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PAINSTAKING
In spite of his continual need of movement, his passionate love of sport in all its forms, and especially of motoring, his expansive, rather mad, but very attractive youthfulness, Alfonso XIII, even in his flying trips, never loses the occasion to improve his mind. He is very quick at seizing a point, possesses a remarkable power of assimilation, and, altho he does not read much, for he has no patience, he is remarkably well informed regarding the smallest details in matters that interest him. One day, for instance, he asked me, point-blank:
“Do you know how many gendarmes there are in France?”
I confess that I was greatly puzzled what to reply, for I have never cared much about statistics. I ventured to say, off-hand: “Ten thousand.”
“Ten thousand! Come, M. Paoli, what are you thinking of? That’s the number we have in Spain. It’s more like twenty thousand.”
This figure, as I afterward learned, was strictly accurate.
As for business of State, I also noticed that the king devoted more time to it than his restless life would lead one to believe. Rising, winter and summer, at six o’clock, he stays indoors and works regularly during the early part of the morning, and often again at night. In this connection, one of his ministers said to me:
“He never shows a sign of either weariness or boredom. The king’s ‘frivolity’ is a popular fallacy. On the contrary, he is terribly painstaking. Just like the queen mother, he insists upon clear and detailed explanations before he will sign the least document; and he knows quite well how to make his will felt. Besides, he is fond of work, and he can work anywhere—in a motor-car, in a boat, in a train, as well as in his study.”—Xavier Paoli, McClure’s.
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