rendered without reserve, and in less than
twenty-four hours from Lord Cochrane's first appearance in the river
the flag of Portugal was replaced by that of Brazil. A great province
had been added to the dominions of Pedro I. without bloodshed, and
with no more expenditure of ammunition than was needed for the volleys
discharged in honour of the triumph.

The liberation of Maranham was publicly celebrated on the 28th of
July, and on the following day the Portuguese troops embarked for
Europe, special concessions being made to them by Lord Cochrane, who
deemed it well that they should be out of the way before the device
by which he had outwitted them was made known. No resentment was to
be expected from the civilians, as even those most hearty in their
adherence to the Portuguese faction in Brazil would not dare to offer
direct opposition to the sentiments of the majority. But Lord Cochrane
wisely set himself to conciliate all. "To the inhabitants of the
city," he said, "I was careful to accord complete liberty, claiming
in return that perfect order should be preserved and property of all
kinds respected. The delight of the people was unbounded at being
freed from a terrible system of exaction and imprisonment which, when
I entered the river, was being carried on with unrelenting rigour by
the Portuguese authorities towards all suspected of a leaning to
the Imperial Government. Instead of retaliating, as would have been
gratifying to those so recently labouring under oppression, I directed
oaths to the constitution to be administered, not to Brazilians only,
but also to all Portuguese who chose to remain and conform to the new
order of things; a privilege of which many influential persons of that
nation availed themselves."

With the capture of Maranham alone, however, Lord Cochrane was not
satisfied. Without a day's delay, he despatched a Portuguese brig
which he had seized in the river and christened by its name, under
Captain Grenfell, to follow at Para, the only important province of
Brazil still under the Portuguese yoke, the same course which he
had just adopted with such wonderful success. He himself found it
necessary to remain at Maranham for more than two months, where he had
to curb with a strong hand the passions of the liberated inhabitants,
eager to use their liberty in lawless ways and to retaliate upon the
Portuguese still resident among them for all the hardships which they
had hitherto endured.

On