Until the age of eight, when he was orphaned, he lived in Lisbon; then his sister took him to a remote hamlet in Tras-os-Montes. His life there was erratic. By the age of sixteen he was married, but he soon left his wife, who died in neglect.
He intrigued, quarreled, conducted spectacular love affairs, and suffered imprisonment for his indiscretions. Yet five years before his death he was honored by the king with the title of Viscount Correia-Botelho. In his last years he withdrew to the northern province of Minho where, blind and ill, he took his own life June 1, 1890.
Education
His erratic schooling, continued after marriage, included terms at the polytechnical school and a wild period as a medical student in Oporto.