in which the law was doubtful, it was probable that his subjects
might be disposed to accept the construction which he might put
upon it, and to support the claimant whom be might, either by a
solemn adoption or by will, designate as the rightful heir. It
was also in the power of the reigning sovereign to entrust all
the most important offices in his kingdom, the government of all
the provinces subject to him in the Old and in the New World, and
the keys of all his fortresses and arsenals, to persons zealous
for the family which he was inclined to favour. It was difficult
to say to what extent the fate of whole nations might be affected
by the conduct of the officers who, at the time of his decease,
might command the garrisons of Barcelona, of Mons, and of Namur.

The prince on whom so much depended was the most miserable of
human beings. In old times he would have been exposed as soon as
he came into the world; and to expose him would have been a
kindness. From his birth a blight was on his body and on his
mind. With difficulty his almost imperceptible spark of life had
been screened and fanned into a dim and flickering flame. His
childhood, except when he could be rocked and sung into sickly
sleep, was one long piteous wail. Until he was ten years old his
days were passed on the laps of women; and he has never once
suffered to stand on his ricketty legs. None of those tawny
little urchins, clad in rags stolen from scarecrows, whom Murillo
loved to paint begging or rolling in the sand, owed less to
education than this despotic ruler of thirty millions of
subjects, The most important events in the history of his own
kingdom, the very names of provinces and cities which were among
his most valuable possessions, were unknown to him. It may well
be doubted whether he was aware that Sicily was an island, that