Massachusetts Spy And Worcester Advertiser

CHARACTER OF FERDINAND VII.
(From Quin's Memoirs.)

" Those traits in the character of Ferdinand which we have placed before the reader, have shown, that if he wants those high qualifications which are necessary to the government of a great empire in critical circumstances, he is equally destitute of that dignity of manner, that serenity of mind, and that elevation of thought which ought to accompany such exalted rank. Upon his return to Spain, he abrogated, in a great measure, those forms of etiquette which had previously reigned in the Court. and introduced in their place a certain system of familiarity, hitherto entirely unknown. In the time of his predecessors of the House of Bourbon, each member of the Royal Family dined in a separate apartment; the services were numerous, and the ceremony with which they were attended converted that ordinary act into a kind of court festivity. The dishes were served up in processional order, escorted by a military guard; and such persons as happened to be going through the passage at the time, were obliged to take off their hats. and to pass on in a respectful manner. Ferdinand abolished all this ceremony, established the more easy system of dinner en famille, and invited as guests such grandees as offered themselves, the clergy, and the religious communities of both sexes. He was likewise accustomed to have different amusements in his apartment; such as concerts. sleight-of-hand, and phantasmagoria; at which only a limited number of courtiers attended. Ferdinand did not find much pleasure in the demeanour of those persons; but he derived great enjoyment from that of the inferior servants, whom he treated with the greatest familiarity, and to whom he allowed the most extraordinary liberties. Amongst them was one Chamorro, celebrated as a sort of stupid and vulgar buffoon, who, by his fooleries afforded infinite diversion to Ferdinand, and obtained a sufficient degree of influence with him to dispose of the first offices in the kingdom.

" Ferdinand embittered the final moments of his mother, Maria Louisa, by expressing to her through the medium of his Ambassador Vargas. an eager desire to get possession of his mother's diamonds, which were both numerous and magnificent. Vargas executed his commission with the indelicacy of a man who is anxious only to please authority, and has no respect for the unfortunate. The Queen objected to give them up; and declared, in presence of Cardinal Gonsalvi and other illustrious personages of the Court of Rome, that the diamonds should not go out of her possession until death; and that she would much sooner throw them into the Tiber, than give them to her son. She did keep them until she breathed her last; but her body was yet warm when Vargas took possession of the desired treasure, carrying his zeal in Ferdinand's service to such an extent, as even to remove from the fingers of the corpse a gold ring of paltry value, which Maria Louisa had signified a wish to take with her to the tomb.

"The execution of the will of the Royal Parents showed how inflexible Ferdinand can be when he wishes. They fixed considerable pensions for several persons who had been in their service during their exile. These pensions were all sanctioned by Ferdinand, with the exception of those which were bequeathed in favour of individuals who had shown any attachment to Godoy. 'This want of sensibility is one of the most characteristic traits of the present King of Spain. His self-love and pride may be deeply affected, but his heart is never touched. He was affectionately attached to his second wife, Maria Isabel of Braganza; but he was playing at nine-pins when her funeral left the palace, and the following day there was not the least sign of grief in his countenance. The uncommon fickleness of his imagination prevents any one sentiment from overruling him, or from making any serious impression on his mind. In adversity he was never dejected; when misfortunes of a formidable nature occurred to him,'he still knew how to take advantage of all the alleviating circumstances which they produced. It would seem as if he counted with certainty on the combinations of the future, which have so often extricated him from the most imminent dangers.

"Ferdinand is a man of middle stature; his figure is large beyond proportion; his complexion is pale, and his health is frequently interrupted by extremely violent attacks of the gout. To this affliction, and to the infirmities of his youth, he owes a flaccidity of appearance which does not correspond with his age. His features are strongly marked, and rather deformed, though his look wants not animation. His constant custom of smoking segars, which he scarcely ever suspends, gives a bad odour to his breath. The versatility of his features is so great, that the most eminent artists have failed to give a perfect likeness of him.-His gestures are lively, and often violent. He speaks in a hurried manner, and all his actions partake of the precipitate character of his conversation. He is subject to no ruling passion. He detests the chase, and his only pleasure is in making his horse observe his paces. His demeanour towards those who are intimate with him, goes beyond the bounds of familiarity; and even during the private audiences which he gives to those who are recommended by his favorites he forgets all etiquette, reclines on a sofa, and smokes and enters into conversation with strangers. He possesses a very strong memory, and is so deep a dissembler, that he often eludes the observation of those who know him most intimately.

" The events of Ferdinand's life have contributed to increase the defects of his character, and to induce him to follow, without any reserve, his favourite inclinations. He has been always cast down through his own fault; he has himself always created the germ of those evils which have come upon him; but he has always found a foreign hand to rescue him from every misfortune.

"His hatred of enlightened ideas, and the fear which .he entertains of well-informed men, are features in his character which have exercised, and will continue to exercise, great influence upon the destinies of Spain. She, unhappily, gives herself up to the most profound ignorance, while all the other communities of England nobly emulate each other in improving the useful sciences. Ferdinand abhors those sciences as dangerous enemies ; and although public opinion does not set him down as a devotee, and even supposes him to be sincerely religious, he will always continue to favour fanaticism as the best auxiliary of absolute power, which is the idol of his soul, and the most irresistible of his inclinations."