who, finding the prince more inflexible than he expected, availed himself of the imbecility of the old King. A separate negociation took place between the father and son, in which Ferdinand expressed his willingness to resign the crown to his father, to attend him in the capacity of a subject to Madrid, and, if Charles was indisposed to undergo the fatigues of royalty, to exercise the functions of sovereignty in such a manner, and with such a title, as might suit their mutual convenience. On the rupture of this treaty, Charles published a proclamation to the Spanish, apprising them that he had abdicated the throne of France in favour of Napoleon, and calling upon them to receive, and trust, the French as brethren. But the Emperor, impatient of the delay arising out of the tedious forms of diplomacy, resolved to compass his object at once. He therefore appointed an interview, in his presence, between the members of the Royal Family of Spain, then together at Bayonne. This meeting was of a very extraordinary nature. The Queen of Spain, after upbraiding Ferdinand, openly, with his usurpation, declared him to be illegitimate. This admission, worthy of Messalina herself, petrified her auditors. Buonaparte having in vain offered the crown of Naples to Ferdinand, and that of Etruria to his brother Carlos, addressed the former in these memorable words: Prince, il faut opter entre la cession et la mort: allowing him six hours to deliberate. Ferdinand, having no other alternative, was compelled at length to accede to the disgraceful treaty by which the whole Spanish monarchy was transferred to the son of a notary-public of Ajaccio. It is impossible to record such enormities, or even to read them, without the strongest indignation: the whole is a tissue of unexampled fraud and baseness. We no longer recognize the conqueror of Marengo, Ulm, Austerlitz, Jena, and Friedland: his glories are extinguished in the treacheries of the base kidnapper of Bayonne. From this juncture great and important changes took place in the public opinion throughout all Europe with respect to Napoleon. Hitherto excuses had been offered for all his ag gressions, but the naked atrocity of such a proceeding asto nished and enraged the nations that beheld it. Fear for a time chained their arms and closed their lips; but the spark of patriotism which now electrified the Spanish nation, and afterwards burst into a glorious flame that spread throughout Europe, consumed the guilty greatness of the French Emperor. To return to the thread of our narrative. Napoleon having assembled what he termed the Notables of Spain, (persons arbitrarily selected from different classes, and various places,) introduced his brother Joseph, who had been recalled from Naples, as their future sovereign; and the constitution which had been proposed for his subjects, was now read over to them. This act, it must be fairly acknowledged, contained some important ameliorations in the form of the government, limiting, at least in appearance, the royal authority by the Cortes; but coming from hands polluted by such recent treachery, it was. justly and indignantly spurned by the Spaniards: in the circumstances of this assembly, however, they could only yield passive obedience, and they recognized Joseph as King of Spain and the Indies. In Madrid, the intelligence of the deposition of Ferdinand, and of the ill-treatment of the royal family, exasperated the wrath of the people to madness. Upon an apprehension that Don Antonio, the remaining brother of Ferdinand, was about to depart for Bayonne, a tumult arose on the 2d of May, which a French detachment, who fired upon the multitude, was unable to quell. In a short time, every man in the lower ranks of society at Madrid, armed himself in the best manner he could, and opposed the French. The battle was long and bloody, but the French columns cleared the streets with showers of grape-shot, and at length the insurrection was terminated. The next day, and the succeeding one, a military tribunal was assembled at Madrid, composed of French officers, who condemned to death all persons taken prisoners on the 2d of May, with any implements in their possession which they could by any possibility have converted into weapons. After these acts of military slaughter and judicial assassin ation, the Duke of Berg, whom Charles IV. had appointed lieutenant-general of Spain, issued a proclamation to the people, regretting the scenes which had taken place, and promising a complete amnesty. But a new spirit had arisen in Spain; nobles, clergy, merchants, manufacturers, and peasants enrolled themselves in the number of the defenders of their country. Councils were convened by the people; simultaneous insurrections arose. The French army, computed at about 120,000 men, was obliged to be divided into detachments, which were distributed in the various provinces; but these detachments were unsuccessful in accomplishing the objects they had in view. The corps under Generals Weddel and Dupont, proceeding from Madrid to Cadiz, were encountered at Baylen by General Castanos, surrounded, and compelled to capitulate to the number of 14,000 men. The siege of Saragossa, one of the most brilliant events in the Spanish history, was raised by the French. In Catalonia they were defeated, and for a long time they remained without reinforcement. Joseph was compelled to quit Madrid, and to retire to Burgos. The only quarter in which the French prospered was in the north of Spain, where Marshal Bessieres, with 12,000 men, overthrew a force of about 35,000, chiefly composed of peasants. The loss of the Spaniards was immense; and could Bessieres have co-operated with the French force in Portugal, under Junot, their junction would have had a most unfavourable effect upon the affairs of the patriots. But Junot had sufficient occupation in another quarter. His forces were chiefly established in the central and southern provinces of Portugal; and the northern provinces had risen upon their invaders, expelled them, and taken possession of Oporto. An expedition, under the orders of Sir Arthur Wellesley, (now Duke of Wellington,) had sailed from Cork to expel the French from Portugal. The English commander disembarked his army in Mondego Bay; and on the 17th of June a partial action took place at Roleia, in which a French division was defeated. At Vimiera, on the 21st of August, a more decided battle was fought, and Junot, overcome with the loss of 3000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. After the engagement, the famous convention of Cintra was concluded, by which the French army evacuated Portugal, but were to be conveyed in British ships to a French port between Rochefort and l'Orient, with their baggage, and restrained by no stipulation from again serving their master. One of the bitter fruits of this treaty was the entry of this very corps into Spain the latter end of the year 1808. We must now return to Napoleon, who was placed in circumstances of great difficulty by the unexpected resistance of the Spaniards and the defeats of the French army, which, however palliated, could not be concealed from France or Europe. Austria increased her military establishment, renovated her finances, and assumed an attitude which rendered her an object of suspicion and distrust. Urgent expostulations were addressed to the Austrian Government on this change of system, to which civil replies were made; but the military preparations still continued. The French army in Spain could not be powerfully reinforced, nor could Napoleon personally direct its movements whilst this uncertainty as to the intentions of Austria continued. In a situation so perplexing, an ordinary mind would have been confounded, but the genius of Napoleon rose superior to his embarrassments; he prevailed upon the Emperor Alexander to meet him at Erfurth. The conferences were most amicable. The two monarchs were inseparable; and around them were assembled almost all the princes of the Confederation of the Rhine. Sumptuous fêtes, theatrical amusements, reviews, in short, every kind of pageantry diversified the intervals of business. An ambassador from the Emperor Francis attended, and a proposition was made jointly by Napoleon and Alexander to the British Government for peace. It was naturally insisted that deputies from the Spanish nation should attend the Congress. The overtures were rejected. Napoleón, having now provided for at least his present security, gave orders to his veteran troops, which still lingered in Prussia, to evacuate that country, and proceed by the shortest route to Spain: but, with his usual sagacity, he replaced these experienced soldiers by an equal number of conscripts. The different corps on their arrival at Paris and other principal towns in the course of their march, were magnificently feasted, and as they reached the frontier, gradually swelled the number of the French army commanded by Marshal Ney, which had been reduced to about 50,000 men, but was still formidable, not only from its strength, but the discipline of the troops. Napoleon having ordered a levy of 160,000 conscripts, left. Paris, and repaired to Bayonne, whence he proceeded to the head-quarters of the French army, transferred to Igrun, a town very near the French frontier. His arrival in the camp was the signal for offensive operations. We have already noticed that a Supreme Central Junta had been established in Spain. One of the principal objects which engaged the attention of the assembly, was the organization of their armies. One, under General Castanos, amounting to 65,000 men, was intended to operate on the left flank of the French; the second, under General Blake, 55,000 strong, was designed to turn the right wing; while the central and third army, under General Palafox, consisting of 20,000 men, were meant to unite with the two other armies in a general attack upon the French line, in itself extremely firm, and powerfully reinforced by veteran troops from Germany. At the commencement of the campaign the French troops could not be fewer in number than 100,000 men. By a masterly stratagem the army of General Castanos was decoyed across the Ebro, and when advanced sufficiently near, it was turned, attacked, and completely beaten, with the loss of 10,000 men, 7 standards, and 30 pieces of cannon. Still more unfortunate was the army under Blake. In a series of actions, which lasted for twelve days, it was driven from one position to another, and finally, having lost its artillery and magazines, dispersed in the mountains of Asturia. An army, composed almost entirely of peasants, under the direction of the Count de Belvidere, was attacked in the vicinity of Burgos, and entirely routed. Having thus de |