The Delaware ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1879-19??, 1884-04-12


An old custom of the Spanish court
requires that when baby is born in
the royal family it shall be officially an
nounced that vigorous infant has
come into the world. The Queen OF
Spain having become the mother
of a sickly child, which. lived
only two hours, the court journal
chronicled the birth and death in the
usual way: "Her Majesty was deliver
ed at o'clock of a vigorous infant.
who died at s." The Epoca of Madrid
lately reported that the Town Council
of Seville, having had an interview
with Alfonso XII, kissed the feet of
His Majesty and withdrew" 1t is not
supposed that the Councillors actually
went down on all fours and kissed the
Kings boots, as if he were the Pope,
but etiquette demanded that they should
be said to have done so, because a
Town Council does not stand on the
same level Of dignity as the the Cortes,
whose members are supposed to kiss
hands when they take leave. Three
letters B. S. P. (besu S,Is pieS), which
mean, 81 kiss your feet" are still used
by gentlemen in Spain when signing
letters addressed to ladies, and by sub
jects to their King. The letters B.S.M
(besO S,tS manoS), which are used by
men writing to men, and by ladies to
ladies, would seem to cavalier from a
gentleman to lady, and downright I'M
pertlnence from subject to his sover-
eign.
One of the chief reasons Of the Duke
d'Acosta's unpopularity during the
brief reign which he closed with
a voluntary abdication was that he
would take no pains to study the COM
plicated etiquette Of the Escurial, but
sought to introduce simple manners in
a country where even beggars drape
themselves proudly in their tattered
mantles, and address one another as
'Senor Cahallero." lie one day told a
muleteer, with whom he stopped to
talk on country road under brolling
sun, to put on his hat; forgetting that
by the fact Of ordering subject to
cover himself in royal presence he Gre
ated him a grandee. Marshall Prim,
who was standing by, hastily knocked
IA nj nf
hand, and set his foot upon it, at the
same time offering the man some gold;
but the muleteer, who was mortally Of
Tended, spurned the money, and few
days later, when Prim was assassinated,
rumor was circulated that the morti.
fled individual who had narrowly missed
becoming grandee was accessory to
the crime. On another occasion King
Amadeo inconsiderately addressed a
groom of his in the second person sing.
ular as tu. Happily the man was an
Italian; for, as a Court Chamberlain
represented to His Majesty, Spaniard
spoken to with this familiarity might
have claimed that the monarch had dubt
ed cousin-that is, had ennobled him.
Another thing that much-worried Ital.
ian Prince had to learn was that a
Spanish King must not sign any letter
to subject with any friendly or COM
plimentary formula, but must simply
write Yo Ell reg, III, the King.')
Etiquette is the code of rules by
which great people keep lesser ones in
proper respect. Prince Bismarck, when
a baby, was rebuked by his father for
speaking of the King as Fritz
Learn to speak reverently of His Ma
jesty," said the old Squire of Varzin,
''and you will grow accustomed to
think of him with veneration." Young
Bismarck laid the advice to heart, and
to this day the great Chancellor always
lowers his tone and assumes a grave,
wOrshipful look when he alludes to the
Kaiser. If message is brought to him
from the Emperor by word of mouth or
in writing, he stands up to receive it.
When wedding takes place at the
Prussian Court, it is the practice fol
the State dignitaries to form a candle
procession-that is to say that minis
in their hands and conduct the bride
and bridegroom round the ballroom,
where guests are assembled, and thence
into the throne room, where the pair do
homage to the sovereign. AT the first
royal wedding which occurred after the
Chancellor had been promoted to the
dignity of Prince and Hlghness. Bis.
marck failed to appear in the candle
procession, and the court gossips quick
ly concluded that he now thought him
self too great man to take part in a
sentimental ceremony. The truth was,
however, that the Chancellor had been
seized with a sudden attack of gout;
and at the next wedding ne was careful
to silence all carpers by carrying his
candle bravely like other ministers,
Prince GortschakOff was always
equally careful to observe the minutest
points Of etiquette in relation to the
late Gar and the imperial family,
Lord Dufferin, asking him whether
the Emperor's cold was better, was
rather startled to hear him answer in Il
reverent voice. "His Majesty has
deigned to feel a little better this
morning." The Duke de Morny said
of Gortschakoff that he seemed to pun
when he talked Of any creature at
court, "even of the Grand Duchess Oh
gas monkey" But possibly this i'm.
perturbable obsequiousness is appreci-
ated by the rulers of the earth, for
Gortschakoff remained Prime Minister
throughout the whole of the Emperor's
reign.
"YEs." said Amy to the high school
/ r,sp t,1.1 e