From the time when Ferdinand began his inauspicious journey, Cevallos had every night dispatched an account of their proceedings to the Junta; after his arrival at Bayonne it was soon found that his couriers were intercepted. Cevallos complained to M. Champagny, and was told in reply, that as the Emperor acknowledged no other King than Charles IV. he could not admit in his dominions any act in the nature of a passport given by Ferdinand; but the letters which, for this reason, had been detained, had been put into the French post-office, and would be safely delivered, as would any others which he might think proper to send either by the ordinary post or the French courier. Cevallos therefore from that time sent duplicates of his dispatches by various conveyances, and succeeded in informing the Junta that Ferdinand was actually a prisoner, and in conveying an order to them from Ferdinand, whereby they were enjoined to do whatever they deemed expedient for the service of the King and the kingdom, and authorized to act with as full power as if he himself were on the spot. Nothing could be more intelligible than such an order. Nevertheless, such was the timidity of the better members, and the faithlessness of others, that instead of acting upon it, they dispatched two confidential persons to inquire of Ferdinand whether he would empower them to transfer their authority to certain other persons, whom he should nominate, who, in case the Junta should be completely under constraint, might remove to some place where they could act at freedom? whether it was his will that hostilities should be commenced, and when, and how? whether they should prevent the entrance of more French troops by closing the passes of the Pyrenees? and whether he thought it advisable to convoke a Cortes, addressing a decree for that purpose either to the Council, or to any Chancery or Audience in the kingdom, which might be free from the control of the French? If the Cortes were to be assembled, they asked likewise what subjects it should proceed to discuss?
♦Absurdity of their conduct.♦
Public affairs, in the most momentous times, have often been conducted with a degree of folly seldom discovered in the management of private concerns; and this folly has so effectually done the work of treason, that it has sometimes been mistaken for it. But it is scarcely possible, even upon this plea, to excuse the Junta. When every hour was of importance, they dispatched a messenger four hundred miles to ask Ferdinand’s opinion upon points, on every one of which he would have asked theirs had he been in Madrid; all which they were better able to determine than he could be, and on which, in fact, he required that information which they possessed. When it is considered how preposterous it was to propose that the passes should be closed while the French commanded them, and how perfectly they must have known that Ferdinand was in no condition to plan the opening of a campaign, a suspicion may well be entertained of the sincerity of the persons who propounded such questions. Shrinking from responsibility, and appalled at danger, they referred every thing to Ferdinand, and suffered events to take their course. Meantime, if their own statement on such a point may be received, they secretly prepared orders for the Spanish troops to leave Madrid, even by dispersing, or by encouraging their desertion, if there should be no other way; for assembling soldiers at appointed places, collecting stores and ammunition, destroying the means of transport near the fortresses and cantonments which the enemy occupied, and spoiling the arms and artillery which could not be secured. Such orders were certainly not in accord with the feelings of the men who say that they prepared them: but they would have accorded entirely with the spirit of the nation. ♦Agitation of the public mind.♦ From the time of Ferdinand’s departure, the anxiety and agitation of the people in Madrid had hourly increased. They knew that he expected to meet Buonaparte at Burgos, and the tidings that he had passed the frontier, and proceeded to Bayonne, excited in them as much alarm as wonder. Every evening an extraordinary courier arrived from that city; the intelligence which he brought was never published in the Gazette, but circulated as extracts from private correspondence: the first account detailed nothing but the honours with which Ferdinand had been received by the Emperor; subsequent ones were each more unsatisfactory than the last; and the intentions of the tyrant became more and more apparent, till it could no longer be doubted that Ferdinand was to be deprived of his crown.
♦Orders for sending the Queen of Etruria and the Infante Don Francisco to Bayonne.♦
On the last day of April, Murat presented to the Infante Don Antonio a letter from his brother King Charles, requiring him to send off to Bayonne the Queen of Etruria[31] with her children, and the Infante Don Francisco de Paula, Ferdinand’s youngest brother, ... the other was already in the snare. The Junta were assembled at the time, and proposed to make the demand known to Ferdinand, and await his pleasure; but Murat replied, that this was unnecessary; the Queen of Etruria was her own mistress, and Don Francisco being a minor, was bound to obey his father. The Junta then said they would consult the Queen, who might certainly go if she were so pleased, but to the departure of the young Infante they could not consent. The Queen of Etruria will be remembered hereafter among those high-born sufferers whose strange and undeserved afflictions are recorded as examples of the instability of fortune. Her only desire was to return to Tuscany; but she loved her parents, and declared herself ready to obey their summons without hesitation, not expecting farther perfidy from Buonaparte, even after the perfidious manner in which she had been despoiled. With regard to the Infante, the Junta were informed by Murat that he must go also, or force would be used to make him. ♦The Junta deliberate concerning the Infante.♦ These poor pageants of authority summoned to their assistance in this new perplexity the chief persons of all the different councils, and held a meeting that night, less with the hope of coming to any salutary and dignified determination, than for the sake of finding in the exposure of their own helplessness an excuse to themselves and others for passive submission. One person proposed, that if force were employed to remove the Infante, it should be resisted, and O’Farrill was then called upon to relate what means of resistance could be calculated upon. He entered into a mournful statement. There were 25,000 French in, and immediately about Madrid, and they occupied the Buen Retiro and the heights of the Casa del Campo, which were the strongest positions; besides this force they had 10,000 men in Aranjuez, Toledo, and at the Escurial. The Spanish troops in Madrid were only 3000, and the people were unarmed and had never been disciplined in any militia service; therefore to attempt resistance would be to deliver up the city to be sacked. The effect of this representation, which might have dismayed firmer hearts than those to which it was addressed, was strengthened by the opportune arrival that night of D. Justo Maria de Ibar Navarro, whom Ferdinand had dispatched to apprize the Junta of his situation, and his resolution not to accede to any thing incompatible with the dignity of the throne, and with his own just rights; but while the event was undecided, he charged them carefully to preserve a good understanding with the French, and to avoid any thing which might increase his difficulties and even his personal danger. They agreed upon the necessity of observing these instructions, glad that they were thus instructed to do nothing, where they were incapable of perceiving what they ought to do.
♦Agitation of the people of Madrid.
The courier who was expected on that evening did not arrive. Great multitudes assembled the next day at the Puerta del Sol, and in the streets near the post-office, anxiously waiting for the news which he would bring. During the whole day it was apparent that some dreadful crisis was coming on. The French made an ostentatious display of their troops and their artillery, and on the part of the Spaniards the ordinary duties and diversions of the Sabbath seemed to be suspended in the general agitation that prevailed. Nothing was concerted among them; no one knew what was to be done, nor what was to be hoped, but that some great calamity might be looked for; and every man read in the manner and countenance of others an apprehension and a feeling of indignation like his own. Murat appeared in the streets at noon, and was received with hisses and outcries. Evening came, and the courier was not arrived. The French garrison were under arms all that night, and their commanders, “cool spectators of these things,” according to their own relation, saw the crisis approaching, and saw it with pleasure. ♦May 2.♦ ♦Departure of the Queen and the Infante.♦ The following morning had been fixed for the departure of the Queen of Etruria and the Infante D. Francisco de Paula, and many persons, chiefly women, collected before the Palace to see them set off. Among the many rumours, true and false, with which the city was filled, it was reported that the Infante D. Antonio had been ordered by Murat to join his brother and nephew at Bayonne, and leave him to act as regent during his absence; that the Infante had refused to obey, and that in consequence of his refusal Murat had recalled some troops to Madrid which had been ordered to a different station, intending to seize the Infante, and assume the government. Enough had transpired to make this report probable: one of the carriages which drove up to the gate was said to be for D. Antonio; and some of the populace being determined that the last of the royal family should not be taken from them without resistance, and that one especially who had been left to represent the King, cut the traces, and forced it back into the yard. Being however assured that D. Antonio was not to leave Madrid, they permitted it again to be yoked and brought out. This occasioned so much stir that Murat sent an aide-de-camp to inquire into the cause; the people were disposed to treat him roughly, but some Spanish officers interfered and rescued him from their hands. The carriages, with the Queen of Etruria and her children, and her brother D. Francisco, then set out; the latter, a lad of fourteen, is said to have wept bitterly, and to have manifested the fear and reluctance with which he undertook the journey. Men are never so easily provoked to anger as when their compassion is excited. Just at this time, while their hearts were full, the aide-de-camp whom they had maltreated returned with a party of soldiers, and a scene of bloodshed presently began, ... in what manner never will be known.
♦Insurrection of the people.♦
The indignation and hatred of the Spaniards, which had so long been repressed, now broke forth. As fast as the alarm spread, every man of the lower ranks who could arm himself with any kind of weapon, ran to attack the French. There is no other instance upon record of an attempt so brave and so utterly hopeless, when all the circumstances are considered. The Spanish troops were locked up in their barracks, and prevented from assisting their countrymen. Many of the French were massacred before they could collect and bring their force to act: but what could the people effect against so great a military force, prepared for such an insurrection, and eager, the leaders from political, the men from personal feelings, to strike a blow which should overawe the Spaniards and make themselves be respected? The French poured into the city from all sides, their flying artillery was brought up, in some places the cavalry charged the populace, in others the streets were cleared by repeated discharges of grape-shot. The great street of Alcala, the Puerta del Sol, and the great square, were the chief scenes of slaughter. In the latter the people withstood several charges, and the officer who commanded the French had two horses killed under him: General Grouchy also had a horse wounded. The infantry fired volleys into every cross street as they passed, and fired also at the windows and balconies. The people, when they felt the superiority of the French, fled into the houses; the doors were broken open by command of the generals of brigade, Guillot and Daubrai, and all within who were found with arms were bayoneted; and parties of cavalry were stationed at the different outlets of Madrid to pursue and cut down those who were flying from the town. A part of the mob, seeking an unworthy revenge for their defeat, attacked the French hospital; and some of the Spaniards who were employed within, encouraged at their approach, fell upon the sick and upon their medical attendants. But these base assailants were soon put to flight.