176 L O N 
plan, we will prefent a few (ketches of the policy and 
treachery of Bonaparte in refpedt to the royal family of 
Spain. 
Accordingto the famous principle in politics, Divide et 
imperii, “Divide to command,"” which he had foegregi- 
o’ufly .put in. practice in Germany, and to which, as much 
as to his military talents and the bravery of his troops, 
lie owes the enfanguined laurels he culled in the fields of 
Jena and Evlau, Bonaparte thought that the molt eafy man¬ 
ner of obtaining fupremacy of power beyond the Pyrenees, 
was to caft fecretly the baneful feeds of diflenfion around 
the throne of Spain. His faithful and dexterous emifla- 
ries prepared the canvas; and the ruler of France went 
eafily to work. Kad he forefeen the reverfe he experiences 
at this moment, (Jan. 1814..) had he fufpeCted that fortune 
might once defert him, and viffory fly over to the tents of 
lais opponents ; he would have contented himfelf with the 
rich and beautiful provinces enclofed between the Alps, 
the Pyrenees, and the Rhine; and have been thankful to 
that Providence, who had taken him up from the barren 
rocks of Corfica to place him at the head of a nation once 
fo famed for her love and fubmiflion to her fovereigns, 
and who feemed eagerly prone to transfer to him that blind 
obedience fhe had long vowed to the ancient race of her 
kings. But the demon of ambition 1 welled his heart, 
and mull ultimately be the caufe of his fall. From the 
perfidious drama performed at Bayohne in 1808, the pre¬ 
fent cataftrophe originated ; and from aft to aft, and 
through the divers feenes which naturally followed, may 
be traced, to the prefent hour, the events which appall 
Bonaparte, and aftonifh the world. One of the molt 
powerful motives which excited Bonaparte, and one more 
Itimulative even than his ufual lult of conquelt, was his 
tinwillingnefs that the fovereignty of a neighbouring, 
rich, and extenfive, peninfula, ftiould refide in a branch 
of the houfe of Bourbon, from which he could never ex- 
peft fincere political friendfnip, much lefs any thing 
bearing the name of affeftion. The reduction of that 
rioble country under his own power, appeared to him 
neceffary for the fecurity of the thrones he had already 
nfurped, and even for his perfonal fafety. Who can ex- 
peft to be loved by rltofe whom he hates ? Meafuring the 
feelings of others by his own, Bonaparte did always, and 
always will, entertain fome fort of fufpicion of the powers 
which exilted in the fyltem of Europe ere a tempell 
burled him on the throne of France, as the convullions of 
other- fpheres are faid to lend meteors and Itones into our 
own atmofphere. 
The divilions and diftraftions in the royal family of 
Spain feemed a molt plaulible pretence to deluge the 
neighbourhood of Madrid with torrents of French troops; 
-and the word proledlion was ufed to veil the real intention 
of that crafty politician. In this awful lituation, the royal 
family of Spain began to fliow a difpolition to abandon 
both the metropolis and the peninfula, and to emigrate to 
Mexico 5 but this would not have ahfwered fully the 
plan and wifhe's of Bonaparte. The Spanifh people,alarmed 
at the idea, exhibited Arong marks of difeontent; and the 
delay gave time to fet in motion the ft c ret machines 
which the French ruler intended to make ufe of for the 
conquelt of Spain, 
The fir ft feene .was the imprifonment of Godoy, the fa¬ 
vourite, who without the title of king-had exercifed all 
the funitions of royalty; and who favoured the fcheme 
of emigration, in the hope of withdrawing himfelf and 
fome portion at leaft of his enormous treafures. This 
itep was foon followed by the abdication of the king in fa¬ 
vour of his fon and heir, the prince of Alturias; 3 n event 
which furprifed Bonaparte fo much, and feemed to dif- 
turb his fettled combinations fo ftrangely, that he ordered 
Murat, grand duke of Berg, to advance with his army 
towards Madrid; which he foon entered, and where he 
began, without a moment’s delay, to play the old and luc- 
celsful game of flawing the feeds.of aifeord among the 
grandees and the people. Ia this Rate of things, the 
D O N. 
new king, Ferdinand VII, made his public entry into 
Madrid, without any other parade than the moli numerous 
concourfe of the capital and its environs, the flrongeil 
expreflions of love and loyalty, and acclamations which 
fprung from the joy and enthufiafm of his fubjefts ; a feene 
truly grand and impreifive. Of this feene the grand duke 
of Berg was a witnefs ; but, far from abandoning his plan, 
he refolved to perfevere in it with greater ardour. The 
experiment upon the royal parents produced the defired 
efFeft. But, whilft Ferdinand, the idol of the nation, 
was prefent, it was isppoflible to carry the plan into exe¬ 
cution. It was therefore neceflary to make every effort 
to remove this prince from Madrid. To accompi’ilh this 
objefit, the grand duke was extremely afliduousin fpread- 
ing reports of the arrival ot a frefh courier from Paris, 
and that the emperor might be expefted fpeedily in the 
Spanilh capital. He fet himfelf, in the firlt place, to in¬ 
duce the infant Don Carlos to let out to receive his im¬ 
perial majelty Napoleon, on the fuppofition that his royal 
highnefs mult meet him before he fliould have proceeded 
two days on his journey. Ilis majelty, Ferdinand, ac¬ 
ceded to the propofal. The grand duke had no fooner 
fucceeded in procuring the departure of Don Carlos, than 
he manifefted the molt anxious defire that the king fliould 
do the fame, leaving no means untried to perfuade his 
majelty to take this Itep, affuring him that it would be at¬ 
tended by the happiell ccnflequences to the king and the 
whole kingdom. 
After ulelefs hefitation and unavailing reluftancy, the 
royal family, attracted like moths by the faithlefs glare of 
the emperor of the French, who was polling to Bayonne, 
left their palace, their capita!, their kingdom, to place 
themfelves, in a foreign country, in the hands of a man 
vvhofe ambition and perfidy, whole thirft after power and 
delire of fvvay, were too well known not to be fufpefled of' 
inimical intentions.—Scarcely had Ferdinand fet foot on 
the French territory, when lie remarked, that no one came 
to receive him, until, on his arrival at St. Jean de Luz, 
the mayor, attended by the municipality, made his ap¬ 
pearance. The carriage ftopped ; and the mayor addrefied 
liis majelty in the moit lively expreflions of joy, at having 
the honour of being the firlt to receive a king who was 
the friend and ally of France. Soon after he was met by 
the deputation of three grandees, who had been fent otr 
by Ferdinand before to meet the French emperor; and 
their reprefentations, with refpedt to the intentions of Na¬ 
poleon, were not of the molt flattering nature. He was 
now, however, too near Bayonne to think of changing 
hiscourfe; he therefore continued his journey. There 
came out to meet the king, the prince of Neufchatel, and 
Duroc marlhal of the palace, with a detachment of the 
guard of honour, which the citizens of Bayonne had 
formed to attend his majelty Napoleon ; and they invited 
his majelty to enter Bayonne, where a place had been pre¬ 
pared for his refidence; which he did on the 20th of April. 
The refidence prepared for the king appeared to all, and 
was in reality, but little fuited to the gueft who was to 
occupy it. This remarkable and exprelfive negleft formed 
a Itriking contrail to the ftudied magnificence wfith 
which the king had prepared for the reception of his ally 
at Madrid. While the king was taken up with doubts 
concerning the meaning of a reception he fo little 
expected, he was informed that the emperor was on 
his way to pay’ him a viiit. His imperial majelty arrived, 
accompanied by a number of his generals. The king 
went down to the ftreet-door to receive him, and both 
monarchs embraced with every token of friendlliip and 
alteftion. The emperor of the French fiaid but a fliort 
time with his majelty, and they embraced again at parting-. 
Soon after, marlhal Duroc came to invil'e the king to dine 
with the emperor, whofe carriages were coming to convey 
the king to the caftle of Marrac, about the diftance of 
mile and a half from Bayonne, where liis imperial ma¬ 
jelty refided, which accordingly took place. Napoleon 
came as far as the Iteps of the coach to receive his majelty; 
and. 
