"
"The former greatness of Portugal," said Lady Mabel, "is even more
wonderful than its present decay. Yet that is lamentable, indeed, when
the government, without striking a blow, could run away from the
country on the approach of the invader."
"That might have been called an act of deliberate wisdom," said
L'Isle, "had it not been stamped with feebleness and cowardice in the
execution. Resistance was hopeless against France united with Spain,
its tool, and soon to be its victim. Yielding to the storm left the
invaders without apology for the plunder and atrocities the French
have since perpetrated on the people. Nor was it a sudden thought. As
long ago as the beginning of the last century, a Portuguese Secretary
of State, seeing the defenceless condition of his country, urged that
the King should remove to Brazil, and fix his court at Rio Janeiro. He
points out the dependent state of his country in Europe, and asks:
'What is Portugal?' A corner of land divided into three parts; one
barren, one belonging to the church, and the other part not even
producing grain enough for the inhabitants. Look now at Brazil, and
see what is wanting! The soil is rich, the climate delightful, the
territory boundless, and the city would soon become more flourishing
than Lisbon.
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