GENERAL HISTORY. 



[127 



national mind, by transforming 

 into proofs of his Majesty's in- 

 tention to abandon Portugal all 

 those political events which had 

 occurred for some time, and the 

 popular rumours consequent upon 

 them : and his excellency having 

 learnt from some of the accom- 

 plices, that at the head of this in- 

 fernal plot was the Lieut. -Gen. 

 Gomez Freire de Andrade, aided 

 by the Baron d'Eben, and that 

 they altogether had dii-ected, and 

 continued to direct, all their efforts 

 to seduce all they could of the 

 troops and other classes of the in- 

 habitants : and as it was no longer 

 possible to doubt the existence of 

 a plot after the fortunate seizure 

 of some proclamations, all ready 

 printed, in the name of a self- 

 styled regenerating council (such 

 was their assumed title) ; in con- 

 sideration of these discoveries, the 



governors of the kingdom con- 

 ceived that they owed it to the 

 monarch wlio had intrusted them 

 with the government of the king- 

 dom, to the inhabitants themselves, 

 to their own characters, and to 

 the preservation of public order, 

 to prevent without delay those 

 consequences with which all were 

 threatened ; and it was with this 

 object that their excellencies de- 

 termined to arrest, without loss of 

 time, on the night between the 

 25th and 2t;th of May, not only 

 the two general officers before 

 named, but other pei'sons also who 

 were known to be acquainted and 

 implicated in the horrible project. 

 All possible efforts were made to 

 learn every circumstance, and to 

 procure every proof, in order to 

 proceed forthwith according to 

 law, to execute justice on the 

 guilty. 



CHAP- 



