treasurer and favourite of John II., king of Castile, celebrated for the powerful ascendancy which he gained over this prince. He was a natural son of Don Alvaro de Luna, lord of Cañete in Aragon, and of a woman of infamous character. He was born in 1388, and named Peter; but Pope Benedict XIII., who was charmed with his wit though yet a child, changed Peter to Alvares. He was introduced to court in 1408, and made a gentleman of the bed-chamber to King John, in whose service he acquired the most distinguished favour. In 1427 the hostility of the courtiers occasioned his banishment from court for a year and a half. His absence was a source of the utmost affliction to the king, who could now speak or think of nothing but Alvares. He was therefore recalled; and being invested with his former authority, he revenged himself severely upon his enemies, by persuading the king to banish them. He spent 45 years at court, and during 30 of them maintained such an ascendancy over the king, that nothing could be done without his concurrence: nay, it is related by Mariana, that the king could not change an officer or servant, or even his clothes or diet, without the approbation of Alvares. He was master of the treasury, and had so gained the affections of the subjects by his profusion, that the king, though his eyes were now opened, and his favour withdrawn, was afraid to complain. A day of retribution however was at hand; the popular favour, as well as the affections of the monarch, declined, and Alvares was thrown into prison. Being brought to trial and condemned, he was removed to Valladolid, and there beheaded in the marketplace. He met his fate with the utmost intrepidity.

ALVAEZ, Francisco, of Coimbra, a priest, and almoner to Emanuel king of Portugal, was sent in 1515 as secretary to Duarte Galvao on an embassy to David, king of Abyssinia. The expedition having been delayed by the way, it was not until 1520 that he reached Abyssinia, where he remained six years, and returned to Lisbon in 1527. In 1540, the year of his death, he published at Lisbon an account of his travels in one volume folio, entitled Descripção dos Terras de Preste Joam, &c. This curious work was translated in Latin, under the title of De Fide, Regione, et Moribus Ethiopum, by Damien Goez, a Portuguese gentleman; and has often been reprinted and translated into other languages. The information it contains must, however, be received with caution, as the author is prone to exaggerate, and does not confine his remarks to his own observation.