His Majesty a few days afterward received from his Royal Highness, the
Prince of the Asturias, a letter, in which he announced that he intended
setting out from Irun, where he then was, at an early day, in order to
have the pleasure of making the acquaintance of his brother (it was thus
Prince Ferdinand called the Emperor); a pleasure which he had long
desired, and which he would at last enjoy if his good brother would allow
him. This letter was brought to the Emperor by one of the aides-de-camp
of the prince, who had accompanied him from Madrid, and preceded him to
Bayonne by only ten days. His Majesty could hardly believe what he read
and heard; and I, with several other persons, heard him exclaim, "What,
he is coming here? but you must be mistaken; he must be deceiving us;
that cannot be possible!" And I can certify that, in these words, the
Emperor manifested no pleasure at the announcement.

It was necessary, however, to make preparations to receive the prince,
since he was certainly coming; consequently the Prince of Neuchatel, the
Duke of Frioul, and a chamberlain of honor, were selected by his Majesty.
And the guard of honor received orders to accompany these gentlemen, and
meet the Prince of Spain just outside the town of Bayonne; the rank which
the Emperor recognized in Ferdinand not rendering it proper that the
escort should go as far as the frontier of the two empires. The Prince
made his entrance into Bayonne at noon, on the 20th of April. Lodgings
which would have been considered very inferior in Paris, but which were
elegant in Bayonne, had been prepared for him and his brother, the Infant
Don Carlos, who was already installed there. Prince Ferdinand made a
grimace on entering, but did not dare to complain aloud; and certainly it
would have been most improper for him to have done so, since it was not
the Emperor's fault that Bayonne possessed only one palace, which was at
this time reserved for the king, and, besides, this house, the handsomest
in the town, was large and perfectly new. Don Pedro de Cevallos, who