Page:Lisbon and Cintra, Inchbold, 1907.djvu/88

Rh hundred deputies drawn from all classes, convoked in 1821 by the people themselves, who, driven to desperation by their position after the long, terrible war—their king in Brazil and Portugal nothing more than a colony of the new country—followed the example of the Spanish and demanded a constitution. Then came a counter revolution which set D. Miguel on the throne. Of the Constitutional Charter bestowed upon the nation by D. Pedro IV mention has been made in an earlier chapter. The deputies of the present Camara dos Deputados number 148, and represent not only Portugal but the Azores and Madeira. The other Chamber of the Cortes—Camara dos Pares—consists of nominated, not hereditary, peers, none of them under forty years of age.

To the right of the chief entrance to the Cortes is a smaller door which opens into the repositary of the national archives, known as the Archivo da Torre do Tombo. This name of Torre do Tombo was derived from one of the towers of the ancient fortifications standing on the site of the Paço da Ribeira, when D. Fernando I established the Archivo National within its walls. Owing to a destructive fire which destroyed many of the manuscripts D. João III transferred the archives to the Castello de S. Jorge, where they were stored in Torre Albarrã or Albarram. It was in 1757 after the earthquake they found a final resting-place in the edifice of S. Bento in vault-like chambers, frigid and damp, a condition lamented by those who understand the value of the ancient manuscripts, documents and rare works liable to grave deterioration. The guardians of the Archivo da Torre do Castello were in times past also the head chroniclers of their age, a proof that the historic value of the treasures in their care became recognized. The names of many are shining lights in the literary history of Portugal, such 62