government in that country, that they resigned themselves to their fate with surprising facility and promptitude. All their conversations, as well amongst themselves, as with their attendants and the several distinguished Spaniards who were at that time at Bayonne, indicated the most perfect good faith, a sincere admiration for the Emperor of the French, and a blind confidence in his protection and assurances. They evinced altogether a certain repose and firmness of mind, which, perhaps, in other men would have been attributed to the sublime strength of reason and philosophy.

"On the part of Ferdinand, these dispositions were proved by positive and notorious facts. In order to avoid the consequences of the secret orders which he had sent to the junta, and which were of a hostile character, and quite opposed to the documents which he had recently signed, he despatched, also secretly, Perez de Castro, for the purpose of revoking those orders; and he advised the junta, and all Spaniards, to submit to the new order of things which was prepared for them, renouncing for ever all resistance as useless, and as calculated only to produce disastrous results. He also sent the Marquis de Lazan to Aragon, in order to see his brother Don Jose Palafox, and direct him to break off the operations which he had commenced, with the view of exciting that province against the French."

"Ferdinand and his suite arrived at Valençay on the 18th of May. The Prince of Benevento and his lady received them on their alighting, and introduced them into their residence, which was now converted into a sort of fortification, supplied with a numerous garrison, and commanded by a military chief. The Princes saw, soon after their arrival, that the treaty celebrated at Bayonne would not be very scrupulously observed; that the mansion in which they were now established, would be their constant abode; and that there, they would be looked upon as no more than private individuals, who never, in any case, could take the least share in public affairs. In consequence of this persuasion, the Princes adopted a plan of life corresponding with their inclinations and habits. The duties of religion occupied a great part of the morning; books, excursions, converse with some of the inhabitants of the department, the theatre and other amusements, filled up the remainder of the day.

"Ferdinand, immediately after his arrival, informed Napoleon of this event in a most respectful letter. A few days after he again wrote to him, congratulating him, in his own name, as well as in that of his brother and uncle, upon the installation of King Joseph on the throne of the Spains. It was impossible, he said, to see at the head of that nation, a monarch who, by reason of his virtues, was so capable of assuring its perfect felicity. Ferdinand added, that he was desirous of being honoured with the friendship of that prince; and he entreated that his Imperial Majesty would communicate to him this letter, after having read it."

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Napoleon replied to Ferdinand, and entered into some details upon his situation in an economical point of view. Ferdinand was

extremely flattered by this correspondence. He lost no opportunity of continuing it, and he never spared the expression of his admiration, enthusiasm, and esteem. On the 26th of July 1808, he requested permission from the Emperor to go to meet him on his return from Italy to Paris, in order that he might have the satisfaction of personally renewing his homage. On the 6th of August he congratulated him in the most respectful terms on the victories with which Providence had just crowned his arms; and on the 25th of September, after thanking the Emperor like an affectionate son for the favours with which he had distinguished him, he assured him that his conduct would never belie his sentiments, or swerve from that implicit obedience which he owed to his Majesty's wishes and commands.

"And, in fact, his conduct was such as appeared to be perfectly in unison with this language of resignation and attachment. Far from evincing the least symptom of vexation, for the loss of a throne like that of Spain; far from entertaining the most distant hope of ever enjoying it once more, every part of his actions shewed a complete separation from it, an edifying submission to the decrees of Providence, a magnanimous determination to sacrifice his personal interests to, what he deemed, the felicity and glory of the nation. The mild and philosophical disposition of his mind had a remarkable influence upon all its operations. Never were his days more serene, never was he more exempt from passion and trouble. His mind, free from all sorrow for the past, and all fear for the future, gave itself up to the exercise of acts of beneficence. The poor of the department were sure of finding at Valençay an alleviation of their sufferings."

"Notwithstanding all we have said of Ferdinand's harmless occupations, and his political nullity, while he stayed at Valençay, Napoleon did not, for that reason, grow careless with regard to him, nor was his police unwatchful. A woman who preserved some remains of beauty, and who, having been raised to a considerable rank from the lowest class of society, had only acquired in her new situation a talent for intrigue, undertook to inspire Ferdinand with those passions which were natural to his age, and the gratification of which usually leads inexperienced persons into habits of unbounded confidence. Ferdinand resisted her seductions with nobleness and dignity. The Duke of San Carlos fell into the snares prepared for his master, and yielded to the cunning confidant's insinuations. But the disclosures which he made, although sincere, were so insignificant, that they served only to confirm, in the Emperor's mind, the idea which he had long before conceived of Ferdinand's character."

The plan projected by our government for the escape of the royal, and, as it should seem, willing captive, will be fresh in the recollection of most of our readers. The plot was extremely well conceived, but the activity of the French police penetrated the secret; and the result is worthy of observation. in its connection with the character of Ferdinand.

"The enterprize was one of the greatest difficulty; but a person was found who undertook to carry it into execution. This person was the Baron de Kolli, an Irishman by birth, accustomed to the discharge of secret and dangerous commissions, and eminently dextrous in those stratagems which are requisite upon such occasions. Patronised and recommended by the Duke of Kent, the Baron explained his ideas to the English ministers, and obtained their complete approbation. His precautions appeared so secure, his calculations so infallible, that the ministers gave him all the means and assistance which he demanded--a large sum of money, diamonds and bills of exchange. An English squadron was placed at his disposal on the coasts of France, in order to convey Ferdinand away, and he obtained the title of English ambassador to that Prince. His credentials consisted of an original letter, written in Latin by Charles IV. to George III. dated the 9th of September, 1802, giving him an account of the marriage of his son, Ferdinand, with the Infanta Maria Antonia of Austria; a copy of the credentials, in Latin, of Sir Henry Wellesley, an English ambassador to the government of Ferdinand VII., and a letter of George III. to the latter, in which he assured him of his sentiments of friendship and alliance, described the assistance which England had afforded to Spain, in the contest which she was sustaining, and requested Ferdinand to consider of the most prudent and efficacious means of restoring himself, to his people.

"The Baron deceived the vigilance of the French police until his arrival in Paris; but in that capital he was soon discovered and arrested. The police took possession of all his papers and effects, and after shutting him up in the castle of Vincennes, (where he remained until the approach of the allied troops) they endeavoured to make use of the materials which such an important discovery had placed in their hands.

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"With this view a fictitious Baron de Kolli presented himself at Valençay, and attempted to prevail on Ferdinand to fly from the castle, and to place himself on board some English vessels which were waiting for him. Ferdinand, far from consenting to the proposition, rejected it with horror from the moment it came to his knowledge, and he immediately wrote to the military governor of Valençay, informing him of the occurrence. The governor proceeded immediately to see the Prince, and found him strangely disturbed and agitated. The English,' said he, have done a great deal of evil to the Spanish nation. They make use of my name in order to cause blood to be shed. The English ministry, deceived by the false idea, that I am here against my will, and under restraint, has proposed to me means of escaping. They have sent a person to me, who, under the pretence of selling objects of art, meant to deliver me a message from his Majesty the King of England.' The false emissary, who did not make much haste in getting away after the discovery of his plan, was apprehended, sent to Paris, and immediately afterwards set at liberty. Ferdinand took advantage of this conjuncture in order to write again to the Emperor,

entreating that he would adopt him as his son, give him as a consort a Princess of his dynasty, and confer upon his brother Charles the command of one of his armies in the North. It need scarcely be added, that these requests were unattended to, and that they served only as an object of laughter at the court of the Tuileries."

But by far the most interesting division of this volume is that which comprises the account of Ferdinand's government from his restoration in 1814, to the temporary overthrow of the despotic system in 1820. The six years which intervened between these events form an epoch, as the author observes, quite new in the annals of modern history; and we do not hesitate to pronounce, that his dispassionate narrative bears a stamp of truth and fidelity which cannot be mistaken. The enquirer will rise from its perusal with little doubt on the nature of the causes which at length produced the revolution of 1820; but it is more upon the evident authenticity of the facts, and the candour and moderation in which the relation is clothed, than upon any merit in their arrangement, that we found our favourable opinion. Indeed we cannot imagine a more effectual mode of destroying the connection of the whole subject, than by breaking it up, as is here done, into sections under the different titles of foreign relations-government of the interior-ecclesiastical affairs-finance-war and marine, and miscellaneous anecdotes and events. It follows from such a formal disposition that the author has given excellent disjointed materials for the future historian, but has himself produced nothing worthy the name' of a history.

This inconvenient arrangement, however, has in no degree affected the intrinsic value of the work, as it illustrates the personal character of Ferdinand VII., and the conduct of his government; and, considering the spirit in which it is composed, we cannot help regretting that the author's labours have not carried him through the stormy reign of the constitution. A regular and temperate memoir of public transactions in Spain, from the revolt of the army in 1820, to the surrender of Cadiz to the French in the last year, is yet a desideratum; and, whoever the original writer of the volume before us may be, we are convinced from the specimen which he has here given, that he is well qualified to perfect the task which he has left incomplete. If the present work be merely a translation, it is still but just to Mr. Quin to observe, that he has wholly shaken off the trammels of a foreign idiom from his version of the Spanish manuscript.

Anecdotes of the Spanish and Portuguese Revolutions. By COUNT PECCHIO. With an Introduction and Notes, by EDWARD BLAQUIERE, Esq. Author of " Letters from the Mediterranean," &c, &c. 8vo. pp. 197. Price 7s. 6d. Whittakers. London. 1823.

This volume assuredly cannot boast of the same characteristic of moderation as the "Memoirs of Ferdinand VII." But it is also the production of an expatriated liberal; and we are not disposed to criticise too severely the irritability of a mind which has writhed under the galling recollection of blasted aspirations after freedom, ruined fortunes, and protracted exile. Count Pecchio bore a principal share in the abortive revolution of Piedmont, and fled after its impotent conclusion, to breathe the freer air of the Peninsula. A staunch partizan of revolution all over the world, he travelled through Spain and Portugal, or resided in their capitals, the enraptured eulogist of the wildest flights of democracy. Never doubting the durability of the Peninsular constitution, never questioning the perfect wisdom and justice of those codes, he is rather an unsafe guide in matters political. But there is no studied deception in his pages, and he will no farther deceive his readers than as his own imagination has deceived himself. His remarks are often lively and epigrammatic, his sketches generally natural, animated, and striking, and many of his anecdotes exceedingly amusing. We shall give as a specimen of his style, which has lost none of its spirit in Mr. Blaquiere's translation, the following character of a leader, in whom we can well remember, the Spaniards reposed infinite confidence during the Peninsular war.

"You wish to know the general who is likely to command the Spanish army, if this country is menaced by its enemies? I can safely reply they do not any longer stand in need of the great Wellington, they possess one still more phlegmatic and redoubtable. The general to whom I allude, fought through all the campaigns during the war of independence, is still in the vigour of manhood, and known to every Spaniard, for he is in the mouths of all. But it is time to mention his name: he is called General No Importa! It is an incontestible fact that these two words, emblematical of the most obstinate courage, performed prodigies in the course of the late struggle, if they were not these which vanquished the legions of Napoleon. On hearing of defeat after defeat, the invariable answer of government was, No Importa, No reinara en Espana, Jose Napoleon. "No matter, Joseph Napoleon shall not rule in Spain."

"When routed, soldiers and generals fled, and united at some other point, to be again beaten, and again encouraged with the official reply