In the early morning of September 19, 1868, there was great tumult in the ancient city of Cadiz. The windows, balconies, and roofs of its white houses, its walls and fortifications, which seem to rise from the blue waves of the Mediterranean, were covered with people, and the long street facing the harbour was filled with an excited crowd. All eyes were turned seaward to watch the movements of the fleet.

The frigates Saragossa, Villa de Madrid, Tetuan, Vulcan, and nine other vessels were drawn up in battle array, with the Admiral's ensign flying from the mast-head of the Saragossa. Soon the harbour resounded with a salute of twenty-one guns from the fleet, which was answered by the acclamations of the people on the shore. This undue disturbance among the dwellers of a city where the commercial activity of former ages has declined into a persistent tranquillity, was kindled by the following proclamations, which, on the day before, had been published and scattered broadcast through the city:

"People of Cadiz : A sailor who is under obligations to you for marked distinctions, and who has been your representative in Parliament, addresses you in explanation of an event of the gravest import. This event is the hostile attitude of the navy toward the unhappy government which guides the destinies of the nation. Expect from my pen no beauties of style; only make ready to listen to the truth. Our unhappy country has for years submitted to the most horrible dictatorship; our fundamental laws have been shattered; the rights of the citizens ridiculed; a fictitious basis of representation created; the bond uniting the people and the throne, and forming the constitutional monarchy, has been completely broken.

There is no necessity for proclaiming these facts; they are in the knowledge of all. If it were not so, I would call to mind the right of legislation which the Government has exercised exclusively in its own behalf. It has at the same time aggravated this wrong by the cynical pretence of securing the approval of these laws from a so-called Cortes, which has not even been allowed to discuss the decrees brought before it, to such a degree was the Government distrustful of its own followers. That my words are not exaggerated, is proved by the character of the laws regarding the methods of administering the different branches of the Government, the laws concerning public order and printing, and the law of public instruction, the absolute negation of every liberal doctrine.

Passing from the sphere of politics to that of finance, we find that there have been recent emissions, loans, and an increase of taxes of every kind. What has become of the proceeds? You know how they have been squandered. The navy, the support of the merchant marine and the protector of commerce, knows and deplores it as well as you. This navy, which a short time ago was proclaimed the glory of the country, now sees its arsenals deserted, its labourers destitute, its forces dispirited. This gloomy picture is a living portraiture of the immorality of the Government. Evils of such magnitude demand corresponding remedies. Unfortunately, legal redress is forbidden us. We are compelled to appeal to illegal, to heroic measures. With this explanation of the motives of myself and my companions, I shall now tell you of our aspirations.

We desire that the legitimate powers -- the people and the throne -- should perform their functions within the orbit marked out for them by the Constitution. We desire to re-establish between them the harmony which has been destroyed and the bond which has been broken. We desire that a Cortes, especially assembled for that purpose, by loyal effort and by taking advantage of the oft-repeated lessons of a fatal experience, shall decide upon the best methods for the foundation of a genuine constitutional monarchy. We desire that the rights of the citizen shall be respected by the Government, and that the sacred principle which is inherent in the name of citizen shall be recognized. We desire that the Treasury shall be administered in accordance with a spirit of morality and enlightenment; that it shall relieve burdens, extinguish restrictions, and give a wide field to the exercise of every legitimate industry, as well as to individual activity and individual talent.

These are, briefly expressed, my aspirations and those of my companions. Will you give them your support without distinction of party, and forgetting slight differences which are injurious to the country? If you so act, you will labour for the happiness of our native land. May we not hope to obtain the support of all? Let each do good who has the strength to do it. Our aims do not spring from our affection for any party. We belong to none; we recognise the good will of all, since we suppose that all are eager for the good of the country. This is the banner which this fleet unfurls.

Let no one fear that this act means our estrangement from the army, or that we are impelled by selfish motives. If to-day we humble mariners rush forth to take the place of others who have a greater claim, we do this in obedience to pressing motives. Let the others come to our aid; let not only the army but the statesmen and the people seize the banner which we have unfurled. Of all we make only one demand, a place of honour in the combat. This and the satisfaction of our own consciences are the sole rewards to which we aspire.

Since the greatest movements are usually accompanied by catastrophes which dim their brightness and give comfort to the enemy, I believe that I am doing a service to the Liberal cause by being prepared, with the aid of my companions, to restrain every excess. Liberty is inconceivable without order, without respect for persons and things. People of Cadiz, I believe that I show myself worthy of your affection by placing myself in the vanguard of the contest which begins to-day and which you will sustain with your customary valour. I discharge my obligation to you by this explanation of my conduct, its motives and its aims. To you alone I address myself. Let those speak to the nation who have the authority to do so.

--JUAN BAUTISTA TOPETE
CADIZ BAY, on board the Saragossa, September 17, 1868."

Beginning

This proclamation of Admiral Topete was the beginning of the Spanish Revolution of 1868. It is indefinite in its allegations. No open attack was made upon the dynasty; but it meant that the fleet at Cadiz was in rebellion against the established Government, and that the movement thus begun was to bring to an end a reign which had opened under the best auspices.

In the struggle between the adherents of the brother and the daughter of Ferdinand VII., which had devastated Spain from 1833 to 1839, Don Carlos represented absolutism and clericalism, while the cause of Isabella was identified with the liberal tendencies of the country, which had been ruthlessly suppressed during the previous reign by the intervention of the Holy Alliance and by the French occupation.(Under the Duke of Angouleme, 1823-1827)

The Queen was regarded by the mass of her supporters as the representative not only of hereditary right, but of ,,the hopes of free institutions, constitutional government, and a monarchy of new ideas. The failure of these hopes resulted not only from the character of the Queen herself, impatient as she was of constitutional restrictions, but also from the willingness of certain of her advisers to accept her views of her prerogatives and to encourage her in a policy of reaction. The reign of Isabella II. was consequently a period of political excesses, of vain efforts at reform, and of insurrections, disregarded as warnings and followed by harsh measures of repression, which were to culminate in a successful attack upon the throne and the expulsion of the dynasty.

General Prim, accompanied by Sagasta and Ruiz Zorilla, had arrived from England on the night of the 17th.

The generals in exile in the Canary Islands with General Serrano, Duke de la Torre, who was to place himself at the head of the insurrection, had not yet been heard from. Topete, after consultation with Prim, determined to issue his proclamation and to define his position at once without waiting for the arrival of the other generals. At the same time he was disposed to leave the more distinct enunciation of aims and principles to the men whose political positions and career were more conspicuous than his own.

Prim's Proclamation

The proclamation which Prim addressed, not to the people of Cadiz alone, but to the whole of Spain, was more vigorous in its appeal and more explicit in its declarations, as is shown by the following paragraphs:

"To arms, citizens, to arms !

Let this war-cry be to-day the sole cry of all good Spaniards. Let all Liberals during the contest blot out their former differences and make upon the altar of their country the sacrifice of painful recollections. In a word, in the great Liberal community, let there be but a sole purpose, -combat; a sole aim, - victory; a sole banner, -the regeneration of the country.

To destroy in the midst of tumult the obstacles which. systematically oppose the welfare of nations, is the mission of armed revolution. To reconstruct in the midst of calm and reflection is the proposed aim of those nations who desire to conquer their sovereignty by their valour, and who know how to make themselves worthy of self-government by prudently preserving the sovereignty they have won.

Let us, then, suddenly destroy what time and progress ought, step by step, to have transformed, but let us not venture too soon upon solutions which circumstances may in the future make incapable of realisation. Let us not prejudge questions which may weaken us for the combat and enfeeble the sovereignty of the nation. Whenever calm is born anew and reflection takes the place of force, then parties can raise their banners without danger, and the people, in the use of their sovereignty, can establish such a constitution as they see fit. For this purpose they can seek in universal suffrage all the guarantees which they believe to be necessary to the conquest of their liberties and the enjoyment of their rights.

--JUAN PRIM."

Response

The first response to these appeals came on the 18th from the little town of San Fernando, near Cadiz. The revenue officers and a company of infantry in barracks at that post hastened to place themselves under the command of General Primo de Rivera, one of the leaders of the movement. Not until the morning of the 19th did the city of Cadiz itself put on the appearance of open insurrection.

The regiment of Cantabria, which was quartered in the city, joined the movement and placed itself at the disposal of Colonel Merelo, one of the political refugees who had been for some days concealed in the city. The civil guards sided with the populace whom they had been ordered to disperse. The telegraph lines were cut to prevent the summons of government forces from Seville. The proclamation of the governor declaring martial law made no impression upon the inhabitants, who knew that the troops would not execute any orders of repression.

As soon as they learned of the success of their proclamations, Prim and Topete hastened to land and make their entry into Cadiz, where they were welcomed, by the enthusiastic cheers of the inhabitants. The military governor of the city resigned his command, and a revolutionary junta was formed, with Topete as President. In the afternoon of the same day, the Buenaventura, bringing the exiled generals, was signalled. Knowing nothing of the pronunciamiento, they intended to remain on the high sea until night; but the Vulcan, the frigate which had carried them into exile to the Canary Islands, went to meet the Buenaventura and informed her passengers of the event. The generals were received by Topete and Prim, and after a consultation another and more extended manifesto was addressed to the Spaniards and signed by all the leaders of the movement.

This manifesto, of a style similar to the two preceding, began by calling attention to the action of the city of Cadiz in refusing obedience to the Madrid Government and thus interpreting the feelings of those citizens who, with long exercise of patience, had not lost the sentiment of personal dignity. If an extended examination were made of the causes of an occurrence of such gravity, it would be more difficult to justify in the eyes of the world the submissiveness with which these evils had been borne than the extreme resolution which had been taken to end them.

"The Treasury abounds in immorality, the press is mute, and the universal silence is only interrupted by the frequent notices of new and unexpected elevations, of some corrupt scheme; of some royal order, issued for the purpose of defrauding the public treasury; of titles of Castile bestowed with vile prodigality, the high price attained by dishonour and vice."

The navy had always been foreign to political disturbances, and its appearance at the head of the movement showed that it was not a political party which complained, and that the question was 'not confined to the field of politics. It was a struggle for existence and decency. Order should be kept by a provisional government, while universal suffrage was laying the foundations of social and political regeneration.

For the successful attainment of these objects, reliance was placed upon the sympathetic aid of all Liberals, of the lovers of order, of the partisans of individual liberties, of the ministers of the Gospel, and upon the enthusiasm of the whole people and the approbation of the whole of Europe.

The example of Cadiz and San Fernando was followed by Jerez, Puerto Real, and San Lucar de Barrameda. In Seville, Vasallo, the captain-general of the province, found that the troops had mutinied at the instigation of General Izquierdo, his second in command, who had pledged himself to effect the insurrection of the whole garrison. Having failed in his efforts to induce the regiments to return to their allegiance, the captain-general resigned his command and retired to Gibraltar. The provisional junta published a manifesto proclaiming universal suffrage, absolute freedom of the press, religious liberty, free trade, the abolition of the death penalty and of the existing constitution, and the substitution of voluntary enlistment in the army for conscription. It closed with the words, "Liberty forever! Down with the dynasty! Long live the sovereignty of the nation! " This was the first manifesto that gave to the movement a distinctly political and radical character, and marked a long step in advance of the proclamations at Cadiz.

The news of the complete success of the insurrection in the chief city of Andalusia was received by the generals at Cadiz with great rejoicing. It was decided in a council of war that Serrano should take command of the garrisons of Cadiz and Seville, and whatever other troops could be collected in order to advance and give battle to the forces of the Government. Topete was to remain at Cadiz at the head of the revolutionary junta. Prim, with three frigates, was to set out for the east coast, in order to gain over all the important places on the Mediterranean as far as Barcelona. On the 20th and 21st, Malaga, Granada, Cordova, Huelva, Algeciras, San Roque, and Lucena threw in their lot with the insurgents. The whole of Andalusia was in arms.

On the 22nd, in an order of the day, General Serrano made the following announcement to the people of Seville : "Tomorrow I shall be in the midst of you, and with our united forces we will begin our march to Madrid to establish the provisional government and to crown our noble enterprise."

Telegrams from the Governor of Cadiz on September 18 informed the Madrid Ministry of the arrival of General Prim and the pronunciamiento of the fleet at Cadiz. Martial law was immediately proclaimed in the city, and the Ministers at the capital telegraphed to Gonzalez Bravo, the President of the Council of Ministers, who was at San Sebastian with the Queen and court, requesting his immediate return.

On learning the details of the insurrection, the Prime Minister placed his resignation in the hands of the Queen, with the assurance that the nature of the crisis required that a military man of distinction and of influence with the army should be placed at the head of the Government. This advice was accepted by the Queen, who, after some consultation, appointed Captain-General Jose de la Concha, Marquis of Havana, giving him the portfolio of War. He was at San Sebastian at the time, but immediately left by special train for Madrid, where he arrived on the morning of the 20th.

The new President of the Council regarded his role as military and not political. His aim was to save the dynasty, if possible. On the afternoon of the 20th he received the resignation of the Ministers, who immediately left Madrid. After stopping in San Sebastian long enough to pay their respects to the Queen, in company with Gonzalez Bravo, all except the Minister of Foreign Affairs crossed the French frontier and took up their residence in Bayonne. Concha replaced them with no new appointments, except in the Navy department, which was accepted by General Estrada.

The Marquis of Roncali, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the last cabinet, was requested to retain his office and to continue in attendance on the Queen. No political appointments to office were made, and the military governors of the provinces were charged with the functions of the civil governors wherever vacancies occurred. The whole of Spain was divided into four military districts: 1st, Aragon, Catalonia, and Navarre, under Captain-General Pezuela, Count of Cheste; 2nd, New Castile and Valencia, under Captain-General Manuel de la Concha, Marquis del Duero, brother of the President of the Council; 3rd, Old Castile, Asturias, Galicia, and the Basque Provinces, under Lieutenant-General Calonge; and, 4th, Estremadura and Andalusia, under Captain-General Pavia, Marquis of Novaliches. Each of these officers was ordered to take immediate command of the district assigned to him.

This measure checked the spread of the insurrection in the North and East. It was admitted by all that the fate of Isabella of Bourbon would be decided in the South; and the rest of the country awaited anxiously the result of the conflict in Andalusia. The Minister of War exerted himself to the utmost in organizing from the material at his disposal the army corps which, under the orders of the Marquis of Novaliches, was to operate against the forces of General Serrano, Duke de la Torre.

Order of Battle

On the 27th, Novaliches had at his orders 16 battalions of infantry, 14 squadrons of cavalry, 1 brigade of artillery with 32 pieces, or in all about 9000 men and 1200 horses. One regiment of hussars was commanded by the Count of Girgenti, the husband of the Infanta Isabella and son-in-law of the Queen. The royal army was entrenched upon the right bank of the Guadalquivir and in control of the defiles of the Sierra Morena.

The army collected by the Duke de la Torre, who had hastened from Seville to Cordova, occupied the left bank of the Guadalquivir. It was composed of 17 battalions of infantry, 8 squadrons of cavalry, and 24 pieces of artillery, in addition to civil guards and irregular volunteers. The army of the Government was inferior in infantry, but on the other hand had a material advantage over that of Serrano by its great superiority in cavalry and artillery, - the 24 pieces of the latter being Krupp guns of much longer reach and greater accuracy than the bronze eight-centimetre guns of the insurgents.

Determined to exhaust all measures for arriving at an amicable settlement before fighting, General Serrano, on September 27, sent the poet, Adelardo Lopez de Ayala, as envoy to Novaliches with a letter, in which he recited the names of the towns which had joined the movement, and called attention to the inadvisability of exciting by resistance passions hitherto restrained.

"In the name of humanity and your own conscience," said the letter, "I beg of you to allow me to prosecute the march upon which I have resolved. I urge you to unite yourself to the troops under my command, so as not to deprive your own soldiers of the glory of helping to assure the honour and liberty of their country."

Novaliches received the messenger with courtesy, and sent an answer expressing his regret that Serrano should be at the head of the insurgent forces and that old comrades should have to cross bayonets. This, he continued, could only be avoided by recognising the existing order of things, and whatever the result might be, it was not he who had provoked the conflict.

After this exchange of correspondence, on the same day, the Marquis of Novaliches received a telegram from the President of the Council of Ministers at Madrid, announcing that the situation on the Mediterranean coast, where Prim had appeared before Valencia, made it absolutely necessary that he should obtain an immediate victory.

The traveller on the line from Madrid to Cordova may today see the bridge of Alcolea, which spans the Guadalquivir at about six miles from the latter city. Even from the window of his railway carriage, he has time to observe the difference in the formation of the land on the two sides of the river. The right bank is a level plain; on the left the spurs of the Sierra Morena extend to the river and make a broken country, covered with trees and difficult of approach. The bridge is of stone, has nineteen arches, and is about 340 metres in length. It is not constructed in a straight line, but makes an obtuse angle with the current of the river -- a construction which rescues it from an enfilade of artillery.

The plan of the commander-in-chief of the royal army was to advance on both sides of Guadalquivir toward Cordova, after having secured possession of the bridge. He therefore ordered General de la Vega to advance with the cavalry and seize the bridge, and Brigadier-General Lacy, with a battalion of infantry, to cross the river at Montoro, advance to Villafranca, a town about six miles from the bridge, and there to form a junction with other troops. This plan, based upon the capture of the bridge, was of necessity changed when it was discovered by the Royalists that the bridge was already held by the Liberals. General de la Vega instead of advancing was forced to fall back upon Carpio.

Novaliches now determined to attack the bridge in front with all his forces, in order to draw the army of Serrano down to the river, away from the slopes of the Sierra Morena; this would enable Lacy to descend upon the right wing of the enemy. Such a modification of the original plan required that reinforcements be sent to Lacy, who would not have sufficient forces to execute the new commission assigned to him. General Echeverria was ordered to support him with four battalions,. and to take command of the operations on the left sie of the river. In order to give him time to arrive at his destination, a halt of the main body was ordered.

Lacy had left Villafranca on the 28th at daybreak, and had taken possession of the heights on the right bank, in front of those already held by the enemy. He could see the movements of the army of Novaliches, but knew nothing of the occupation of the bridge of Alcolea by the enemy nor of the orders given to Echeverria. The detention of the main body and the apparent inactivity of the commanderin-chief caused him great inquietude, for extraordinary commotion was observed in the hostile camp, and the whistle of the locomotives announced the arrival of reinforcements, while enthusiastic shouts of "Long live Serrano I " showed the presence of the Duke de la Torre. Believing that his road was obstructed by superior forces, he determined to make no attempt to 'advance.

At two o'clock in the afternoon a message was brought that General Serrano desired an interview with him. In this interview the commander of the Liberal army called attention to the difficult position of Lacy's slender forces between the river and his own army, showed how easy it would be to crush him by advancing upon him with all his troops, and invited him to join in the movement, as the most heroic efforts would be impotent to defend the throne of Isabella against the arms of the entire nation. Lacy replied that he had no authority to come to any decision on the proposition, but that he would report the communication to the Marquis of Novaliches.

At the close of the interview Serrano stated that he had done everything to avoid bloodshed; that he would not begin the attack, and that Lacy might retire or remain as he saw fit. At the moment of Lacy's return to camp he was informed of the arrival of General Echeverria, who sent word to the Duke de la Torre that he was going to begin the attack in spite of the numerous forces against him. He stated that he gave this notification in return for the chivalrous treatment of Lacy.

Battle Joined

Serrano now concluded that the time for generosity was past, and determined to attempt to dispose of Echeverria before receiving the onset of the main body of the enemy. He therefore ordered the whole of the first division of the army to attack the Royalists' position; and the engagement began on the right bank of the Guadalquivir, between this division and the battalions of Echeverria and Lacy.

Since the day was already far advanced, Novaliches had determined not to begin the battle until the following morning, when the sound of the firing informed him that the division of Echeverria was already engaged. He then hastened with all his forces along the left bank of the Guadalquivir in the direction of the bridge of Alcolea. When he arrived at the bridge, it was almost four o'clock in the afternoon. In drawing up his forces for the battle, he placed in the first line all his artillery, supported by the battalions of the second infantry division. On his wings was the cavalry, ready to charge in case the Revolutionary forces should cross the bridge and deploy in the open plain.

Superiority in artillery gave the first advantage to the Royalists, and the fire of the Liberals began to decline through lack of ammunition. Desirous of sustaining this advantage, Novaliches resolved to force the bridge at the point of the bayonet, and for this purpose he formed his infantry into four attacking columns, which were to be supported by the cavalry and artillery.

Night had already fallen when the first column advanced at ordinary pace; but, unfortunately for the royal troops, a burning farmhouse in the neighbourhood illuminated the bridge. The company at the head of the column gave way under the terrible discharge of musketry which greeted its advance. Novaliches himself, surrounded by his staff, then placed himself at the head of the column, and with the cry of "Long live the Queen!" led in person the second charge upon the bridge. The second charge was repulsed as the first had been, and the Marquis of Novaliches was himself dangerously wounded.

The fall of the commander-in-chief decided the fate of the battle. The first column of the royal army kept up the firing until eight o'clock in the evening. The artillery also continued a desultory cannonade, but neither the Royalists nor the Liberals made any serious attempt to dislodge their opponents from their respective positions. At half-past eight the firing ceased.

General Paredes took command of the royal army, but ordered the main body to withdraw to Carpio, whence it had advanced in the morning. General Echeverria, who had in the meantime held his position with great difficulty, made preparations to continue the combat on the following day; but about midnight he received an order from General Paredes to fall back upon Montoro.

The insurgents, who had laboured industriously during the night in order to place in position a battery of sixty cannons from Seville, were surprised in the morning to find that the enemy had totally disappeared. The losses on both sides were large, when we consider the small number of troops engaged: in the royal army 690 men, 63 officers, and 2 generals; in the insurgent army 800 men, including officers.

On October 2 Serrano succeeded in arranging with Paredes for a capitulation of the royal forces, on the condition that they should receive the same treatment as that accorded to his own troops, - a concession, as he expressed it, entirely in harmony with his own purpose, which was "to re-establish the unity of the army, and to employ it in the preservation of order, the base and foundation of true liberty." The capitulated forces were placed under the command of General Caballero de Rodas, and were detailed to occupy the garrisons in the provinces of Andalusia. The Liberal army then began its march to Madrid.

Junta at Madrid

Telegraphic reports of the result of the battle of Alcolea were received in Madrid early in the morning of September 29, both by the Government and by the revolutionary committees. The Marquis of Havana, 'who saw clearly that the cause of the Queen was lost, called a council of all the generals in command at Madrid, explained the situation, and asked their opinion as to the possibility of further defence. None could offer any hope or suggestion which looked toward a successful continuation of the struggle, and all thought it necessary to arrive at some understanding with the leaders of the Revolution to the end that order might be maintained. The government of the city was then transferred to Pascual Madoz, president of the revolutionary junta. The triumph of the Revolution was thus peacefully effected in the capital.

The junta at once issued the following proclamations:

"To the revolutionary juntas of the provinces The people of Madrid have just uttered the sacred cry of `Liberty, and down with the Bourbons,' and the army without excepting a single man is fraternising with the people. There is universal joy and confidence. A provisional junta, sprung from the bosom of the Revolution, has just determined upon the arming of the national militia and the election by universal suffrage of a permanent junta, which will be constituted to-morrow.

Spaniards, join in the cry of the city which was the court of the Bourbons, and which, from this day forward, will be the sanctuary of liberty."

To the people of Madrid: The provisional committee adheres unanimously to the cry of the nation, which has proclaimed the national sovereignty, the expulsion of Isabella of Bourbon, and the future incapacity of all Bourbons to sit upon the throne of Spain."

The Royal Family Flees to France

Since the departure of General Concha on the 19th, the Queen and court had remained in the greatest anxiety at San Sebastian, and in a state of vacillation as to the advisability of returning to Madrid. In accordance with a telegram from the Marquis of Havana, the departure of the Queen and court was arranged for the 20th, but without her favourite, the unpopular Intendant of the Palace, Carlos Marfori, against whom public opinion was excited. The journey was postponed until the 21st, and again until the 22nd, when all the preparations were made to leave San Sebastian.

The royal family, at about midnight, had entered the train, which was only waiting the signal to leave the station, when a telegram was received to the effect that the railway communication with Madrid was interrupted and that the journey must be deferred. The Queen, on receiving this news, descended from the railway carriage and exclaimed with emotion to the Marquis of Roncali: "If I were a man, I would go to my capital." She then returned to her palace to await in suspense the result of the battle between the Marquis of Novaliches and the insurgent forces.

On the morning of the 29th, the Marquis of Roncali communicated to the Queen the fatal result of the battle of Alcolea. At first no decision was made as to her future movements; but the anxiety of her household increased on learning the pacific and enthusiastic adhesion of the capital to the Revolution. Brigadier-General Acevedo, in command at San Sebastian, and himself implicated in the movement, gave notice of the threatening attitude of the Liberal party in the province. He reported that the emigrants at Bayonne and other points along the frontier were preparing to join the Revolution, and that he was not certain that his troops could be relied upon to repress disorder. The Queen then decided to leave for France on the following day.

At ten o'clock on the morning of September 30 the royal family, amid the silence of the assembled crowd, took leave of San Sebastian, the first city which, on the death of Ferdinand VII., had proclaimed his daughter the lawful queen.

At the station in Biarritz they were received by the Emperor and Empress of the French and the Prince Imperial. Isabella in tears threw herself into the arms of Eugenia de Montijo, with whom she could at least speak Spanish. The French imperial family little thought that this unexpected visit was the beginning of a chain of events destined soon to lead to the defeat of France and the fall of their own dynasty. The Emperor placed the palace at Pau at the disposal of the exiled Queen. At Bayonne she spent an hour in conference with several members of her last Ministry, when it was decided to publish a protest in which the Queen should explain the causes which led her to leave Spain, and should maintain her rights to the Spanish throne.

The journey was then continued to Pau, where the castle of Henry IV. was prepared for the Queen's reception. Thus, on the thirty-fifth anniversary of the beginning of her reign, the last ruler of the historic family whose branches had furnished so many crowned heads to Southern Europe, entered as a forsaken exile the halls which had been the birthplace of the great founder of her dynasty.

Queen's Protest

On the same day the Queen issued the following laboured protest. The general opinion of the effect of its ill-timed and ill-advised allusions to the divine right of royalty can be best inferred from the significant fact that the document was published by the revolutionary junta in the Official Gazette at Madrid.

"To the Spaniards: A conspiracy almost witll'out example in the history of any nation of Europe, has thrown Spain into the horrors of anarchy. Forces by land and sea, generously supported by the nation, whose services it has always given me pleasure to recompense, have forgotten glorious traditions and broken sacred oaths in order to turn against their country and inflict upon it days of mourning and desolation. The cry of the rebels begun in the Bay of Cadiz and repeated by a portion of the army, resounds in the hearts of the majority of Spaniards like the portentous roar of a whirlwind, in which the interests of religion, the prerogatives of legitimacy and of right, the independence and the honour of Spain are all equally imperilled.

The sad series of defections, the acts of incredible disloyalty committed in a brief space of time, hurt my pride as a Spaniard more than they offend my dignity as Queen. Even the madness of the greatest enemies of authority does not imagine that the power of the State, which has so lofty an origin, can be transferred, modified, or suppressed by the aid of material force or by the blind influence of seduced battalions. If the population of the cities and country have yielded to violence, and have submitted for the moment to the yoke of the insurgents, in a short time outraged public sentiment will make itself felt and -- Heaven be praised! -- will reveal to the world that in Spain the eclipses of reason and honour are but fleeting.

Until that moment arrives, it has seemed to me, as legitimate Queen of Spain, advisable, after careful examination and mature reflection, to seek in the dominions of my illustrious ally the security necessary in such difficult circumstances for acting as is befitting my royal character and the duty of transmitting intact to my son my rights prescribed by law, ratified and sworn to by the nation, and sustained by thirty-five years of sacrifices, vicissitudes, and affection., On setting my foot upon foreign soil, with my eyes and heart turned toward the country which is mine and my children's, I hasten to formulate before God and man an explicit and solemn protest that the force to which I yield in abandoning my kingdom may not in any respect prejudice or weaken or endanger my rights. These cannot be diminished by the acts of the Revolutionary Government, and still less by the resolutions of its assembly, which will be necessarily organised under the impulse of demagogic passion and with manifest pressure upon the consciences and convictions of the people.

Our ancestors sustained a long and successful contest for the religious faith and independence of Spain. The present generation has laboured without intermission to unite the great and generous achievements of past ages with the good and fruitful aspirations of modern times. The Revolution, mortal enemy of traditions and legitimate progress, combats all those principles which constitute the living forces, the vigour of the Spanish nation. When liberty in its development and its manifestations attacks the Catholic unity, the monarchy, the legal exercise of the power of the State, it disturbs the family, destroys the sanctity of the domestic hearth, and kills virtue and patriotism.

If you believe that the Spanish crown, worn by a Queen who has the good fortune to unite her name to the social and political regeneration of the State, is the symbol of its safeguarding principles, remain faithful, as I hope, to your oaths and your beliefs. Let the revolutionary whirlwind in which to-day are rampant hypocrisy, ingratitude, and ambition, pass away like a calamity. Live in the assurance that even in misfortune I shall know how to keep this symbol safe and sound, without which there are for Spain no beneficent memories, no consoling hope. The insensate pride of a few excites and disturbs for a moment the entire nation, producing confusion and anarchy in society. Not even against these do I nourish any hatred in my heart. Contact with so petty a sentiment might diminish the intensity of the affection by which I am inspired for the loyal subjects who have risked their lives and shed their blood in defence of the throne and public order, as well as for those Spaniards who have beheld with grief and horror the spectacle of an insurrection, a painful episode in the course of the civilisation of our days.

In this noble land whence I address you, and everywhere, I shall support without despair the misfortune of Spain, which is my own misfortune. If among other illustrious examples I did not receive strength from the example of the most revered and high-minded sovereign in the midst of bitterness and tribulation, I should take courage from the confidence which I feel in the loyalty of my subjects, in the justice of my cause, and of Him in whose hands rests the fate of empires. The monarchy of fifteen centuries of combat, victories, patriotism, and grandeur cannot be destroyed in fifteen days of perjury, corruption, and treachery.

Let us have faith in the future. The glory of the Spanish people has always been the glory of its kings; the misfortunes of its kings have always been reflected in the people. In the just and patriotic aspiration to sustain right, legitimacy, and honour, your spirits and your efforts may always count upon the energetic decision and maternal love of your Queen.

--ISABELLA
"CASTLE of PAU, September 30, 1868."

Chapter II: The Provisional Government and the Constituent Cortes