KING ALFONSO AND HIS AUNT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1338, 16 January 1912, Page 6

KING ALFONSO AND HIS AUNT.

A PRINCESS'S BOOK FORBIDDEN. KING'S TELEGRAM AND THE j REPLY. A sensational nipttiro lias taken place between tho Infanta Eulalia and her nephew, Xing AJfnhso of Spain, owing to it bonk which the Infanta is publishing under the name of Countess A'vila (writes Ihu l'iiris correspondent of tho "Daily -Mail,"' on December .'!}. The Princess received tho following Ulejjram:— l'nlace, of Madrid, December 2. ' Astonished to read in the newspapers that you are publishing a book under the name of tho Countess Avila, and by other news that 1 hayo heard about you. 1 .suppose it will cause, a great sensation. I order you to suspend publication of this bookuntil I havo seen it and,until you have received my authorisatidn to publish it. . The Infanta sent the following reply:— Very much astonished at the fouuk being judged before it is known. Such a thing could only happen in Spain; As j have never liked Court., life and have always lived in retirement, I take this opportunity of bidding you farewell, for after'this , proceeding, which is worthy of the' inquisition, 1 feel myself free-to ict iu ir..v private life as I plea-.;. book referred to by King Alfonsi is called "Au Til de la Vie," which might be rendered by "On Life's Stream,"' ana has not yot appeared. Although tho Countess Avili fig.ires as authoress on the title page, the Infanta , assumes tho responsibility of her work in a preface signed, "Eulalia, Infanta of Spain. The book is in French, and is a briskly-writ-ten treatise in whioli such subjects as tho general causes of happiness, tho agitation of the will, tho complete independence of woman, the equality of the classes through education, Socialism, religion, marriage, prejudice, and tradition, are handled iu a vigorous and unadorned style. -■ " '. In her book, tho Princess speaks in favour of. divorce, but says it should be a just law, and not, as often, a passing accord to cover libertinnge. .She declares that in principle woman is' the equal of man, and insists that woman should becomo the useful helpmate of man without ceasing to be his generous companion sharing his sorrows and joys. - Interview With the Princess. The Infanta Eulalia is a leading figure in Parisian society, and occupies a residence near the Hois de Boulogne. Sho always rises at 7 a.m. and has a cold bath. Much of her time sho spends out of doors, where, note-book in ban I, she records her observations of nature and humanity. Tho Infanta Eulalia gave me the text of those telegrams in an interview which her Royal Highness granted me this afternoon ill her charmingly furnished apartments. The Princess, who speaks English almost like, an Englishwoman, arid with an extraordinary command of idiom, said: "I welcome this opportunity to make a public protest against the way I have been treated. I. ask you to publish what I liiivo to say, in order to make ray position clear* in the eyes of public opinion in my dear England. • i "1 have written a perfectly moral book which contains no attacks on' Spain or tho Spanish Court, but because I advocate divorco in , certain circumstances I am to, suppress it. I was awakened at two o'clock this morning by. this, astonishing telegram from the King of Spain forbidding me to pnllisn a perfectly moral book, t which, by the way, his Majesty has irever seen. ■

"I Will Not be Sat On." "He actually sent tho Spanish Ambassador in Paris yesterday to try to persundo mo to suppress it. 1 refused. The whole thing is worthy of the Inquisition, and I decline to submit to it. I'ancy the King, my nephew, addressing me, his aunt, in such a tone! But I will not be sat ou. , "I will not hnvo my personality annulled. The only things I value are my personality and my work—my work because it comes from my. intelligence. 1 do not attach any importance to my birth because I; cannot help it, "Kather than be crushed I have broken off all relations with the Spanish Court and am going to retire into private life. 1 never cared for Court life, and I have not been back to Madrid since the King deprived my son of all his titles for marrying Princess Beatrice of SaxeCoburg, who is a Protectant. "1 have no community of ideas with the Court as things now are. in Spain. Tho Jesuits rule supreme, and as they hold shares in all our great national services, they run tho country and impose their point of view on the Government. Why, there is less freedom in Spain under this so-called Liberal Government of today than in the time of tho regency. "I know why my book is to be banned. It is because of my. chapter on divorce, which does not exist in Spain, and because I outlined a positive morality which is outside of religion. That is a thing which Jesuits do not admit. I presume I shall now bo .excommunicated.. "I have sent copies of ray book to many friends. ' Among other people who have read it is the King of the Belgians, and I have received nothing but the warmest congratulations from all sides. Why, I lion, should I suppress it? My' sister, the Infanta Maria de la Paz, who lives in Bavaria, is allowed to write, simply becauso she writes for the clerical press. ' "My ideal now is to live in England, my dear England, the land of liberty. Franco and England are. my ideal , residences— l'Yance because of the wonderful inspiring intellectual atmosphere one.finds, and England becauso I lovjo the English and the English life. "I adore- sports; I like ten and bread and butter and jam, and these nice English things I learned to know from the English governess I had when I was at the Sacred Heart Convent in Paris, where 1 was brought up from two to fourteen years of age., "I have lived in little places in your beautiful Cornwall of which doubtless many English people do not know. My dear daughter-in-law the Princess Beatrice is half English. She is told she will not be given her rightful title of Princess if she goes to tho Court of Madrid, although her husband, my son, is on service with the army, in Morocco. "As the result of my riipturo with the King the appanage I draw . from tho Court of Spain will probably, be suppressed. That will only be another reason for me to devote myself henceforth to my work." • . .