CHAP. XII. Erroneous Opinion of Buonaparté respecting the Spaniards.-Erroneous Conduct in consequence of this.-Attempt to conceal the Extent and Strength of the Spanish Insurrections from the French, German, and other Nations.- Liberation of the Spanish Troops in the North of Germany.-Military Preparations of Austria.-Alarm of Buonaparte.-Remonstrances and Explanations.-Troops of the Confederation of the Rhine, taken into the Pay of France.-Sent into France to Supply the Place of the French Regiments to be sent to Spain.-Interview between the Emperor of Russia and Buonaparté at Erfurth.-Insurrection in Portugal.-British Expedition to Portugal under the Orders of Sir Arthur Wellesley.-Convention of Cintra. UONAPARTE,reckoningthat a degree much beyond the blind Spain would be a very easy conquest, thought that the speediest way to take possession of the country would be, not to keep his forces together in one strong army, as might have been necessary where any great resistance was to be expected, but to push forward detachments, as we have seen, in every direction. At first he affected to treat the insurrection in Spain with great contempt. He was at uncommon pains to conceal the real state of affairs in Spain from the French and the Germans too. He gave out, in his newspapers, French and German, that all that was most respectable in the Spanish nation was devoted, and that even zealously, to the new dynasty and order of affairs in Spain, and that it was only the mere rabble of day-labourers, peasants, and low tradesmen, under the direction of the monks, whom he represented as fanatical and ignorant to fanaticism of the monks in France and Italy, among whom were sometimes found men of learning and talents. The monks of Spain he (that is, his literary emissaries, in conformity to his will and obedience to his directions) described as clownish and uncouth in their personal appearance, and bearing an exact likeness to so many butchers. All this was only an acknowledgment of what he apprehended from the zeal and exertions of that religious body. While he laboured to persuade the French, and particularly, it may be presumed, the Spaniards at a distance from home, that the most respectable part of the Spanish nation was sincerely attached to king Joseph, he used means also for impressing the inhabitants of Spain with a belief that their countrymen that had been drawn into the French service, were also devoted to him. It was published in the Paris newspapers, August 12, as an article from Hamburgh, that the Spanish troops under the marquis of Romana, had come forward of their own accord, and with great zeal to swear allegiance, and had proffered a detachment from their corps of picked men, to form a guard of honour for king Joseph. But on the contrary, this gallant corps was no sooner informed of the forced abdication and captivity of the royal family, and of what was passing in Spain, than they burned with ardor to join the ranks of their countrymen. Though surrounded by hostile battalions, they planted their colours in the centre of a circle which they formed, and swore on their knees, to be faithful to their country. By a well combined plan, concerted between Keats, the British admiral in the Baltic, and Romana, ten thousand of the Spanish troops stationed in Funen, Langland, Zealand, and Jutland, emancipated themselves from the French yoke, and, under the protection of the British fleet, were conveyed with their stores, arms, and artillery, to Spain, where they landed at Corunna on the 30th of September. The marquis of Romana himself returned home by the way of London, where he arrived on the 16th of September, for the purpose of having a conference with the British ministry, and British military officers. But one Spanish regiment, near two thousand strong, in Jutland, was too distant, and too critically situated to effect its escape. And two in Zealand, after firing on the French general Frision, who commanded them, and killing one of his aid-de-camps by his side, were disarmed. While Frision was in the act of haranguing these troops, for the purpose of engaging them to declare for king Joseph, one of the soldiers, burning with indignation, and regardless of consequences, stepped forth from the ranks and fired a pistol at him, which, missing the general, killed the aid-de-camp.* When The Marquis de la Romana was kept in profound ignorance of the glorious events that had taken place in his country, and various attempts had been made on the part of the British government, to communicate the tidings to him, and to devise means for his escape with the troops under his command, without effect.— At length a Swedish clergyman was found in whose honour, good sense, and enterprising disposition, the firmest confidence could be placed. This gentleman, disguised as a low and travelling tradesman, went by the way of Heligoland, and having overcome many obstacles with the utmost patience, prudence, and fortitude, at length arrived at the place where the marquis and his troops were stationed. Having ascertained the person of the marquis, he was obliged to watch incessantly for an opportunity of addressing him, without exciting the suspicion of the numerous spies by whom he was surrounded. The venerable agent at last was obliged, as if by accident, to jostle the marquis in the street, in order to attract his attention. Having done so, he apologized, as if ignorant of the person whom he addressed, and concluded with offering to sell him some excellent coffee. The marquis treated this offer with contempt, and signified that he supposed he was speaking to a smuggler. The minister of the gospel, however, persevered in recommending his coffee, and in the course of the conversation, found means to intimate that he was not a smuggler but a gentleman.-"We'll soon see that," said the marquis, and then asked him if he could speak latin. The minister an swered When the real state of affairs in Spain became manifest to all Europe by the flight of king Joseph from Madrid, and the concentration of the French forces on the defiles of Biscay, and on the Ebro; Buonaparte's sarcasms against the insurgents, and his misrepresentations of facts, were interrupted for a long time, as well as his military operations. Not a word was said of Spain. Even the Moniteur was silent. The world entertained great curiosity to know what face would be put on the flight of Joseph, and the inactivity of the French in Spain. It was given out by the French government at Madrid, that the king found it necessary to retire for a time from that city, for the benefit of his health; which was every where made a subject of ridicule. But nothing at all was said on the matter in the newspapers of France, Italy, or Germany. It was evident to Buonaparte, that the Spanish insurrection was of too serious and formidable a nature to be treated lightly in respectofeither words or actions. It was mani festly not to be crushed but by a very large force, and a larger one too than any he could march against it, if the Germans should avail themselves of so inviting an occasion to throw off his yoke, and above all, if the emperor of Russia should swerve from the treaty of Tilsit. The Austrians had been employed for the last three years, in bringing their finances into order, and of late in strengthening their frontier, forming magazines, and increasing their armies far beyond what was at all necessary for the preservation of internal tranquillity, and apparently with a view not to mere defence, but to aggression. This did not escape the observation, or fail to excite the suspicions of the French government. A long correspondence ensued on the subject, which was afterwardspublished,between count Metternich the Austrianambassador at Paris, and Campagny, the French minister of external relations. The French minister, on the part of his master, after calling to mind the moderation of the conqueror in the battle of Austerlitz, asked the Austrians what they feared from France, or of what they had to complain. If certain posts still occupied by the French in Silesia, or in any other part towards the frontiers of Austria had given umbrage, or caused any apprehension, they should be immediately evacuated— An uncommon degree of earnestness on the part of Buonaparté to persuade the court of Vienna, that he did not entertain any hostile designs against Austria, is apparent throughout the whole of the correspondence. "It is not," said Buonaparté, "any part of my political system, to destroy, or even to humble swered in the affirmative, and a conversation ensued, apparently about coffee, as the gestures of both were calculated to deceive all who might observe them. The marquis was then duly informed of every thing that had occurred in Spain, of the assistance the British government had rendered, and of the readiness of his Britannic majesty to adopt any measure that might be thought practicable for effecting the rescue of himself and his troops, that they might join their heroic countrymen in resisting the base attempts of France to enslave them. humble the House of Austria:" and in this he was no doubt, as has since appeared, sincere. It could not be any part of his policy to annihilate a barrier so convenient and necessary, against the powerofthe Russians, growingevery day, by the natural progress of population and improvement, in so vast an empire, greater and greater. The Austrian minister, on the part of his court, disclaimed all hostile designs against France, and explained the increase of the military force, complained of, by the general necessity that all the powers of Europe now felt themselves to be under, of proportioning the scale of their standing armies to that of their neighbours. The Austrians persevered in their military preparations. Orders were transmitted from Paris to the members of the confederation of the Rhine, to call out their respective quotas, which, when assembled would be very powerful. Of the German troops of this confederation, 80,000 were taken into the pay of France, clothed in the uniform of French soldiers, and sent into France to garrison the towns quitted by French regiments sent to reinforce the French army in Spain. In this manoeuvre it was his object to render it impossible for the German princes to revolt from him to Austria, while at the same time he stationed a force in France better for some of his purposes, such as that of enforcing the conscription, than that which it replaced; in as much as Germans would not be so likely, asthe French regiments, to sympathise and coalesce with the people. But whatever might be the inclinations, or the attempts of the Germans, they were not to be considered as for midable, if the emperor of the North, as Buonaparté had affected to style him, should abide by his engagements. Alexander, at this moment, held in his hand the balance of Europe, the fate of many nations, their condition whether as independent states, or as submissive provinces of a great and domineering empire, probably for many centuries! Into whichsoever of the scales the Czar should throw his weight, that must inevitably preponderate. To confirm and fix the resolution of Alexander was a matter of the last importance, and what Buonaparté did not think it prudent to commit to the agency of any of his ministers. He determined to have a personal interview with the emperor of the North; on whose mind it would appear he was perfectly confident he should maintain an ascendant. For on the 11th of September he addressed in print, his soldiers as follows: "Soldiers, after triumphing on the borders of the Danube, and the Vistula, you traversed Germany, by forced marches; you are now with the same celerity to traverse France. "Soldiers, I declare that I have need of you. The hideous leopard contaminates, by its presence the territory of Spain and Portugal. Let your faces strike him with terror, and put him to flight; let us carry our victorious eagles even to the pillars of Hercules. There we have an affront to revenge. "Soldiers, you have surpassed in renown, all the warriors of modern times. You have equalled the Roman Legions, who in one campaign triumphed on the Rhine, the Euphrates, Illyrium, and the Tagus. A durable A durable peace and permanent prosperity shall be the reward of your exploits. No good French man can enjoy a moment's repose, so long as the sea is not free and open. "Soldiers, all that you have already achieved, or that remains yet to be done for the happiness of the French people, and for my glory. Be assured, that the remembrance of so great services shall remain for ever engraven on my heart." When the French army perfectly sensible that the French people were in a situation the most wretched, they were reminded by this harangue that the true motive of their ruler was his own glory. It is humiliating to human nature, to think that hundreds of thousands of armed men, should hear such language, and perhaps even feel a pride in extending, by prolonged fatigue, at the risk of their lives, and by the sacrifice of their country, the glory of a fortunate and inhuman usurper! The place appointed for a meeting and conference between Alexander and Napoleon, was Erfurth, a city in the circle of the lower Rhine, belonging to the electorate of Mayence. They met here on the 27th of September. But the order of time calls our attention for the present, to the efforts of the patriots with their allies in Portugal, springing from the same cause, going hand in hand, and having the same object in view, with those of their neighbouring and kindred Spaniards. The inhabitants of Lisbon, overawed by the army of Junot, were restrained at first from expressing their joy otherwise than in private and confidential conversation. The public voice of Portugal was first heard at Oporto. This town, besides the circumstance of being situate at a considerable distance from the force under Junot, possessed another advantage. It had been occupied by about three thousand Spanish troops, who, before their departure to join the patriotic standard in Spain, took the French general under whose orders they were, and all his staff, prisoners, and delivered up the government of the city to Lewis D'Oliveda, who had filled that office before the arrival of the French. The treachery of this man, his attachment to the French,and the measures he took for restoringtheauthority of the French, roused the indignation and rage of the people to such a pitch, that he found it impossible to avert their threatened vengeance otherwise than by yielding up his authority. They rose, 18th of June, in one body, broke open the depots of stores, and having supplied themselves with arms, proceeded to destroy every vestige of French power, and to imprison every person suspected of being in their interest. The bishop of Oporto, who, with most of the other priests, had been incessant in his efforts to rouse the people to arms,* was appointed governor of the city, and the The worthy bishop had not thought it his duty to pay any regard to the pastoral letter of the Inquisitor General of all kingdoms and dominions belonging to her Catholic majesty, recommending submission to the French. "The powers that be," published at Lisbon, by the direction, no doubt, of Buonaparté, who seems on |