Year: 1873

dlWoyo uvCu WIN uAM IA kOkTOnO. ESp8TLcIt
himself


FL RHY DE LoGRoN0,


as he is called, Is OF medium STATURE gray haired


with small black mustache, and does not appear


more than sixty-hve years Of age, although


he Is now in his eightieth. Alter the usual


preliminary inanities OF conversation, we al


once plunged into the topics OF the day.


The Duke was very reserved and most OF my


questions were answered by the Duchess, who in


sisted on keeping up the conversation In English,


which could by no means 80 well understand as


the Dukes spanish or French. Besides, however
much wife may be her husbands better half 1t Is


very frequently the case that the worse half pre-
dominates, and asked the Duke plumply whether
1t was true that the partisans OF Queen Isabella
were going to take open part and action in the
present state OF affairs and whether he thought
that


THE CAUSE OF DON CARLOS


would succeed


'Tn other words" said the Duke. "you want to
know what my opinion Is as to the future of Spain
buryou forget am not prophet"


NO." replied" but man OF your experience is
better than prophet-at any rate, as prophets go
nowadays"


'WelI he continued, ~ will give you my opinion
for what 1t ID WORTH but remember am q very old
man. and my days OF action are over, and think
Spain knows me well enough to be aware that l
shall never give my name emily to any government
while l lack the power to act, Besides which,
the traditions OF lifetime can never be utterly
effaced. We may change, we may accept the in
evtabe, but our innermost convictions still remain
doubt II now there is shade OF difference OF fopn
ion between myselfand my old enemy, Cabrera; but
none the less would either OF US actively combat
the principles we once represented; and by your
frank n n DU trv mo Of <ho
ststs perceive that you comprehend my relation to
this party as well as to all Others. But now enough
of myself" continued the Duke, smiling, "let us
forget poor Espartero and leave him buried
beneath the ruins OF his hopes In Judging
OF Spain OF the present day you must not
loose sight of the fact that the present war is a
war such as has never been waged in Spain. Its
character is OF totally different aspec: to those
which have preceded it. Hitherto our wars have
been Of personal character; this Is war OF prin-
ciples-the principle OF progress and emancipation
from the trammels OF the Church, or what are con-
sdered trammels. have lived long enough to see
that railways and manufactures neither bring nor
happiness; but 1t is fact that liberal
ideas have made great progress in Spain. In fact,
those provinces which are most Carlist-the Bas-
cOngade provnces-are


NEARER INTERNATIONALIsM THAN MoNARCHIsM,
although they do not know It, This will surprise
you, but still it is the fact and fortultous turn
may very rapidly change the whole aspect OF
affairs. In the vascongade provinces you have
local government carried to it's very extreme,
much greater than in any part Of the United States
or England. and this very rising proves how
intensely they are addicted to their J,ler'os. For
his own purposes Don Carlos has persuaded
them that the Republic will not allow them
the privileges they have till now enjoyed and,
as you have seen, the first thing Don Carlos was
obliged to do was to swear he would observe the
fueros. But would he extend the same privileges
to the rest OF Spain Would he accord the rest OF
the country anything like the liberties Guipascoa
enjoy9 or course not, and Spain well knows that
he only gives penny to get pound. He has
thrown down the Bascongades to gain the Casties
and sooner later the Basque provinces will dis
cover that they are lighting for the possession OF
what they have already got and which no one
desires to dispute. As Tor


THE SUCCESS OF DON CARLOS,


from military point OF view, there is no chance Of
it-no chance at all. The army he bw got
which cannot be called an army-t Is only a body
OF armed men, who cannot stand an open battle
anywhere, and are quite at sea when out of their
own mountains"


"But" remarked, ''do you think they would fol-
low Don Carlos to Madrid or fight their way into the
interior ?"


''No," replied the Duke, very energetically
"they would not. AS long as they think their own
country is in danger they will arm and defend it,
but that Is all.'


"We," replied, "that is my opinion, too.
confess that as long as my experience was con-
fined to these provinces thought otherwise, but
since have seen other parts OF Spain have been
obliged to change my views and even to admit the
of the Republic succeeding for timen


"That is a wise clause" replied the Duke, "for
a time. country cannot Jump from despotism to
republcanism without severe constitutional strug
giles. Despotsm wages war with the bayonet;
liberalism must fight with the mind. And how
much easier it is to conquer man by brute force
than to convince him against his will Therefore,
though the Republic preserve its footing at present
by force of arms, the menarchica Spain Is still far
too strong to yield without struggle The minds or
the people must be gradually tutored and led step
by step to liberal institutions and led to them by
means ol a constitutional monarchy. Now, there Is
very large party in Spain in favor Of constitu-
tional monarchy and party composed OF innuen-
tia and intelligent members OF the wealthy and
middle classes. These men know that Don Carlos
is pledged TO an antiquated conservatism and will
have none Of him. But they also know that Spain
Is not ripe for Republic; they know that Span
ards Will not submit to foreigner; that she must
be governed by one of the blood royal and that the
only prince who is not pledged to any ultra con-
servative party Is


THE PRINCE OF AsrURRIAs,


and to him they look Tor salvation"


'But." replied, "where Is Don Alfonso to find
an arny2 Or is his succession to be effected by
constitutional means-by plebiscite," replied the
Duke 'for example ?"


"a plebisclte would settle the question at once"
replied the Duke "but who is to conduct it
You VIII see that the Cortes will gradually
DRIFT into Alionsism, II | must use the
word as the present government grows
stronger. The cause of order and legality, sup
ported by the most influential classes, the bulk
OF the population must finally prevail. And, as
order returns, so also will those men return who
have emgrated into France and who are already
expressing their readiness to submit to the present
government. We must pass through constitutional
monarchy before we can arrive at republic
If ever. l believe that we shall stop with a con.