On the 18th of March, to save the Prince of the Peace, the king stripped him of all his offices and exiled him. But this only produced a temporary lull. On the 19th, the prince, who for two days had been living hidden in a barn in a bundle of osiers, decided to come out of his hiding-place. Discovered immediately, he had great trouble, though protected by some bodyguards, to escape the violence of the crowd. He was taken to a barracks which served him both as prison and refuge. A furious crowd followed and threatened to force the doors. Troubled by the cries which they heard from afar, the king and queen had recourse to Ferdinand, begging him to save his friend. The prince agreed with triumphant joy, presented himself at the barracks, dispersed the crowd by telling them justice should be done, and appearing before Godoy promised him pardon. “Are you already king, that you grant pardon?” cried the prisoner. “No,” answered Ferdinand, “but I shall be, soon.”
CHARLES IV ABDICATES; THE BOURBONS AT BAYONNE
He was indeed to be king that very day, for a little while only, it is true; but how could he guess the fate which awaited him? The king and queen were utterly terrified, and on learning that the crowd had just wrecked the carriage destined to take away the Prince of the Peace, their fright redoubled. To save their lives and that of their friend they did not hesitate to lay down the royal power. Charles IV signed his abdication and Ferdinand was proclaimed amid outbursts of frantic joy.[f]
Ferdinand VII, notwithstanding the neglect of his solicitations for Napoleon’s protection, seems to have felt no mistrust of the emperor’s good-will towards himself. He retained several of his father’s ministers, especially Cevallos, although allied by marriage to Godoy; but he likewise raised the chief of those who had been imprisoned, as his accomplices in the conspiracy of the preceding October, to high posts. He released Jovellanos from prison; confiscated the property of the Prince of the Peace, without awaiting his trial; and repealed some vexatious taxes. The nation was delighted with their new monarch; but their exultation and Ferdinand’s joy in his accession, and trust in the supposed favour of Napoleon, were alike short-lived.
Napoleon himself seems to have been momentarily perplexed by the tumults at Aranjuez and the old king’s abdication. He had hoped probably to find the kingdom deserted by its rulers, and open to the first occupant. He paused upon his journey to await what should next occur; whilst Murat, under pretence of besieging Gibraltar, pressed forward with such celerity that, on the 23rd of March, he entered the town, and established himself in the magnificent palace of the Prince of the Peace. Upon Ferdinand’s arrival, Murat paid him neither military nor personal honours, alleging the necessity of learning Napoleon’s decision upon the late transactions, ere the prince of Asturias could be acknowledged as king of Spain.
With a French army in Madrid, Ferdinand saw that the stability of his throne depended upon his recognition by the emperor of France. He therefore addressed a justificatory account of the recent events to Napoleon, and renewed his solicitations for the hand of an imperial princess. Evidently Napoleon never meant to acknowledge Ferdinand as king; but it was essential to his schemes, since he could not frighten the whole Spanish royal family away, to get them all into his own hands; and Charles’ vacillating conduct afforded him the means of so doing. Charles wrote to the French emperor, protesting against his abdication as forced. The old queen, and her daughter the queen of Etruria, wrote to Murat, begging him to save the life of his and their friend, Godoy, and declared that they wished only some safe asylum where they and he might spend the remainder of their lives together. Murat promised his support.[b]
Napoleon sent Savary to Madrid, commissioned not to recognise the prince of Asturias but to flatter his hopes and make him decide to come to Bayonne, where the emperor himself was going. In fact the whole business resolved itself into getting hold of Ferdinand, and was nothing more than a trap. Murat, Savary, Beauharnais—all were in the conspiracy; the first hoping for a crown, the last with the good faith of misguided honesty. Savary alone knew Napoleon’s designs and served them without scruple. Ferdinand and his counsellors had entire faith in the emperor. Ferdinand hoped to avoid other concessions by giving up some colonies to France. Only, to obtain this, an interview with the emperor would be necessary. Another motive urged Ferdinand to take this imprudent journey. Murat only showed deference to the old sovereigns, and affected to render them all the homage due to royalty. It was necessary that Ferdinand should see Napoleon and be recognised by him as king of Spain.
As soon as they learned of their son’s projected journey, the old sovereigns, left at Aranjuez, also wanted to go to him whom they called their protector and friend. Soon, therefore, the emperor had under his hand the whole Spanish dynasty. These journeys, however, were not accomplished without difficulty. The people of Madrid threatened at first to oppose Ferdinand’s departure, and the prince himself became seriously uneasy when he learned at Burgos that the emperor was still at Bordeaux. He went on however as far as Vitoria, but once in this town he refused to go farther. General Savary tried persuasion, then threats, but all to no purpose. He therefore went to the emperor, who had just arrived at Bayonne, and obtained for Ferdinand a letter full of promises calculated to make him decide to continue his journey. In case he should resist, Savary brought to Murat and Bessières an order to arrest Ferdinand and proclaim Charles IV.
Without knowing of the threatened danger, Ferdinand still hesitated. If many of his counsellors were urging him on, defiance was bursting out all around, and Izquierdo, coming expressly from Vitoria, predicted exactly all the evils that would break over Ferdinand and the empire. The emperor’s letter silenced all scruples, and, reassured by fresh promises from Savary, Ferdinand set out surrounded by an escort which would not have allowed him to change his mind. When the Bidassoa was crossed, Ferdinand there only found Berthier and Duroc, who saluted him as prince of Asturias. At Bayonne, the emperor received him cordially, embraced him and kept him to dinner, but always as prince of Asturias. Finally, that very evening, the emperor, who had now no need for dissimulation, told Escoiquiz that he had need of Spain; that he had resolved to dethrone the Bourbons, and offered to make Ferdinand king of Etruria. Simultaneously Savary made the same communication to the prince. It was a terrible blow![f]