Conde Ruiz nodded. 'Yes, it is utterly wrong. Spain's trade in liqueurs is an example. We have our Anis del Mono, Calisay, Cuarenta y Tres, and many others which could rival the best productions of the French and the Dutch; but abroad they are almost unknown, because the firms that make them are too heavily taxed to be able to afford to popularize them. Whereas Chartreuse swamps the market; and the Fathers who make it at Tarragona, since they were expelled from France at the turn of the century, are positively rolling in money.'
'It is the Church, too,' remarked Dencas, 'that is responsible for the repressive laws that prevent progress. We Catalans are a go-ahead people. We resent being forced to have our children only partially educated because there are so many things that the Church prefers that they should not know, and the absurd censorship which is still maintained on great numbers of foreign books solely because they deal with the lives of men and women in a realistic manner.'
'I suppose there are certain matters in which the Church should adopt a more progressive attitude,' de Vendome agreed reluctantly, 'but if one once opened the gates to doubt it might result in a landslide towards free-thinking. The Church is the great bulwark protecting family life and the discipline which it inculcates ensures millions of people maintaining a high standard of conduct. In Spain, too, the Church has played a greater part than in any other country.'
4Ah, now you are talking of the distant past, Prince,' Denc&s replied. Tt is true that in the days of Ferdinand and Isabella our great Cardinal Cisneros emancipated the Church of Spain from the domination of Rome, and purged it of all the abuses which were rife among the priesthood all over Europe during the Middle Ages. That is why there was no Reformation here. By the time Cisneros had done his great work there was no more need for reform; so he saved the Spanish people from becoming infected both by the Protestant heresies and the religious civil wars that caused so much misery in other countries. But the state of the Church today is very different from that in which he left it. Under his rule even the highest prelates led the lives of the greatest simplicity and self-denial. They were a strength and example to the nation, and Spain's greatness in the sixteenth century was largely due to them. Now the State subsidizes the Church to the tune of 300,000,000 pesetas per annum and in return for it has been so shackled as to become one of the most backward countries in Europe.'
De Vendome flushed and was obviously about to make an indignant protest in defence of his friends the Fathers, but de Tarancon, who had played the part of a listener during the conversation, prevented a possible quarrel by saying that it was quite time for them to go in for another swim.
A few days later the storm broke. A General Strike was declared throughout Catalonia and in Barcelona the workers threw up barricades in the streets. There were anti-Government demonstrations in many other cities but San Sebastian, being so largely a holiday resort, remained free from any serious trouble. Life there went on much as usual, except for the rush to secure a paper every time a new edition was put on sale.
After the first beach party to which de Richleau had gone, on the 21st, he became swiftly absorbed into the de Cordoba circle. The Denc&s and two other couples at it had asked him to lunch or dine, and Gulia had said pleasantly, if without enthusiasm, that she hoped he would use the beach regularly for his morning bathe.
On the 24th, Conde Ruiz left in haste for Madrid to take charge at this time of crisis of the bank's affairs, from its headquarters; but the Infanta, her lady-in-waiting, the de Tarancons and de Vendome all remained at the Villa, and several other friends, like de Richleau, had been made free of the private beach, so most mornings there was a party of from eight to a dozen people swimming and paddling there.
For three days there was desperate fighting in Barcelona, buildings were fired, convents sacked, priests and nuns maltreated; but the discipline and superior weapons of the troops gave them the upper hand. Several hundred rioters were killed and several score of soldiers; the organized resistance to authority collapsed.
At the end of the week the King returned to San Sebastian and next day he sent for de Richleau. The Duke found him working in a small, open-fronted marquee in the garden of the Palace. Don Alfonso sent away the secretary who was with him and, having waved de Richleau to a chair, said:
'When last you were here I had this Barcelona business on my mind, but the situation there is now in hand, so I would like to hear what it is that you wanted to say to me.'
De Richleau gave an account of Benigno's attack on him in Yalta, then went on to say, 'I squared accounts with the younger Ferrer brother in Cadiz before I was shipped off to South America. The other is, by this time, in Siberia and it is most unlikely that he will ever return to plague us further. But I was amazed to hear from him that he and his father were never brought to trial, and that after a year's imprisonment they were allowed to go free. Would Your Majesty care to enlighten me about this extraordinary failure on the part of the authorities to administer justice?'
Don Alfonso made a wry face. 'Yes; to you, Duke, whom these people did their best to murder, it must seem extraordinary. But remember, their friends had succeeded in getting you out of the way, so that you could not have appeared had they been brought to trial; and you were the key witness.'
'But you, Sir, assured me that even if I was prevented from giving evidence against them they would still be awarded the death penalty, or at least a life sentence.'
'I know it! I know it!' the King shrugged impatiently. 'But despite all their efforts the police failed to secure really damning evidence against these people. At least, that is what they said.
And at that time I had a Liberal Cabinet. You should have heard the fuss they kicked up in defence of this man Ferrer and his associates. They actually argued that with his Escuela Moderna he had been doing a service to the country, because he provided an opportunity for a part of the youth of Barcelona to acquire a much broader education than it could have received in any of our national Church-sponsored establishments.'
They may have been right about that,' de Richleau replied, 'but they seem to have left out of account that these people also corrupted youth. Advanced teaching may be desirable in many ways, but not if it is of the kind that would do away with law and order. The freedom to express an opinion is all very well, but not when it is an older person telling admiring youngsters that if they do not approve of your Government it is an heroic thing to murder the officials appointed by it, and that it is nothing to worry about if they kill a score of bystanders into the bargain.'
'I entirely agree with you, and I was most loath to consent to the release of the prisoners. Before doing so I had de Cordoba write to you asking if there was any prospect of you returning to Europe in the fairly near future. Had there been I would have insisted on their being held until you were here and could give evidence at their trial. But de Cordoba received no reply to his letter. After waiting a final month I had no alternative, short of quarrelling with my Ministers, but to allow Ferrer and his friends to be set at liberty.'
The Duke shook his head. Tf de Cordoba's letter was written ten or eleven months after I left Spain, by the time it should have reached me I was probably many miles from civilization, buried deep in one of the Central American jungles. No doubt the bag of mail in which it was fell off a mule into some swamp or river. Anyhow, it never reached me. Had it done so, Sir, I can assure you I would have returned to see to it that Ferrer and Co. got their deserts. It is for that purpose that I have now come back to Spain.'
Tf only you had returned a month or so ago,' Don Alfonso murmured.