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XII.

1823.

88.

negotia

assault of

at length convinced the Cortes of the hopelessness of the CHAP. contest in which they were engaged. They got Ferdinand, accordingly, to sign a letter to the Duke d'Angoulême, in which he requested a suspension of arms, with a Resumed view to the conclusion of a general peace. The duke re- tions at plied, that it was indispensable, in the first instance, that Cadiz, and the king should be set at liberty, but that, as soon as this Santa Petri. Sept. 4. was done," he would earnestly entreat his Majesty to accord a general amnesty, and to give of his own will, or to promise, such institutions as he may deem in his wisdom suitable to their feelings and character, and which may seem essential to their happiness and tranquillity." The Cortes, upon this, asked what evidence he would require that the king was at liberty? To which the duke answered that he would never regard him as so till he saw him in the middle of the French troops. This answer Sept. 10. broke off the negotiation, and soon after the arrival of Sir R. Wilson revived the hopes of the besieged, who still clung to the expectation of English intervention. But these hopes proved fallacious; and ere long the progress of the French was such that further resistance was obviously useless. On the 20th, a French squadron of two Sept. 20. ships of the line and two frigates opened a heavy fire on the fort of Santa Petri, on the margin of the bay, and with such effect, that on preparations being made for an assault, the white flag was hoisted, and the place capitulated on condition of the garrison being permitted to retire to Cadiz. From the advanced posts of the Trocadero and Santa Petri thus acquired, a bombardment of the town itself was three days after commenced, while Sept. 23. the ships in the bay kept up a fire with uncommon vigour on the batteries on the sea-side. The effect of this bombardment, which brought the reality of war to their homes, was terrible. The regiment of San Marcial, heretofore deemed one of the steadiest in support of the Revolution, vi. 467,468; revolted, and was only subdued by the urban militia.1 Ter- 233, 234. ror prevailed on all sides ;-cries of "Treason!" became

1 Ann. Hist.

Lam. vii.

XII.

CHAP. general; every one distrusted his neighbour; and that universal discouragement prevailed which is at once the effect and the forerunner of serious disaster.

1823.

89.

of the king,

tion of the

Cortes.
Sept. 28.

Subdued at length by so many calamities, the special Deliverance commission of the Cortes entered in good earnest into and dissolu- negotiations. In a special meeting, called on the 28th September, a report was laid before the Cortes by the Government, which set forth that all their means of defence were exhausted, that no hope of intervention on the part of England remained, and that it was indispensable to come to terms with the enemy. The Cortes, accordingly, declared itself dissolved the same day; and the king sent a message to the Duke d'Angoulême, declaring that he was now at liberty; that he was making dispositions to embark at Port Santa Maria; that he had engaged to disquiet no one on account of his political conduct; and that he would reserve all public measures till he had returned to his capital. Three days afterwards, accordingly, on the 1st October, every preparation having been completed, and the king having published a proclamation, in which he promised a general amnesty, and everything the Constitutionalists wished, the embarkation of the king and royal family took place at Santa Maria with great pomp, and amidst universal acclamation, and the thunder of artillery from all the batteries, both on the French and Spanish side of the bay.* The embarkation was distinctly seen from the opposite coast, vi. 471,474; where the Duke d'Angoulême, at the head of his troops, 235, 236. and surrounded by a splendid staff, awaited his arrival ;1 and every eye watched, with speechless anxiety, the pro

Oct. 1.

1 Ann. Hist.

Lam. vii.

* "Le roi promet l'oubli complet et absolu de ce qui est passé, la reconnaissance des dettes contractées par le gouvernement actuel, le maintien des grades, emplois, traitements et honneurs, militaires ou civils, accordés sous le régime constitutionnel, déclarant d'ailleurs de sa volonté libre et spontanée, sur la foi de la parole royale, que s'il fallait absolument modifier les institutions politiques actuelles de la monarchie, S. M. adopterait un gouvernement, qui pût faire le bonheur de la nation, en garantissant les personnes, les propriétés, et la liberté civile des Espagnols."-Proclamation du Roi Ferdinand, 30th September 1823; Annuaire Historique, vi. 471, 472.

XII.

gress of the bark which bore the royal family of Spain from CHAP. the scene of their captivity, and with them restored, as was hoped, peace and happiness to the entire Peninsula.

1823.

90.

his deliver

ance.

Trained by long misfortunes, not less than the precepts of his confessors, to perfect habits of dissimulation, Fer- Scene at dinand, even when rowing across the bay, kept up the mask of generosity. He conversed with Valdez and Oct. 1. Alava, who accompanied him, down to the last moments, of the gratitude which he felt to them; of the need in which he stood of experienced and popular ministers to guide him in his new reign; he invited them to trust to his magnanimity-to land with him, and quit for ever a city where their kindness to him would be imputed to them as a crime. They distrusted, however, the sincerity of the monarch, and as soon as the royal family landed, pushed off from the shore. "Miserable wretches !" exclaimed the King," they do well to withdraw from their fate!" The Duke d'Angoulême received the king kneeling, who immediately raised him from the ground, and threw himself into his arms. The thunder of artillery, waving of standards, and cheers of the troops, accompanied the auspicious event, which, in terminating the distraction of one, seemed to promise peace to both nations. But from the crowd which accompanied the royal Lam, vii. cortége to the residence provided for them, were heard 241; Ann. cries of a less pleasing and ominous import-" Viva el 471, 472; Rey! Viva el Religion! Muera la Nacion! Mueran los 208, 209. Negros ! " 1 *

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236, 237,

Hist. vi.

Cap. vii.

91.

First acts

of the new

ment.

The first act of the king on recovering his liberty was to publish a proclamation, in which he declared null all the acts of the Government which had been conducted in Govern his name from 7th March 1820 to 1st October 1823, seeing that the king had been during all that period deprived of his liberty, and obliged to sanction the laws, orders, and measures of the revolutionary government."

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* "Long live the King! Long live Religion! Death to the Nation! Death to the Liberals !"

XII.

1823.

CHAP. By the same decree he ratified and approved everything which had been done by the regency installed at Oyarzun, on the 9th April 1822, and by the regency established at Madrid on the 26th May 1823, " until his Majesty, having made himself acquainted with the necessities of his people, may be in a situation to give them the laws and take the measures best calculated to insure their happiness, the constant object of his solicitude." In vain the Duke d'Angoulême counselled measures of moderation and humanity: the voice of passion, the thirst for vengeance, alone were listened to. An entire change of course took place in the king's household; the Duke del Infantado was placed at its head, and the Regency in the mean time continued in its functions. The dissolution of the Cortes and deliverance of Ferdinand put an end to the war; for the disaffected, however indignant, had no longer a head to which they could look, or an object for which they were to contend. Before the end vi. 474,476; of October all the fortresses which still held out for the 237, 239, revolutionary government had hoisted the royal flag, and 25208 all the corps which were in arms for its support had sent in their adhesion to the new Government.1

1 Ann. Hist.

Lam. vii.

viii.

Cap.

92.

on Ferdinand for moderation and

A great and glorious career now lay before Ferdinand, if Loud calls he had possessed magnanimity sufficient to follow it. The revolution had been extinguished with very little effusion of blood; the angry passions had not been awakened by clemency. general massacres; the revolutionary government had been overturned as easily, and with nearly as little loss of life, as the royal authority at Paris, by the taking of the Bastille on 14th June 1789. The king had pledged his royal word to an absolute and unconditional amnesty. Clemency and moderation were as easy, and as loudly called for, in the one case as the other; and if this wise and generous course had been adopted, what a long train of calamities would have been spared to both countries! The revolutionists and the king had alike many faults to regret, many injuries to forgive; and it would have been worthy

XII.

1823.

of the first in rank and the first in power, to take the CHAP. lead in that glorious emulation. But unhappily, in the Spanish character, the desire for vengeance and the thirst for blood are as inherent as the spirit of adventure and the heroism of resistance; and amidst all the declamations in favour of religion, the priests who surrounded the throne forgot that the forgiveness of injuries is the first of the Christian virtues. The consequence was, that the royalist government took example from the revolutionary in deeds of cruelty; the reaction was as violent as the action had been; and Spain was the victim of mutual injuries, and torn by intestine passions for a long course of years, until the discord ceased by the exhaustion of those who were its victims.

93.

Riego.

Riego was the first victim. Cries were heard, which showed how profound was the indignation and wide- Sentence of spread the thirst for vengeance in the Spanish mind. The first step taken was to bring him to trial. No advocate could be found bold enough to undertake his defence; the court was obliged to appoint one to that perilous duty. During the whole time the trial was going on, a furious crowd surrounded the hall of justice with cries of "Muera Riego! Muera el Tradidor! Viva el Rey Assoluto!" His conviction followed as a matter of course, and he was sentenced to death amidst the same shouts from an excited audience, whom even the solemnity of that awful occasion, and the very magnitude of the vi. 481,482; offence with which the prisoner was charged, could not 261, 262. overawe into temporary silence.1

Lam. vii.

tion.

His execution took place a few days afterwards, and 94. under circumstances peculiarly shocking, and which His execureflected the deepest disgrace on the Spanish govern- Nov. 7. ment. Stript of his uniform, clothed in a wrapper of white cloth, with a green cap, the ensign of liberty, on his head, he was placed with his hands tied behind his back, on a hurdle drawn by an ass, in which he was conveyed, surrounded by priests, and with the Miserere

VOL. II.

2 Y

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