The Sun.
London, England, 1833-10-18 00:00:00

CHARACTER OF FERDINAND VII•

(From Le Temp.)
Ferdinand has ceased to reign. History: In
be a just, must be a severe critic of this Prince'
In the peculiar circumstances of his early life;
Ferdinand found an encouragement to his ha°
passions, and there was no parental hand
k
stretched forth to lead him to the right path;
Formed by nature to love nothing, to respect
e
nothing—whilst he avoided physical evils, l'
abandoned himself to moral ones. He began
his political life in perfidy; he deceived
people, and paricidally usurped his fatherl
crown. His mother, who knew him, detested
him, and sought to gratify her deadly resentment
against the people of Spain by giving them 110
t
son for their King. He was mean enough '
be the slave of Bonaparte ; he was put in cor„
tivity by his master, and beguiled his solitsl,
hours in the instinctive persecution of animel
From 1812, when he broke the compact whit/
he had solemnly ratified, to the termination
..,°t
his career, his life was a series of alternatinT
between promises and breaches of promises. ir_im,
date of his freedom from the hands of NapoleuY
is the period of his open ingratitude to the Cnir,,
stitutionalists, and many a patriotic heart had
deplore the treachery of the King in exile, or '''„
the dungeons of Africa. In 1820 the Spanisell
provoked by intolerable oppressions, proclaial
the Constitution once more. Ferdinand PS
tended to make it a sacred obligation to conew‘.
in the national sentiment. He swore allegian„.r
to the new Constitution, and proceeded forth_
with with all his micht to destroy it. Fore'
still to appear to be friendly to a liberal systelli,
he was profuse in his pledges; but when filt'l
an:
mately left to his own guidance, he sought :
extirpate the principles which he professed ri
cherish, and did not hesitate to employ for t,.!
purpose banishment and confiscation, and t7O •
sword. The sudden burst of paternal I'l, •
which induced him to make his daughter tr.
next successor to his throne, in spite of the se;
tied law of succession in Spain, may be taken 4
a specimen of that obstinate, ungovernable, al).
short-sighted mind which distinguished t 11.410
King. He sacrificed everything for this dad",
object, even his politics, and conciliated the Cod '
stitutionalists by amnesties, in the hope,t,li
they would stand friends to his daughter. o°f
far his calculations in this respect will be nails'
it remains for time to declare.
Ferdinand loved despotism ; he loved it Oh
enthusiasm ; but. his was not the generous POt;
sion of Louis XI V. who identified his 0
with the glory of his country. Ferdinand's del;
potisni began and ended with himself, his vihnho
anxiety being to make a mere machine of !
people, and to continue amongst them the ee're '-
of ignorance. A liberal system had not ths
slightest possible chance in Spain during.lo
ascendancy of such a man, for, however he 00gc/
pretend to act in conformity with the exig°ll -
which presented itself, he never failed to putts
train and execution his subterranean stratagep
of counteraction. So well organised Was 0
countenance for hypocrisy, that his caresses 11.0
always esteemed by a functionary as a decisl
0,
token of dismissal ; and many an exile has !lid',
ceived the first intimation of his approachl Ps'
banishment in a warm embrace from his Mestipt
Ferdinand's intellect and taste directed bl.
to the association of his grooms and scullion!,
The ante-chamber was his favourite retreat do_,.'
ing those hours which he devoted to plesstl;
Grijalba, who just preceded him to the gea(a:
was taken out of livery to be made the e?'"„
panion and the private counsellor of the gln,,°'
Whatever be the result of Ferdinand's detail;
his country, this, at least, is certain, that she°
no reason to deplore his loss. t