of Ferdinand, on the 5th of April, remitted to his imperial and royal majesty Napoleon, at Bayonne. In consequence of the royal or der, (it was stated in the Madrid gazette) which was given to his excellency the marquis of Astorga, groom-major to his majesty, the conveyance of the sword to the lodgings of his imperial highness the grand duke of Berg, was arranged with great pomp and ceretony.” This surrender of the sword, formed a presage, and was indeed a kind of emblem of that of the crown. All the civilities, compliances, and submissions of the Spanish court did not long secure a suitable return of civility and complaisance, on the part of their French allies, guests, and invaders. The altercation and sparring, and even some encounters that terminated in death, which, notwithstanding all the anxious precautions of the Spanish government, took place between many individuals of the different nations, might have been accounted for from the natural levity and arrogance of the French character, and the pride of the Spaniards, awakened by jealousy and suspicion. But, about the middle of March, an occurrence took place at Barcelona, which if the hostile designs of the French government could possibly have appeared unequivocal before, rendered them as plain as noon day. General Duhesme, commander in chief of the French army of observation, of the Eastern Pyrenees, had been for some time busily employed in throwing great quantities of ammunition and provisions into the forts of Barcelona and Monjuich. The count of VOL. L. Espellata, captain general of Cata lonia, in a letter dated at Barcelonia, 18th of March, remonstrated with the general on this suspicious and alarming movement." The troops," said he," that occupied the citadel, and the fortress of Monjuich, might have considered all the houses of Barcelona as so many magazines, and the provisions they contained as their own. There was no enemy to excite apprehension; nor any thing to be expected in which the inhabitants of the town were not as much interested as the troops in garrison. Your excellency occupied the fortresses in the name of the emperor and king as an ally; and it was only, on the faith of this that the Spanish goverument consented to its occupancy. It was under the same impression, that the town opened to you and your people its treasures, and resources of every kind, which you have received in the bosom of our families. The city gave you an honourable reception, and shared with you the provisions destined for their own use. Military law prescribes the mode of provisioning garrisons when engaged in actual hostilities, or besieged, or when the country is threatened with famine. In such cases the general is under a necessity of taking mea sures of precaution for the subsistence of his troops, by the formation of magazines. But, where circumstances of this kind do not exist, such measures are calculated only to excite suspicion and mistrust. Neither my conduct, nor the constant moderation of my troops, nor the favourable reception accorded to the French army, is calculated to give any ground of alarmı. "The town is provided with ne[L]. cessaries cessaries of every sort, as you will see by the official statements signed by the intendant; and, even if we should fall short of some articles, your excellency has given me the strongest assurance that preparations are at this moment going on in the ports of France, for supply ing this place with provisions free from all duties. When his majesty the emperor and king, whose great name iuspires us with confidence, at the same time that our fortresses are occupied by his troops, shall be informed of our pliability and honourable principles, it will not be with pleasure that he will be told, that this city, in return for its deference and conduct, has been alarmed by terrible menaces and preparations. Your excellency will be pleased to learn from his imperial majesty, what he thinks of your design before you carry it into execution, accompanying your request with this explanation of my sentiments on the subject; as I also, on my part, shall lay the whole of this matter before the king my master, without whose orders I cannot accord to your excellency what the forts occupied by the Spa nish troops have not themselves. "If, before receiving orders from the emperor, your excellency should see any reason for living with precaution, and under the influence of fear in fortresses to be considered, at present, as forming part of the city, then indeed it may be proper to have recourse to the measures you propose. But as, at present, there was no necessity for any such measure, I wish to impress your aind with a conviction, that to establish magazines, and form considerable depôts of provisions in the forts cannot serve any good purpose; that such an intention is remarkable, calculated to rouse at tention, and offensive; and that it may not perhaps be in your excellency's power, nor mine, to remedy the consequences which such a fermentation must excite among the inhabitants." This letter of count Espellata, copies of which were handed about in Madrid, and over all Spain, met with general sympathy aud applause, and contributed very much to raise and heighten the national sentiment of resentment and indignation against the French and the French party. It is one among the numerous instances of a striking contrast bes tween the spirit and energy of the Spanish people, and the islessness, and blind imbecility of government, and too many of the higher orders, which have hitherto been apparent in the course of the Spanish revolution. This is the letter to which Buonaparte particularly alludes, in his letter of the 16th of April, to the prince of Asturias, in which he has the effrontery to say: "I see with pain that some persons at Madrid have disseminated certain letters of the captain general of Catalonia, and done every thing to excite disturbances among the people"." The state of affairs at Barcelona, must have been known to the Spanish court a considerable time before the departure of Ferdinand from his capital to meet Buonaparte! * See Appendix to the Chronicle, p. 228. The The journey of Ferdinand to ds Bayonne, excited in all the ages and towns through which pussed, the greatest discontent 1. liveliest indignation; which e not appeased by the procla tions that preceded his progress, laring that he had the most pove and satisfactory assurances, t nothing but the most profound pect would be shewn to his per; without which assurances he uld never have accepted the em, or of the French's invitation, that within four or five days, the assistance of his good bror and ally, the affairs of Spain ald be settled to his own satis sion, and also to that of his sub S. At Vittoria, when the people mt, even from the authority of king, that Buonaparte was sufd to interfere in those affairs, e was a general fermentation ng the inhabitants, who, April crowded about the royal resive, in the most tumultuous mangiving vent to their sentiments out restraint.. new proclamation was issued, the duke of Infantando enoured to impress the assertions ained in it, in harangues to the le. He assured them, that the tion of the new king was, to esent to the French emperor, antipathy of the Spanish peoo the French troops that had | sent among them, and to ded their immediate recal. The ilt was somewhat assuaged; voices were heard here and , muttering, "That both the and the duke of Infantando might do with Napoleon what they From the morwent that Murat See Appendix to the Chronicle, p. 241. Whilst Whilst Ferdinand halted at Vittoria, he was informed by the supreme junta, that the grand duke of Berg had made a formal and even an imperious demand of the release of Godoy. This application Ferdinand, who had solemnly promised to bring Don Manuel to judgment according to the laws, directed the junta to resist. Buona parte had himself, by letter, made a similar application to Ferdinand; who, in reply, represented the invincible necessity he was under of bringing Godoy to trial. But if his imperial majesty should continuc to take an interest in the life of Don Manuel Godoy, he gave him his word, that if the prisoner should, after mature examination of the charges laid against him, be condemned to death, that punishment should be remitted, in consideration of his majesty's intercession. When the French emperor received this answer from Ferdinand, he flew into a great passion, and, with his accustomed falsity, immediately wrote to the grand duke of Berg, that the prince of Asturias had placed the prisoner at his disposal, and ordered him to demand the release of Godoy, in the most energetic manner. The grand duke, who was naturally violent and inpetuous, sent a very haughty note to the junta, in which he reminded them, that the emperor of the French, at the same time that the authority of the prince of Asturias was stated as a ground of procedure to themi, acknowledged no other king of Spain than Charles IV. He demanded anew the per son of the prince of the peace to be sent to France, To this note Murat added many verbal threats of foree, which, being reported, so intimidated them, that they order. ed the release of Godoy, who was immediately conveyed to Bayonne. The junta, to cover their own weakness, gave out in two gazettės extraordinary, that Don Manuel had been released by order of Ferdinand VII. They attempted, by disguising and garbling, to justify such an interpretation of his letter; though nothing could be plainer than that it was the king's intention not to screen Godoy from trial, but from the last punishment in case of condemnation. The joy that was excited by the imprisonment of the prince of peace, with his principal officers, in all the provinces of Spain, is not to be described. At Salamanca, and several the chur other towns, the bells of were rung; and at Salamanca six hundred monks and as many licentiates, danced in the market-place; young women, imar ried women, and old men, mixed with the monks in this extravagant demonstration of their joyful transports. The Spanish newspapers, which had begun to assume a toue of great freedom, styled Don Mapuel, the prince of injustice, the generalissimo of infamy, the grand admiral of treason, and the ruin of the nation. Although the history of all absolute monarchies presents many instances of sudden and surprizing elevations to great power and wealth, and as sudden and unex pected falls, there is perhaps nope * See Documents subjoined to the Exposition of Cevallos, No. XI. riking as that of Don Manuel The prince of the peace was ac- by Buonaparte as a person of distinction and consequence. The determined interference of Buonaparte for the liberation of the prince of peace, was owing to the resolution of the king and queen not to quit Spain for France, though called thither by Buonaparte, unless the favourite should be permitted to do so also, and to proceed on his journey before them, King Charles IV. and his queen, Louisa, arrived on the 27th of `April at Burgos, and on the 28th at Vittoria. A detachment of the body guards, to the number of one hundred, who had accompanied the prince of Asturias to Bayonne, happening to be in this town, placed themselves, according to custoin, in the palace to be occupied by their majesties. But when the old king set his eyes on them, with a degree of energy that surprized every one, he ordered them to be gone"You betrayed your trust at Aranjuez, I want none of your services, and I will have none.”—The guards were obliged to retire. On the 29th of April, their majesties remained all night at Tolosa; on the 30th they came, about noon, to Irun, where they received letters from Buonaparte, and two hours after entered the walls of Bayonne, where they were received with all public respect and honour. When the roaring of cannon announced the arrival of the old king Don Manuel, in his retreat, was and queen of Spain, Ferdinand, ompanied by an escort of two with his brother, Don Carlos, went dred horsemen, which appeared to meet them. All the Spaniards essary for his protection from that were at Bayonne also waited on fury of the people. He ar- their majesties, and went through d at Bayonne, April 26. A the ceremony of kneeling and kissle in the environs of Bayonne ing hands. It was a scene of conappointed for his residence; traint and awkwardness on both he was in all respects treated sides; the king seemed as much [L3] dissatisfied |