The only security of a despotic government is strength; and this security the Spanish government wants altogether. It has no strength in the affections of the people generally; and even among the military and employées, which are its only strength, there are many disaffected. When the king returned, after the overthrow of the constitution, every measure was adopted that might give a fictitious strength to the government: a clean sweep was made of all the employées, from the highest to the lowest; and whether holding their offices for life, or at pleasure. These, under the constitution, had been selected from amongst the best educated classes; but all who had been connected with the liberal party being excluded from employment under the succeeding government, the public offices were necessarily filled up with persons of inferior station. Another stroke of policy was intended, in the _distribution_ of office: in no country is there so great a division of labour in public employments as in Spain; the duties of an office formerly held by one person, were delegated to three, and the emoluments split in proportion,--by which policy, a greater number of persons were interested in upholding the government. A third measure of policy I have mentioned in a former chapter; that of remodelling the universities, and seminaries of learning, and putting them under the superintendence of Jesuits: and a fourth, was intended to secure the fidelity and increase the numerical strength of the military. To effect the first of these objects, a new body of guards, in all nearly 20,000 men, was raised, and _officered_ by children. The king said, he would not have a single officer in the guards old enough to understand the meaning of the word constitution; and even now, that several years have elapsed, the officers are, almost without exception, boys.