XII. 1823. CHAP. their commanders was placed. It was on the corps of French refugees bearing the uniform of the Old Guard, and clustered round the tricolor flag, that all their hopes rested. Colonel Fabvier, however, who commanded them, found the array very different from what he expected. He had been promised a corps of eight hundred veterans of Napoleon in admirable order; he found only two hundred miserable refugees, half-starved, who had been involved in the conspiracies of Saumur and Béfort, and found in Spain an asylum for their crimes. They were clothed, however, in the old and well-known uniform, with the huge bearskins of the grenadiers of the Guard on their heads; the tricolor flag waved in the midst of them, and as the French advanced posts approached the bridge, they heard the Marseillaise and other popular airs of the Revolution chanted from their ranks. The moment was critical, for the French soldiers halted at sight of the unexpected apparition, and gazed with interest on the well-known and unforgotten ensigns. But at that moment General Vallin, who commanded the advanced guard, galloped to the front, and ordered a gun to be discharged along the bridge. The first round was fired over the heads of the enemy, in the hope of inducing them to retire; and the refugees, seeing no shot took effect, thought the balls had been drawn, and shouted loudly," Vive l'Artillerie !" Upon this, General Vallin ordered a point-blank discharge, which struck down several; a third round completed their dispersion, and the passage was effected without further resistance. 1 Lam. vii. Louis XVIII. did not exaggerate the importance of this Ann. Hist. decisive conduct on this critical occasion, when, on the vi.377,379; Moniteur, general who commanded on the occasion being presented April 12, 1853. to him after the campaign was over, he said, General Vallin, your cannon-shot has saved Europe." 1 206, 209; 66 This bold act was decisive of the fate of the campaign. The French army having effected their passage, their right wing, after a sharp action, drove back the garrison of St Sebastian within the walls of that fortress, and XII. 1823. 73. the French, rapid suc established the blockade of the place; while the centre, CHAP. supported by the whole reserve, in all 40,000 strong, pushed on rapidly on the great road to Madrid. On the 10th they reached Tolosa, on the 11th Villareal, and on Progress of the 17th their columns entered Vittoria in triumph, and their amidst an immense concourse of inhabitants and un- cess bounded joy and acclamation. How different from the April 10-17. ceaseless booming of the English cannon, which rung in their ears when they last were in that town, flying before the bloody English sabres on 21st June 1813! At the same time, with the advanced guard, Oudinot crossed the Ebro and advanced to Burgos, after having made himself master of Pancorvo; Molitor, with the left wing, traversed Navarre, and entered Arragon, directing his march on Saragossa; and the extreme right, under Quesada, composed of Spanish auxiliaries, reached Bilboa, which opened its gates without opposition. Everywhere the French troops were received as deliverers; as they advanced, the pillars of the Constitution were overthrown, the revolutionary authorities dispossessed, and the ancient regime proclaimed amidst the acclamations of the people. The invaders observed the most exact discipline, and paid for everything they required—a wise policy, the very reverse of that of Napoleon-which confirmed the favourable impression made on the minds of the Spaniards. The ancient animosity of the people of France and Spain seemed to be lulled; even the horrors of the late war had for the time been buried in oblivion; three years of Moniteur, revolutionary government had caused them all to be for- 1823; Cap. gotten, and hereditary foes to be hailed as present de- 155. liverers.1 vi. 381,382; Feb. 16, vii. 153, 74. the Duke The main body of the French army, encouraged by this flattering reception, advanced with vigour, and that Advance of celerity which, in all wars of invasion, but especially d'Angou those which partake of the nature of civil conflict, is so important an element in success. Resistance was no where attempted, so that the march of the troops was as rapid as it would have been through their own territory. lême to Madrid. XII. 1823. May 9, May 17. May 15. CHAP. The Guards and first corps entered Burgos on the 9th May, where they were received with the utmost enthusiasm, and thence proceeded in two columns towards Madrid, the first, under the generalissimo in person, by Aranda and Buytrago; the latter by Valladolid, where the reception of the troops was if possible still more flattering. At the latter place, where headquarters arrived on the 17th May, a flag of truce arrived from the Conde d'Abisbal, who had been left in command at Madrid by the Cortes, they having retired towards Seville, taking the king a prisoner with them. In vain had the monarch declared he would not abandon his capital; the imperious Cortes forced him away, and he set out accordingly under an escort or guard of 6000 men, leaving Madrid to make the best terms it could with the conqueror. Saragossa, Tolosa, and all the towns occupied by the French in the course of their advance, instantly, on their approach, overturned the pillar of the Constitution, reinstated the Royalist authorities, and received the invaders as deliverers. Literally speaking, the Duke d'Angoulême advanced from Irun to Madrid amidst the acclamations of the people, and under triumphal arches. Nor was the success of the French less decisive in Upper Catalonia, where the retreat of Mina and the Constitutional troops was so rapid that Moucey in vain attempted to bring them to action; and within a month after the frontiers had been crossed, nearly all the vi. 384, 387; fortified places in the province, except Barcelona and Lerida, had opened their gates and received the French with transports.1 1 Ann. Hist. Lam. vii. 225, 226. 75. the French May 24. Nothing could be more agreeable to the Duke d'AnAdvance of goulême than the offer on the part of the Conde d'Abisbal to Madrid. and the municipality of Madrid to capitulate on favourable terms, and accordingly he at once agreed to everything requested by them. It was agreed that General Zayas should remain with a few squadrons to preserve order in the capital till it was occupied by the French XII. 1823. troops, which was arranged to take place on the 24th CHAP. May. The guard left, however, proved inadequate to the task; the revolutionists, who were much stronger in Madrid than in any other town the French had yet entered, rose in insurrection, and d'Abisbal only saved his life by flying in disguise, and taking refuge with Marshal Oudinot. The moment was critical, for Madrid was in a state of great excitement, and a spark might have lighted a flame which, by rousing the national feelings of the Spaniards, might, as in 1808, have involved the whole Peninsula in conflagration. But at this decisive moment the wisdom. of the Duke d'Angoulême and his military counsellors solved the difficulty, and at once detached the extreme revolutionary from the patriotic party. M. DE MARTI- Lam. vii. GNAC, a young advocate of Bordeaux, destined to cele- Moniteur, brity in future times, drew up a proclamation,1* which 1823. the prince signed, which soothed the pride of the Cas * "Espagnols! Avant que l'armée française franchît les Pyrénées, j'ai déclaré à votre généreuse nation que nous n'étions pas en guerre avec elle. Je lui ai annoncé que nous venions comme amis et auxiliaires l'aider à relever ses autels, à délivrer son roi, à rétablir dans son sein la justice, l'ordre, et la paix. J'ai promis respect aux propriétés, sûreté aux personnes, protection aux hommes paisibles. L'Espagne a ajouté foi à mes paroles. Les provinces que j'ai parcourues ont reçu les soldats français comme des frères, et la voix publique vous aura appris s'ils ont justifié cet accueil, et si j'ai tenu mes engagements. Espagnols! si votre roi était encore dans la capitale, la noble mission que le roi mon oncle m'a confiée, et que vous connaissez tout entière, serait déjà prête à s'accomplir. Je n'aurais plus, après avoir rendu le monarque à la liberté, qu'à appeler sa paternelle sollicitude sur les maux qu'a soufferts son peuple, sur le besoin qu'il a de repos pour le présent, et de sécurité pour l'avenir. L'absence du roi m'impose d'autres devoirs. Dans ces conjonctures difficiles, et pour lesquelles le passé n'offre pas d'exemple à suivre, j'ai pensé que le moyen le plus convenable et le plus agréable au roi, serait de convoquer l'antique conseil suprême de la Castille, et le conseil suprême des Indes, dont les hautes et diverses attributions embrassent le royaume et ses possessions d'outre-mer, et de confier aux grands corps indépendants par leur élévation, et par la position politique de ceux qui les composent, le soin de désigner, eux-mêmes, les membres de la régence." And on the day after his entrance, as the two councils did not conceive themselves authorised by the laws to appoint a regency, but only to recommend one to the French commanderin-chief, to act during the captivity of Ferdinand VII.,he nominated, on their recommendation, as members of the regency, the Duke del Infantado, the Duke de Montemart, the Baron d'Erolles, the Bishop of Orma, and Don Antonio Gomez Calderon, who on 4th June issued a proclamation as the Council of Regency to the Spanish nation.—Annuaire Historique, vi. 721, 722, Appendix. 1 Ann. Hist. vi. 389, 392; 226, 227; June 1, 2, XII. CHAP. tilians, gratified the feelings of the Royalists, and disarmed the wrath of the revolutionists. Everything was accordingly arranged in concord for the entry of the prince generalissimo and his army on the morning of the 24th. 1823. 76. Entry of the Duke lême into Madrid. Early on the morning of that day an immense crowd issued from the gate by which it was understood the d'Angou- prince was to make his entry, with boughs of trees and garlands of flowers in their hands, and every preparation as for a day of festivity and rejoicing. The windows were all hung with tapestry or rich carpeting; the handsomest women in their gala-dresses were there, and beautiful forms adorned with chaplets of flowers graced the spectacle. Precisely at nine, the Duke d'Angoulême, surrounded by a brilliant staff, made his appearance at the gate of Recolletts, where a triumphal arch had been erected, at the head of the guards and reserve; while Marshal Oudinot at the same time entered by the gate of Segovia, from which side he had approached at the head of his corps. Both were received with the loudest demonstrations of joy, amidst the acclamations of the people, the ringing of bells, and the heart-stirring strains of military music. The general enthusiasm was increased by the splendid appearance of the troops, their martial air, the exact discipline and perfect order they everywhere maintained. They were saluted with loud acclamations in all the streets through which they passed, and in the evening a general illumination gave vent to the universal joy. Never was seen so clear a proof that revolutions are brought about by bold and turbulent minorities overriding supine and timorous majorities. 1 Ann. Hist. The universal joy equalled that of the Parisians, when Moniteur, their Revolution was closed by the entrance of the Emperor Alexander and allied sovereigns on 31st March 1814.1 vi. 392, 393; June 2, 1823. Well aware of the importance of following up with all possible rapidity the important advantages thus gained, the Duke d'Angoulême did not repose on his laurels. Two 1 |