The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-05
Snatching a Crown

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 squalid brawl in the wretched royal family at Madrid arose in most timely manner to give Napoleon fair chance to take their throne away from them. Ferdinand, the Prince of the Austrias and heir to the crown, a narrow, dark souled young man of 2S rebelled against the reign of his mothers lover, Godoy, who ruled both his mistress, the Queen. and her husband, the 60-year-old King, the weak spirited and feeble minded Charles ". Both father and son in their ugly quarrel turned to the mighty Empe- TOT. and each appealed for his protection against the other, Ferdinand cravenly begging him for the hand of a Bona parte princess.
 Napoleon replied to their petitions by sending Prince Murat to Madrid and ap- pointing him to the command of the French forces in Spain. The King and Queen and Godoy realized too late that they had put their heads in the lions S mouth, and they could have emulated the Braganzas, had not the French pre- vented. and taken flight to Spanish Amer ica. Meanwhile Ferdinand aroused the people, roaring mob surged about the palace, the terrified King surrendered hls crown to his rebelious son, and Godoy was hunted into loft where he rolled himself up in a rug and hid from the rage of the populaee for "A hours with out food or water.
 When Charles was over his terror he tried to recall his abdicaton and sought the assistance of Napoleon to reclaim the throne, while his son continued to so- licit matrimonial alliance with the im- perial Corsicans. The Emperor left Paris as if to pay a visit to the distracted fam fly and be a peacemaker among them. Murat thereupon thoughtfully suggested that the youthful usurper of the crown should go forth to welcome him at Bur EOS.
 Ferdinand's well chosen companion on that journey was Savary, he who escorted the Duke dEnghein to the moat at Vim cennes. As they drove along, their guard of French soldiers grew in strength and Ferdinand soon found that his escorts really were his kidnapers. The helpless prince instead of meeting the Emperor at Burgos or at any other point in span ish territory was hurried to the frontier and spirited into France, where Napoleon awaited him at the border town of Ba- yonne and received him not as King of Spain. but as still the Prince of the Ass turias.
 The old King, with the Queen and her Godoy. hastened on to Bayonne to have the Emperor restore the crown to his unworthy head; but son and father were plainly told that neither should have 1t. The ignominious pair were not long in resigning themselves to their imperious master and signing away their dominion in two worlds, accepting in return large pensions and gilded prison cells in French chateaux.
 As coolly as if he were appointing pre- fects to govern French departments Ma poleon assigned Joseph to be King of Spain and Emperor of the two Americas and ordered Murat to mount the throne of Naples At the same time, as always when incorporating a new country in his empire, he gave Spain the boon of a liberal constitution and sound guarantees of a government infinitely better than it ever had known. But to his astonishment he found that the Spanish people cared much more for their pride than for any progress he could offer them, that they much preferred their own antiquated. op- pressive and corrupt government to any modern improvements introduced by for- eigner.
 Spain in Revolution
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