The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1898-06-02

be such bed of thorns that he
resigned and left Spain in 1873. I'M
mediately thereafter the expert
mental republic of CASTELAR, was
launched. 1t was then that Don
Carlos unfurled his flag again in the
Basque provinces and made a des-
perate effort to make good his kingly
pretensions. The men of the Basque
provinces proved themselves as de-
votedly loyal to him as the Scottish
Highlanders used to be to the young
pretender. Charles Stuart, and it is
believed that these people are still
full of enthusiasm for the Carlist
cause. After war of three years
Observation-Disclosures MI
having been called to the throne, the
Carlists were again suppressed.
In 1885 Alfonso Mi died premature
ly. leaving his widow, Maria Chris
tina of Austria, to carry on the Gov
ernnent as Queen Regent. In May.
1886, six months after his death, the
present boy-king was born, and was
Immediately proclaimed as Alfonso
XIII. He is now in the thirteenth
year of his age. and those who are
superstitious about the number Is
make much OF this fact. and of the
coincidence that he is the thirteeth
sovereign of the name. as indicating
that he was born to misfortune As
soon as the infant Alfonso was pro-
claimed King, Don Carlos published
a protest against him as a usurper.
The Carlist claims rest now, as they
always have done. on the contention
that no woman could rightfully in
herit the throne of Spain. The
soundness of the contention depends.
of course. upon a previous question
Did King Ferdinand VII act within
his right and authority when he
abolished the Salic law in 1881? The
opinion of the leading jurists of
Europe, and of our own great Ameri-
can jurist, Caleb Cushing, has been
that King Ferdinand had the right
to issue that decree. All the leading
powers of Europe, including the
Pope, have refused to recognize the
claims of Don Carlos, and if they
ever prevail it can only be by more
or less sanguinary revolution.
According to some current reports,
Don Carlos is not eager to press his
claims at the present juncture. He
may well shrink, if he is prudent
man, from assuming the burdens Of
Government at a time when every
th.ng looks so dark for Spain. His
present wife, whom he married in
April. 1894. and who was before her
marriage the Princess Marie Berthe
do Rohan of Austria, and who traces
her descent from the old Dukes Of
Brittany, brought him large
fortune. He was already rich man.
| His kinsman, the late COmte de
Chamberd, left him large property,
and his uncle, the late Duke OF
Modena, bequeathed him another
Popular belief credits him with being
worth 800, ,O0O, 900, but such figures
cannot be verified. He is, without
doubt, very wealthy man, and it
would seem that, at his mature age,
he might well be content to go on
quietly as claimant, unless Spain
offers him a throne without trouble
of fighting for it.
1t is an interesting bit of history
that once he might have been King
of Spain if he had been willing to
abate his claim to rule as an absolute
monarch. The present prime minis
ter, Sagasta, went to him in 1868
and offered him the crown on the
condition that he would sign con-
stitution and be limited monarch.
He was then but nineteen years OF
age, but he replied, like true
Bourbon: II will sign nothing.
When | come to my throne l will
rule my land as have the ministers
l choose see fit" He still holds the
same rigid notions of what true
kingship is. For that reason he is
likely to die uncrowned.