ssion, in which Lord St. Vincent and General Simcoe were
joined with him. His instructions from Mr. Fox, then prime minister,
were to lay before the ministry of Lisbon, the imminent danger which
threatened the country, and to offer assistance in men, money, and
stores from England, to put Portugal in a state of defence, in case the
government should decide on a vigorous and effective resistance. If, on
the other hand, Portugal should think itself too weak to contend with
France, the idea that had once occurred to King Don Alfonso of
emigrating to Brazil, and there establishing the capital of the empire,
was to be revived, and promises made of assistance and protection for
that purpose. If, however, Portugal insisted on rejecting assistance in
either case, the troops under General Simcoe were to be landed, the
strong forts on the Tagus occupied by them, and the fleet was to enter
the river and secure the Portuguese ships and vessels, taking care to
impress the government and people with the feeling that this was done
from regard to the nation, and by no means for the sake of selfish
aggrandisement on the part of England. It appears, however, that the
French preparations for the invasion were not at that time so far
advanced as had been imagined, and at the earnest entreaty of the court
of Lisbon, the troops and the fleet were withdrawn from the Tagus.

On the 8th of August, the next year, however, (1807) Mr. Rayneval, the
French charge d'affaires at Lisbon, received orders from his court to
declare to the Prince Regent of Portugal, that if by the first of
September he did not declare war against England, and send back the
English minister, recalling the Portuguese ambassador from London, and
did not seize all the English residents, confiscate their property, and
shut the ports of the kingdom against the English; and lastly, if he did
not, without delay, unite his armies and fleets with those of the rest
of the continent against England, he had orders to demand his passports
and to declare war.

The Conde de Barca, then prime minister, was certainly aware of the
preparations of the French government. But with that obstinate blindness
which sometimes seems to possess men like a fate, he persisted in
regarding them only as measures to intimidate and harass England. This
nobleman had been ambassador at the court of St. Petersburg, and on his
recall to take the first place in the cabinet at Lisbon, he was ordered
to go by se