580 
able time after he had reached the throne. 
He must, indeed, have been an insensi- 
ble being, who could have witnessed 
such a scene unmoved: although inca- 
pable of describing them, I shall never 
forget my own feelings on this occasion, 
and if I had reason to think highly of 
the Spanish character before, such a dis- 
play of virtuous enthusiasm was not like- 
ly to diminish my admiration. 
Ferdinand was dressed in a blue coat, 
embroidered with gold, crimson velvet 
waistcoat and small clothes, white silk 
stockings, gold buckles in his shoes, and 
a cocked hat, which he carried in his 
hand: he wore a small sword, and was 
decorated with several orders, Previous 
to sitting down, his Majesty testified his 
satisfaction by frequent bows to the De- 
puties and spectators in the galleries. 
When he was seated, the auditory be- 
came silent in an instant, after which the 
ceremony proceeded. 
When the King’s brothers, Don Carlos 
and Francisco, the ministers, and other 
attendants took their places on each 
side the throne, the President and Se- 
cretaries advanced towards his Majesty: 
on approaching sufficiently near to ad- 
minister the oath, they held a copy of the 
Constitution before him: placing one 
hand on the Holy Evangelists, presented 
by the President, and holding up the 
other, Ferdinand read the prescribed 
formula; upon which, a second manifes- 
tation of public feeling took place: when 
silence was restored, the President, who 
had resumed his place among the Depu- 
ties, addressed the throne, in a speech 
in which equal justice was done to the 
Monarch and his people. The answer, 
which followed, was read by Ferdinand 
himself, from a written paper, and deli- 
vered in a very clear and impressive 
tone. 
As to the unrestrained joy of the De- 
puties, spectators, and multitude, con- 
vinced me that this was a day of general 
oblivion and amnesty, I also endeavoured 
to forget the melancholy transactions of 
the last six years. From the moment of 
the King’s entrance, until he retired, the 
Queen kept her eyes rivetted on his per- 
son: she appeared, in fact, to feel that 
fortune could not confer a greater bless- 
ing, than in thus enabling her to be 
present, when her husband had so effec- 
tually recovered the lost affections of his 
people. 
After the President's reply, in which 
he thanked his Majesty for the speech 
just delivered, had terminated, Ferdi- 
nad, accompanied by the Queen, en- 
Blaquiere’s Spain and Spanish Revolution. 
tered the same carriage, and were followed 
by the other members of the Family. It 
was with extreme difficulty the procession 
moved on, so great was the pressure of 
a crowd that. filled the streets through 
which it had to pass, and the avenues 
leading to them. 
In addition to the immense concourse 
that impeded their passage, the balconies 
and windows were filled by all the beauty 
of Madrid; innumerable banners waved 
from every side; garlands and flowers 
were thrown on the carriages as they 
passed, and nothing was heard but ex- 
pressions of the most enthusiastic loy- 
alty. 
Several bands of music went before 
the procession, playing patriotic marches: 
the first carriage reached the palace at 
half-past one; soon after which, the 
populace retired, and festivity was sus- 
pended till the evening, when a general 
illumination took place; the theatres were 
also thrown open to the public, and the 
streets continued to be crowded till mid- 
night. ° 
NAPOLEON’S INVASION. 
It was a saying of the Emperor, in 
speaking of the Spanish people, that their 
descendants would one day raise altars 
to his name. Whatever objections may 
have been made to the particular mode 
in which Napoleon affected the regene- 
ration of this country it will doubtless 
be enough for posterity to. know, that 
the honour belonged to him alone: the 
principle was unquestionably paramount 
to every other consideration, and if there 
ever existed a case in politics or morals 
wherein the end justified the means, that 
of rescuing a whole people from the low- 
est and most abject state of misery and 
degradation, is certainly not amongst the 
least exceptionable. A great change has 
even already taken place in the public 
opinion of Spain, with regard to Napo- 
leon’s enterprize, nor have I met with 
a single individual since my arrival, who 
thinks it ought to be estimated by the 
ordinary standard of political reasoning. 
It is neither my intention to justify 
those errors of policy which Napoleon 
himself has had the rare magnanimity 
to acknowledge, or to anticipate the 
judgment of future generations. I am 
merely desirous of placing the question 
in a somewhat clearer point of view than 
it has been hitherto regarded. Such was 
the peculiar nature of the contest be- 
tween England and France, that ex- 
cesses were by no means confined to 
one side. If we thought the existence 
of Napoleon incompatible with our 
own 
