The king had already invested Murat with supreme power in the capacity of Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. Ferdinand continually resisted-- proposing, indeed, to make an act of renunciation, but only at Madrid, in presence of the Cortes, and under the condition that the king, Charles IV., should himself resume possession of the throne. The preliminary negotiations became each day more bitter. Napoleon pursued his aim without disturbing himself at the refusals of the prince, who, however, provoked in him some ill-humor. He had by a single stroke destroyed the illusions and hopes of Murat by writing to him on the 2nd of May, "I intend the King of Naples to reign at Madrid. I wish to give you the kingdom of Naples, or that of Portugal. Answer me immediately what you think of it, for it is necessary for this to be done in a day." The very day on which Napoleon thus inflicted on his brother-in-law a stroke for which Murat never consoled himself, the insurrection which broke out at Madrid rendered impossible the elevation to the throne of Spain of the man whose duty it was so roughly to repress it. For a fortnight the excitement in the capital had been intense, carefully kept up by the reports which Ferdinand and his friends found the means of freely spreading amongst the population. An order had been sent to Murat to make all those princes of the royal house who were still at Madrid set out for Bayonne; when the Junta had been induced with great difficulty to give its consent to this measure, the populace opposed the departure. A certain number of soldiers were massacred, an aide-de-camp of Murat escaping by a miracle from the popular anger. The troops had for a long time been posted as a precaution against an insurrection, and all the streets were soon swept by charges of cavalry; cannon resounded in all directions. The Spanish troops, consigned to their quarters, only took part in the struggle at one point; a company of artillery gave up its pieces to the people. When the insurrection was suppressed a hundred insurgents were shot without any form of trial. This was, in the capital, the last and feeble effort of a resistance which had not yet had time to become a patriotic passion. Henceforth Murat felt himself master of Madrid; he became President of the Junta. Don Antonio had accompanied to Bayonne his nephew, François de Paule, and his niece, the Queen of Etruria. "Your Majesty has nothing more to do than to designate the king whom you destine for Spain," mournfully wrote the lieutenant-general on the morning of the 3rd; "this king will reign without obstacle." But lately he had repeated this proposal, heard on several occasions amongst the inhabitants of Madrid: "Let us run to the house of the Grand Duc de Berg, and proclaim him king."