Note 131 — Chapter XIV · THE RESTORATION OF THE BOURBONS

[Burgosh thus sums up Don Carlos: “The heart of this prince was as incapable of elevated sentiments as his head was of political combinations. His profound ignorance made him regard the enthusiasm displayed by the passionate and disheartened crowds as general and unanimous, and the delight of the populace he regarded as a sign of approbation of the system of intolerance with which he was credited. In the unarrested march of his force to Madrid in 1837 the delighted pretendant saw the hand of providence raising him to the throne of his ancestors, and his apathy prevented his taking the means which his fatalism moreover considered unnecessary. His courtiers, puffed up with passing advantages, thought that by dint of them and the stolid impassivity of their sovereign they could give the rein to their resentments.”]