Life of Napoleon Bonaparte. Volume III

"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.

389

"The Marquis de Cartellar, to whose custody Godoy had been committed, was instructed to deliver him up, and he was removed by night. Had the people been aware that this minister was thus to be conveyed away from their vengeance, that indignation which soon afterwards burst out would probably have manifested itself now, and Godoy would have perished by their hands." – Southey, vol. i., p. 279.

390

From his brother King Charles.

391

"It is certain that, including the peasants shot, the whole number of Spaniards slain did not amount to one hundred and twenty persons, while more than seven hundred French fell. Of the imperial guards seventy men were wounded, and this fact alone would suffice to prove that there was no premeditation on the part of Murat; for if he was base enough to sacrifice his own men with such unconcern, he would not have exposed the select soldiers of the French empire in preference to the conscripts who abounded in his army. The affair itself was certainly accidental, and not very bloody for the patriots, but policy induced both sides to attribute secret motives, and to exaggerate the slaughter." – Napier, vol. i., p. 26.

392

"In the first moment of irritation, Murat ordered all the prisoners to be tried by a military commission, which condemned them to death; but the municipality representing to him the extreme cruelty of visiting this angry ebullition of the people with such severity, he forbade any executions on the sentence; but forty were shot in the Prado, by direction of General Grouchy, before Murat could cause his orders to be effectually obeyed." – Napier, vol. i., p. 25.

393

Southey, vol. i., p. 324.

394

"Your Imperial Majesty," said they, "who foresees all things, and executes them still more swiftly, has chosen for the provisional government of Spain, a prince educated for the art of government in your own great school. He has succeeded in stilling the boldest storms, by the moderation and wisdom of his measures."

395

A letter was also transmitted to Napoleon from the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, the last of the Bourbons who remained in Spain: "May your Imperial and Royal Majesty," he said, "be graciously pleased to look upon me as one of your most dutiful subjects, and instruct me concerning your high purposes."

396

"The firing on the end of May was heard at Mostoles, a little town about ten miles south of Madrid; and the alcalde, who knew the situation of the capital, despatched a bulletin to the south, in these words: 'The country is in danger; Madrid is perishing through the perfidy of the French; all Spaniards, come to deliver it!' No other summons was sent abroad than this!" – Southey, vol. i., p. 336.

397

The mob brought cannon against his house, shattered the doors, and rushed in. Seeing that they were bent upon his death, Solano escaped by the roof, and took shelter in the house of an English merchant, whose lady concealed him in a secret closet. The mistress of the house, Mrs. Strange, in vain endeavoured to save him, by the most earnest entreaties, and by interposing between him and his merciless assailants. She was wounded in the arm; and Solano, as he was dragged away, bade her farewell till eternity! They hauled him towards the gallows, that his death might be ignominious; others were too ferocious to wait for this – they cut and stabbed him, while he resigned himself with composure and dignity to his fate. – See Nellerto, Mem., tom. iii., and Carr's Travels, p. 47.

398

"The Emperor could not restrain his passion on reading these details. Instead of returning home, he went straight to Charles IV. I accompanied him. On entering, he said to the King, 'See what I have received from Madrid. I cannot understand this.' The King read the Grand Duke of Berg's despatch; and no sooner finished it, than with a firm voice, he said to the Prince of the Peace, 'Emanuel, send for Carlos and Ferdinand.' They were in no haste to obey the call; and, in the meantime, Charles IV. observed to the Emperor – 'I am much deceived if these youths have not had something to do with this business. I am very vexed, but not surprised at it.'" – Savary, tom. ii., p. 227.

399

"Plusieurs milliers des plus mauvais sujects du pays." —Moniteur.

400

Southey, vol. i., p. 403.

401

Southey, vol. i., p. 438.

402

"From Vittoria, Joseph sent abroad a proclamation. 'I come among you,' he said, 'with the utmost confidence, surrounded by estimable men, who have not concealed from you any thing which they believed to be useful for your interests. Blind passions, deceitful vices, and the intrigues of the common enemy of the continent, whose only view is to separate the Indies from Spain, have precipitated some among you into the most dreadful anarchy. My heart is rent at the thought. Yet this great evil may in a moment cease. Spaniards, unite yourselves! come around my throne! and do not suffer intestine divisions to rob me of the time, and consume the means which I would fain employ solely for your happiness.'"

403

Before Murat had well recovered from a severe attack of the Madrid cholic an intermittent fever supervened, and when that was removed, he was ordered by his physicians to the warm baths of Barèges.

404

"As some person was immediately wanted to supply the place of the Grand Duke of Berg, he directed me to proceed to Madrid, where I found myself in a more extraordinary situation than any general officer had ever been placed in. My mission was for the purpose of perusing all the reports addressed to the Grand Duke of Berg, to return answers, and issue orders in every case of emergency; but I was not to affix my signature to any paper; every thing was to be done in the name of General Belliard, in his capacity of chief of the staff of the army. The Emperor adopted this course, because he intended to send the new King forward in a very short time; and felt it to be unnecessary to make any alterations until the King's arrival at Madrid, when I was to be recalled." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 250.

405

History of the Peninsular War, vol. i., p. 453.

406

"Filangieri, the Governor of Corunna, being called on by a tumultuous crowd to exercise the rights of sovereignty, and to declare war in form against the French, was unwilling to commence such an important revolution upon such uncertain grounds; the impatient crowd instantly attempted his life, which was then saved by the courage of an officer of his staff; but his horrible fate was only deferred. A part of the regiment of Navarre seized him at Villa Franca del Bierzo, planted the ground with their bayonets, and then tossing him in a blanket, let him fall on the points thus disposed, and there leaving him to struggle, they dispersed and retired to their own homes." – Napier, vol. i., p. 37.

407

Southey, vol. i., p. 481; Napier, vol. i., p. 110.

408

"King Joseph made his entry into Madrid at four in the afternoon, with no other escort than the Emperor's guard. Although his suite was numerous, he was accompanied by no other Spaniard than the Captain-general of Navarre; the ministers and deputies who had left Bayonne in his train had already deserted him. The inhabitants manifested some degree of curiosity, and even gave some signs of approbation; public decorum, however, was not in the least interrupted." – Savary, tom. ii., p. 276.

409

Napier, vol. i., p. 75.

410

Southey, vol. i., p. 470; Napier, vol. i., p. 94.

411

Moncey could hardly have expected to succeed against the town of Valencia; for, to use Napoleon's words, "a city, with eighty thousand inhabitants, barricadoed streets, and artillery placed at the gates, cannot be taken by the collar." – Napier, vol. i., p. 99.

412