, it is true, exerted their utmost endeavours to inflame the religious prejudices of their subjects, and to teach them to revel in the same delirium of barbarous orthodoxy as the Spaniards. John III. in whose reign Portugal attained the highest pinnacle of her power, did not neglect formally to introduce the Spanish inquisition into his dominions; and the jesuits, who had now begun to excite the alarm of every catholic monarchy, Spain excepted, were in the year 1540, received into Portugal by the same sovereign who proposed to avail himself of the aid of those enterprising defenders and propagators of the old catholic faith, for the conversion of the infidels in both Indies. He consigned to the jesuits the education of his grandson Sebastian, who was his successor on the throne; and the example of the monarch was doubtless imitated by many families of rank. Thus, literary education seems to have been still more jesuitical in Portugal than in Spain; and the dreadful pile, on which heretics were immolated, was lighted up often enough to blunt the moral feelings of the people. But these horrid festivals of superstition accorded less with the Portuguese than the Spanish character. Of the two nations the Portuguese were in disposition the more tolerant, and they continue so to be.* On this account the spiri

This trait of distinction between the Portuguese and Spanish national character is still noticed by travellers. The Portuguese is a bigot, like the Spaniard, but he is far less fanatical. The intercourse of trade in Lisbon, requires an external appearance of tolerance. If the English sailors refuse to take off their hats during

tual comedies, with which the Spanish public was never satiated, obtained only a transitory success in Portugal. If, then, the fetters imposed on conscience proved only slight restraints to poètic genius in Spain, still less could any considerable injury arise from such influence on polite literature in Portugal.

At this period poetry and eloquence were not in Portugal much more than in Spain indebted to support from the throne. The poetic art was nevertheless held in esteem and honour at the court of John III. The time had, indeed, gone by in which the kings of Portugal competed for the laurels of Apollo, and shone conspicuous among the bards of their native land. From the reign of Emanuel the Great, to the period when the dynasty of that monarch became extinct, the kings of Portugal were more disposed to encourage adventurous enterprises in the two Indies than to devote themselves to the cultivation of poetry. John III. however, seems to have possessed a strong taste for dramatic amusements; at least it is related that he himself used to perform parts in the plays of Gil Vicente, which were represented at his court. Sebastian, the ardent disciple of the jesuits, was occupied in the fulfilment of his presumed destiny to extend the glory of his faith and his name by romantic achievements, until in the fatal conflict, by which he hoped to render himself master of Fez and Morocco, he was lost

the catholic processions in Portugal, the populace content themselves with exclaiming, "they are English heretics!" or uttering some other words of reproach.

* See preceding vol. page 151.

among the lifeless wreck of his defeated army: and Camoens, the no less ardent disciple of the muses, whose enthusiasm in his sovereign's cause was both patriotic and poetic, was left by Sebastian to languish in bitter poverty. Old Cardinal Henry, though a lover of literature, found, on ascending the throne, sufficient occupation in providing for the political welfare of the country. That the Spanish kings who next governed Portugal bestowed little or no attention on Portuguese poetry and eloquence, is a fact to which it is scarcely necessary to advert. On the accession of John of Braganza, it is probable that the government would have done more for the national drama, which had hitherto been left to work its own way, had not the Portuguese, after the death of the inventive Gil Vicente, fallen further behind the Spaniards in dramatic composition than in any other class of poetry. The royal patronage now arrived too late. Portugal possessed no national drama like that of Spain; and for the non-existence of that branch of literature the people and not the government must be held responsible. The causes which prevented dramatic poetry in Portugal from attaining that degree of excellence to which it arrived in Spain, will be noticed in their proper place, in so far as they can be ascertained or conjectured. The distinguished favour, however, which the Italian opera at length obtained from the court of Lisbon was not only unprofitable to Portuguese national poetry, but contributed to banish it still further from the stage. There was of course now less reason than ever to hope for the establishment of a genuine and well cultivated national drama in Portugal.