The sun., 1891-07-26


district, and he thereupon assumed the title.
preserved until this day. Of King Of Portugal
and the Algarves.
With the death Of Alfonso III. t1279) the
period Of war and Of territorial extension
within tho peninsula came to q close. and the
period OF civilization was to dawn. Nationally
and constitutionally. Portugal was now an
established kingdom. II rom aimed for II to be-
como thoroughly HOMOGENEOUS and relatively
civilized before the heroic period OF explora-
tion and Asiatc conquest could begin.
The next Portuguese sovereign. Dinlz. earned
the significant nickname Of "Re Lavrador."
the laborer king He was poet and encour-
nger Of literature. . statesman and great ad-
minlstrator; q far.seeing man. who by foster
ing commerce prepared for the trsnsmarins
expansion OF Portuguese energies. But atove
all. and hence his nickname. he recognized the
need OF agriculture and the arts of peace. 1t
WIS during his reign that the Order Of knights
Templars was suppressed by Pope Clement ".
and tho course which Diniz pursued demon
stratsd his political sagacity. Refusing TO
forRet the services which the military orders
had rendered to Portugal. he determined to
svads the Papai Injunction. and accordingly
founded ;he Order Of Christ. which no invese cd
with all tho property OF the Templars. Thus.
while ostensibly obeylng tho Pope he avoided
n serious disturbance at home. 1t Is impossible
In few lines to indicate the remarkable prog.
ress effec cd during the long reign Of Don Diniz.
which covered nearly fifty years. He founlcd
agricultural schools and homes for farmers
orphans. established model farms, endeavored
by honorine agricultural pursuits to raise
them in the consideration OF the nobility. and
n frnv n frnp tho ofi hoS
war was the only occupation flt for freeman.
He settled cultivntors in the barren southern
province OF tho Alcmtejo paid special atten-
tion to the rearing OF vines In the north. and
planted tho great pine forest Of Leirin for tho
purpose Of reclaimipg the sandy regions In the
neighborhood. He was also q great builder
constructing tho towns Of Saliva ezra and Villa
Real. and doug much to improve the three
royal cities Of Lisbon. San,arem. and
Coimbra More stringent laws OF mort
main were diRcted against tho Church.
and sweeping reforms were introduced
in the administration OF justice. Under sue
cession Of learned chancellors system OF law
was evolved. which while It did not openly
abolish the fsudal courts gradually supersed-
ed them. His encouragement OF commerce
Is attested by his commercial treaty with Eng
land and by his establishment OF royal navy
" Almirante Nor" or Lord High Admiral.
From this and many another point OF view
Dom Diniz did for Portugal what his still
greater contemporary. Edward l.. was doing
for England. 1t was also Diniz who in 1900
founded the first Portuguese university at Lis
bon. which. after many changes OF locality. OBJ.
tained permanent homo in Colmbra and bs-
came the centre Of literary influence In Portu-
gal. Tho King was himself poet OF taste and
skill after the fashion Of the trou and to
him and his companion versifers must be at
tributed the moulding OF the Portuguese din
lect into beautiful and flexible literary Ian
guage In the end he threw of tho trammels
OF Frovencal forms. and rerceiving tho beauty
OF his peorles lyrics. wrote some quaint and
graceful pastorellas" In the vernacular. To
,his day the influence OF Dom Dniz is recoR-
nized as pervading the whole OF Portuguese
poetry. Personally dissolute. like most OF the
troubadours. he was the hero OF many stories
that are by no means edlfying. His example
was followed by his sister. Donna Brauca who,
although an abbess. fell In love with a carpen-
tor. and bore him son, who became
Master Of the Order OF Calatrava. Tho Kings
favors to two OF his own illegitimate children
involved him. toward the end OF his reign. in
bitter disputes with his only legitimate son,
Alfonso w. Tho latter. on ascending the
throne. hastened to oonfscate the lands OF his
half brothers and beheaded one OF thcm but.
having performed this act OF vengeance. set
tied down as q worthy successor OF his father.
During this reign the business relations be-
tween the Portugue. g and English sovereiens
became very close. and tho wine Of Oporto
began to be freely exchanged for the long
cloth OF England. In 1853 supplement to the
previous commercial treaty guaranteed recip-
rocal privileges to Portuguese and Erglish
merchants in their respective countries.
There 10 an abundance OF romance In the
history OF Portugal. but the story Of Donna
Ines de Castro is particularly worth recalling.
since 1t W as TO TO celebrated by Camoens In an
immortal passage and to become a current
theme for tho playwriehts OF the world. 1t
seems that Dom Pedro. the only son OF Alfonso
w.. had for political reasons married In 1886.
being then only IL years ola the daughter Of
the Duke OF Penalel. In her suite. as lady in
waiting came the Donna Ines de Castro,
Of Pedro Fernandez de Castro. the
hero OF the battle OF the Salado against the
Moors. Dom Pedro fell In love with the beau
tkul Castilian ludy. and though during his
wife's lifetime he always treated the latter
with the utmost consideration. and was the
father by her OF Dom Ferdinand. afterward
King OF Portugal. it was we'll known at the
court that his affections were centred upon
Donna Ines. SO long as their relations wore
irregular but little attention was paid to them.
but after the death OF his wfe 1t Was perceived
that Dom Pedro's attachment to tho Donna
Ines was something very different from an
ordinary caprice and had become an absorb
ing passion. For lovo OF her he refused to
marry any Of the foreign princesses proposed
to him BY his father. and 1t Is probable
that lie went through form OF marriage
with her after his first wife'B death. However
that may be King Alfonso ". deter
mined to put an end to his sons infatu-
alton by killing tho object Of 1t. and by his or.
ders Donna Ines was murdered By three cour-
tiers In the streets Of Coimbra. Dom Pedro
WAS absent on his estates in the south whom
he heard OF the murder OF his beloved. He at
once collected his vassals and prepared to at
tack his father. but his mother interpossd and
a compromise WAS made by which father aud
son agreed to see each other no more. an
agreement which WAS kept until tho death OF
Alfonso In 1857. The very llrst act OF Dom