their
devotion. The king, however, in the midst of all his distress, was
prevailed upon to make his will, which was written by the count de
Valparaiso, and signed by the duke de Bejar, high-chancellor of the
kingdom. The exorbitancy of his grief, and the mortifications he
underwent, soon produced an incurable malady, under which he languished
from the month of September in the preceding year till the tenth of
August in the present, when he expired. In his will he had appointed his
brother don Carlos, king of Naples, successor to the crown of Spain; and
nominated the queen-dowager as regent of the kingdom until that prince
should arrive. Accordingly, she assumed the reins of government, and
gave directions for the funeral of the deceased king, who was interred
with great pomp in the church belonging to the convent of the Visitation
at Madrid.

DON CARLOS SUCCEEDS TO THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN.

As the death of this prince had been long expected, so the politicians
of Europe had universally prognosticated that his demise would be
attended with great commotions in Italy. It had been agreed among the
subscribing powers to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, that in case don
Carlos should be advanced in the course of succession to the throne
of Spain, his brother don Philip should succeed him on the throne of
Naples; and the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, which now
constituted his establishment, should revert to the house of Austria.
The king of Naples had never acceded to this article; therefore he paid
no regard to it on the death of his elder brother, but retained both
kingdoms, without minding the claims of the empress-queen, who he knew
was at that time in no condition to support her pretensions. Thus the
German war proved a circumstance very favourable to his interest
and ambition. Before he embarked for Spain, however, he took some
extraordinary steps, which evinced him a sound politician and sagacious
legislator. His eldest son don Philip, who had now attained the
thirteenth year of his age, being found in a state of incurable
idiotism [529] _[See note 4 F, at the end of this Vol.]_, he wisely and
resolutely removed him from the succession, without any regard to the
pretended right of primogeniture, by a solemn act of abdication, and the
settlement of the crown of the two Sicilies in favour of his third son
don Ferdinand. In this extraordinary act he observes, that according
to the spirit of the treaties of