HISTORY OF EUROPE. 219 



eight; and for military govern- 

 ment, into fourteen divisions. In 

 Grenada, and some other pro- 

 vinces, the inhabitants assured 

 king Josepli that the laws would 

 be enforced, tranquillity main- 

 tained, and ail foreign aggression 

 repelled by the organization of 

 some battalions of free, or volun- 

 teer companies of Spaniards. His 

 majesty accepted these offers : 

 but a very little experience suf- 

 ficed to satisfy him, that these civic 

 guards were by no means to be 

 trusted. Some regular regiments 

 were also formed of Spaniards, 

 who took the oath of allegiance to 

 Joseph, and were distinguished by 

 the appellation of Jurame?ttados, 

 Neither were these found worthy 

 of confidence. They deserted on 

 every favourable opportunity. Na- 

 poleon never approved the policy 

 of embodying either corps of civic 

 guards or regiments oi J ur amenta' 

 dos. Some of the latter, towards 

 the end of the year, he ordered to 

 be marched into France. 



In February, 1811, the whole 

 of the companies that had been 

 formed for maintaining tranquil- 

 lity in the interior of Spain, were, 

 by order of Buonaparte, broken 

 and dispersed. 



In the night of the 10th of 

 August, the whole guard of the 

 gate of Toledo at Madrid, includ- 

 ing the officers who commanded, 

 went oft' in a body, and joined the 

 nearest party of the Spanish pa- 

 triots. So far was Joseph from 

 trusting, for his personal safety, to 

 civic guards, or the good will of 

 the people, that the great business 

 on which he was most intent for a 

 great part of the summer and au- 

 tumn, of 1810, was the construc- 

 tion of strong and extensive forti- 



fications for the defence of his pa- 

 lace, Bueno-Retciro, in Madrid. 

 He was fond of making excur- 

 sions from Madrid, but kept the 

 particular place he was going to 

 as long as possible a secret; nor 

 did he remain long at any of these 

 places. He was once within a 

 hair-breadth of being surprised in 

 oueof his retreatsby theGuerillas. 

 He is represented to have been a 

 man of placid and mild man- 

 ners, and rather indolent than am- 

 bitious. The French at Paris called 

 him Roi vialgre lui. His crown 

 certainly did not sit easy on his 

 head. The following is a copy of a 

 letter from Joseph to his wife, in- 

 tercepted by the Guerillas, and 

 published in the Spanish journals: 



Madrid, Aug. 23, 1810. 



" My dear friend, 

 " I have received no letters 

 from you to-day. I am in good 

 health. My situation here, Iiow- 

 evcr, is still much to be pitied. 

 I embrace you and my children. 



The King. 



" To Her Majesty the 

 Queen of Spain , at 

 Paris." 



The situation of Joseph was not 

 only irksome, but humiliating. 

 Napoleon having lost all patience 

 with the moderation of his bro- 

 ther, ordered violent measures, 

 the execution of which he com- 

 mitted to his own generals: so 

 that Joseph was a passive specta- 

 tor of vexations and enormities 

 calculated to excite the hatred and 

 indignation of that nation whom 

 he wished to conciliate. To all 

 king Joseph's applications for suc- 

 cour, the French emperor replied, 



