sacred representative of their Prince. All laughing, sneezing, coughing,
speaking, or even whispering, were capitally prohibited; but crying was
not only permitted, but commanded, when His Majesty was offended, angry,
or unwell. Should our system of cringing continue progressively to
increase as it has done these last three years, we, too, shall very soon
have rooms consecrated, and an idol to adore.




LETTER XVIII.

PARIS, September, 1805.

MY LORD:--Portugal has suffered more from the degraded state of Spain,
under the administration of the Prince of Peace, than we have yet gained
by it in France. Engaged by her, in 1793, in a war against its
inclination and interest, it was not only deserted afterwards, but
sacrificed. But for the dictates of the Court of Madrid, supported,
perhaps, by some secret influence of the Court of St. James, the Court of
Lisbon would have preserved its neutrality, and, though not a well-wisher
of the French Republic, never have been counted among her avowed enemies.

In the peace of 1795, and in the subsequent treaty of 1796, which
transformed the family compact of the French and Spanish Bourbons into a
national alliance between France and Spain, there was no question about
Portugal. In 1797, indeed, our Government condescended to receive a
Portuguese plenipotentiary, but merely for the purpose of plundering his
country of some millions of money, and to insult it by shutting up its
representative as a State prisoner in the Temple. Of this violation of