314 THE PRESENT CRISIS OF SPAIN. 



ill, Christina, his young queen, took the government into her own 

 hands, and apparently showed herself favourable to liberal measures, 

 proposed several ameliorations, and certainly reformed some of th e 

 most disgusting abuses. In the meanwhile, taking advantage of her 

 position and power, she persuaded her gouty sire to change the order 

 of succession by re-establishing the Salic law, and thus to deprive 

 Don Carlos from succeeding Ferdinand in case she should not have a 

 male infant. Ferdinand accordingly granted her request, and this 

 act may be considered as the beginning of the present civil Spanish 

 warfare. All-powerful death having at last put an end to Ferdinand's 

 infamous career, Spain was freed from one of its worst inhabitants 

 and from its greatest tyrant and scourge. At the demise of Ferdi- 

 nand, Christina became regent, and her infant daughter was pro- 

 claimed and acknowledged queen of Spain by all the authorities, 

 with the exception of Don Carlos and his partisans, who publicly 

 protested against this act, and soon after civil war openly broke out 

 in several provinces. Shortly after this period Don Carlos with all 

 his family retired into Portugal, whence he fomented the civil discord 

 raised by his party. The little energy and the almost inactivity 

 which the regent showed in adopting strong and decisive measures 

 to extinguish the Carlists increased the evil, and 'the civil warfare 

 made progress, and began to rage with fury and success in the Bas- 

 tan and in other provinces of the north of Spain. 



In these trying circumstances, Christina, like all her predecessors, 

 was in great want of money to keep up her government and to carry 

 on the war ; consequently the rapacious Jews were again allowed to 

 increase the debt of Spain, and to augment their wealth by making 

 up a new loan for Christina. 



However, when the Nero of Portugal, Don Miguel, was conquered 

 and expelled from the throne which he had unjustly and sacrile- 

 giously usurped, Don Carlos not only was obliged to leave Portugal, 

 but became a prisoner of war, and as such was brought to England 

 to prevent him from fomenting civil discord and civil bloodshed in 

 the peninsula. But, although every body till then considered Don 

 Carlos to be nothing more than a bigoted fool, he proved himself so 

 clever as to be capable of duping Talleyrand, Palmerston, and all the 

 French police, and it was discovered, to the surprise of all parties, 

 lhat while he was thought to be in London he had been unaccount- 



