Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/155

ALFONSO 28, 1857. He left Spain with his mother when she was driven from the throne by the revolution of 1868, and till 1874 resided partly in France, partly in Austria. In 1874 Alfonso came forward himself as claimant to the Spanish throne, and in the end of the year was proclaimed by Gen. Martinez Campos as king. He was enthusiastically received, most of the Spaniards being by this time tired of the Republican Government, which had failed to put down the Carlist party. Alfonso was successful in bringing the Carlist struggle to an end in 1876, and after an uneventful reign died in 1885.

ALFONSO XIII., King of Spain, son of the late Alphonso XII. and Maria Christina, daughter of the late Karl Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, born after his father's death, May 17, 1886. His mother was made Queen Regent during his minority. In Spain the sovereign comes of age at 16, hence on May 17, 1902, the regency ceased and Alfonso XIII. assumed his full powers, after being crowned with the usual elaborate ceremonies. He was married to Princess Ena of Battenberg in 1906. An anarchist attempt was made to kill the royal pair on their wedding day. In the European War, King Alfonso favored the Allies, though, of course, adhering officially to his country's neutrality. He devoted his time and efforts to the improvement of the conditions of prisoners of war and of the civil population of war-stricken regions.

ALFRED THE GREAT, King of the West Saxons, was born at Wantage, Berkshire, in 849, and in 853 was taken to Rome. The fifth and youngest son of King Ethelwulf, he succeeded to the crown in 871, on the death of his brother Ethelred. By that time the Danes had overrun most of England N. of the Thames. The victory of Ashdown, won chiefly by Alfred's bravery, just before his accession, gave only a temporary check to their incursions into Wessex; and in that same year the West Saxons fought eight other battles against them. In 878 Guthrum, King of the Danes of East Anglia, suddenly burst into Wessex. Alfred could make no effectual resistance, and, seeking refuge in the marshes