He it was who first grasped the fact that history can only be rightly studied and correctly written after a careful and critical investigation of documents, and he manifested both energy and discernment in clearing away the cobweb of legend which had been spun about the early days of the nation. Herculano inspired his spirit into the new generation, and he has had many painstaking and able followers, among whom the ablest are Luis Augusto Rebello da Silva, Simião José da Luz Soriano, and José Maria Latino Coelho. In general literature, the modern Portuguese are equally distinguished, though their greatest strength lies in poetry and history, and it is worthy of notice, that literary fame is a sure passport to rapid advancement in political life. The high opinion held of literary endeavour is an evidence of the persistency of the national spirit, and as such may be welcomed as the brightest augury for the future development of the Portuguese nation. Few countries of Europe will repay attentive study better than Portugal; no nation, except Spain, passed through such a trial as the reign of Maria da Gloria, and in no country have the advantages of representative institutions been better realized; socialism possesses there a reforming, not a revolutionary, force; knowledge of the history of their nation, inspired by great writers, has made the modern Portuguese ambitious to revive the glories of the past, and has united men of all shades of opinion in a common patriotism. The Camoens celebration of 1880 showed that the Brazilians are still proud of their mother country, and that the Portuguese race on both sides of the Atlantic was ready to develop new energy and perseverance, and to prove its descent from the men who under Affonso Henriques conquered the Moors; who under John I. and John IV. rejected the rule of the Spaniards; who under Affonso de Alboquerque and João de Castro made their names famous from Arabia to Japan; and who, by the labours of Prince Henry “the Navigator” and the voyage of Vasco da Gama, initiated a new era in the history of the world. [Illustration: text decoration] INDEX. A. Abd-el-Melik, 248, 250, 253, 254 Abrantes, 57, 104, 392 Abrantes, Marquis of, 393 Abu Abdallah, Governor of Alcacer do Sal, 72, 73 Abu-l-Hasan, defeated at the Salado, 1340, 92 Abyssinia, visits of Portuguese travellers to, 167 “Academia Real das Sciencias,” 372, 396 Academy of History, 353 A’Court, Sir William; _see_ Heytesbury, Lord Aden, 200, 214 Affonso Henriques, 24, 31, 34, 35, 37-58, 98 Affonso II., 70-74, 98 Affonso III., 79, 80-83, 89, 98 Affonso IV., 86, 91-99 Affonso V., 130-35, 138, 159, 160 Affonso VI., 324, 326-34 Affonso, son of Affonso III., 85, 86 Affonso, only son of John II., 163, 170 Affonso, João, bastard son of Diniz, 91 Affonso, Pedro, bastard son of Count Henry, 31 Affonso, Pedro, bastard son of Diniz, Count of Barcellos, 91 Africa, 144-56, 195, 213, 247, 343, 346, 428, 429