May 2 he demanded to be put in possession of the telegraph-station,
and on this being refused he ordered the cable connecting Luzon with
Hong-Kong to be cut. The Spanish authorities had just time before this
measure was taken to report the bare facts to Madrid by cable. The
news produced immense consternation in the Spanish capital. The whole
city was instantly in uproar. Mobs of people filled the streets,
wildly denouncing the incapability of a Government which could lead
them to such disaster. The newspaper offices were thronged. Special
supplements were issued as quickly as possible. The cafes, clubs,
and other public meeting-places were besieged. General Borbon drove
out in a carriage from which he harangued the populace, and was,
in consequence, sent to a fortress for three months. There was an
attempt at holding a mass meeting in the _Puerta del Sol_, but the
surging crowd started down the _Calle de Sevilla_ and the _Carrera
de San Geronimo_ shouting, "Long live Weyler!" "To the house of
Weyler!" They reached his residence, and after a series of frantic
_vivas_ for the army, navy, etc., they called on General Weyler
to appear at the balcony. But being himself in somewhat strained
relations with the existing Government, he did not think it prudent
to show himself. Then some one having set up the cry of "Down with
the whole Government!" which was responded to with frenzied applause,
the rioters set out for Sagasta's house, returning by the _Carrera de
San Geronimo_. At that moment the mounted civil guard met and charged
the crowd. Many were trodden under foot, and arrests were made. The
Civil Governor, Senor Aguilera, followed up in his carriage, and when
the military police had dispersed the general mass, leaving only here
and there a group, the Civil Governor stepped out of his carriage and
addressed them. His words were hissed from the balcony of a club,
and it was already past midnight when the first outburst of public
indignation and despair had exhausted itself. On May 2 the _Heraldo_
of Madrid, calmly reviewing the naval disaster, commented as follows:--

It was no caprice of the fortune of war. From the very first
cannon-shot our fragile ships were at the mercy of the formidable
hostile squadron; were condemned to fall one after the other
under the fire of the American batteries; they were powerless
to strike, and were defended only by the valour and breasts of
their sailors. What h