The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-17
Utle Serala aua Ue'vs
MADRID IN WAR TIME.
A Glimpse of tho City. tho Crowd aud tho
Palace.


of Madrid grow moro and more AMI,
mated, filled with crowd gay and
vivacious.
Before the palace, in the avenues,
officers and soldiers rido about in
uniforms Of charming elegance;
white hussars; bluo hussars; red
hussars. At the old historic palace
the white hussars are on guard. On
the stuircases, in the courts, pace up
and down tho halberdiers, striking
with their weapons the carpet or the
sounding stone, when soy prince or
dignitary passes before thom. And
sec, down there, travorsing tho inner
galleries and announced by tho TO-
Bpectful salute Of tho halbcrdicrs, u
very noble woman, with Il beautiful
face and white hair, with che bearing
of queen---Her Imperial Highness,
the Archduchcss Isabel, mother Of
Her Majesty, the Queen Regent.
The facade Of the palace gives on
sort Of circular garden, bordered
with antique statues, which seem to
be drawn up thus about tho trees, to
dance some stately old.time dance.
On tho opposite side. the royal
windows overlook the country-a
country which astonishes because
there, so near the city, it has already
the aspect Of n desert; no houses,
appearantly no roads; woods, under
brush, vast half-savago extent.
which ends at the far off mountains,
and through which winds tho mel
ancholy Mnncanares.
Such view, seen between cur
tains Of brocade, the colors of which
age has dcliciously subdUed, gives to
the sumptuous solitary apartments
something more Of melancholy and
~ grsndeu1 \ whole past OF mag.
ssi5o%oce a,.l q glory seems to sleep
il. s1>,'ss i1sAy salons which succeed
one 61o:A<E i. sn in:e.miunhle vista,
diversified q: this ro!a, OF tina; hy
the fantasy of lbe artist, Il other
days, so that one finds in walking
through them series Of surprises.
The lofty casings of the doors are
all made Of agates or Of rare mar
bles, whose colors strangely veined
harmonize with tho brocaded tape.
stries Of the walls.
There is the salon Of Charles ILL.,,
all is soft blue, starred with silver.
Other salons, hung with exquisite
old satins, are of n dying rose, with
the blaZonries of Louis XIV, or of an
inimitable old rose embroidered in
gold, with al exubcrant Renaiss-
ance ornamentation; c. else OF
green bizarroly mixed with saffron
yellow, or again OF royal blue, en-
blazoned with brilliant yellow, with
furniture of which tho magnificent
stiffness dates from tho Empire. A
certain grand salon, with ceiling
all in flowers and scrolls of faioncc,
has mural panels in pearl, gray satin,
embroidered above and below with
garlands rosocolo.od or white, which
mast have consumed tho lives Of q
legion of patient workwomen. And
ono feels that all these precious
things, respected by human revolu
tions, have dwelt hero immobile dur
ing years and centuries. Tho ghosts
Of the monarchs lying in tho Escurial
would find hore ag' n, intact and
only little faded, ,he splendors
which they knew.
The throne 1oum, tho most inn
menso and most suporb Of all, hung
entirely with ancient crumoisy vol -
vet, embroidered in gold; is peoplod
the length of its walls by great blacl,
statues holding in their hands gold
omblems, aud standing out in strange,
ly agitated poses from the brilIianco
OF the red pedestals. -Four lions in
bronze guard the steps Of tho throne
OF Spain, where on SOLEMN occasions
ia seated, also in tho garb Of anclcn'.
days, that Queen and admirable
mother whom Europe at this mo-
ment seems to wish to abandon in
the face of an unlocked for poril, of
revolving aggressions. This even
ing the approaches to the palace arc
comparatively tranquil and silent.
But, as moro than anywhere elso
happens in Madrid, the crowd swells
Ere