It is idle yet to discuss the prospects of the second Spanish Republic; it is impossible to predict whether it will have as short a life as the first Republic of 1873. This lies not in the new form of government, but in the whole instability of Spanish politics. Before the April Revolution I was of the opinion that it was impossible to take Spanish politics seriously, an opinion which, to my mind, constituted no insult to the Spanish people. Though still persisting in that view, I will admit that recent events make the holding of it perhaps unfair. One thing now emerges as definite; there is no lack of political earnestness among a number of the people, but how large this number really is appears a matter of conjecture.

I was recently discussing the new Spanish situation with a friend who is an authority on everything Spanish. The conversation turned from Spain to the rest of Europe, and I remarked that Germany was a country I much admired. ‘Spain is a country one cannot admire,’ said my friend; ‘but it is a country one can love.’ To a certain extent this is true, in that one can love the country and its inhabitants, yet deplore its politics. When known, Spain is a country one can love with gratitude and joy; it is a country that can exercise an irresistible attraction; and its peculiar fascination, once felt, never fades, but grows ever stronger. Yet it is impossible, when looking back at its political history since the days of the great Hapsburgs, to admire what is only a lamentable history of deplorable government.