[20] The letter which the Nuncio left for the French General may be seen in Neves, t. ii. c. 40. “Who would have thought,” says the historian, “that England was to give an asylum to the delegate of the Holy Father? But this ought not to be wondered at, when we know that the successor of Henry VIII. has offered one to the Pope himself against the persecution of him who occupies the throne of St. Louis.”—P. 223.
[21] One of their officers, a man of the old school, who had not forgotten the manners and the feelings of better days, did not scruple to declare in the house where he was quartered that the army was ruined. He had seen robbery enough in his time, he said, but never to an excess like the present; and, where this was suffered, an army must inevitably be destroyed: and he ran through the names of the generals, calling each a robber as he named him, and venting the bitterness of his heart in thus giving each the appellation which was so richly merited by all.
Pōe dois ós hum sobre outro,
E pōe lhe outro á direita,
Pōe outro como o primeiro,
Ahi tens a conta feita.
A Sebastianist was explaining this to P. Jose Agostinho de Macedo, who asked him, now he had made out the 808, where the thousand was? The believer pointed to the flag-staff from which the Portugueze colours were flying on the Mint.... There it is, straight and upright, behind the five wounds, which the voice of the Prophet has converted into ciphers.... Oh loucos e duros de coraçam em vos render a evidencia! Abri os olhos, miseraveis, que eu vos desengano, quereis esse sinal numerico, esse hum, que designe os mil? Nam vedes alli o páo da bandeira, tam direito, tam posto a pino, tam empertigado por detras das cinco chagas convertidas em cifras pela voz dos profetas; ahi estam, incredulos, ahi estam 1808.—Os Sebastianistas, p. 1, 98.
Another prophecy gave the date by thirty pair of scissars, the bows standing for ciphers; and the scissars, when opened, each represented a Roman X. I am not sufficiently versed in the arithmetic of the prophets to discover how this is summed up into 1808.
[23] O mez de Maio foi sempre de muito respeito em toda a peninsula. He o mez da fome, e basta esta circumstancia para se lhe abaixar a cabeça.—Neves, ii. 231.
[24] The authors of the official Spanish history excuse the King from the charge of putting forth a false declaration, upon the plea that no promise of remaining was expressed in it. But certainly this was implied, and it is less discreditable to Charles, and more consistent with his character, to suppose that he was sincere when he issued it, and changed his mind when the next tidings brought on a fresh access of fear.
[25] The Marquis de Caballero says, there was no intention of removal that night; that the Prince of the Peace was amusing himself, according to his custom, tête-à-tête with one of his numerous mistresses; that the lady left his apartment under an escort of his guards of honour; that the patrole chose to see who she was, she resisted, her escort fired in the air, the trumpet on guard took this for the signal of departure, he put his troop in motion, and then the populace assembled. Godoy must have possessed much more courage in critical circumstances than he has obtained credit for, if he could amuse himself with a mistress at such a moment as this!
Caballero says, that he proposed to the commanders of the body guards to disperse the rabble with twenty horsemen, if they could answer for their fidelity; and if they could not, that they should recall six hundred men from Ocaña, who certainly had not been corrupted, with whom and with the artillery he would undertake for the safety of the royal family, but he was told that no person except the Prince could appease the agitation. He affirms that the people would have suffered the King and Queen to depart, and even Godoy also, but that they would have stopped the Prince. The Conde de Montijo claims the merit of having directed the popular feeling on the occasion. Except a generous feeling on the part of the people, who knew not what they were doing, there is nothing in these whole transactions creditable to any of the parties concerned.