Gomes (Francisco Luiz)

This distinguished writer (1829–1869), author of Os Brahamanes and other works of undeniable merit, was struck by a serious lung disease and came to this island seeking relief from his sufferings. He did not, however, find in the mildness of our climate the cure he so longed for. The great novelist Júlio Dinis (see that entry), who met Francisco Luiz Gomes in Funchal, refers to him in a letter dated 5 April 1869 in the following terms: ‘Francisco Luiz Gomes is here in Funchal. I was disappointed when I saw him. He is a figure no one can see without turning round after he has passed. Imagine a skeleton in the strict sense of the word, tall and lanky; his legs bending under the weight of his body; his clothes hanging on him as if from a nail; the copper colour typical of Indians; his teeth bare and protruding. He is frightening, poor man! No one would say there is a man of intelligence there!’

Shortly after this meeting with Júlio Dinis, Francisco Luiz Gomes left Madeira and set out for Portuguese India, his native land, but succumbed during the voyage to the ravages of pulmonary tuberculosis in the first days of October 1869.