The National tribune., 1885-11-26
TBE SPAnISH COURT.
DR., Curry's Appointment and How He
is Likely to be Received in tho
BigOted Capital of AlphOnSa.

Bigoted Capital of AlphonSa.
| The recent appointment of Rev. Mr.. Curry,
| of Richmond, Va. who has been a Baptist cler-
| gyman, to be Minister Of the United States at
the capital of Spain, has often been topic of
conversation in Washington, especially among
| those who have been in Madrid and understand
the peculiar prejudices of its people against
! ..ctestants. An American lady who within q
| few years has spent much time in high posi-
tion in that city, says it is impossible for our
| people who have never been there to cOmpre-
| hend how bigoted many of the highest officials,
| and others who are much in the court circle
| there, are. She knew that the fact of Mr..
| Curry having been Minister Of a Protestant
church would have reached Madrid before he
arrived there, and would create a prejudice
against. him in advance; for while all Protest
ants were, to certain extent, distrusted there,
one who belonged to the clergy Of Protestant
| denomination would be considered, of course,
of a more pronounced type than one who was
| merely a member of a Protestant congregation,
| and it might be that the bigoted courtiers
would, in various ways contrive to make them
selves disagreeable to him and his wife. She
said she found more persons in high places in
Madrid who were prejudiced against Protest
ants than in any other European capital. One
| serious embarrassment there to any one who
| has been accustomed to observe the Sabbath
according to the ideas prevalent among re-
| ligious persons in this country, and to refrain
from all amusements on that day, arises from
the fact that in Spain the gayest entertain
| mentS, both public and private, occur Sum
| day. The bull fights, as we'll as many of the
balls given by the arstocracy, occur on Sundays
after II o'clock, noon, and it is often difficult
| for Protestants, especially those in the DiplO-
matte Corps, to make excuses which will
| be acceptable to those who send
them invitations to their entertainments,
for not accepting them on Sunday; and
| when fetes occur at Court it is an otfcnse for
| any one invited, especially Foreign Minister,
| not to attend, and those are sometimes fixed
for Sunday. This will, of course be one of
the trials to which Rev. Mr. Curry and his
| family will be subjected, which will be very
embarrassing to them.
| There is also no place in Madrid for Protest
| ants to worship except the chapel connected
| with the British Embassy, which isa very small
| room in its building, and SO strict are the Span
| ish that, while they cannot prevent the English
| FROM converting one of the rooms of their own
| Embassy into q chapel being their own
| territory,-they will not permit any outward
| sign that can be seen from the street to in
dicate the purpose to which it is devoted.
AS an illustration of how easily very unpleas-
ant incidents, which light even involve inter-
| national complications, were brought about at
| the Court of Madrid, the lady whose observa-
| tions there are given above, mentioned the case
| of Gen. Corona, who had been for II years Min
lister from Mexico in Spain, and so, from hav
| ing served longer than any other Minister
there, took precedence. of all in the Diplomatic
Corps who were not ambassadors at that Court.
The Queen of Spain is very naughty Aus
tran Princess and niece Of the ill-fated Maxi
milan, and so dislikes all Mexicans. But,
| finding Gen. Corona already established in her
husbands capital when she was taken there a
bride, she was of course obliged to receive him,
and soon began to forget her prejudices,-he be-
ing most agreeable gentlemau,-a to be very
cordial with him. One day, however, after
she had known him for a long time, she, ON
the occasion of grand reception at Court in
honor of the Crown Prince of Germany, who
| was then visiting Madrid, when all the Embas-
sad0rs, Foreign Ministers, and Charges Pa6aires
were drawn up in line to be spoken to i'll turn
by the King and Queen, the King, in passing,
spoke as cordially rs usual to Gen. Corona who
stood at the head of the Foreign Ministers, but
the Queen, who followed her husband, spoke
graciousy to all the others, but passed Gen.
Corona with naughty. air, giving the merest
little inclination OF her head as she swept by
him. This made the slight more marked than
if she had not noticed him at all, which might
have been supposed to be because she had not
seen him.
This was, of course. noticed by all present,
and caused quite stir, and Gen. Corona natu-
rally felt insulted at his treatment. On his
return home at once wrote to the proper official
at Court that he should be compelled to absent
himself from the dinner to which he had
been invited by the King previously, and which
was to occur the next day.
AS it is considered an imperative command
to accept when royalty issues an invitation to
an entertainment, this note from the Meyi-
can Minister declining one naturally excited
| MN nGt m mn or yUt
pleasure, and the note was at once taken to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs, who promptly
sought a conference with Gen. Corona and
asked the reason of his unusual course. The
latter answered that he was pleased, of course,
to receive any invitation from the King, but
| would not go to Court to be insulted by the
| Queen" and related how dsdainfully she had
| treated him at the reception. The Minister of
| Foreign Affairs could not understand the mat
| ter at ALL SO went to the King, who was equally
! at q loss to account for the Queens sudden
| change of manner towards one whom, III spite
| of her dislike of Mexicans, she had previously
| treated politely. The King went to his wife
| and asked her the cause of her demeanor to-
| wards the Mexican Minister, and then learned
for the first time that she had lately chanced to
| read in q book of history that Gen. Corona
| was in command of tho battalion which shot
| her uncle, Maximilian. This had made her
| very indignant, indeed, and she had privately
WiIuOul Iue udtter 10 any
| one, that she would not speak to man who
| had held such position when her uncle was
shot The King demonstrated with her in
| vain, and then it was decided that in order to
| prevent the matter becoming SO serious as to
embarrass the relations of Spain with Mexico,
that the Secretary of State (or Minister of
| Foreign Atfairs) should again confer with Gen.
| Corona, and ask him if it was true that he had
| commanded the troops by whom the Queens
uncle was shot. When told the cause Of the
| Queens snub to him, Gen. Corona was much
surprised, but was very brave in his explana-
tion. He said he was in the army at the time
Maximilian was shot, and had he been ordered
| by his superior officers to shoot him, he should
have felt bound to obey; but, as a matter of
| fact, he had not been connected with the affair
| in any way, not even an officer of the bat
| TALON by whom the unlucky man was killed.
He added that he could not consent to meet
| the Queen again unless she intended to be
courteous to him. The Queen was then told
that the history she had read was Inaccurate
and was persuaded to meet Gen. Corona pleas
antly at the dinner to which he was then in
| duced to come.
| Rut this affair said the writars informant