I bought this short story by Narcís Oller (1846-1930) after reading about him in Spanish Literature, a Very Short Introduction by Jo Labanyi. I actually wanted Gold Fever (La febra d’or) but couldn’t find it in English, so I settled for The September Revolution (La Revolució de Setembre) instead.
It’s only about 6000 words, but it’s powerful stuff. The story is narrated by a youthful idealist who’s captivated by the idea of a revolution but events force his disenchantment. At first (because by the time I came to read the story, I’d forgotten Oller’s date of death, 1930) I thought I was reading about the Spanish Revolution of 1936, the one that was the catalyst for the Civil War, and when it dawned on me (via harness bells, coaches and carriages) that I was reading about a revolution in the 19th century, I had to find out more about it.
Wikipedia to the rescue!
The Glorious Revolution (Spanish: La Gloriosa or Sexenio Democrático) took place in Spain in 1868, resulting in the deposition of Queen Isabella II. Leaders of the revolution eventually recruited an Italian prince, Amadeo of Savoy, as king. His reign lasted two years, and he was replaced by the first Spanish Republic. That also lasted two years, until leaders in 1875 proclaimed Isabella’s son, as King Alfonso XII in the Bourbon Restoration.[Page viewed 21/11/17, lightly edited to remove their excessive links].
I gather that the impetus to remove Queen Isabella had more to do with disputing her rule because she was a woman than because of a desire for democracy…
However, the young narrator is an idealist:

My family’s liberal mentality, the generosity of feeling we all had in our early youth, theories picked up in the classroom, readings that privately nourished me, and the very air we breathed in academies and student centres had made a steadfast democrat of me. I couldn’t have been even twenty years old, and it had already been at least four [years] since I’d been getting into constant arguments with my uncle, a prototypical progressive,[1] a very well educated man, unusually knowledgeable, and endowed with extraordinary clairvoyance. (Kindle Location 13-18)
[1]: his uncle is a member of the ‘Progressive Party’, i.e. a moderate, but supporting Queen Isabella.

He delineates the difference between his defence of the democratic credo and his uncle’s gradualist dogma.
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2017/11/21/the-september-revolution-by-narcis-oller-tra... ( )