By the assurances of Beurnonville, Bonaparte and Talleyrand had been led
to believe that the Prince and Princess of Asturias were well affected to
France, and to them personally; and conceiving themselves much more
certain of this than of the good disposition of the favourite, though
they did not take a direct part against him, at the same time they did
not disclose what they knew was determined on to remove him from the helm
of affairs. During Beurnonville's absence, however, Herman had formed an
intrigue with a Neapolitan girl, in the suite of Asturias, who,
influenced by love or bribes, introduced him into the Cabinet where her
mistress kept her correspondence with her royal parents. With a
pick-lock key he opened all the drawers, and even the writing-desk, in
which he is said to have discovered written evidence that, though the
Princess was not prejudiced against France, she had but an indifferent
opinion of the morality and honesty of our present Government and of our
present governors. One of these original papers Herman appropriated to
himself, and despatched to this capital by an extraordinary courier,
whose despatches, more than the rupture with your country, forced
Beurnonville away in a hurry from the agreeable society of gamesters and
prostitutes, chiefly frequented by him in this capital.

It is not and cannot be known yet what was the exact plan of the Prince
and Princess of Asturias and their adherents; but a diplomatic gentleman,
who has just arrived from Madrid, and who can have no reason to impose
upon me, has informed me of the following particulars:

Their Royal Highnesses succeeded perfectly in their endeavours to gain
the well-merited tenderness and approbation of their Sovereigns in
everything else but when the favourite was mentioned with any slight, or
when any insinuations were thrown out concerning the mischief arising