The age-herald., 1901-02-15
PRINCESS WEEDS
 PRINCE CHARLES Brilliant Marriage Royal Pal
 ace of Spain CEREMONY WAS BEAUTIFUL Princess and New Prince of the As turias Will Occupy Apartments in the Palace-Will Not Take
 Wedding Journey.
CEREMONY WAS BEAUTIFUL

tDIQdIy lf-lH lllc Cndptl Ol the royal palace, in the presence of the royal family and all the arstocracy and officialdom of Spain, Dona Maria De Las Mercedes De Bourbon Y. Hapsburg, prin- cess of the Asturias was today welded to Prince Charles of Bourbon.
 At 1O:90 o'clock there assembled in the apartments of the Queen Regent Maria Christiana those forming the brides party consisting of her mother, the Queen Regent; her brother, the boy King Alfonso XIII; his sister, the lnfanta Maria Teresa; her aunts, the Infantas Isabella and Eulalie; her uncle, Arch duke Eugene of Asturia; her grand mother, Archduchess Elizabeth, with all the high retainers of the court, Indies in waiting, grandees of Spain and gentlemen in waiting.
 At the same hour, in like manner, there gathered in the apartments of the h. fanta Dona Isabella the persons compos- ing the party of the bridegroom. These were the parents of Prince Charles, the Count and Countess of Caserta, the Duke and Duchess of Calabria, his sisters, Dona Maria Immaculate, Dona Maria Pia and Dona Maria Josephine. and their train of ladies and gentlemen.
 Mass W Said.
 The bridegroom party emerged first and proceeded along the winding mas- sive granite corridors to the chapel, be- ing immediately followed by the bride s cortage from the Queen Regents apart ments. Their places were respectively on the right and left in front of the altar, but the bride and bridegroom stopped at the steps leading to the altar and there kneeled, thus remaining throughout the mass, which was said by Cardinal San cha, archbishop of Toledo, primate of Spain. Assisting were Cardinal Casa jares archbishop of Valladolid; Cardinal Herrera, archbishop of Santiago De Com postela, and Cardinal Casana, bishop ot Barcelona. Also attending were the bish- op of Madrid, the bishop chaplain of the Place de Sion, and several other prelates, church dignataries and cardinals, whose places were within what might be termed the presbytery. The mass celebrated was low mass, there being no singing, though the organ performed solemn sacred se- lections, including one written for the oc- casion by Zubicurre.
 As the bride and bridegroom knelt upon cushions touching the steps of the altar, white satin bordered veil, three yards long and a half yard wide, was spread over the head and shoulders of the groom, but leaving his head uncovered, while according to the Spanish custom, a white satin ribbon, called yoke, was tied about the neck to complete the knot being made between them, stgnifyinG their union.
 Old Custom Observed.
 After the mass the simple Catholic rit- ual of marriage was read, the ceremony not differing in any detail from that unit ing the most humble members of that faith except that the ritual was read from a specially printed book in Spanish. Wod- ding rings were exchanged by both par ties, these of course being of great value and unique workmanship.
 Another custom observed was that o1 giving coins to the bride by the bride groom These may be pennies or silver or gold coins, but they must always num- Der thirteen. Those employed today were thirteen gold coins, each weighing ar ounce and being the coinage bearing the bust of Felipe, the first Spanish Bourbon monarch. They were the Saine useo tt' the wedding of Queen Isabel H., tht grandmother of the bride.
 / After the conclusion of the simple we'd ding service the cardinal primate pro nounced a short discourse. exhorting the wife to love and obey her husband, and the husband to love and cherish his wife, adding: q give thee a companion not a slave"
 The cardinal also made reference tc the virtues of the ancestors of the bride and groom and pointed out the obilga' tions the prince and princess were under to give a good example to those in any inferior station of life, and then bestow' ed the papal and his own benediction.
 Arm in arm the newly-wedded couple arose and left the chapel, followed by single cortege, the two family parties merging into one, instead of leaving sep arately, as they had entered. They tra- versed the long corridors to the apart