a quantity of diamonds had been taken out of the Treasury and sent to Paris to be distributed in presents to persons supposed to possess influence over the minds of Bonaparte and Talleyrand.  It would be interesting to trace the history of these diamonds.  But, as Napoleon had recently awarded sums amounting in all to 26,582,000 francs from out of the estates confiscated in Poland,[171] signs of sudden affluence were widespread in Paris and rendered it difficult to detect the receivers of the gems.  Talleyrand was the usual recipient of such douceurs.  But on August the 14th he had retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gaining the title of Vice Grand-Elector; and, if we are to be guided, not by the statements of his personal foes, Hauterive and Pasquier, but by the determination which he is known to have formed at Tilsit, that he would not be “the executioner of Europe,” we may judge that he disapproved of the barbarous treatment meted out to Prussia and now planned against Portugal.[172]

As has been stated above, the partition of this kingdom had been planned by Godoy in concert with Napoleon early in 1806.  That pampered minion of the Spanish Court, angry at the shelving of plans which promised to yield him a third of Portugal, called Spain to arms while Napoleon was marching to Jena, an affront which the conqueror seemed to overlook but never really forgave.  Now, however, he appeared wholly to enter into Godoy’s scheme; and, while the Prince Regent of Portugal was appealing to his pity, the Emperor (September 25th, 1807) charged Duroc to confer with Godoy’s confidential agent at Paris, Don Izquierdo. " ...As for Portugal, I make no difficulty about granting to the King of Spain a suzerainty over Portugal, and even taking part of it away for the Queen of Etruria and the Prince of the Peace [Godoy].”  Duroc was also to point out the difficulty, now that “all Italy” belonged to Napoleon, of allowing “that deformity,” the kingdom of Etruria, to disfigure the peninsula.  The change would in fact, doubly benefit the French Emperor.  It would enable him completely to exclude British commerce from the port of Leghorn, where it was trickling in alarmingly, and also to place the mouths of the Tagus and Douro in the hands of obedient vassals.

Such was the scheme in outline.  Despite the offer of the Prince Regent to obey all Napoleon’s behests except that relating to the seizure of British subjects and their property, war was irrevocably resolved on by October the 12th.[173] And on October the 27th a secret convention was signed at the Palace of Fontainebleau for arranging “the future lot of Portugal by a healthy policy and conformably to the interests of France and Spain.”  Portugal was now to be divided into three very unequal parts:  the largest portion, comprising Estremadura, Beira, and Tras-os Montes, was reserved for a future arrangement at the general peace, but meanwhile was to be held by France:  Algarve and Alemtejo were handed over