Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-03
EULALIA AND ETIQUETTE.
Rules of European Courts Which Worry
Even Royal Personages

Even Royal Personages.
From the Illustrated American
Considering that when the Prince OF Wales.
or one of the younger brothers of the car, or
even much smaller royal fry than they, paw
visit to the president of the French republic.
the call is returned within an hour or two, il
seemed somewhat ungracious on the part of the
President of the United States to make any
question about calling upon the Infanta Eulalia
of Spain, especially as she was the guest of the
nation. But etiquette, which is the code of
rules by which great people keep lesser ones in
proper respect, appeared to demand that it
should be SO.
However. all's we'll that ends well, and we
shall not fight Spain over mere question OF
etiquette.
1t is found necessary to observe certain rules
of etiquette even in the households Of the most
democratic of president and though they seem
to have been more obeyed in the breach than
the observance between the days OF Washington
and Buchanan they are becoming very stringent
again at Washington. How ready certain Amer
leans are to observe them was shown by the
hullabaloo raised over the ball given to the in
fapta In New York. The court trains the women
were to wear appear. if reports be true, TO have
exercised the mind Of the female upper tendon
to vast extent. Why they should wear court
trains at a ball. unless one given at a royal pal
oNc AZ hohoi Vi sOuc lulpOftdut cNtnt. ~ ~
hcuit to see. In Europe they are only worn at
the Buckingham Palace drawing rooms and
great state occasions. such a royal wedding
or a coronation. But on semi-state occasions,
such as the wedding of the Duke Of York to the
Princess May of Teck will probably be, they are
not worn.
AT THE EscURIAL
Now, nowhere in the world is etiquette more
strictly observed than at the EscuriaL Nearly
hap haor1
Spain, having seated himself before a very hot
fire, got roasted to death because the court
official whose duty ii was to assist his majesty
from his chair could not be found. The Due
d Aosta, who was almost as democratic in his
ideas as his brother, the King OF Italy, during
his short reign in Spain showed such a con-
tempt for the complicated rules of etiquette
observed at the Escurial that he became very
unpopular with his subjects and eventually
abdicated. He made q futile attempt at
introducing simple manners in a country
where beggars address each other ss 'Senor
Caballero." One day he stopped to talk with
muleteer whom he happened to meet on a coun-
try road. 1t was a broiling hot day. The king,
to save the muleteer from q sunstroke babe
him cover his head. forgetting that by SO doing
he raised d peasant 10 a grsndee. Marshal
Prim, who was standing close by, knocked the
muleteers headgear out Of his hand, trampled
ii under foot and offered the man some money
This the muleteer, who was MORALLY offended
haughtily refused. A few days later Prim was
assassinated, and rumor has it-but the jade APP
pears to have been up to her lying tricks
again-thst the offended muleteer had been
accessory to the crime.
70 Ell Rey q the king) is the form in which
etiquette rules a Spanish king shall sign him
self when addressing a subject The much
worried Italian duke got himself into a great
deal of hot water by signing his letters In q
more familiar manner.
a. .~.,...
groom. the customary way in most Latin
countries for masters to address their seryants
The man luckily happened to be an Italian.
for. as a court chamberlain pointed out to his
majesty. had tine groom been Spanish subject.
being addressed by the king In the second
person singular, tn, would have eunobled him
on the spot.
COURT CUSTOMS
1t is the custom in the Spanish court that
newborn royal infant shall be officially an
nounced as vigorous" The late Queen Of
Spain. Mercedes, became the mother of a sickly
child which only lived a couple Of hours but
the court journal chronicled the event in the
manner prescribed by etiquette, as follows:
Her majesty Was delivered at o'clock in the
morning of a vigorous child, which died at s. Z"
1t would be difficult to find Q more delightful
bull than this.
b. s. p. (beso sus pies), which means 81 kiss
your feet" are still used by Spanish gentlemen
when addressing q sovereign or ladies' b. S.
NJ. (beso sus manos), thai is, II kiss your
hands. are used by men writing to each other
or by ladies TO ladies' In any Spanish paper of
today IN which an account is given Of q recep-
ton by the little king, of. saw, q provincial
town council, You will read that 1.-THE council
ors kissed the feet of his majesty and withdrew"
Now. of course, it is not to be imagined tha.
these worthy gentlemen went down on all fours
and kissed the baby kings shoes What thew
did to kiss his banAa as hay ba.
been prescribed to do had they been members
OF the cortes. But Escurial etiquette pre-
scribes that TO the public it must be an
nounced that they kissed his majestv's feet
l have said that etiquette il q code Of rules
by which great people keep lesser ones in proper
respect Prince Bismarck, when q boy. was
rebuked by his father for speaking of the king
as Fritz" Learn to speak reverently of his
majesty" said his old father, 'and YOU viii
grow accustomed to think of him with venera-
tion." Young Bismarck laid the advice to
heart and to this day always lowers his tone
and assumes a worshipful look when he speaks
of the late Emperor William. When, during
the old kaisers lifetime, o message either by
word of mouth or in writing. was brought TO
Bismarck from his master, the great chancellor
would rise to receive it.
AN INSULT TO THE QUEEN.
And this recalls occurrence that took
place only few weeks ago. A New York firm
has house IN Victoria street, London. Their
English representative, who was paving q visit
to Paris. wrote a letter to the London branch
and addressed it: "Messrs So-and-So, Vic
street, London" The next day two very i'm
portant and serious-looking gentlemen visited
the London Office Of the New York firm. and
showing one of the clerks the letter asked him
If he knew By whom it was written "Yes."
replied the clerk, .'by our manager What in
the matter with it?'' Your manager has
grossly insulted her majesty the queen, and
must apologize to the postmaster general for
having done So" why. how has he insulted
the queenI" exclaimed the astonished clerk.
He has addressed this letter to syic'
street instead of Victoria street. and
Victoria is her majestv's name" but il
is common thing for us Americans to shorten
names districts In addressing envelopes. For
instance. we often write b way' for Broadway :"
We don't care what you do in the United
States. You can't do it here. and we must
insist upon written apology and an assurance
that her majestys name shall not be mangIed
again by your manager"