A few days later Don Salazar again travelled to Germany; this time he brought a formal offer, which was formally-accepted.

The Cortes were then in session; it was arranged that they should remain at Madrid till his return; the election would then be at once completed, for a majority was assured.

The secrecy had been strictly maintained; there were rumours indeed, but no one knew of all the secret interviews; men might suspect, but they could not prove that it was an intrigue of Bismarck.

If the election had once been made the solemn act of the whole nation, Napoleon would have been confronted with a _fait accompli_.

To have objected would have been most injurious; he would have had to do, not with Prussia, which apparently was not concerned, but with the Spanish nation.