The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-15 00:00:00

SATURDAIi,r'OCT. 15, 1881.

_
.NVESTITURE OF KING 'ALFONd S ' I GREAT FIRE IN NEW YORK.
WITH THE GARTER.

3 The Marquis of Northampton and the other mem-
be rs of the Mission sent by Queen Victoria to Madrid
pr oceeded on Tuesday to fulfil their duty by invest-
in King Alfonso with the Order of the Garter. They
w ent in Court carriages to the Palace where on their
a) rival, the band of the Halberdiers played "God save
tl le Queen."
On arriving in the Royal Antechamber a procession
ras formed by the Officers of the Royal Household,
Ii he Chamberlains, and the members of the Mission.
The Mission advanced slowly to the Royal presence,
'and made a deep reverence. The bearers of the
Insignia ranged themselves on the side of the Throne.
room nearest to the Plenipotentiaries and facing the
• throne. The Audience-room is a long saloon with
• several windows, having a view on the Armoury
'Court, and with two doors, one by which the King and
'Queen and the Court had entered, the other by which
Ithe Mission had arrived. On the left were the three
Anfantas—Dona Isabella, in a dark blue brocade,
'with splendid sapphires and diamonds; Dona
IPax, and Dona Eulalia in pale blue velours
Awe and pearls. Queen Christiana ware a
beautiful train covered with lace, and had a
diadem of pearls and brilliants. Around the Infant9.s
were the Ladies in Waiting and the wives of the
Grandees. The scene was most imposing when the
Marquis of Northampton advanced towards the
.throne, where King Alfonso stood in ancient Court
(costume, much resembling the portraits of is Bourbon
:ancest ors.
.Lord Northampton, addressing the King (in French),
in tbe course of his speech, said :—ln confiding to me
this lnlgh mission, her Majesty the Queen has ordered
me to express the feelings of her most sincere friend-
tip for your Majesty and for her Majesty Queen
Uhristina. These feelings are all the more vivid
in consequence of the precious recollection of the
ancient alliance of Spain and England, and of
the glorious battlefields where soldiers of the two
countries fought together on the soil of the Pen-
insula. Her Majesty the Queen has desired on
this occasion to give a public proof of her wish to
make even closer the friendly relations which have so
happily and for so long a time existed between the
two countries. Her Majesty has the most sincere
wishes for the happiness and prosperity of your
Majesty as well as for the welfare of your country.
Allow me, Sire, in conclusion, to express to your
Majesty how sensible I feel of the honour which has
been conferred on me by my gracious Boverign in de-
signating me for this high Mission, and as interpreter
of her feelings on this auspicious occasion.
King Alfonso in his reply stated that, however much
he appreciated the honour which the Queen had done
him in conferring upon him so high a distinction, his
satisfaction and gratitude were still greater when it
was made the opportunity of renewing in the most
solemn and public manner England's assurances of
goodwill and friendship for her ancient ally and of the
desire still further to tighten the amicable bonds
already existing.
Garter King at Arms next delivered the letters of
credence to the Principal Plenipotentiary, who pre-
anted them and the Book of Statutes to King
Alfonso, The First Plenipotentiary handed his corn-
Mission to his Majesty, and the Spanish Minister of
Foreign Affairs read it aloud, after which it was
returned to Garter. Next the Plenipotentiaries
advanced and proceeded to buckle the Garter around
the left leg of the King,. while Garter slowly read
the admonition. Lord Northampton then placed the
riband over the King's left shoulder, and the King
took off his sword, a fine Toledo blade, which Garter
received, and will keep as an ancient fee appertaining
to his office. His Majesty was next invested with a
Sword, the gift of Queen Victoria. Lord IN
fterwards in succession invested the King with the
Mantle and Collar, and presented him with the Hat
and Star of the Order.
The King handed each of the Insignia to an officer
of his household as he was divested of them, and
!hen the ceremony was concluded the Plenipoten-
ilaries, with their suites, retired by an ante-chamber,
atter profound reverences, and were accompanied by
the Lord Chamberlain to the staircase.
The Marquis of Northampton, after the investiture,
raid a vba to the Prime Minister and the Minister
or Foreign Affairs.

A Reuters telegram from New York says that a
great fire occurred on Monday night in Fourth
Avenue by which some spacious horse and car stables
and Morrell's large storage warehouses were destroyed.
One hundred horses perished in the flames.
The storehouse contained a quantity of valuable
furniture and pictures, and the loss of the building
and its contents is estimated at 2,000,000 dols.
The loss caused by the destruction of the stables is
estimated at 500,000 dols.

The Correspondent of the Daily News gives the following
account of the occurrence :

"The stables, the car houses, and offices of the
Fourth Avenue Horse Railway Company, occupying
an entire block, were destroyed by fire last night. The
flames spread across the street and consumed an im-
mense six-storied building used as a storage ware-
house. The total loss is estimated at two million
dols. More than 200 horses were burned to death. Many
cars and a large winter supply of hay and grain were
consumed. In the storage warehouse a large amount
of private property was destroyed. Mr. William H.
Vanderbilt had there furniture and works of art, in-
cluding a painting recently purchased in Europe for
55,000 dollars. He watched the fire quietly until he
saw that the rescue of the property was impossible,
when he went home. Mr. Dion Boucicault had
his furniture and library valued at twenty-
five thousand dollars, including manuscript
plays, and valuable documents. Miss Harriet
Irving, sister of Washington Irving, had family
pictures and works of art, valued at twenty thousand
dollars. Many of the pictures belonged to her brother,
and were highly prized. There were between twelve
and fifteen thousand depositors who had property in
the warehouse, including lace, clothing, furniture,
books, pictures, and art treasures of all kinds. The
larger part of the property belonged to persons absent
in Europe. The value of all the deposits is estimated
at a million and a half of dollars wholly destroyed.
Some depositors were insured, others not."