n, at supper, or various other
engagements." And on this handful of men devolved the duty of defending
the queen against the attack of as many companies as they numbered
muskets. The first alarm was given by _vivas_ and other noises in the
quadrangle of the palace. Colonel Dulce, the commander of the
halberdiers, descended the stairs to enquire the cause of the uproar,
and was met on the landing-place by a detachment of the Princesa
regiment marching up. He ordered them to halt; they opened fire in
reply. Colonel Dulce retreated to the guard-room, and the skirmish
began. A double flight of steps leads up from one of the principal
entrances of the palace to this guard-room, of which the door is of
considerable size, and covered by a _mampara_ or moveable stuffed
screen, similar to those used in churches abroad. The alabarderos left
the mampara in its place, opening the door no more than was absolutely
necessary to fire through. The assailants took up their station at the
bottom of the stairs, and blazed away, vigorously replied to from the
_sala de armas_. The sides of the doorway and the mampara were riddled,
but the assailants could only fire at a guess, their opponents being
completely concealed behind the screen; and on the other hand, a stone
balustrade at the top of the staircase between the two flights and the
angle of the floor, protected the insurgents. The latter, no doubt,
thought the whole guard was at its post, so steady and incessant was the
fire the alabarderos kept up. To approach the guard-room door was
certain death. General Concha, the same who the other night danced the
third quadrille with Isabel at a court ball, taking the _pas_ of the
Spanish grandees there assembled, was present at this treasonable
attack, at the head of the Princesa regiment, in plain clothes, but with
a drawn sword. About midnight (the firing had begun at half-past
seven--what were the authorities about all that time?) Diego Leon, the
scapegoat of the affair, made his appearance in his usual dashing
attire, a showy hussar uniform, braided, belted, and befrogged, and took
command of the proceedings. "According to his own account, he went to
the foot of the great staircase, and called to the alabarderos to
discontinue firing, lest they should alarm the queen!" but the noise of
the musketry was such, that he could not make himself heard, even with
the aid of a trumpet! Things, however, had not gone as the conspirators
wished; the ga