e affair to progress in a natural way, as there seemed to be nothing
in the proposed alliance which gave her cause for alarm. Here are the
facts in the case. Among the playfellows of the little King Alfonso
XIII. there were two distant cousins, the sons of the Count of Caserta,
and between the elder, Don Carlos, and the young princess a warm
attachment soon sprang up which led to a betrothal, with the queen's
consent. At once there was a protest which would have intimidated a
person of weaker character. It was pointed out that Don Carlos the youth
was the son of a man who had been chief of staff to the Pretender Don
Carlos, who had been responsible for so much of the disorder in Spain
within the last quarter of a century; and although Caserta and his sons
had taken the oath of allegiance to Alfonso XIII., it was feared that in
some way this marriage might give the Pretender a new claim upon the
government, and that in future years it might lead to renewed domestic
strife. Furthermore, it was alleged that the Jesuits, who are known
conservatives and legitimists everywhere, and who had been accused of
sympathizing with the Pretender's claims, were behind this new alliance,
and, as the work of their hands, it was popularly considered as a matter
of very doubtful expediency. But the queen persisted in her course,
entirely without political motives, so far as anyone has been able to
discover, and preparations for the wedding were begun in earnest.

Then it was that the affair began to assume a more national and more
serious character. The liberal party, which was in power and which
naturally looked with suspicion upon anything tainted with conservatism,
decided to oppose the marriage, and the prime minister, who was no other
than the great Sagasta, allowed the queen to understand plainly that the
whole affair must be dropped. Maria Cristina informed her prime minister
that _her_ will was to be law in the matter, and that she was unwilling
to allow any sort of governmental interference. The marriage now
precipitated a national crisis, Sagasta and all the members of his
cabinet resigned their portfolios of office, and the queen was left to
form a new ministry. She appointed the new members from the ranks of the
conservative party, and, now without cabinet opposition, the marriage
was celebrated. Then the storm arose again: there were riots and
disturbances in most of the large cities; the Jesuits, who were made
responsible for