The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-06-12


Us remain! We secured an excellent
place. tus- 60 = corner where the pro-
cession must turn us 1t came from the
outer corridor to the chapel floor.
"Fi;g0an entire regiment, II seemed
OF halbcrdicrs marched In and TOOK
their places on both sides OF the corri-
dor. JThcy were deliberately and beau
tifulS dressed. in scarlet and black. and
white and gold embroidery, with long
halhatds In their hands and queer par
ti.colorad caps on their heads. Then
the general public wac admitted again,
uud how they did rush for the iittie
~ ICE back OF the hNlberdiers! In ten
minutes every inch was taken, and
then We waited and waited and waited.
It was very pretty sight--the crowd IN
dark coloIs. generally: all the women
in mnntlllas. the brightly lighted corri-
dor. aud the sun cleaning on the gor-
geous uniforms Of the soldiers. II was
an exceedingly amlable crowd, and the
halberdiers were anything but the sol-
cmn functionaries you see IN an Eng
llSh castle. They cracked jokes with
the people near them, called saluthtions
to moro distant friends, while the ottl-
GERS were all the time running up and
down the line, trying in vain 10 keep it
straight.
Then the delegations OF priests and
various eccleslastlcs began to arrive;
cardinals in their splendid robes, and
bishops with their ermine collars. FL
nally we heard the sound OF distant
music, and the procession Of the court
became visible. First came innumer-
able gentlemen, dressed In magnificent
costumes-I can't see where 1 am to
get adjectivss enough for this letter.
fairly dazzling to the eyes, with their
brllllancy. on many coats the fabric
could scarcely be seen because Of the
almost solid gold embroidery. All wore
knee breeches and white silk stockings,
and they were a flne looking body OF
men,-regular features, clear skins
bright eyes, and many OF the older
men were distinguished in carriage and
! appearance.
And then came the queen. Did you
know that she Is actually old l was
amazed to see how gray her hair Is, and
her face is very wrinkled. What Is
more to the purpose, she Is not pretty,
and she never was! But she has o
pleasant and intelligent face. full OF
strength.
"she passed so close that could
have touched her. walking very slow
~, and with a great deal OF dignity
She wore a white lace mantilla, as did
Ell the ladies OF the court. and she was
simply resplendent with iewels-worn,
by the why, over what must confess
was very ill-iitting dress. After her
came the two infantas, and then all the
ladies' Of the court. There were at
least thirty of them, magnifcently at
tired, all in satin, pale cOlors cleaning
with Jewels, and covered with the most
lovely lace-just cobwebby-and yards
and yards of It, They all wore small
tIRrns or crowns OF diamonds, and
ropes Of pearls and things After them
came all the diplomatic corps and the
highest officials in the army, and then
they all passed into the little chapel,
where we followed them, packed In like
sardInes. But once within the specta-
Gle was most imposing. The queen was
on the throne, and the court were on
high seats, curvlng around her. with
their gold lace and jewels positively
emitting light in the dImness Of the
room.
"a portion of the mass was said, and
then thn priests from the remote end Of
the chapel fled up to receive their
palms from the archbishop at the high
altar. These palms must have been
about eight felt long, OF palea straw
color, and 80 Perfectly dried that they
made very pleasant, dry, rustling
noise as they were carried to their
places. Iph passing the queen each
made a very low Obeisance. Then all
arose and Remained standing while the
queen weHt to receive her palm. And
then, ohE by one, all the numerous
members OF that gitttering court arose.
pRssed'1he queen. bowed, went to the
altar, knelt, received the palm. and re-
turned to their positions. It must have
taken three-q quarters Of an hour.
"As the chapel filled with these long
nnd graceful branches. making forest
above the heads Of the people who held
them, II all grew more and more beau
tiful5and unique. When all the palms
were distributed the procession started
to mike the tour Of the corridor, TO
bless the palace for the coming year.
This time all the eccleslRstIcs were with
them. the little choir boys In front.
swinging censors which gave out foods
OF blue smoke, and back OF these long
lines OF priests. in gorgeous Vestments
II told you | should run out of adjpc-
tives!--chantlng In deep, strong voices,
Then the court again. as before, but
each and nll1with the palms.
Imagine all this, with the sun pour
ing In over II all and turning the In
cense smoke into most marvellous col
ors. II was one Of the most superb
spectncles ] ever witnessed-and yet.
and yet. could not resist n thought Of
the real Significance of Palm Sunday,
and how very far from that all this
was.
I'm the afternoon We went to the. Ten
tro Real and heard Sarsate. never
listened to anything half as beautiful as
the entire programme. and the audience
simply went Wild. literally wild, insane!
1t takes n Spanish audience to do that!
pn.tr.nster. and pn,,t.a