treating only with the former monarch. Those who had supported the son, certainly in opposition to the father, now saw the tables completely turned, and too soon knew what they had to depend upon; whilst, to give some colour to it, Murat listened to the solicitations of the king and queen to release their favourite Godoy from imprisonment.

In this state of things, as Cevallos informs us, the young monarch made his public entry into Madrid, and Murat, reiterating the reports of the immediate arrival of Napoleon, induced the king's brother, Don Carlos, to set off with great haste to meet him; at the same time his agents were busy in persuading the late king and queen to enter a protest against their own act of abdication.

With promises of friendship and favour Murat continued to urge the youthful monarch to proceed towards the north in order to compliment his imperial majesty on his arrival in Spain; and not having met Bonaparte at Burgos, he was induced, by the earnest and pressing entreaties of Savary, to proceed on to Vittoria. There he actually received information of Napoleon's arrival at Bordeaux, in his way to Spain, and soon after of his being at Bayonne on the 15th of April. Ferdinand, after a little hesitation, determined to proceed to Bayonne, but scarcely had he crossed the limits of Spain when he began to express his sur prise that no person had yet come to receive him.

On his approach to Bayonne, he was met by the Prince of Neufchatel, and Duroc, the marshal of the palace, accompanied by a detachment of the guard of honour which the citizens of Bayonne had formed to attend upon Napoleon. They invited Ferdinand to proceed for Bayonne, where a place had been prepared for his residence; and there he arrived on the 20th of April; but his suspicions were now a little thore alarmed by the circumstance of this abode being but little suitable to the rank of its royal guest. He seems also to have been much struck by this remarkable and expressive neglect forming a striking contrast with the studied magnificence with which he had prepared for the reception of the upstart emperor at Madrid. In fact,

the whole scene made a great impression on him; but whilst he was engaged in considering his feelings and his doubts concerning the meaning of a reception which he had so little right to expect, it was announced to him that Napoleon was on his way to pay him a visit. In a short time he arrived, accompanied by a number of his generals; and the youthful monarch having gone down to the street door to receive him, the two monarchs embraced each other with every appearance of friendship and affection. The Emperor of the French, as it is related by an eyewitness, staid but a short time with his majesty, and they 'embraced each other again at parting; when, soon after, Marshal Duroc came to invite the king to dine with Napoleon, whose carriages were coming to convey him to the castle of Marsac,, about a mile and a half from Bayonne, then the residence of the French court. On his arrival there Bonaparte came as far as the steps of the coach to receive him, and having again embraced him, led him by the hand to the apartment provided for him.

During these occurrences the Queen of Spain had interested herself very much with Murat for the release of Godoy; and in consequence Bonaparte himself had written to Ferdinand VII. previous to his having him in his power, to which the young monarch had merely answered that Godoy's life should be spared. But Bonaparte immediately wrote to Murat to demand him from the Junta; he in consequence was released, and immediately con veyed to Bayonne, escorted by a guard; and there he arrived on the 26th of April, had a castle appointed for his residence, and was treated in all respects as a person of the first consequence; and on the last day of the same month the abdicated monarch, with his consort, arrived there also, thus putting the whole of the Spanish royal family into the power of Napoleon.

To follow up the occurrences which ensued after this, previous to the final imprisonment of the different branches of the royal family, and trace the deep policy and crafty villany of Bonaparte through the whole transaction, would be to encroach

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too much on our own subject.* We shall proceed, therefore, to the public cause of Spain, whose inhabitants paid very little attention to the various acts of abdication and renunciation in favour of Napoleon, but seemed determined to act for themselves.

The policy of Bonaparte induced him to send also for the *Queen of Etruria and her son, (daughter and grandson of the Spanish king,) then at Madrid; but this the populace opposed; though, at last, they permitted the unhappy prisoners to set off. The sorrow and alarm, however, of the queen and her son, had such an effect that the popular resentment and indignation were raised to the highest pitch, when an aid-de-camp of Murat's arrived with a detachment of French troops, and a scene of the bloodiest carnage commenced. It has been a matter of debate who were the first aggressors; but that is of trifling consequence; it is enough that the French began with volleys of musketry, by which numbers were killed, many of whom had not joined in the affray. The news immediately spread like wild fire, and every person who could procure arms rushed to the scene of action. The issue of this business unhappily only tended to rivet more

* One occurrence which took place on this occasion is almost too incredible for history, and perhaps surpasses events of any former times.

In the evening of the 5th of May, Napoleon went to visit the king and queen; and there were present at this interview their son Don Carlos, Godoy, and several of the Spanish grandees. After some time the young Ferdinand was sent for to hear, as one present had observed, "in the presence of the emperor, expressions so disgusting and humiliating, that I dare not record them." The real scene, however, is known to have been thus:- the queen,”in a transport of passion, addressing Ferdinand, cried out, "Traitor! you have for years meditated the death of the king your father; but thanks to the vigilance, the zeal, and the loyalty, of the prince of peace, you have not been able to effect your purpose; neither you, nor any of the infamous traitors who have co-operated with you for the accomplishment of your designs. I tell you to your face that you are my son, but not the son of the king! and yet, without having any other right to the crown than those of your mother, you have sought to tear it from us by force. But agree and demand that the Emperor Napoleon shall be umpire between us; Napoleon, to whom we cede an transfer our rights, to the exclusion of our own family. I call on him to punish you and your associates as so many traitors, and abandon to him the whole Spanish nation."

closely the chains of the capital, and indeed in some measure to crush, in its very infaucy, the rising spirit of the Spanish peo-. ple, who were now called upon by a proclamation of their late monarch, dated at Bayonne on the 4th of May, to obey Murat as the lieutenant general and viceroy of the kingdom, by his new" title of "Grand Duke of Berg," and his still newer one of "Cousin to the King of Spain."

Every means that could be taken to ensure the complete subjugation of Spain, and to prepare for the reception of the "Intrusive King," were now put in force.

Bonaparte called an assembly of the notables throughout the kingdom, who were to send deputies to Bayonne, for the purpose of forming a new constitution. The Spanish nation, however, had now opened its eyes, and was not to be blinded, even by the inauguration of King Joseph with a train of Spaniards at his heels, though some of them were of the first families in the country.

Nor were the patriots of Spain ever misled by the proclama tions of their former princes, (who now, hurried as prisoners into the interior of France, were content to sign any thing for the preservation of their lives,) but in a manner almost miraculous, not only in the provinces at home, but even in their most distant colonies, started up simultaneously," as if moved by one indignant soul into an attitude of defence and, defiance, and declared eternal war against their perfidious and insolent oppressors; an event which certainly astonished all Europe: and no one perhaps more than the tyrant who had treated them with so much contempt."

The enthusiasm which burst forth in this country, in favour of the Spanish cause, both on the part of the government and of the people, is well remembered; and perhaps never were the exertions of a government so universally applauded by a people as upon that occasion.

In Spain, the insurrection, as it was called, spread rapidly; provincial juntas were established, which were soon resolved into one supreme central junta; a friendly concert was immediately esta

blished between the patriots and the various British naval and military officers in the vicinity of Spain; the greatest harmony prevailed amongst the various provinces; and the French fleet in Cadiz harbour was taken possession of.

In Portugal, too, the sacred flame of liberty began to spread, and was fostered by the judicious conduct of the British admiral, Sir Charles Cotton; an alliance offensive and defensive was entered into by the two regenerated nations of the peninsula; and the friendliest relations were established between them and Great Britain.

Events of the most important nature, previous to our taking an active part, now took place with the greatest rapidity. In Andalusia, the battle of Baylen, and the subsequent surrender of the French army under Dupont, gave great spirits to the patriotic cause, and the French imperial armies were repulsed by almost unarmed citizens in every quarter.

From Valencia General Moncey was repulsed with slaughter and disgrace; at Saragossa,* the very women acquired military renown; at Gerona, also, even the monks became a church

Without entering minutely into the details of the Spanish exertions, we may notice a proof of the general enthusiasm on the 15th of June, during the battle of Saragossa. This was of the most desperate description. The first assault of the French produced a sanguinary conflict of two hours' duration; which was still of doubtful issue, when the brave patriots became furious, and, with irresistible impetuosity, fell upon their opponents, and gave no quarter to any that fell into their power. The result was a complete and signal defeat of the French army. The enemy, having been reinforced, renewed the attack on the 30th, and the action which ensued continued until the 2d of July, when they were again defeated with immense slaughter. Several thousand women followed the brave patriots to battle, continually cheering their husbands, sons, and brothers, and uttering sentiments of the utmost detestation and abhorrence of the infamous oppressors of their court"y. They carried with them flaggons of wine, with which they occasionally refreshed the fatigued patriots. Fearless of death, many of them shared the perils of the conflict with their heroic countrymen; and, to the eternal disgrace of the enemy be it related, five of these virtuous heroines, to whom the generosity of the ancients would have paid the most devout respect, were most cruelly put to death by the savage ruffians into whose power they unfortunately had fallen.