The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-13
GREAT PAGEANIS N sF AIN
 IN BROWNING HE BOY KING
At Coronation It Will Be Shown That Ancient. .Srleu dor of Spain is Not YttsNpmbcred
 in thefP&t

ib isscektain that she viii be ecclaiy94 svocfferou91y in the streets or tne to4 44 capital during the progress of s
 ce6sfon to and from the. Cathedr41. kN' tho Queen has at last won the heq{ of the Sp4niardss who were at nrSt Wc sclined to look upon her with tho dxgtfu which ail southern people have Tor Ne I Aparts from the paseants and spec&e- scfe9 immediately connected with the e<xs se3tonieSs the young Kfng's guests MI prepared for them. Madrid itself NH s3fve itse1f oyer to joyous festivity Cor over a week. Banquet will follow n44- duet and ceremony follow ceremony- Qp the afternoon of the 17th all the gue1fo will be driven to the site of the nAH
 monument in memory of Alfonso xk.s where the boy King will lay the corn9r~ stone, Later; Lat E., all the gass notablss ,ss VIII E bull fight will take place. The bull hgnfe are to be conducted by the most famouH company of toreadors and matadors ana the bulls are to be of the pureSt bree4- The famous Plaza de Toros. in the cor- ter of Madrid. will on this occasion cor tain the largest and most brilliant crowd that will ever have witnessed the u4- tional sport.
 There will be excursions under royal auspices to the various outlying palaces with which the house of Bourbon han eyer been so pientifuiiy endowed ope of these is the beautiful palace of Ara1,- juez, about forty miles to the south ok the capital. The palace Is built on tho banks of the Tagus and is surrounded by a ma agnihcenf forest in which shoot ing excursions will be arranged for tho benefit and edification of tine visitorS. Similar visits will be paid to another of the royal palaces at EI Pardo, which ts only seven miles from Madrid and where the Duke of tonnaught has elected ito stay during the entire visit of the Brit- lsh delegation. Here. too, hunting par- ties are to be arranged
 fa frtI wi ttf palace at La Granja, known as San Ildefonso. will be utilized. It was hero that King Alfonzo died few months before his son. his boy King. was born The Queen mother Is said to have achiey ed strong aversion to the place ever since the death of the King though tt was their favorite residence before that sad event occurred. She has never euf- cred 1t since that time. 1t is, however, the most magnificent of all the royal houses In Spain and those who have seen its fine fountains say that the piace yies in spiendor with the famous French palaces Of Versailles.
 Will Alfonso make good KinG7 Wifl he be strong enough to combat tho that harass Spain and with 1t the Kingr' Will he be a master or merely titt1iars sovereign? Win he be able to cope with the intrigue that has paralyzed the ac-' tivitles of his country for many years In short. will he be King in fact as well as in name? These are questions which are uppermost in the minds not only of Spaniards but of responsible statesmen throughout Europe. Some affect to have discovered in him the weaknesses of his father. who was not strong enough to fight the royal battle. Others. and among them are some of the shrewdest men in Spain. feel certain that he Wlii do what he will swear to do on March 17. namely, to uphold the honor os Spain rifice his life for the service and pro- lection of his country and his people. and that nothing will cause him to swerve from the path of duty.
 dications of the possession of q remark able will and a concentration of thought that bode i'll to those who propose to obstruct him. The boy knows what he mulae of youthful diplomacy to attain bis ends. He is short in speech, abrupt fn manner and most masterful in tone. Whether this is merely the obstinacy Of weakness remains to be seen. He knows every language of Europe. reading speaking and writing them with fuency He is quick to learn and has a sperial has been assigned to him during the past two years. because he has inyariabiy outstripped his masters, draining their pected him to have absorbed half they thought he would know. He thinks the Cuban war a mistake: that 1t should never have been entered into He has his own ideas on the management of hts army and will. no doubt. make an atr tempt at a clean sweep of the existing state of aaffirs as soon as he is olN enough or when he finds himself firmly
 Then will come the real test of king ship. the struggle between inalieulbie custom and modernity the tug of var between the sovereign and his prcud. never-changing srandees. whatever the result may be a sympathetic world ..sn- not help pitying the boy king