She Hates Communism and Fights Franco

How strange is this woman of whom all Spain is talking — talking of her amazing daring and her singular fight against the strongest man in Spain... Franco...

A woman whom Franco fears unto death, and who fights him unto death: either he finishes her, or she finishes him. And it appears the woman is stubborn, fierce in her enmity toward the Spanish dictator; in her is all the fierceness of that stubborn blood, and despite prison, arrest, and pursuit, she never ceases exerting every effort to triumph over the General.

Who, then, might this stubborn woman be?

She is "Luisa Maria," of one of the most deep-rooted Spanish families, famous for its fight against tyranny of whatever kind.

She counts herself, by the titles she has inherited, as belonging to a class higher than the class to which the great General belongs. She is a woman of wealth, and of a generosity carried to the point of extravagance; and yet, for all that, she is socialist in her leanings — so much so that she has taken part in all the revolutionary movements that have arisen in Spain... And they say of her that she possesses the most beautiful nose in the world, the swiftest racehorses, and the finest wines in Spain, and that she has, besides, a large share of intelligence and courage.

For seven full years she fought Franco with fire and steel, with pen and tongue, when she joined the Republicans in their war against Franco.

She did not despair, nor did her lance-shaft bend, even after his victory. And when she was brought to trial, charged with working to overthrow the regime and conspiring against the safety of the state, she was sentenced to a fine of a million francs; but she refused to pay a single franc of the fine, and preferred to move from her palace to the prison the General had chosen for her.

And in her prison she directed her fight against Franco: she kept in touch with the revolutionary societies and supplied them with money to carry on their propaganda against the Franco regime, and to organize a general strike of the students.

She would leave prison only to return to it after a while; so the General at last confined her to her palace and forbade her to go out — but she went out in spite of him.

The latest affair for which she was imprisoned was her contriving of a plot against Franco. She remained more than three hours arguing with her judges, defying the dictator and declaring, with boldness and candor, that she is against his principles.

And she calls for the return of the throne to Spain, saying:

"I am against communism, against socialism, and against anarchy; but before everything I am against dictatorship, whatever its kind. That is why I cooperate with the Republicans — not out of love for them, but out of hatred for Franco the dictator."

And the people have come to love Luisa Maria; and she, in her turn, loves this people and wants it happy.

It is worth mentioning that her husband, Count "Alazar," does not approve of this headlong course in her politics, and has often tried to persuade her to give up this dangerous policy — but in vain; the result was that they separated. Her husband got in touch with her again only after she had been sentenced to pay a fine of a million francs, and he advised her to pay, but she refused; whereupon Franco ordered her arrest, and one of her farms was seized and put up at auction. Her husband tried once more to persuade her to pay the fine, but she persisted in her refusal, and when she learned of the seizure of her palace she said: "All that matters to me in that palace is a portrait of my grandfather which I should like to keep; as for the rest, let them do with it what they please..."

And her grandfather is General Narváez, one of the great Spanish commanders, who had memorable encounters with another commander called General Espartero, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth II; those events came near, in their day, to shaking the Queen's throne. And the granddaughter is trying to weave after her grandfather's pattern...