Nascimento and other writers who did not belong to the Arcadia, formed themselves into a rival group, which met at the Ribeira das Naus, and the two bodies attacked one another in rhyme without restraint, until the "war of the poets", as it was called, ended with the collapse of the Arcadia. Nascimento now conceived a strong but platonic affection for D. Maria de Almeida, afterwards Condessa da Ribeira, sister of the famous poet the Marquise of Alorna. This lady sang the chansonnettes he wrote for her, and their poetical intercourse drew from him some lyrics of profound emotion.