The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-06-12
EDITOR OF "THE EVANGELIST

weakness of character that makes a
man too proud to work is a weakness
of the state. Herein is the weakness
of Spain: She has too many knights,
and they carry too much armor, so that
she is sadly overweighted with dignity
| The Spanish cavalier is a little out Of
place in this busting century. If he
would lay aside his helmet and shield
and be content simply to do a mans
work in this work-a-day world, the eff
feet would show itself in the general
prosperity of the country. This awak-
ening is sure to come; it may come as
result of the present war. 1t will be
a rude one at first, but if Spain loses
her colonies and is thrown on her own
resources, it may result in a great
change for the better in her own condi-
ton.
PERSONAL FREEDOM.
"As Madrid is the center of SPAIN"
continued DR.. Field, 80 is the Puerta
del Sol the center of Madrid, the place
where its heart beats, into which all
streams flow and from which they
pour Hither flock the gossip-loving
Madrilenos of evenings to talk over
the news of the day, to exchange views
on the political situation, to discuss
with the same eagerness the last bull
fight or the last emeute or the prospect
of another. To one accustomed to re-
gard Spain as a land of spies and stern
repression, the freedom of these dis
cussions is a revelation. In fact, so
far as the expression of opinions is
concerned, Spain is as free as any
country. If 1 were in st. Petersburg
and went into a cafe and a stranger
came and sat down at the same table
and conversed with me, I should in
stantly suspect him to be a spy, and
7 1T,
so far as to give an opinion about the
weather, and whether there was likely,
to be a storm on the Baltic, yet as to
the car or the government l should
be as silent as though l did not know
that they were in existence. And even
in Berlin, as one sits under the trees
in the Inter den Linden, he needs to
be careful in his words if he has aught
to say of the emperor. In Madrid
there is none of this. OF course, it is
more considerable for a traveller to re-
serve his opinion of a country until he
has seen something of it, but that is
merely matter of taste or of common
sense. AS to liberty, he is as perfectly
master of himself as if he were in
America.
THE QUEEN AND HER SON.
"Of course, in the capital the figures
of central interest are the queen and
her little son, Alfonso XIII. The latter
seems to be a silent, serious, reserved
youngster, worthy recipient of the
adulations of Spanish courtiers. You
will notice that in pictures of the queen
she is almost always represented with
the young king by her side. She seems
to be wholly wrapp&d up in him, and
her chief concern in her present dis
tresSing situation is to preserve to him
intact the heritage of his father.
81 have seen the queen twice. The
first time she was walking in the street
I was driving to the Prado with an
acquaintance, the wife of the Ameri-
attracted to a lady on the sidewalk,
very plainly dressed, who, to judge
from her appearance, might have been
a governess. She had no attendant but
an old dowager duchess. with whom
she was walking very slowly, to enjoy
the brief sunshine Of a short winter
The second time / was re-
turning from the foreign office. in COM
pany with the American minister,
when a modest coupe passed up and a
lady, leaning forward, made very low
bow. 1t was the queen, who was so
smiling and gracious that, although |
her bow was intended for the Ameri- |
can minister, 1 could not help taking |
part of it to myself. Such is the queen |
of Spain, simple and gentle, kind in |
heart and gracious in manner. She |
has won no small victory in coming |
from another nation, from a foreign |
land, and making the Spaniards love |
her. But no one who has seen her, or |
who knows her devotion to her sons |
can wonder at it.
A NEAR VIEW OF SAGASTA.
81 was able to view Sagasta at a
most favorable moment. 1t was in De-
cember, 1886, just after the insurrection
Of that year. when a government crisis |
seemed impending. Then. as now, he
was prime minister, and on that occa-
sion he was in the cortes to defend the