The royal family was at this time residing in the small palace of Belem, about a league out of town, and thus escaped being buried among the ruins of the capital—a fortunate occurrence in the midst of so many misfortunes; for the anarchy that must have ensued from the destruction of all authority would have filled the cup of misery to the brim. As it was, Government seemed utterly incapable of contending with a disaster of such colossal proportions. ‘What is to be done?’ said the helpless king to his minister Carvalho, Marquis of Pombal, who, on entering the council-chamber, found his sovereign vainly seeking for advice among his weeping and irresolute courtiers: ‘how can we alleviate the chastisement which Divine justice has imposed upon us?’ ‘Sire! by burying the dead and taking care of the living,’ was the ready answer of the great statesman, whose noble bearing and confident mien at once restored the king’s courage. From that moment José bestowed a boundless confidence upon Pombal. Without losing a single moment, the minister, invested with full powers, threw himself into a carriage, and hastened with all speed to the scene of destruction. Wherever his presence was most needed, there was he sure to be found. For several days and nights he never left his carriage, whence, incessantly active in his efforts to reduce chaos to order, he issued no less than two hundred decrees, all bearing the stamp of a master-mind. Troops from the provinces were summoned in all haste, and concentrated round the capital, which no one was allowed to leave without permission, so that the robbers, who had enriched themselves with the plunder of palaces and churches, were unable to escape with their spoils.
In all his numerous ordinances Carvalho neglected none of the details necessary for insuring their practical utility, writing many of them on his knees with a pencil, and sending them, without loss of time, to the various officers charged with their execution. His wise regulations for ensuring a speedy supply and a regular distribution of provisions averted famine. Great fears were entertained of pestilential disorders, in consequence of the putrid exhalations of so many corpses, which it was impossible to bury. To prevent this additional misfortune, Carvalho induced the Patriarch to give orders that the bodies of the dead should be cast into the sea, with only such religious ceremonies as circumstances permitted.