Ready for action.

Don Carlos himself believed that the time had come to act.  He journeyed to Ostend, where he consulted with Lord Ashburnham and other Catholic Englishmen who were his supporters, and mapped out a plan of campaign.  He stood ready at any convenient moment to cross the frontier and place himself at the head of his supporters.

Never since there was a pretender to the throne of Spain, and Don Carlos is the third of the name, had the outlook been so favorable for the fall of the constitutional monarchy.

Discontent has been widespread in Spain and it has been fomented by the Carlists, with a splendid organization, with more than 2,000 clubs scattered in various parts of the kingdom.

Causes for discontent have not been lacking, and the Cuban and Philippine revolts, together with the threatened trouble with the United States, were not the only reasons for popular dissatisfaction.  Spain was bankrupt and found it difficult to borrow money from the money lenders of London and Paris.  With the increased expenses due to the revolution there had been a decrease in receipts for the same cause—­the usual revenues from Havana being lacking.  The people were poor and thousands of them starving.  Additional taxation was out of the question, for the people were taxed to the limit.

These were the causes to which the strength of the Carlist agitation was due.  And that it was strong there can be no doubt.  The birthday of Don Carlos, March 30, was celebrated this year with an enthusiasm and unprecedented degree of unanimity throughout the kingdom, and the government did not feel itself strong enough to interfere with them.

Toasted as king.

There were hundreds of fetes in cities, towns and villages, and many of them were held in the open air, where the pretender was toasted as “El Key” or “the king,” and Alfonso was ignored.

This inaction could be due only to the fact that the government was powerless.  To say that they did not fear Don Carlos would be ridiculous, as the latest manifesto of Don Carlos was suppressed, and the government was really in fear and trembling.  A more plausible reason would be that the ministry wished to be in the good graces of Don Carlos should he win, and they were not ready to trust themselves to absolute loyalty to the present dynasty.

Meanwhile, as this chapter is written, reports from Spain tell of unprecedented Carlist activity.  They are arming themselves.  Arms are pouring across the frontier in such quantities as to show that the Carlists are preparing for an early rising, and all of the actions and utterances of the leader show that they are only waiting for a favorable opportunity to begin the revolution.  Strong proof of this is to be found in the fact that since Don Carlos secured his second wife’s vast fortune he has been penurious, and it is not believed that he would spend money in arms unless he believed the expenditure would bring about some practical advantage to his cause.