The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-08-12

whom declared that although they did
 not exactly subscribe to the. opinion
 that his majesty had consumption, said
 that he showed special predisposition
 toward tuberculosis. the malady of
 which his father died. '.
 Since that report was made, his ma
 jesty has devoted less time than before
 to his studies, accords very few audi
 ences, rides on horseback and goes
 shooting with less frequency, and drives
 out in his carriage more often. Besides
 this, he is daily visited by one of the
 court physicians, and is subjected to a
 diet in which milk, vegetables and beef
 extract predominate. This sort of treatment causes the monarch a great
 deal of modification, because he is fond
 of the chase and military naneuyers, and in general of all exercises which, like fencing and gymnastics, require strength and agility. Alfonso XIII. is really an excellent and indefatigable sportsman, and when he goes shooting in the preserves of the parks or some times in his royal park of Riofris, he usually kills in comparatively short l time six or seven hundred hares and
 some dozens of bucks and stags, which
 he afterward presents to the charitable establishments of the capital
 Another fayorite pursuit of Don AL fonso is to put himself at the head of one or two regiments of infantry and
 cavalry and lead them to the great en- leampment of Carabanchel, where he makes them perform various evolutions and maneuyers, for which he has ac- quired particular ability. He likes also
 to present himself unexpectedly in the barracks of some cavalry regiment and to order all the men to get on horseback | immediately; then he usually rewards the first two soldiers who appear before | him mounted with all the money he happens to have about him-Whieh gen. eralIy does not exceed thirty or forty pesetas, or from six to eight dollars.
 The royal family of Spain enjoys an
 annual income of over one and half
 millions of dollars, but all their wealth l is administered by the queen-mother, who, according to many statements, is supposed to deposit a part of it In the
 banks of Vienna and London. Be this as it may, it is a fact that Alfonso XIII. receives as his monthly allowance of pocket money only one hundred pesetas, \ or twenty dollars, most of which he spends in cigars and Turkish cigarettes, | of which he consumes an extraordinary humber.
 E Undoubtedly this constant penury to which Don Alfonso finds himself re- duced is not calculated to make him de- sire that Donna Maria Christina should continue to be the true sovereign of Spain. But there are other more pow lerful reasons which make the young
 monarch desire to see his mother de- part from the court and reside in some other city in the kingdom or abroad. lAlfonso XIII. Is tired of the priestly ele- lment which surrounds the queen and exercises such great influence in the policy of the court and state: he would Hike to open the doors of his palace to I.the liberal element of the aristocracy and of the wealthy citizens; he would like to intervene directly in all state affairs and to favor democracy; he de- lsires to exercise his own will, like the emperor of Germany" as he once re- lmarked to a courier. He has an ar tdent longing to visit the principal states Iof Europe, as he himself confessed to vaious princes who came to Madrid last year on the occasion of his coronation. But this wish of his cannot be realized I at present, because if he undertook a ljourney through Europe he naturally would be obliged to pay a visit to the president of the French republic, and
 Donna Maria Christina does not think lit desirable to strengthen bonds Of lfriendship with q republic. The soverr:T; jeign would also have. to visit the king of Italy, and Donna Maria Christina fears lthat this would greatly displease the
 Pope. A visit to the king of England would also be necessary. and Donna
 Maria Christina believes that this would provoke an anti-monarchical ag- litatfon in her own country, because in Spain the policy of England inspires
 much antipathy, especially since the war with the United States. Mean while, Alfonso XIII understands per- fectly we'll that the retired life which he leads and the small active share which he takes in state affairs, even after having been proclaimed king, have chilled the sympathies and weakened the homes which his coming of age had