The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-07-03 00:00:00

THE "PRESENTATION" OF THE KIND
OF SPAIN.

The Madrid correspondent of the Standard, writing
on Monday night, says: I have seen many fetes in
Madrid, many great gatherings of tie populace, but
not one which in point of real enthusiasm equalled
the ceremony of to-day. When Alphonso entered
Madrid as her King, when he brought hither his
bride, still more when he returned from his visits
to the districts devastated by earthquake and by
cholera, the people of Madrid gathered in their tens
of thousands, and welcomed their King with genuine
enthusiasm. But there were other feelings touched
to-day. Nowhere in Europe is the sentiment of
maternal and filial love more strongly prominent than
in Spain. The Virgin and the Child Saviour take the
place of God in the people's breasts, because they are,
as it were, the symbol of this sentiment of family;
and the vast crcwd wLich assembled to-day gathered
to greet the bereaved tiother and the fatherless child,
rather than their Queen and future King. Long
before the hour named for the starting of the pro-
cession, a great crowd gathered along the whole
length of the line of route. Flags were hung out
from every window, the balconies were draped with
bunting and coloured cloths, and at every available
point, window, balcony, and house-top, crowds of
ladies gathered to watch the passage of the Queen
and her baby. The streets and squares were crowded
with spectators on foot, although the heat was 93
degrees in the shade and the power of the sun tre-
mendous. Upon other occasions the Madrilene is
chary of exposing himself to the full rays of a mid-
summer sun; but to-day the almost tropical heat
appeared to have no effect whatever in deterring the
populace from gathering to witness the spectacle of
the passage of their little King, the babe of 42 days
old, who now for the first time was to be seen out-
side the Royal Palace on his way to the Church of
Atocha. As the procession moved along the streets
with regal splendour, and the pomp, the circumstance,
and the stately etiquette which the Bourbons have
ever maintained, the demonstrations of enthusiasm
were most striking. From the windows and balconies
the white handkerchiefs of the ladies streamed like
the fluttering of countless doves on the point of taking
flight, while the cheers of the crowd and the waving
of hats were unceasing. The Calle Mayor and the
Puenta del Sol were naturally the principal points of
excitement ; but along the whole line the enthusiasm
was the same. Hundreds of doves were loosed as the
procession came along, and these, scared by the din
and roar of voices, flew hither and thither. Bouquets,
and especially camelias and other white flowers, were
showered down from the balconies and windows of the
political and military clubs and aristocratic mansions.
But such evidences of popular rejoicing have been shown
several times during the past twenty years. The
peculiar and marked characteristic of this occasion
was the depth and warmth of the interest shown in
the streets, and especially by the women of all classes,
in the mother and child. The Madrilenes are easily
managed, and on other occasions the troops lining the
streets have had little difficulty in keeping back the
crowd; but to-day the eagerness of the women to see
the Queen and the baby King tried their strength to
the utmost, and it was with the greatest difficulty that
the line was preserved. As the Royal carriage
passed the women showered upon the mother
and child, with true southern impulsiveness, their
expressions of sympathy and affection expres-
sions which brought a flush of pleasure on the
pale features of the widowed Queen, as in her
deep mourning, the centre of all that blaze of colour
and display, she passed along in the gilded coach of
State, tenderly holding her child high in her arms
to allow all to see his blue eyes and frank little face.
Facing Christina sat the child's Asturian nurse, in
the picturesque attire of her provini.!e—silk velvet
braided with gold. Behind the Royal carriage rode
Captain-General Pavia, renowned for his share in the
coup d' tat of 1874, followed by a brilliant staff of
General Officers. The State carriages were all drawn
by fine Andalusian horses, and by their side marched
a number of powdered lacqueys in gorgeous liveries.
A body of Horse Guards, with steel cuirasses and
plumes, closely resembling in uniform our own
Horse Guards, closed the magnificent proces
sion. The whole scene in the Atocha Cathedral was
magnificent, but the most impressive moment was
when, after the conclusion of the Te Deum, the Queen
stood alone before the altar and made a solemn pre-
sentation of her child, Alfonso XIII., to the Virgin
of Atocha. The altar was ablaze with light, and by
the Queen stood the Cardinal Primate, the bishops,
and the leading clergy of the cathedral and realm in
all the pomp and glory of their rich vestment.
Around were the Grandees cf Spain, the Diplomatic
Corps, the Ministers, the great officers of the Throne,
the representatives of the army and navy in brilliant
uniforms, the principal authorities of the capital
and the provinces, with deputations of the Cortes
and the great cities. The church was hung with
velvet; bright flags hung from roof and pillar,
and in the centre of all this colour and brightness
and pomp stood the solitary woman in deep mourn-
ing, holding up her baby to the figure of the Virgin
above the altar. It was a deeply affecting spectacle,
and one which few who saw it will ever forget. The
little Princess of the Asturias, her sistei, Princess
Maria Theresa, the Arch-Duchess Elizabeth, and the
Infancas Isabella and Eulalia, and the members of
the Montpensier family were present, and formed a
distinct group in this, tint, first publio appearance of
Alfonso XIII., to whom the Pope has already sent
his blessing. With the blessing of the child he has
sent to the mother a gold vase, which the new bishop.
elect will deliver to the Queen in State next week.