armed soldiery. One weakness
of the Spanish monarchy had always been the absence of centralization,
but that very fact had been the national strength in fostering local
attachments. Into every city, town, and hamlet, each nourishing its
own local pride by local patriotism, came the news from Madrid of how
the invaders were trampling not merely upon Spanish rights, but upon
every consideration of humanity and good faith. The national will was
stirred as never before or since; its expression grew louder every
day, until at last the conflagration of devotion to a national cause
was kindled far and near. Every community formed its committees, and
these organized such neighborhood resistance as was possible, while
communicating with other juntas of the same sort to unite their little
wars, or guerrillas, into a great combined and vigorous effort
wherever the opportunity offered. Under the surface throughout all
Spain the fires of resistance began to kindle; the crackling could be
heard even while the assembly at Bayonne was adopting the new
constitution.

CHAPTER XI

THE FIRST REVOLT OF NATIONS[24]

[Footnote 24: See Yorck: Napoleon als Feldherr.
Correspondence of Napoleon, vols. 17 and 18. Ducasse: Les
rois freres de Napoleon Ier. Krones: Geschichte Oesterreich im
Zeitalter der franzoesischen Kriege. Pelet: Memoires sur la
guerre de 1809 en Allemagne. Maxwell: Life of Wellington.
Schlesier: Erinnerungen an W. von Humboldt. Arndt: Geist der
Zeit. Fichte: Fichtes Leben.]

The New Role of Spain -- Guerrilla Warfare -- The French Cowed --
The Capitulation of Baylen -- The French Retreat from Spain and
Portugal -- Complaints of King Joseph -- Napoleon's Exasperation
-- Imperialist Sentiment in France -- The Emperor's Determination
-- The Spirit of Prussia -- The Work of Stein -- The Revolution
in Turkey -- Austria's Anxieties -- War Feeling at Vienna --
Napoleon Turns to the Czar -- Alexander's Hesitancy -- Napoleon's
Misrepresentations -- Austria Warned -- Talleyrand and the Czar
-- Napoleon's Allocution at St. Cloud.

Thus far in the history of Europe all politics had been in the main
dynastic. The nations having been consolidated under powerful houses,
it was the reigning family which seemed to constitute the national
entity, not the common institutions, common speech, common faith,
common territory, comm