Page:Vol 4 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/51

Rh fleets at Trafalgar by Lord Nelson on the 21st of October, 1805, and the attack on Buenos Aires by the English. It is thought that an attempt will presently be made on New Spain. Iturrigaray's friends begin to fall off. Several officers of high rank and merit withdraw from the encampment at Jalapa, among others Count Alcaraz, of the Spanish dragoons, Manuel García Alonso, Manuel García Queritana, and Lejarza, all commanders of high standing. He who becomes the most determined enemy, however, is the ex-corregidor of Querétaro, Miguel Dominguez.

Meanwhile the star of Godoy, the scourge of Spain, is still in the ascendant. He puts on the titles of royalty, and holds communion with Napoleon, if indeed he does not conspire to sell Spain. At one time, all the strongholds of the peninsula being occupied by French, Godoy advises the king to take his family to Mexico. The court is at Aranjuez, and the intended flight becoming known, the populace rise and cry vengeance on Godoy. The tumult is only allayed by the abdication of Cárlos in favor of the prince of Asturias, who assumes the crown as Fernando VII. on the 19th of March, 1808. Godoy escapes popular fury by secreting himself, but his house and those of his satellites are stripped, and everything in them is