The life of Napoleon Buonaparte, emperor of the French. By Sir Walter Scott.

LIFE OF NAPOLEON BONAPARTE. 439
served the old king, he was now a counsellor of his they were both permitted to return to AMadrid, and
son, and at length concluded with the characteristic sumlon the Cortes, or body of national representadeclaration,-" I have a system of policy of my own tives, he was ready to execute, in their presence, a
-You ought to adopt more liberal ideas-to be less renunciation of the rights vested in him by his fasusceptible on the point of honour, and to beware ther's abdication.
how you sacrifice the interest of Spain to a fantastic In his answer, Charles declared that he had sou[ght
loyalty for the Bourbons." the camp of his powerfll ally, not as a king in regal
Cevallos being found as intractable as Escoiquiz, splendour, but as an unhappy old man, whose royal
the conduct of the negotiation, if it could be called office had been taken fiom him, and even his lifiii
so, on the part of Ferdinand, wvas intrusted to Don endangered by the criminal ambition of Ihis own sol,.
Pedro de Labrador. Labrador, however, insisted on He treated the convocation of the cortes with conknowing, as an indispensable preliminary, whether tempt. " Everything," he said, " ought to be dolne
King Ferdinand were at liberty; and if so, why lhe by sovereigns for the people; but the p)eol)le ought
was not restored to his own country? Champagny not to be suffered to carve for themllselves." F'inally,
replied, that such return could scarce be permitted, he assured his son that the Emlperor of France could
till the emperor and he came to an understanding. alone be the saviour of Spain, anld tllt Napoleon
Labrador, in his turn, presented a note, expressing \was determlined that Ferdinand should levelr ell oy
on what terms Ferdinand had put himself in the the crown of that kingdom. In diflferent parts of tiis
power of Bonaparte, and declaring his master's in- paternal admonition, Charles accused his son of thle
tention of immniediate departure. As a practical crime which existing circumstances rendered iliost
answer to this intimation, the guards on the king dangerous-of being indisposed towards the inlterests
and his brother were doubled, and began to exer- of France.
cise somie restraint over their persons. One of tile Ferdinand replied to this manifesto iti firl'n u\il
Infants was ietn forcibly stopped by a gendarme. respectfol terms, and appealed, too justly, to t1e.siThe ilan was punished; but the resentment and tuation lihe at present stood in, as a jlrn of' tlov \1despair, shown by the Spaniards of the king's re- bounded had been his confidence inl France. lie
tinne, might have convinced Napoleon, how inti- concluded, that since the conditionis lie hail anneelll
niately they coniiected thle honour of their country to his offer of resigning back the crown to his ilitlier
with the respect due to their royal family. had given displeasure, he was content to ahdiciale
Bonaparte found, by all these experiments, that unconditionally; only stipulating thait /.ley should
Ferdinand and his counsellors were likely to be less both be permitted to return to their own cotitr>(l. 11t
tractable thian hlie had expected; and that it would leave a place where no deed which either emld!
be necessary, however unpopular King Charles, and perform would be received by the world;is (lo\x ilI0
still more. his wife and minister, were in Spain, to from free-will.
bring theum once more forward on this singular stage. The day after this letter was written, the 11 1,,,'He therefore sent to Murat to cause the old king, tunate Ferdinand was summoned to tile )pret setc:e, iI
with tire queen and Godoy, to be transported to his parents, where lie also foiund Naloleon hisriset.i:
Bayonne without delay. The arrival of Charles The conclave received him sitting; iind \wlil tie
excited rnich interest in the French assembled at king overwhelmed him with. the ilost ouitrageous retBayonne, who flocked to see him, and to trace in his proaches, the queen (the statement applears scarce
person and mlanners the descendant of Louis XIV. credible)in the height of her fury, lost sight of s;ielll
In external qualities, indeed, there was nothing and womanhood so f:ar as to tell Ferdinanulld, ill Ii-,
wanting. HI-e possessed the regal port and dignified husband's presence, that lie wvas the soni of aultlher,
man1lners of his ancestors; and, though speaking man. Bonaparte expressed hinisell'greatly shockedl
French with difficulty, the expatriated monarch, at this scene, in which he compilred thie qllcr'.:'
on nmeeting Nwith Napoleon, showed the easy manners language and deportment to that of a filUry oi tile
and noble rniein oft'oie long accustomed to command Grecian stage.'I'he prince's situation, lie owndtl,
all around hili. But in spirit and intellect there was moved himn to pity; but the enmotion wais inot strong'
a;wofuil deficiency. Napoleon found Charles, his enougth to produce any interposition i hIis fitiotirl.
wife, aiud rminister, the willing tools of his policy; Confused with a scene so dreadful, and -.t tiie
for Godoy accounted Ferdinand his personal enemy; same time so disgusting, Ferdinand at lengthl exethe miiotlier htted him as wicked women have been cuted the Irenunciation whvich tilnd ben denu(rellllir(de
known to Ihate their children when they are con- in such inltemplerate termrs.'Th'lis occurred oni tle
scions of Ihaving forfeited their esteem; and tile 6th of May, 1808. But the 1marster of tile (dirtall
kiing,, whose oNwn feelings resented the insurrection had not waited till this tiune to coriimmence his opeof Aranjuez, was readily exasperated to an uncon- rations.
trolable fit of rage agailnst his son. Two days before Ferdinand's abdication. thart is,
Up'on his filst arr ival at Bayonne, Charles loudly upon the 4th, Iris father, Charles, acting ill tile d(maprotested that his abdication of the 20th March was racter of king, vwhich he had laid aside at Aranjiez,
the operation of force alone; and demanded that his had named Joachimi Murrat lieutenant.gelneral or'f is
son shlloldll repossess him in thle crown, of which he kingdom, and lpresident of the goverrmirents. A
bad violently deprived hlll. proclamation was at tlre same tinle Iirblishlred, ill
T'le reply of Ferdinand alleged that the resigna- which the Spaniards were particular-ly nirir( ni.xioudsly
tion of his father hIad been unqurestionably voluntary cautioned against listenilng to. treachlerous iten.
at tlre tinre, and Ire quoted thie old king's repeated agents of England, who nighrt stir thelm ui) agauiust
declaratioins t t tat e/ffect. tBut lie declared, that if France. anld assuring them that Spain hiad nlo well