The little Princesses now lived in the imposing Palace of Madrid, with all the retinue befitting their position, but far from the mother who, with all her faults, loved her little girls, and had only left them to save them from the greater losses with which they were threatened. Espartero, who was now a sort of Dictator of Spain, took up his residence in the Palace of Buena Vista, in the Alcalá in Madrid, which is now the Ministry of War. The secret influence which was working in Madrid in favour of Luisa Carlota and her husband led to their being suggested as guardians to the royal children, in a little book called “The Maternal Guardianship of H.M. Isabel II. and Her Royal Highness’s Sister, Maria Luisa Fernanda.” But Government declared against the appointment of personages who were known to nourish such hatred to the mother, who sent an indignant protest from Paris against the project. So Argüelles was appointed guardian, and in his choice of coadjutors certainly did his best to improve the environment of the little Princesses. Of course the appointment caused much discontent on some sides. The uncle and aunt declared that it was made in the desire to separate the Princesses from their relatives, and that it was wrong to put them under a man who had been an enemy of their father. Argüelles had indeed suffered at the hand of Ferdinand VII., who gave him seven years at Ceuta when he returned to Spain as King; but this had only been for his political opinions. Indeed, the Minister was so eloquent that he was called “the divine Argüelles.” As the army reigned supreme, in the person of Espartero as Regent, the counter-influence of Argüelles in the palace was very beneficial. The Royal Guard, both outside and inside the palace, was now formed of the famous halberdiers, and it was on the night of October 7, 1841, that the valour of this body of soldiers was put to an unexpected test. General Don Manuel de la Concha and General Leon plotted with Queen Maria Cristina to get possession of the persons of the young Princesses, carry them off to France, and hand them over to Don Evaristo Perez de Castro and a Canon, a partisan of the ex-Regent, by whom they would be escorted to their mother in Paris; and for this bold proceeding they had only a small number of soldiers. General Concha was to get possession of the person of the Regent, whilst General Leon was to carry off the Princesses from the palace. General Dulce was the guardian angel of the little girls that night. He was standing on the landing of the grand staircase, when he saw a company of armed soldiers coming up the steps, under the command of a young lieutenant called Boria. “Where are you going?” asked Dulce. “Where my duty takes me,” was the curt reply. “Then, you ought to stop your men in this shameful course; you are young, and to-morrow you will repent your conduct.”