There is no doubt that Don Carlos’ popularity is greater than that of the little king.  The queen is regarded as a foreigner and the king is too young to awaken any admiration in spite of the fact that every opportunity is taken to make him do so.  To popularize the little king the queen regent promenades the poor child through the provinces.  He makes childish speeches to the populace, touches the flags of the volunteers and in every way seeks to revive the enthusiasm for the house of Austria.  But without avail.  The wretched peasants, ground down by taxes, find little to stir them in the sight.

On the contrary, Don Carlos is a great military hero, whose actions have stirred the people to admiration in spite of his many bad qualities.

That the present dynasty will endure when all of the evils from which Spain suffers are considered, seems hard to believe.  Unless a miracle happens or the powers bolster up the throne of the little king, the people are likely to turn to Don Carlos for relief.  There are those who believe that republicanism is also rampant and that the Carlist agitation masks republican doctrines, and that Weyler will be dictator.  This may be.  But Don Carlos seems nearer the throne than he has been at any time during his career.

CHAPTER XLVI.

The Philippines, Puerto Rico, and other colonies of Spain.

The Philippines Another Example of the Shocking Misgovernment of Spain’s Outlying Possessions—­Interesting Facts About the Philippines—­Spanish Oppression and Cruelty—­Manila, the Capital of the Islands—­Manufactures and Trade of the Eastern Archipelago—­Puerto Rico and Its History—­The Products and People —­Spirit of Insurrection Rife—­The Colonies Off the Coast of Africa Where Spain Exiles Political and Other Offenders—­The Canaries, Fernando Po and Ceuta.

From the very beginning of our war with Spain the peninsular kingdom had reason to fear that the loss of Cuba would be but one of the disasters to befall it in the war with the United States.  It was recognized in all quarters that the Queen Eegent would have been willing to let the Cuban insurrectionists have their island without further protest, had it not been for the fact that giving up probably would have incited an insurrection at home, resulting in a loss of the crown to her son before he should have a chance to wear it.

It was quite well understood as a like probability that the Philippine islands, that splendid colony of Spain in the East Indies, would be lost to Spanish control at the same time, and that the island of Puerto Rico, the last remnant of Spain’s great colonial possessions in the Western hemisphere, after Cuba’s loss, would gain its freedom too.  The Queen Regent having spurned the only course in Cuban affairs which the United States would permit, with American war-ships threatening Manila, it became immediately apparent that the other horn of the dilemma which had been chosen was as fatal to Spanish sovereignty as the first would have been.