The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1918-09-12

to pick with the allies. She wants
England out of Gibraltar, France out
of Morocco-both of which things
Germany promises her-and she has
not forgotten Cuba. These were his
toric grievances, and the kaiser tried
hard twelve years ago to win Spain
over finally by dumping down Ger
man princess in Madrid. In Berlin all
the most fetching frauleins were pa
raded before the debonair and hot
blooded Alfonso. The illusion of the
aforementioned sale of Parthian or
Circassian damsels was complete. AL
fonso had but to pick and choose.
1t is recorded that he found their an
kles too fat. So he hied to England
and picked out a quite unknown fair
haired English girl-only half-Ger-
man-who till then might have been
seen daily shopping in her suburb, like
any ordinary girl just left school, or
pushing her invalid brother through
the streets in a bath chair. Dusky
Alfonso was fascinated by fair-haired
Ena, who at once discovered, of course
that the protestant faith was all
wrong and the catholic faith the true
one--the only barrier to an alliance
thus being removed In the years
that have interviewed, English Eana
has been kept so busy in the domestic
line that she has had little or no time
to spare for intrigue-even if she
were so gifted and inclined, which, as
an English brought-up girl she isn't.
She has worked womanfully to a.
chieve popularity; watching" bull
fights through specially darkened OPP
era glasses; daring assassins beside
her husband-all to no purpose. An
occasional English influence made it
self felt at court only to disappear
directly the Dowager Queen Christ
inc got wind of it.
The Dowager Queens Influence.
This lady, an Austrian Princess and
ardent disciple of the Vatican and of
the Holy Roman Empire, has been the
head of German influence and intrigue
in Spain throughout the war. While
Ena has been busy in the nursery,
Christine has been at work in, or
very near, the council chamber, and
y a comparatively simple task she has
! had in view of SPANS above-men-
toned political antagon:sm to the En-
+ tente. If Germany murdered Span
ish seamen the matter would be skill
: fully passed over; if England,
l through an honest lack of tonnage,
+ found herself unable to buy up, as
; usual, the Spanish orange trade, all
5 Spain was posted with michievous no.
| tees emphasizing how England has
brought famine to our shores"
| German submarines have been free
, ly sheltered in Spanish harbors, even
: allowed to escap1, and every possible
: difficulty has been put in the way of
5 the Entente allies in regard to keep
5 ing the Portuguese expeditionary force
t in the field in France. The country
| has been saturated with German prop
uganda, largely, as in Sweden, against
7 the will of the rank and file of the ma
: ton, but backed up to the hilt by
! some of the royal family and the gov
ernlng caste. AS for Christine. hers
l is the brain, and she is in daily secret
: communication with Vienna via the
papal nuncios and by other means
5 here left unenlarged on.
! Empress Zita's Power.
5 II Germany's remarkable hold over
5 Utrals has been brought about in
! part by her geographical and military
advantage over these states. "thc
| queen business" must not be forgot
: ten. 1t looms large in the picture of
domination. Spain might never have
: come in on the side of her Goliath
, states-Spain likes the dolce far nj
: ente OF orange froves and the Puerto
/ del Sol too much for that-but she
would at least never have deyeloped
into the active German agent that she
is today but for the presence of Aus
} TRAN influence in Madrid, deeply i'm
ORIGINATING her national life. For a
I queen asks whom she pleases to her
palace, and the guests thus invited
} are invited out in turn by lesser fry,
simply because they have been to the
palace. Thus is the atmosphere ia
vored by the court spread abroad. AS
long as men and women kow tow to
rank and position and become the
creatures of royalty, the latter will
have it all their own way, only need
ing to breathe word for that word
to be law
| With the young empress of Austria.
one time Zita of Parma, who has lat