king were to say, ‘I renounce all dignity from this time, and, far from seeking honours, desire only to lead a private life;’ in that case the affair becomes of a different kind. If, therefore, your Royal Highness is in this predicament, the Emperor must have recourse to other means; but if, as I cannot but believe, your Royal Highness thinks of receiving the sceptre, the indispensable preliminary must be to settle the principal bases of the negotiation upon which afterwards to treat, and for this purpose to appoint a Spaniard, one of those who are at this time in France.” Ferdinand calmly replied that this required consideration. Upon this Laforest observed, that when a kingdom was to be received, there was not much to consider, reasons of state being the sole rule of conduct. But Ferdinand made answer, that he was far from agreeing with him in that maxim; it was his belief that nothing required greater consideration, and he would take time to deliberate upon it. Ferdinand could not have acted with better judgment at this time, if he had had the ablest statesmen to advise him. In fact, the straight course was the sure one; for, though he had been kept in complete ignorance of all recent events, the very circumstance of this proposal was proof sufficient that Buonaparte’s fortune had failed, and that his motive for giving up his pretensions to Spain was that he was no longer able to support them. On the morrow, he said to the ambassador that, having maturely reflected upon what had been proposed, he must repeat that he could do nothing, and treat of nothing, in his present situation, without consulting with the nation, and of course with the Regency. “The Emperor,” said he, “has placed me here; and if he chooses that I should return to Spain, he it is who must consult and treat with the Regency, because he has means of doing this, and I have not; or he must afford me means, and consent that a deputation from the Regency should come hither, and inform me concerning the state of Spain, and propose to me measures for rendering it happy: any thing which I may then conclude here with his Imperial Majesty will be valid. And it is the more necessary that such a deputation should come, because there is no person in France whom I could fitly employ in this affair.” Laforest replied at some length, endeavouring to persuade him that the English and Portugueze governed Spain, and that their intention was to place the house of Braganza upon the Spanish throne, beginning with his sister, the Princess of Brazil. He also pressed Ferdinand to declare whether, when he returned to Spain, he meant to be the friend or the enemy of the Emperor? This was presuming upon the weakness of the person whom he addressed; but Ferdinand was not wanting in presence of mind on this occasion. “I esteem the Emperor highly,” he replied, “but I never will do any thing that may be injurious to my people and their welfare; and upon this point I now finally declare that nothing shall