It was
affirmed to have been no more than a ruse of those men's to gain
the shelter of the city."
She questioned and cross-questioned him upon that, seeking to
draw from him the admission that it was possible denial and
explanation obeyed the wishes of the hidden prince.
"Yes, it is possible," he admitted at length, "and it is believed
by many to be the fact. Don Sebastian was as sensitive as high-
spirited. The shame of his defeat may have hung so heavily upon
him that he preferred to remain in hiding, and to sacrifice a
throne of which he now felt himself unworthy. Half Portugal
believes it so, and waits and hopes."
When Frey Miguel parted from her that day, he took with him the
clear conviction that not in all Portugal was there a soul who
hoped more fervently than she that Don Sebastian lived, or
yearned more passionately to acclaim him should he show himself.
And that was much to think, for the yearning of Portugal was as
the yearning of the slave for freedom.
Sebastian's mother was King Philip's sister, whereby King Philip
had claimed the succession, and taken possession of the throne of
Portugal. Portugal writhed under the oppressive heel of that
foreign rule, and Frey Miguel de Sousa himself, a deeply,
passionately patriotic man, had been foremost among those who had
sought to liberate her.
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