The truth is that all Spanish politicians who have the good of their country at heart recognise, even though they may disapprove, the traditional respect for the kingly office which is implanted in the mind of most peoples who have lived from childhood under the Monarchical system. In Spain, where the King who united Castile with Leon and expelled the Moslems from nearly the whole of the South is venerated as a saint, the tradition exists more strongly and has greater weight in determining the action of the masses at any given moment than in any other country except perhaps Russia. EDUCATION [Illustration: A STREET HAWKER DESCRIBING BATTLE SCENES TO AN ILLITERATE AUDIENCE. [To face page 263.]] CHAPTER XIV EDUCATION Of the many evils that afflict Spain, one of the gravest, for it lies at the root of most of the others, is the deplorably backward state of education. It is commonly said that 75 per cent. of the population cannot read or write. This figure may or may not be exaggerated, but it is certainly the exception to find a member of the working classes who can do either. And this ignorance is not confined to the working classes, but extends, in a relative degree, throughout all social ranks. People of good position, presumably educated, frequently cannot write and spell their own language correctly. I have even been told as a fact that there are, or were until quite recently, grandees of Spain who could not sign their names. And ignorance of the commonest facts of geography and history is astonishingly prevalent even in the middle classes. It would not in the least surprise any one who knows Spanish society to be asked whether Germany lies to the south of Switzerland, or if Berlin is the capital of London. Even in the universities things are no better. The course of study in any subject consists in the scholar getting up a textbook written _ad hoc_ by the professor of that subject, in which alone he is examined for his certificate or diploma, and outside of which he is not expected to travel. Indeed, in some of the universities the students are actively discouraged from reading anything except the prescribed textbook of the subject they are studying, and the natural consequence is that a young man who has passed through the University with credit may be, and often is in fact, quite illiterate. The administrative educational system in Spain is as follows: At the head is the Minister of Public Instruction, assisted by a consultative Council, which includes the Rectors of the universities. Certain of the functions of the Minister are delegated to the sub-secretary, who is the second authority in the department.