A caricature by Woodward, published in February 1809, very ably sums up British opinion of the affair. It can be understood by the following humorous lines, in imitation of “The House that Jack Built”:--
These are the French who took the Gold that lay in the City of Lisbon. This is Sir Arthur (whose Valour and skill began so well but ended so ill) who beat the French who took the Gold that lay in the City of Lisbon. This is the _Convention_ that Nobody owns, that saved old Junot’s Baggage and Bones, altho’ Sir Arthur (whose Valour and skill began so well but ended so ill,) had beaten the French who took the Gold that lay in the City of Lisbon. This is John Bull, in great dismay, at the sight of the Ships which carried away the gold and silver and all the spoil the French had plundered with so much toil after the Convention which nobody owns, which saved old Junot’s Baggage and Bones, altho’ Sir Arthur (whose Valour and skill began so well but ended so ill) had beaten the French who took the Gold that lay in the City of Lisbon.
The cloud of misfortune which overshadowed the French armies in Spain and Portugal gradually grew in size and density until it covered practically the whole of Europe. Encouraged by the success of the insurgents in the Iberian Peninsula and the triumph of British arms in Portugal, both Austria and Germany took courage and prepared to throw off the yoke. In Austria a _landwehr_, or local militia, designed to number 180,000 of the young men of the country, came into being; in Prussia patriotic clubs sprang up on all hands, while such able statesmen as Stein, who had been Minister of State for Trade, and Scharnhorst, a skilful officer and organiser, worked nobly in the interests of military reforms which were destined to bear much good fruit in due course.
Napoleon was more immediately concerned with the intentions of the former Power. To a certain extent he had clipped the wings of the Prussian eagle by forcing the King into an undertaking that for the next ten years his army should not exceed 40,000 troops. This did not prevent many civilians being quietly drafted into a reserve for future service, or the formation of a school of thought with the highest patriotic ideals. The Emperor’s policy was thoroughly sound. By still holding the fortresses of Glogau, Stettin, and Küstrin, and reducing the number of national troops to a minimum, the French troops which had been kept in Prussia since the campaign of her humiliation were set free for service in the South. Napoleon already knew of Austria’s warlike disposition, and was even a little uncertain as to Russia. Suspicion was mutual, and as he was about to set out for Spain to take command of his troops, he thought it advisable to “sound” the temper of his ally personally.