_Pampeluna, Barcelona, Montjouy, and St. Sebastians, are
fraudulently seized by the French--King Charles proposes to sail
for South America--Insurrection at Aranjuez--Charles resigns the
Crown in favour of Ferdinand--Murat enters Madrid--Charles disavows
his resignation--General Savary arrives at Madrid--Napoleon's
Letter to Murat, touching the Invasion of Spain--Ferdinand sets out
to meet Napoleon--Halts at Vittoria, and learns too late Napoleon's
designs against him--Joins Buonaparte at Bayonne--Napoleon opens
his designs to Escoiquiz and Cevallos, both of whom he finds
intractable--He sends for Charles, his Queen, and Godoy, to
Bayonne--Ferdinand is induced to abdicate the Crown in favour of
his Father, who resigns it next day to Napoleon--This transfer is
reluctantly confirmed by Ferdinand, who, with his Brothers, is sent
to splendid imprisonment at Vallençay--Joseph Buonaparte is
appointed to the throne of Spain, and joins Napoleon at
Bayonne--Assembly of Notables convoked._
[Sidenote: SEIZURE OF SPANISH FORTRESSES.]
Not a word was spoken, or a motion made, to oppose the entrance of this
large French army into the free territories of a friendly power. Neither
the King, Godoy, nor any other, dared to complain of the gross breach of
the treaty of Fontainbleau, which, in stipulating the formation of the
army of reserve at Bayonne, positively provided that it should not
cross the frontiers, unless with consent of the Spanish government.
Received into the cities as friends and allies, it was the first object
of the invaders to possess themselves, by a mixture of force and fraud,
of the fortresses and citadels, which were the keys of Spain on the
French frontier. The details are curious.
At Pampeluna, [Feb. 9,] a body of French troops, who apparently were
amusing themselves with casting snowballs at each other on the esplanade
of the citadel, continued their sport till they had an opportunity of
throwing themselves upon the drawbridge, possessing the gate, and
admitting a body of their comrades, who had been kept in readiness; and
the capture was thus effected.[359]
Duhesme, who commanded the French troops detached upon Barcelona, had
obtained permission from the Spanish governor to mount guards of French
along with those maintained by the native soldiers. He then gave out
that his troops were about to march; and, as if previous to their
moving, had them drawn up in front of the citadel of the place. A French
general rode up under pretence of reviewing these men, then passed
forward to the gate, as if to speak to the French portion of the guard.
A body of Italian light troops rushed in close after the French officer
and his suite; and the citadel was surrendered. Another division
summoned the fort of Montjouy, the key, as it may be termed, of
Barcelona, which shared the same fate. St. Sebastians was overpowered by
a body of French, who had been admitted as patients into the hospital.
Thus the first fruits of the French invasion were the unresisted
possession of these four fortresses, each of which might have detained
armies for years under its walls.[360]
Nothing could exceed the consternation of the Spanish nation when they
saw their frontier invaded, and four of the most impregnable forts in
the world thus easily lost and won. There was indignation as well as
sorrow in every countenance; and even at this late hour, had Charles and
his son attempted an appeal to the spirit of the people, it would have
been vigorously answered. But Godoy, who was the object of national
hatred, and was aware that he would instantly become the victim of any
general patriotic movement, took care to recommend only such measures of
safety as he himself might have a personal share in. He had at once
comprehended Napoleon's intentions of seizing upon Spain; and could
discern no better course for the royal family, than that they should
follow the example to which their own invasion of Portugal had given
rise, and transport themselves, like the House of Braganza, to their
South American provinces. But what in the Prince of Brazil, surrounded
by such superior forces, was a justifiable, nay, a magnanimous effort
to avoid personal captivity, would have been in the King of Spain the
pusillanimous desertion of a post, which he had yet many means of
defending.
Nevertheless, upon Godoy's suggestion, the voyage for America was
determined on, and troops were hastily collected at Madrid for the sake
of securing the retreat of the royal family to Cadiz, where they were to
embark. The terror and confusion of the King's mind was artfully
increased by a letter from Napoleon, expressing deep resentment at the
coldness which Charles, as he alleged, had exhibited on the subject of
the proposed match with his house. The intimidated King returned for
answer, that he desired nothing so ardently as the instant conclusion of
the marriage, but at the same time redoubled his preparations for
departure. This effect was probably exactly what Napoleon intended to
produce. If the King went off to America, his name might be used to curb
the party of the Prince of Asturias; and the chance of influencing the
countries where the precious metals are produced, would be much
increased, should they fall under the dominion of the weak Charles and
the profligate Godoy.
Meantime, the resolution of the king to depart from the royal residence
of Aranjuez to Cadiz, with the purpose of going from thence to New
Spain, began to get abroad among the people of all ranks. The Council of
Castile remonstrated against the intentions of the sovereign. The Prince
of Asturias and his brother joined in a strong protest against the
measure. The populace, partaking the sentiments of the heir-apparent and
council, treated the departure of the king as arising out of some scheme
of the detested Godoy, and threatened to prevent it by force. The
unfortunate and perplexed monarch changed his opinions, or his language
at least, with every new counsellor and every new alarm.
On the 17th of March, the walls of the palace were covered with a royal
proclamation, professing his Majesty's intentions to remain with and
share the fate of his subjects. Great crowds assembled joyfully beneath
the balcony, on which the royal family appeared and received the thanks
of their people, for their determination to abide amongst them. But, in
the course of that same evening, the movements among the guards, and the
accumulation of carriages and baggage, seemed plainly to indicate
immediate intentions to set forth. While the minds of the spectators
were agitated by appearances so contradictory of the royal proclamation,
an accidental quarrel took place betwixt one of the King's body-guard
and a bystander, when the former fired a pistol. The literal flash of
the weapon could not more effectually have ignited a powder-magazine,
than its discharge gave animation at once to the general feelings of the
crowd. The few household troops who remained steady, could not check the
enraged multitude; a regiment was brought up, commanded by Godoy's
brother, but the men made a prisoner of their commanding officer, and
joined the multitude. A great scene of riot ensued, the cry was
universal to destroy Godoy, and some, it is said, demanded the
abdication or deposition of the King. Godoy's house was plundered in the
course of the night, and outrages committed on all who were judged his
friends and counsellors.
In the morning the tumult was appeased by the news that the King had
dismissed his minister. But the crowd continued strictly to search for
him, and at length discovered him. He was beaten, wounded, and it was
with some difficulty that Ferdinand saved him from instant death, on a
promise that he should be reserved for punishment by the course of
justice. The people were delighted with their success thus far, when, to
complete their satisfaction, the old, weak, and unpopular King, on the
19th March, resigned his crown to Ferdinand, the favourite of his
subjects, professing an unconstrained wish to retire from the seat of
government, and spend his life in peace and quiet in some remote
province. This resolution was unquestionably hurried forward by the
insurrection at Aranjuez; nor does the attitude of a son, who grasps at
his father's falling diadem, appear good or graceful. Yet it is probable
that Charles, in making his abdication, executed a resolution on which
he had long meditated,[361] and from which he had chiefly been withheld
by the intercession of the Queen and Godoy, who saw in the continuation
of the old man's reign the only means to prolong their own power. The
abdication was formally intimated to Napoleon, by a letter from the King
himself.
[Sidenote: MURAT APPROACHES MADRID.]
While the members of the royal family were distracted by these
dissensions, the army of France was fast approaching Madrid, under the
command of Joachim Murat, the brother-in-law of Buonaparte. He was at
Aranda de Duero upon the day of the insurrection at Aranjuez, and his
approach to Madrid required decisive measures on the part of the
government. Ferdinand had formed an administration of those statesmen
whom the public voice pointed out as the best patriots, and, what was
thought synonymous, the keenest opponents of Godoy.[362] There was no
time, had there been sufficient spirit in the councils of the new
Prince, to request this military intruder to stay upon his road; he was
a guest who would have known but too well how to make force supply the
want of welcome. But this alarming visitor was, they next learned, to be
followed hard upon the heel by one still more formidable. Napoleon, who
had hurried back to Paris from Italy, was now setting out for Bayonne,
with the purpose of proceeding to Madrid, and witnessing in person the
settlement of the Spanish Peninsula.
To render the approach of the Emperor of France yet more appalling to
the young King and his infant government, Beauharnois, the French
ambassador, made no recognition of Ferdinand's authority, but observed a
mysterious and ominous silence, when all the other representatives of
foreign powers at Madrid, made their addresses of congratulation to the
new sovereign. Murat next appeared, in all the pomp of war; brought ten
thousand men within the walls of Madrid, [23d March,] where they were
received with ancient hospitality, and quartered more than thrice that
number in the vicinity. This commander also wore a doubtful and clouded
brow, and while he expressed friendship for Ferdinand, and good-will to
his cause, declined any definite acknowledgment of his title as king. He
was lodged in the palace of Godoy, supported in the most splendid style,
and his every wish watched that it might be attended to. But nothing
more could be extracted from him than a reference to Napoleon's
determination, which he advised Ferdinand to wait for and be guided by.
In the idle hope (suggested by French councils) that a compliment might
soothe either the Sultan or the satrap, the sword of Francis I., long
preserved in memory of his captivity after the battle of Pavia, was
presented to Murat with great ceremony, in a rich casket, to be by his
honoured hands transmitted to those of the Emperor of France.[363] The
hope to mitigate Buonaparte's severe resolves by such an act of
adulation, was like that of him who should hope to cool red-hot iron by
a drop of liquid perfume.
But though Murat and Beauharnois were very chary of saying any thing
which could commit their principal, they were liberal of their private
advice to Ferdinand as his professed friends; and joined in recommending
that he should send his second brother, the Infant Don Carlos, to greet
Napoleon upon his entrance into Spain, as at once a mark of respect and
as a means of propitiating his favour. Ferdinand consented to this, as
what he dared not well decline. But when it was proposed that he himself
should leave his capital, and go to meet Buonaparte in the north of
Spain, already completely occupied by French troops, he demurred, and by
the advice of Cevallos, one of the wisest of his counsellors, declined
the measure proposed, until, at least, he should receive express
information of Napoleon's having crossed the frontier. To meet the
French Emperor in Spain might be courtesy, but to advance into France
would be meanness, as well as imprudence.[364]
Meantime, Murat, under pretence of hearing all parties in the family
quarrel, opened, unknown to Ferdinand, a correspondence with his father
and mother. The Queen, equally attached to her paramour, and filled with
unnatural hatred to her son, as Godoy's enemy, breathed nothing but
vengeance against Ferdinand and his advisers;[365] and the King at once
avowed that his resignation was not the act of his voluntary will, but
extorted by compulsion, in consequence of the insurrection of Aranjuez,
and its consequences. Thus, the agents of Buonaparte obtained and
transmitted to him documents, which, if Ferdinand should prove
intractable, might afford ground for setting his right aside, and
transacting with his father as still the legitimate possessor of the
throne of Spain.
[Sidenote: SAVARY--MURAT.]
A new actor soon appeared on this busy stage. This was Savary, who was
often intrusted with Buonaparte's most delicate negotiations.[366] He
came, it was stated, to inquire particularly into the character of the
insurrection at Aranjuez, and of the old King's abdication. He affected
to believe that the explanations which Ferdinand afforded on these
subjects, would be as satisfactory to his sovereign as to himself; and
having thus opened the young King's heart, by perfectly approving of his
cause and conduct, he assumed the language of a friendly adviser, and
urged and entreated, by every species of argument, that Ferdinand should
meet Buonaparte on the road to Madrid; and the young sovereign, beset
with difficulties, saw no resource but in compliance.[367] The capital
was surrounded by an army of forty thousand foreigners. The
communications of Murat with France were kept open by thirty thousand
more; while, exclusive of the Spanish troops, whom the French had
withdrawn to distant realms in the character of auxiliaries, the rest of
the native forces, dispersed over the whole realm, and in many cases
observed and mastered by the French, did not perhaps exceed thirty
thousand men. If Ferdinand remained in Madrid, therefore, he was as much
under the mastery of the French as he would have been when advancing
northward on the journey to meet Buonaparte; while to leave his capital,
and raise his standard against France in a distant province, seemed an
idea which desperation only could have prompted.
[Sidenote: LETTER TO MURAT.]
Murat, whose views of personal ambition were interested in the complete
accomplishment of the subjugation of Spain, seems to have seen no
objection remaining when military resistance was placed out of the
question. But the penetration of Napoleon went far deeper; and, judging
from a letter written to Murat on the 29th March,[368] it seems to have
induced him to pause, while he surveyed all the probable chances which
might attend the prosecution of his plan. The resignation of Charles IV.
had, he observed, greatly complicated the affairs of Spain, and thrown
him into much perplexity. "Do not," he continued, "conceive that you are
attacking a disarmed nation, and have only to make a demonstration of
your troops to subject Spain. The Revolution of the 20th March, when
Charles resigned the throne, serves to show there is energy among the
Spanish people. You have to do with a _new_ people, who will display all
the enthusiasm proper to men whose political feelings have not been worn
out by frequent exercise. The grandees and clergy are masters of Spain.
If they once entertain fear for their privileges and political
existence, they may raise levies against us, _en masse_, which will
render the war eternal. I have at present partisans; but if I show
myself in the character of a conqueror, I cannot retain one of them. The
Prince of the Peace is detested, because they accuse him of having
betrayed Spain to France. The Prince of the Asturias has none of the
qualities requisite for a monarch, but that will not prevent their
making him out a hero, providing he stands forth in opposition to us. I
will have no violence offered to the persons of that family--it is
needless to render ourselves unnecessarily odious."
Napoleon, in this remarkable document, touches again on the hazard of a
popular war in Spain, and on the dangers arising from the interference
of the English; and then proceeds to consider what course his own
politics demand. "Shall I go to Madrid, and there exercise the power of
a grand protector of the realm of Spain, by deciding between the father
and son?--Were I to replace Charles and his minister, they are so
unpopular, that they could not sustain themselves three months. On the
other hand, Ferdinand is the enemy of France; and to set him on the
throne would be to gratify those parties in the state who have long
desired the destruction of her authority. A matrimonial alliance would
be but a feeble tie of union betwixt us.
"I do not approve of your Highness having so hastily possessed yourself
of the capital. You ought to have kept the army at ten leagues distant
from Madrid. You could not be sure whether the people and the magistracy
would have recognised the young king. Your arrival has powerfully served
him, by giving the alarm to the Spaniards. I have commanded Savary to
open a communication with the old King, and he will inform you of what
passes. In the meantime, I prescribe to you the following line of
conduct:--
"You will take care not to engage me to hold any interview with
Ferdinand _within Spain_, unless you judge the situation of things such,
that I have no alternative save acknowledging him as King. You will use
all manner of civility towards the old King, the Queen, and Godoy, and
will require that the same honours be rendered to them as heretofore.
You will so manage, that the Spaniards may not suspect the course I
intend to pursue. This will not be difficult, for I have not fixed upon
it myself." He then recommends, that such insinuations be made to all
classes, as may best induce them to expect advantages from a more close
union with France; exhorts Murat to trust his interests exclusively to
his care; hints that Portugal will remain at his disposal; and enjoins
the strictest discipline on the part of the French soldiery. Lastly, he
enjoins Murat to avoid all explanation with the Spanish generals, and
all interference with their order of march. "There must not," he says in
one place, "be a single match burnt;" and in another, he uses the almost
prophetic expression--"_If war once break out, all is lost._"[369]
This letter has a high degree of interest, as it tends to show, that not
one of the circumstances which attended the Spanish insurrection escaped
the prescient eye of Napoleon, although the headlong course of his
ambition drove him upon the very perils which his political wisdom had
foreseen and delineated. The immense object of adding Spain to his
empire, seemed worthy of being pursued, even at the risk of stirring to
arms her hardy population, and exciting a national war, which he himself
foretold might prove perpetual.
Meantime, to assist the intrigues of Murat, there was carried on a sort
of under plot, the object of which was to disguise Napoleon's real
intentions, and induce the counsellors of Ferdinand to conclude, that he
did not mean to use his power over Spain, save for the attainment of
some limited advantages, far short of engrossing the supreme authority,
and destroying the independence of the kingdom. With this view, some
illusory terms held out had been communicated by Duroc to the Spanish
ambassador, Izquierdo, and of which Ferdinand's council had received
information. These seemed to intimate, that Napoleon's exactions from
Spain might be gratified by the cession of Navarre, and some part of her
frontier on the north, in exchange for the whole of Portugal, which,
according to Izquierdo's information, Napoleon was not unwilling to cede
to Spain. Such an exchange, however objectionable on the ground of
policy and morality, would have been regarded as a comparatively easy
ransom, considering the disastrous state of Spain, and the character of
him who had coiled around the defenceless kingdom the folds of his
power.[370]
Under all the influences of hope and fear, conscious helplessness, and
supreme dread of Napoleon, Ferdinand took his determination, and
announced to his Council of State, [8th April,] his purpose of going as
far as Burgos, to meet his faithful friend and mighty ally the Emperor.
His absence, he said, would amount to a few days, and he created his
uncle, Don Antonio, President, during that time, of the High Council of
Government. An effort was made by Ferdinand, previous to his departure,
to open a more friendly communication with his father; but the answer
only bore that the King was retiring to rest, and could not be troubled.
On the 11th April, in an evil day, and an hour of woe, to use the
language of the Spanish romancers, Ferdinand set out on his journey,
accompanied by Savary, who eagerly solicited that honour, assuring him
that they should meet Buonaparte at Burgos.[371] But at Burgos there
were no tidings of the French Emperor, and it was only when he had
proceeded as far as Vittoria, that Ferdinand learned Napoleon had but
then reached Bourdeaux, and was on his way to Bayonne. He halted,
therefore, at Vittoria, where Savary left him, and went on to France, to
render an account to his master to what extent his mission had
succeeded.
Afraid to advance or to retire, yet feeling ridiculous in the situation
where he was, Ferdinand's unpleasant moments spent at Vittoria were not
much cheered by private intelligence brought him by Don Mariano Urquijo.
This was a Spanish nobleman of considerable talent, who had penetrated
the scheme of Napoleon, and came to inform the young King and his
counsellors, that the intention of Napoleon was to possess himself of
the royal person, depose the dynasty of the Bourbons, and name a member
of his own family to reign in their stead.
Another Spaniard, Don Joseph Hervas, the brother-in-law of General
Duroc, and the intimate friend of Savary, had acquired such strong
suspicions of the plot, that his information corroborated that of
Urquijo. The astounded sovereign, and his perplexed advisers, could but
allege the unlikelihood, that a hero like Napoleon could meditate such
treachery. "Men of extraordinary talents," replied Urquijo, "commit
great crimes to attain great objects, and are not the less entitled
heroes." He offered to go to Bayonne as Ferdinand's ambassador; and
advised him even yet to make his escape and retire to some part of his
dominions, where, free at least, if not powerful, he might treat with
Napoleon on more equal terms.[372]
Ferdinand thought it too late to follow this wise counsel; and, instead
of attempting an escape, he wrote a letter to Napoleon, [14th April,]
appealing to all that he had done to show himself the devoted friend and
ally of France, and endeavouring to propitiate his favour. An answer was
instantly returned--[dated Bayonne, 16th April]--containing much that
was alarming and ominous. In this the Emperor treated Ferdinand as
Prince of Asturias, not King of Spain--censured his earliest measure of
writing to himself without his father's knowledge, and, with what seemed
a jealous apprehension for the rights of sovereigns, blamed him for
availing himself of the arm of the people to shake his father's throne.
He intimated, that he had taken the Prince of the Peace under his own
protection; hinted that the Prince ought not to rip up the follies of
his mother--nay, did not forbear the highly offensive insinuation, that,
by exposing her faults, Ferdinand might occasion his own legitimacy to
be called in question. Still he assured the Prince of his continued
friendship, declared himself anxious to have some personal communication
with him on the subject of the revolution of Aranjuez, and intimated,
that if the resignation of Charles should appear to have been voluntary,
he would no longer scruple to acknowledge King Ferdinand.[373]
Cevallos, before mentioned as one of Ferdinand's wisest counsellors,
would fain have prevailed on him to turn back from Vittoria on receiving
a letter of such doubtful tenor.[374] Even the people of the town
opposed themselves to the prosecution of his rash journey, and went so
far as to cut the traces of his mules.[375] Ferdinand, however,
proceeded, entered France, and reached Bayonne; placing himself thus in
that state of absolute dependence upon the pleasure of the French
autocrat, which, as Napoleon had foretold to Murat, could not have had
an existence at any spot within the Spanish territory. Ferdinand was now
a hostage at least, perhaps a prisoner.
[Sidenote: BAYONNE.]
Buonaparte received the anxious Prince with flattering distinction,[376]
invited him to dinner, and treated him with the usual deference
exchanged between sovereigns when they meet. But that very evening he
sent Savary, by whose encouragement Ferdinand had been deluded to
undertake this journey, to acquaint him that the Bourbon dynasty was to
cease to reign in Spain, and that the Prince must prepare to relinquish
to Napoleon all right over the territories of his ancestors.[377]
[Sidenote: ESCOIQUIZ--CEVALLOS.]
Buonaparte explained himself at length to the Canon Escoiquiz, as the
person most likely to reconcile Ferdinand to the lot, which he was
determined should be inevitable. The Bourbons, he said, were the mortal
enemies of him and of his house; his policy could not permit them to
reign in Spain. They were incapable of wise government; and he was
determined that Spain should be wisely governed in future, her
grievances redressed, and the alliance betwixt her and France placed on
an unalterable footing. "King Charles," he said, "is ready to co-operate
in such a revolution, by transferring to me his own rights. Let
Ferdinand follow his father's wise example, and he shall have the crown
of Etruria, and my niece in marriage. Otherwise, I will treat with King
Charles exclusively, and all Ferdinand can expect is permission to
return to Spain, when hostilities must ensue between us." Escoiquiz
justified the insurrection at Aranjuez, and pleaded hard the cause of
his former pupil. By protecting Ferdinand, he said, Napoleon might merit
and gain the esteem and the affection of Spain; but by an attempt to
subject the nation to a foreign yoke, he would lose their affections for
ever. Buonaparte set these arguments at defiance. The nobles and higher
classes would, he said, submit for security of their property; a few
severe chastisements would keep the populace in order. But he declared
he was determined on the execution of his plan, should it involve the
lives of two hundred thousand men. "The new dynasty," replied Escoiquiz,
"will in that case be placed on a volcano--an army of two hundred
thousand men will be indispensable to command a country of discontented
slaves." The canon was interrupted by Buonaparte, who observed that they
could not agree upon their principles, and said he would on the morrow
make known his irrevocable determination.
To do Napoleon justice, he at no time through this extraordinary
discussion made the least attempt even to colour his selfish policy. "I
am desirous," he said, "that the Bourbons should cease to reign, and
that my own family should succeed them on the throne of Spain." He
declared, that this was best both for Spain and France--above all, that
he had the power as well as the will to accomplish his purpose. There
was never a more unpalliated case of violent and arbitrary spoliation.
He argued also with Escoiquiz with the most perfect good-humour, and
pulled him familiarly by the ear as he disputed with him. "So then,
canon," he said, "you will not enter into my views?"--"On the contrary,"
said Escoiquiz,[378] "I wish I could induce your Majesty to adopt mine,
though it were at the expense of my ears," which Napoleon was at the
moment handling somewhat rudely.[379]
With Cevallos the Emperor entered into a more violent discussion, for
Buonaparte was as choleric by temperament, as he was upon reflection and
by policy calm and moderate. Upon hearing Cevallos, in a discussion with
his minister Champagny, insist in a high tone upon the character of the
Spaniards, and the feelings they were likely to entertain on the manner
in which Ferdinand had been received, he gave loose to his native
violence of disposition, accused Cevallos of being a traitor, because
having served the old King, he was now a counsellor of his son, and at
length concluded with the characteristic declaration--"I have a system
of policy of my own.--You ought to adopt more liberal ideas--to be less
susceptible on the point of honour, and to beware how you sacrifice the
interests of Spain to a fantastic loyalty for the Bourbons."[380]
Cevallos being found as intractable as Escoiquiz, the conduct of the
negotiation, if it could be called so on the part of Ferdinand, was
intrusted to Don Pedro de Labrador. Labrador, however, insisted on
knowing, as an indispensable preliminary, whether King Ferdinand were at
liberty; and if so, why he was not restored to his own country?
Champagny[381] replied, that such return could scarce be permitted, till
the Emperor and he came to an understanding. Cevallos, in his turn,
presented a note, expressing on what terms Ferdinand had put himself in
the power of Buonaparte, and declaring his master's intention of
immediate departure. As a practical answer to this intimation, the
guards on the King and his brother were doubled, and began to exercise
some restraint over their persons. One of the Infants was even forcibly
stopped by a gendarme. The man was punished; but the resentment and
despair, shown by the Spaniards of the King's retinue, might have
convinced Napoleon how intimately they connected the honour of their
country with the respect due to their royal family.
Buonaparte found, by all these experiments, that Ferdinand and his
counsellors were likely to be less tractable than he had expected; and
that it would be necessary, however unpopular King Charles and still
more his wife and minister were in Spain, to bring them once more
forward on this singular stage. He therefore sent to Murat to cause the
old King, with the Queen and Godoy, to be transported to Bayonne without
delay. The arrival of Charles excited much interest in the French
assembled at Bayonne, who flocked to see him, and to trace in his person
and manners the descendant of Louis XIV. In external qualities, indeed,
there was nothing wanting. He possessed the regal port and dignified
manners of his ancestors; and, though speaking French with difficulty,
the expatriated monarch, on meeting with Napoleon, showed the easy
manners and noble mien of one long accustomed to command all around
him.[382] But in spirit and intellect there was a woeful deficiency.
Napoleon found Charles,[383] his wife, and minister, the willing tools
of his policy; for Godoy accounted Ferdinand his personal enemy; the
mother hated him as wicked women have been known to hate their children
when they are conscious of having forfeited their esteem; and the King,
whose own feelings resented the insurrection of Aranjuez, was readily
exasperated to an uncontrollable fit of rage against his son.
Upon his first arrival at Bayonne, Charles loudly protested that his
abdication of the 19th March was the operation of force alone; and
demanded that his son should repossess him in the crown, of which he had
violently deprived him.
The reply of Ferdinand alleged that the resignation of his father had
been unquestionably voluntary at the time, and he quoted the old King's
repeated declarations to that effect. But he declared, that if they were
both permitted to return to Madrid, and summon the Cortes, or body of
National Representatives, he was ready to execute in their presence, a
renunciation of the rights vested in him by his father's abdication.
In his answer, Charles declared that he had sought the camp of his
powerful ally, not as a king in regal splendour, but as an unhappy old
man, whose royal office had been taken from him, and even his life
endangered by the criminal ambition of his own son. He treated the
convocation of the Cortes with contempt. "Every thing," he said, "ought
to be done by sovereigns for the people; but the people ought not to be
suffered to carve for themselves." Finally, he assured his son that the
Emperor of France could alone be the saviour of Spain, and that Napoleon
was determined that Ferdinand should never enjoy the crown of that
kingdom. In different parts of this paternal admonition, Charles accused
his son of the crime which existing circumstances rendered most
dangerous--of being indisposed towards the interests of France.
Ferdinand replied [3d May] to this manifesto in firm and respectful
terms, and appealed, too justly, to the situation he at present stood
in, as a proof how unbounded had been his confidence in France. He
concluded, that since the conditions he had annexed to his offer of
resigning back the crown to his father had given displeasure, he was
content to abdicate unconditionally; only stipulating that they should
both be permitted to return to their own country, and leave a place
where no deed which either could perform would be received by the world
as flowing from free-will.[384]
[Sidenote: INTERVIEW AT BAYONNE.]
The day after this letter was written, the unfortunate Ferdinand was
summoned to the presence of his parents, where he also found Napoleon
himself. The conclave received him sitting; and while the King
overwhelmed him with the most outrageous reproaches,[385] the Queen,
(the statement appears scarce credible,) in the height of her fury, lost
sight of shame and womanhood so far as to tell Ferdinand, in her
husband's presence, that he was the son of another man.[386] Buonaparte
expressed himself greatly shocked at this scene, in which he compared
the Queen's language and deportment to that of a fury on the Grecian
stage. The Prince's situation, he owned, moved him to pity; but the
emotion was not strong enough to produce any interposition in his
favour. This occurred on the 5th of May, 1808. Confused with a scene so
dreadful, and at the same time so disgusting, Ferdinand the next day
executed the renunciation which had been demanded in such intemperate
terms. But the master of the drama had not waited till this time to
commence his operations.
Two days before Ferdinand's abdication, that is upon the 4th, his father
Charles, acting in the character of King, which he had laid aside at
Aranjuez, had named Joachim Murat Lieutenant-General of his kingdom, and
President of the Government. A proclamation was at the same time
published, in which the Spaniards were particularly and anxiously
cautioned against listening to treacherous men, agents of England, who
might stir them up against France, and assuring them that Spain had no
well-founded hope of safety, excepting in the friendship of the Great
Emperor.[387]
On the same day, and without waiting for such additional right as he
might have derived from his son's renunciation, Charles resigned all
claims on Spain, with its kingdoms and territories, in favour of his
friend and faithful ally, the Emperor of the French. To preserve some
appearance of attention to external forms, it was stipulated that the
cession only took place under the express conditions that the integrity
and independence of the kingdoms should be preserved, and that the
Catholic religion should be the only one practised in Spain. Finally,
all decrees of confiscation or of penal consequences, which had been
issued since the revolution of Aranjuez, were declared null and void.
Charles having thus secured, as it was termed, the prosperity,
integrity, and independence of his kingdom by these articles,
stipulates, by seven which follow, for the suitable maintenance of
himself and his Queen, his minister the Prince of the Peace, and of
others their followers. Rank, income, appanages, were heaped on them
accordingly, with no niggard hand; for the prodigality of the King's
gift called for some adequate requital.
Still the resignation of Ferdinand in Napoleon's favour was necessary to
give him some more colourable right, than could be derived from the
alienation, by the father, of a crown which he had previously abdicated.
Much urgency was used with Ferdinand on the occasion, and for some time
firmly resisted. But he found himself completely in Napoleon's power;
and the tragedy of the Duke d'Enghien might have taught him, that the
Emperor stood on little ceremony with those who were interruptions in
his path. His counsellors also assured him, that no resignation which he
could execute in his present state of captivity could be binding upon
himself or upon the Spanish nation. Yielding, then, to the circumstances
in which he was placed, Ferdinand also entered into a treaty of
resignation; but he no longer obtained the kingdom of Etruria, or the
marriage with Buonaparte's niece, or any of the other advantages held
out in the beginning of the negotiation. These were forfeited by his
temporary hesitation to oblige the Emperor. A safe and pleasant place of
residence, which was not to be absolutely a prison, and an honourable
pension, were all that was allowed to Ferdinand, in exchange for his
natural birthright, the mighty kingdom of Spain. The Infants, his
brothers, who adhered to the same accession which stripped Ferdinand of
his heritage, were in like manner recompensed by similar provisions for
their holding in future the kind of life which that resignation
condemned them to. The palace of Navarre and its dependencies had been
assigned to Ferdinand as his residence; but he and his brothers, the
Infants, were afterwards conducted to that of Valançay, a superb mansion
belonging to the celebrated Talleyrand, who was punished, it was said,
by this allocation, for having differed in opinion from his master, on
the mode in which he should conduct himself towards Spain. The royal
captives observed such rules of conduct as were recommended to them,
without dreaming apparently either of escape or of resistance to the
will of the victor; nor did their deportment, during the tremendous
conflict which was continued in the name of Ferdinand for four years and
upwards, ever give Napoleon any excuse for close restraint, or food for
ulterior suspicions.
[Sidenote: LUCIEN BUONAPARTE.]
The Spanish royal family thus consigned to an unresisted fate, it only
followed to supply the vacant throne by a new dynasty, as Napoleon
called it; but, in fact, by some individual closely connected with
himself, and absolutely dependent upon him;--much in the manner in which
the inferior partners of a commercial establishment are connected with,
and subject to, the management of the head of the house. For this
purpose, he had cast his eyes on Lucien, who was, after Napoleon, the
ablest of the Buonaparte family, and whose presence of mind had so
critically assisted his brother at the expulsion of the Council of Five
Hundred from Saint Cloud, in a moment when, in the eyes of the
bystanders, that of Napoleon seemed rather to waver.
It has been mentioned before, that Lucien had offended Napoleon by
forming a marriage of personal attachment; and it is supposed, that on
his part, he saw with displeasure the whole institutions and liberties
of his native country sacrificed to the grandeur of one man, though that
man was his brother. He had been heard to say of Napoleon, "that every
word and action of his were dictated by his political system," and "that
the character of his politics rested entirely on egotism." Even the
proffer of the kingdom of Spain, therefore, did not tempt Lucien from
the enjoyments of a private station, where he employed a large income in
collecting pictures and objects of art, and amused his own leisure with
literary composition. Receiving this repulse from Lucien, Buonaparte
resolved to transfer his eldest brother Joseph from the throne of
Naples, where, as an Italian, acquainted with the language and manners
of the country, he enjoyed some degree of popularity, and bestow on him
a kingdom far more difficult to master and to govern. Joachim Murat,
Grand Duke, as he was called, of Berg, at present in command of the army
which occupied Madrid, was destined to succeed Joseph in the throne
which he was about to vacate. It was said that the subordinate parties
were alike disappointed with the parts assigned them in this masque of
sovereigns. Murat thought his military talents deserved the throne of
Spain, and the less ambitious Joseph, preferring quiet to extent of
territory, would have willingly remained contented with the less
important royalty of Naples. But Napoleon did not permit the will of
others to interfere with what he had previously determined, and Joseph
was summoned to meet him at Bayonne, and prepared, by instructions
communicated to him on the road, to perform without remonstrance his
part in the pageant. The purposes of Napoleon were now fully announced
to the world. An assembly of Notables from all parts of Spain were
convoked, to recognise the new monarch, and adjust the constitution
under which Spain should be in future administered.
The place of meeting was at Bayonne; the date of convocation was the
15th of June; and the object announced for consideration of the Notables
was the regeneration of Spain, to be effected under the auspices of
Napoleon.
But events had already occurred in that kingdom, tending to show that
the prize, of which Buonaparte disposed so freely, was not, and might
perhaps never be, within his possession. He had indeed obtained, by a
course of the most audacious treachery, all those advantages which,
after the more honourable success obtained in great battles, had
prostrated powerful nations at his feet. He had secured the capital with
an army of forty thousand men. The frontier fortresses were in his
possession, and enabled him to maintain his communications with Madrid;
the troops of the Spanish monarchy were either following his own banner
in remote climates, or broken up and scattered in small bodies through
Spain itself. These advantages he had possessed over Austria after
Austerlitz, and over Prussia after Jena; and in both cases these
monarchies were placed at the victor's discretion. But in neither case
had he, as now at Bayonne, the persons of the royal family at his own
disposal,[388] or had he reduced them to the necessity of becoming his
mouth-piece, or organ, in announcing to the people the will of the
conqueror. So that, in this very important particular, the advantages
which he possessed over Spain were greater than those which Napoleon had
obtained over any other country. But then Spain contained within herself
principles of opposition, which were nowhere else found to exist in the
same extent.
FOOTNOTES:
[359] Southey, vol. i., p. 196.
[360] Southey, vol. i., p. 201.
[361] "Maria Louisa," said Charles to the Queen, in the presence of
Cevallos and of all the other ministers of state, "we will retire to one
of the provinces, and Ferdinand, who is a young man, will take upon
himself the burden of the government."--SOUTHEY, vol. i., p. 206.
[362] "This wretched minion now felt that there are times when despotism
itself proves even-handed as justice. He was sent prisoner to the castle
of Villa Viciosa: with that measure wherewith he had dealt to others, it
was now meted to him; a judicial inquiry into his conduct was ordered,
and before any trial--before any inquiry--the whole of his property was
confiscated."--SOUTHEY, vol. i., p. 220.
[363] "The Grand Duke of Berg demanded the sword of Francis I. from the
arsenal of Madrid. This mode of recovering it was not calculated to
soothe the mortification of seeing it transferred to the hands of a
conqueror. The Spaniards were sensible to this affront, and it
diminished the popularity of the Grand Duke of Berg."--SAVARY, tom. ii.,
p. 169.
[364] Southey, vol. i., p. 235.
[365] "Every letter was filled with anxious solicitations; of the throne
there seemed to be neither thought nor care; with the mob at Aranjuez
before her eyes, and the recollection of Marie Antoinette in her heart,
this wretched woman was sick of royalty; she asked only an allowance for
the King, herself, and Godoy, upon which they might live all three
together----a corner in which they might quietly finish their
days."--SOUTHEY, vol. i., p. 233. See the Letters in Savary, tom. ii.,
p. 175, and Annual Register, vol. i., p. 240.
[366] For the instructions given by Napoleon to Savary, see his
Mémoires, tom. ii., p. 164.
[367] Mémoires de Savary, tom. ii., p. 182; Southey, vol. i., p. 244.
[368] "The Emperor constantly recommended the Grand Duke of Berg to act
with the utmost caution. He was no doubt apprehensive of his fits of
zeal and ambition; for my departure had been preceded by several
couriers, and I had scarcely set out when fresh instructions were
despatched. This letter abundantly shows the doubts which existed in
Napoleon's mind, and the point of view in which the question presented
itself to him."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 169.
[369] Las Cases, tom. iv., p. 203; Savary, tom. ii., p. 169.
[370] Southey, vol. i., p. 240.
[371] "I asked leave to accompany the King, solely for this reason--I
had come from Bayonne to Madrid on horseback, which was then the usual
mode of travelling in Spain. I had not been long arrived, and it was now
necessary to go back, that I might be with the Emperor as soon as
Ferdinand; but I did not wish to travel over again the same road in the
same manner. I therefore requested the King's grand equery to include in
the relays harness and draught-horses for me. He consented; and this is
the way in which my carriage happened to be in the suite of the
King."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 187.
[372] Savary, tom. ii., p. 203; Southey, vol. i., p. 249.
[373] Savary, tom. ii., p. 243; Southey, vol. i., p. 254.
[374] "Ferdinand's counsellors, who were present when I delivered the
letter, did not appear satisfied with the manner in which the Emperor
expressed himself, because he used the title of royal highness. I felt
myself obliged to observe, that the Emperor could not, with propriety,
make use of any other address, because, on his part, the recognition was
yet a thing to be done; that there were questions still more important
than that to be settled between them; and these once adjusted, the rest
would follow naturally."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 216.
[375] "I was convinced that all would proceed quietly, when a
fierce-looking man, armed, dressed in a way corresponding with his
appearance, approached the King's carriage, and with one hand seizing
the traces of the eight mules which were harnessed to it, with the
other, in which he held a hedgebill, like a sickle, cut with one stroke,
the traces of all the mules. The King himself appeared at the window
smiling to the multitude, who greeted him with cries of '_Viva
Fernando!_' At this moment it struck me, that the scene I witnessed was
merely a preconcerted trick."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 248.
[376] "The Prince was received with a salute of artillery from the
ramparts, and all the civil and military authorities paid him their
respects. The Emperor himself was the first to go and visit him; and his
carriage not being ready as soon as he wanted it, he went on horseback.
I was present at the interview, during which every thing was as it
should be."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 219.
[377] Southey, vol. i., p. 262.
[378] "This canon, who had besides a very high opinion of his own
talents, did not despair of making an impression on my decisions, by his
arguments, and of inducing me to acknowledge Ferdinand, making me a
tender, on his own account, of his services to govern, altogether under
my control, as effectually as the Prince of the Peace could, under the
name of Charles IV.; and it must be owned, that, had I listened to
several of his reasons, and adopted some of his ideas, I should have
been much better off."--NAPOLEON, _Las Cases_, tom. iv., p. 199.
[379] Southey, vol. i., p. 262.
[380] Southey, vol. i., p. 269.
[381] "I believe this was one of the occasions on which the Emperor was
most anxious to have M. de Talleyrand near him, and that he would have
sent for him, had he not been afraid of offending M. de Champagny. Cases
of this kind often happened to the Emperor. He sometimes offended by
mere trifles men who were of an irritable disposition, and, at other
times, he sacrificed his own interests through the fear of offending the
self-love of a good servant. If M. de Talleyrand had come to Bayonne
while there was yet time to bring about an adjustment, the affairs of
Spain would have taken a different turn. He would not have been so
hasty; for he would have taken care to have many conferences before he
committed any thing to writing. M. de Talleyrand had the excellent
quality of being quite impassive; when he found that the disposition of
the Emperor's mind was not what he thought best suited to the
consideration of the subject to which he wished to call his attention,
he never said a word about it until he had led him back to that tranquil
state which benefited the business. If an order was given in a moment of
irritation, he found means to make its execution be evaded; and it
seldom happened that he was not thanked for a delay which was almost
always attended with good effects."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 221.
[382] "I was present when Charles alighted from his carriage. He spoke
to every body, even to those he did not know; and on seeing his two sons
at the foot of the staircase, where they were waiting for him, he
pretended not to observe them. He, however, said, as he advanced to the
Infantado Don Carlos--'Good morning, Carlos,' and the Queen embraced
him. When Ferdinand advanced to embrace him, the King stopped, with an
expression of indignation, and then passed on to his
apartment."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 223.
[383] "Charles IV. dined with Napoleon on the very day of his arrival.
He had some difficulty in ascending the steps leading to the saloon, and
he said to the Emperor, who offered him his arm, 'It is because I am so
frail that they want to drive me away.' The Emperor replied, 'Oh! oh! we
shall see that: let me support you: I have strength enough for us both.'
On hearing this, the King stopped, and said, looking at the Emperor, 'I
believe and hope so!'"--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 224.
[384] Southey, vol. i., p. 281-292.--Annual Register, vol. l., pp.
233-236.
[385] "Charles IV. carried constantly in his hand a long cane. He was so
enraged, that it sometimes seemed to us he was going to forget himself
so far as to use the cane against his son, who maintained all the time a
sullen look. We heard the Queen say, 'Why don't you speak? This is
always the way with you; for every new folly you have nothing to say.'
She approached him, lifting up her hand, as if she meant to give him a
slap on the face."--SAVARY, tom. ii., p. 228.
[386] Southey, vol. i., p. 292.
[387] "Trust to my experience, and obey that authority which I hold from
God and my fathers! Follow my example, and think that, in your present
situation, there is no prosperity or safety for the Spaniards, but in
the friendship of the Great Emperor, our ally."
[388] "When I had them all assembled at Bayonne, I felt a confidence in
my political system, to which I never before had the presumption to
aspire. I had not made my combinations, but I took advantage of the
moment. I here found the Gordian knot before me, and I cut it. I
proposed to Charles IV. and the Queen, to resign the crown of Spain to
me, and to live quietly in France. They agreed, I could say, almost with
joy, to the proposal. The Prince of Asturias made no extraordinary
resistance to the plan; but neither violence nor threats were employed
against him. There you have, in very few words, the complete historical
sketch of the affair of Spain; whatever may be said, or written on it,
must amount to that; and you see, that there could be no occasion for me
to have had recourse to paltry tricks, to falsehoods, to breaches of
faith, or violation of engagements."--NAPOLEON, _Las Cases_, tom. iv.,
p. 200.