CONVERSATIONS WITH A SPANISH LIBERAL. 475 



I made for answer " Giaffer, the most incorruptible of viziers 

 while in office, never failed to send one thousand pieces of gold 

 every day from the treasury to his own home ; and * Virtus post 

 nummos' has so long been the creed of your Portuguese employes, that 

 they looked upon peculation as the French do upon the violation of 

 chastity. Etant contiu cest pen de chose, rietant pas connu ce n'est rien" 

 " But a truce to this mauvaise plaisanlrie What is your opinion 

 of General Saldanha, who, with the Conde de Taipa, now heads the 

 Portuguese opposition ?" 



" He is a brave and a good soldier," replied my companion, " but 

 a mauvais politique, rash and impetuous ; he would carry every poli- 

 tical question as he would a redoubt la ba'ionette en avant. He is no 

 match for the wily Palmella, who has fairly outmanceuvered and 

 driven him into the ranks of the opposition." 



" There is one man whom in your catalogue raisonne of Portuguese 

 distingues you have most unaccountably passed over in silence ; one, 

 too, who after all is the real hero of the Portuguese revolution." 



" And pray who is he to whom you award that distinguished and 

 honourable title ?" 



" Mendizabel the financier, whom I believe is a countryman of 

 your own." 



" Tienes razon amigo ! Mendizabel is a Spaniard and an 



honour to his country, and it must be confessed that his zeal and his 

 skilful financial combinations were mainly instrumental in bringing 

 the contest to a favourable issue. You perhaps recollect that no 

 sooner had Don Pedro put himself at the head of the Portuguese 

 emigration at Terceira, than negotiations were opened with the 

 bourses of London and Paris, in order to raise the sinews of war. 

 Louis Philippe, who saw in the cause of Donna Maria the eventuality 

 of a crown for one of his sons, promised assistance, and even Mira- 

 bile dictu! to open his own strong box on the occasion. But when 

 he found that the young Duke of Leuchtenburg was preferred to the 

 Duke of Nemours, the ardour of the citizen-king suffered a reffroi- 

 dissement, which soon degenerated into neglect and insult. 



England, on the other hand, in deference to Ferdinand, played the 

 neutral. Thus abandoned by these two powers, it was the London 

 and Paris stock exchanges which decided the fate of Portugal ; and 

 here it was that Mendizabal, by his consummate skill in finance, and 

 by his straight forward and honourable bearing, proved a host in him- 

 self ; but it is not in that point alone that Portugal owes to this ge- 

 nerous Spaniard a deep debt of gratitude. It was by his advice that 

 she has entered on that financial career which forms so splendid a 

 contrast with that of Spain. Mendizabal has shewn himself as pro- 

 found a politician as a skilful financier again he has constanly stood 

 forward as the advocate of the claims of the numerous foreign adven- 

 turers in the Queen's army whose services have been so soon for- 

 gotten, and by the assistance he rendered her government was the 

 means of preventing a serious entente that might have led to the most 

 disastrous circumstances." 



" It would be fortunate for Spain," I remarked, " had she the 

 benefit of his advice. What a melancholy feature does the aspect of 

 that country present ! the follies, the baseness, nay the downright 



