CONVERSATIONS WITH A SPANISH LIBERAL. 379 



of an enormous pair of whiskers. The Sous Prefect on being re- 

 proached with this quasi mystification, laid the blame on the con- 

 cierge, who bluntly defended his conduct by saying " Ma foi Mes- 

 sieurs, entre ce Roi-ci et l'autre,je ne vois d'autre difference que la barbel" 



"Duke of Valois in 1773, since then successively Duke of Chartres, 

 General Egalite, Duke of Orleans and King of the French, the life 

 of this prince," said my Spanish friend, " is full of singular contrasts, 

 and presents one of the most striking examples of the vicissitudes of 

 human opinion the page of history can produce. In 1793, he signed 

 himself Louis- Philippe JEgalite, a French prince to his misfortune. In 

 1810, he re-assumed this title at Tarragona, and has since made use 

 of it to seat himself upon one of the first thrones of the universe As 

 a republican soldier, under the tri-colour at Volney, he fought for 

 his principles ; and at a later period swore liege homage to his sove- 

 reign lord Louis XVIII., assumed the white cockade, which he wore 

 till the memorable three days, when he again changed it for the 

 colours under which he fought in his youth; and at this moment we 

 find him, as King of the French, supporting in Spain an order of suc- 

 cession which he was, as Duke of Orleans, the first to protest against. 

 For you must remember that, on the abolition of the Salic Law by 

 Ferdinand, Charles X. said to Louis-Philippe, ' Mon cousin, cela 

 vous regarde plus qua moi, faites en votre affaire;' and so he did by 

 his celebrated protest which now is the property of history." 



' ' The political career of Louis- Philippe has indeed been distin- 

 guished," said I, " by such antithetic phases that posterity may well 

 question if the actions of several of that name have not been erro- 

 neously attributed to one single individual. But to change our 

 subject, how go on the affairs of Spain ?" 



" Not very happily. Between the Liberals on the one hand, and the 

 Carlists on the other, the government of the queen resembles a vessel 

 tossed by the winds and waves, and without a single pilot to enable 

 her to weather the storm." 



" It is strange," I replied, " that in all the changes of men, who 

 have grasped the helm of state in your distracted country during the 

 war of independence, or who took a prominent part in public affairs 

 during the subsequent revolution, not a single individual, de la hauteur 

 des cir Constances, has appeared on the theatre of events. Riego, 

 though honest, was, in the widest acceptation of the word ' un homme 

 borne' Mina is a mere sabreur, a guerilla destitute of every quality 

 for a political leader. Martinez de la Rosa and the Conde de Tor- 

 reno, although they possess great talents, have not displayed that 

 firmness of purpose, or flexibility of means, so essential in the present 

 crisis of affairs. In fact, among your public men, we in vain look 

 for that sound practical ability which alone can extricate the country 

 from the difficulties in which it is involved." 



" You forget," replied my Spanish friend, te in your catalogue, the 

 celebrated Arguelles now on his way back to Spain, and who is 

 already proclaimed by the public voice as the future minister of the 

 interior." 



" True, but then remember his advanced age." 



" Arguelles," rejoined the Spaniard, " is an Asturian by birth, 



