55 $ 
NAPLES. 
lie turns out a conqueror and adefpot.” Now, Ferdinand’s 
inteiledl being the golden mean recommended for all fo- 
vereigns, we (hall lee in what light it places him. His 
ignorance, it appears, is-exceffive ; fuch as frequently to 
come out in a way that llartles even well-trained cour¬ 
tiers. Thus, mention being made one day of the mag¬ 
nitude of the Turkifh power in former times, his majefty 
was gracioufly pleafed to obferve, that “ it was no won¬ 
der, as all the world were Turks before the birth of our 
Saviour.” Upon another occafion, the converfation 
turned on the murder of Louis XVI. and, a courtier hav¬ 
ing alluded to the execution of Charles I. as a parallel 
cale, the king treated it as a pure fiftion, having never 
before heard of that portion of hiftory : “ Depend upon 
it,” laid he, “ it is a mere tale trumped up by the Jaco¬ 
bins at Paris to excufe their own guilt.” Mr. Euftace 
mentions l'ome circumftances which tend to fhow, that 
the king was purpofely kept in this Hate of deplorable 
ignorance, by thole, who had the charge of his education ; 
and once, in particular, the French ambafl'ador having 
attempted to draw his mind towards reading, and per- 
fuaded him to try the experiment upon the Life of Hen¬ 
ry IV. his majefty returned it untouched after a month, 
faying, “ There is your book untouched ; they don't 
wifh ine to read, fo I have given it up.” With all poffi- 
ble veneration for the royal office, and affedlion for the 
perfon of our illuftrious ally, one may be permitted to 
doubt whether this is really the moftperfedt condition of 
a kingly underftanding. We Ihould remember, however, 
that, if a prince is but one degree above that level, “ he 
becomes reftlefs and mifehievous.” Of the queen our au¬ 
thor fays little, probably out of refpedl for royalty. He 
admits, however, that a royal confort taking her place at 
the board of council, was for the firft time witnelfed in 
Maples, when the belt of poffible kings married this clever 
and violent Au(Irian archduchefs. Probably a prince 
“ one degree above mediocrity” would not have fubmitted 
to this interference of his helpmate. A love of (bow and 
fetes feems to prevail among the princes of the true ltand- 
.ard, as well as thofe whofe abilities are too great. Ac¬ 
cordingly, Mr. Euftace has given us a long account of 
the feftival, with its immenfe illuminations, occafioned 
by the happy event of the court’s return. 
Murat, in the mean time, cfcaped to France, as appears 
from the following article, which appeared in the French 
papers foon afterwards : “ The king of Naples landed at 
Cannes on the 25th of May. That princeowes his misfor¬ 
tunes entirely to the cowardice of the Neapolitan troops. 
They advanced as long as the Auftrians were not in fuffi- 
cient force to oppole them ; but, when vidlory was to be 
purchafed by efforts, inftead of lighting, they lied. Had 
the king been able to advance into Lombardy, his caul'e, 
and that of Italy, would have triumphed. The officers and 
foldiers of prince Eugene would have flocked to his ftand- 
ard, and formed the ftrength of his army ; but, he had 
fcarcely eftablifhed himfelf on the Po, when the Auftrians 
received reinforcements and refumed the ofr'enfive. The 
Neapolitans, being then intimidated by the prefence of 
an enemy who did not fly, took to flight themfelves. 
The king could not rally the wreck of his army until he 
reached Macerata. He wiftied to give battle, and the 
Auftrian corps was inferior to that which he commanded ; 
but the Neapolitans fled at the firft mulket-fhot, and dif- 
perfed on all fides. None remained faithful to the king, 
except a battalion of Italian and French officers, and it 
was with this handful of brave men that he accompliftied 
his retreat to Naples, conftantly followed by the Auftrians. 
On entering hiacapital, he foon found it was impoffible 
to maintain himfelf there. He left it on horfeback on the 
20th of May; and, having proceeded along the coaft in 
front of the ifland of Itri, he embarked on-board of a vef- 
fel belonging to the Ifle of Elba, which conveyed him in 
five days to Cannes. After his departure from Naples, 
the Auftrians entered the city, and the Englifh the port. 
The queen retired to one of the fortrefles, where lhe ca¬ 
pitulated with the Englifli. She embarked on the 21ft for 
Toulon, on-board of an Englifli veffel.” 
Murat afterwards fixed his refidence at Toulon, where 
lie continued till the reftoration of the Bourbons, when 
lie was perfecuted and proferibed. He had hired a veflel 
at Toulon on the intelligence of their arrival, by which 
lie might eft'edt his efcape, but the (hip failed without him, 
carrying away all his effefts and attendants. He was left 
completely deftitute, and wandered about more than a 
fortnight in the woods, fulfilling on a few pieces of 
brown bread, which lie obtained from the humanity of 
the neighbouring ffiepherds. Heat length threw himfelf 
on the mercy of the inmates of a lmall villa near Toulon, 
where he remained concealed more than a month, in¬ 
debted for his daily food to the benevolence of tw'o naval 
officers. While he remained in concealment, he wrote re¬ 
peatedly and ineffedlually to fome friends at Paris, claim¬ 
ing their interference and proteftion. His letters were 
either intercepted or negledled. The place of his re¬ 
treat was now difeovered. A band of more than (Ixty 
armed men furrounded the lioufe, and he had fcarcely 
time to efcape to. an adjoining vineyard, carrying with 
him two brace of piftols, and refolved to fell his life as 
dearly as poffible, and to die, rather than fall into the 
power of his enemies. They paffed him, threatening ven¬ 
geance, as he lay concealed in the thick foliage. The 
fearch was continued feveral days without fuccels, and a 
reward was fet upon his head. He tremblingly ftole from 
his retreat every night, and received fome fcanty and 
precarious fubfiftence from the officers, who would not 
even now defert him; and, at length, he was enabled, by 
their means, to efcape to Baftia in Corfica. The officers 
were immediately cafliiered, and thrown into prifon. 
From Baftia he removed to Ajaccio, where he was joined 
by many of his friends. An offer was here made, by the 
court of Auftria, to grant him an honourable and fafe re¬ 
treat in any parr of the Auftrian dominions, on condition 
of his renouncing for ever the Neapolitan throne. To 
this he pretended to confent, that he might better conceal 
his real intentions. He had been informed of the unpo¬ 
pularity of Ferdinand ; he knew that he was beloved by 
every clafs of his former fubjeSls, and he had received 
many invitations to return and refume his kingdom. In 
vain his confidential friends endeavoured to difluade him 
from the rafh enterprife; in vain they reprefented the 
improbability of his firft fuccefs, and the total impoffibi- 
lity of refilling the overwhelming force which Auftria 
and England would bring upon him. He replied that 
“ he could not fubmit to the humiliating conditions 
impofed upon him ; that there was neither moderation 
norjuftice in compelling him to live in perpetual capti¬ 
vity under the arbitrary laws of a defpotic government; 
that this was not the refpeft due to an unfortunate mo¬ 
narch, who had been formally acknowledged by all Eu¬ 
rope, and who, in a moft critical period, had under¬ 
taken the campaign of 1814 in favour of thofe very 
powers that now, contrary to their own intereils, con- 
ipired to crulli him ; that England and Auftria would 
have nothing to fear from him ; that he would not have 
driven the Auftrians beyond the Po, had he not known 
that it was their determination to attack him ; that it 
could not now be attributed to him, that he would unite 
himfelf with Napoleon, who was an exile on the rocks of 
St. Helena ; that England and Auftria might expert from 
him many advantages, for which they would in vain look 
from the perfon by \\ horn he was fupplanted ; that the 
majority of iris fubjefts ardently expected his return, and 
that he was refolved to place himfelf at their head ; that 
he had often expofed himfelf to death in its moft frightful 
forms, and that he was not afraid once more to defy it in 
the attempt to regain his rights, and deliver himfelf from 
undeferved oppreffion; and, that his only fears were for 
his beloved family.” 
He difpofed of all his jewels and effedls, and, purchafing 
fix gondolas, fet fail from Baftia, September 28th, 18 j <, 
- - with 
