Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-12

j De vcxy uy1u8 TO her English spirit. No
there 30 much etiquette: nowhere 10 It'll
/ liberty Of action. The queen-mothar ha
already Withdrawn to quarters In tn,
farther end Of the palace. which 10 9
monsfrous building. and one of tho fines
IN Europe. 80 as to leave the young coupi.
| lree 10 occupy the royal apartments, which
have been newly furnished for the bride.
| Her nrst experience WILL OF course b.
| In the midst Of excitement, and for a weet
| every moment OF her time viii be occupied
| Dy the wedding ceremonials. Her first pub.
nc appearance after the wedding viii be al
| lne grand banquet given to the Diplomatic
| corps On the evening OF the wedding She
| VIII preside at a dinner of 100 persons In
the finest state dining room in Europe
unese panquets, like everything else about
me palace at Madrid. are conducted after
| tne most rigid rules. They have been the
| same Tor century or more and a descrip-
ton OF one will answer for another except
so far as the list OF the guests is concerned
James Russell Lowell, who went through
the formalities attending the marriage
OF Alfonso XII. gave a most charming ac-
| counl OF MS experience In an official dis
patcn 10 the Department of State.
There is bit OF humor in his description
OF the banquet He says: THE same even
ing Sunday the king entertained the
at dinner and this was followed by a recep-
aon. A dinner where one is planted be-
tween two entire strangers, and is expected
70 De entertaining in an alien tongue. will.
another world"
a Dinner at the Palace.
excepting Vienna, perhaps, there is no
court SO hedged about with formalities and
81 gwen 70 ceremonies as that Of Spain,
anu every one who has had tho honor to
oine at the palace will appreciate Mr..
Ao"eiis predicament. The arrangements
are dinerent from those at any other court
or In any other country When the guests
arrive under the archway at the foot of
, Ine grand staircase they pass between
me OF guardss each resting upon an an
Cient spear and when ambassadors min
listers and other guests of great distinction
pass the guards strike the handles of
these spears upon the steps as salute.
An ambassador. being the representative
OF MS sovereign gets three blows the prime
minister the same number; ordinary minis
ters one and two.
The coachmen and footmen from the
royal stables are brought in to serve as
putlers and ushers, and by long training
do perfect work. The cloak room and the
dining room swarm with servants-one for
every two guests. In the cloak room each
lady and gentleman is handed n diagram
or the table. The guests assemble in what
Is known as the Camara de Girardini the
room with porcelain walls and ceiling, from
which they are conducted into the salon
des ambassadors, where the king receives
them. They are not paired off for the
table, each gentleman with a LADY, as Is
customary elsewhere but a gentleman may
offer his arm to any lady he likes and con-
duct her TO the dining room. 1t is quite
distance and two professions are formed
The queen leads off alone unless the papal
nunclo, who is always given preference
over every other guest, Is polite enough to
oner her his arm. No one else has the
right TO do so. The ambassador of high
est rank follows and sits at the left of the
queen. His wife Is usually escorted to the
table by the king and is seated upon his
right while the master of ceremonies es-
corts the wife of the ambassador of second
rank and seats her at her left. The rest
of the party follow, pell-mell. Those who
sit on the queens side of the table go by
one corridor, and those on the kings side
follow him through another series of rooms
in order to avoid confusion. By looking at
the seat card each guest is able to tell on
which side of the table he belongs.
Always the Same Dinner.
The same dinner is always given. There
is never any variation. It Is served in
twelve courses, with eight kinds of wines,
in fifty-fve minutes which, you must real
ize. requires considerable haste and the reg
ularity of clock work. There Is a waiter to
every two guests and they are constantly
moving. In addition to the regular walters
there are twelve buffers who do nothing
but serve wine, and every glass is filled
once. To refill a glass would delay the
dinner and break the combination, and at
the proper time the plates are removed no
| ma tier whether a guest has finished eating
or not. Veteran members of the diplomatic
corps who have eaten dozens OF dinners
at the palace declare that they have never
seen such perfect service elsewhere so
much formality.
At the end of the dinner the queen gives
a signal, at which the king rises from
his chair, offers his arm to the wife of the
senior ambassador and leads the way back
to the reception chamber, while the papal
nuncio escorts the queen by another route.
The ladies are left in the drawing room
chatting. while the gentlemen retire to the
smoking room for about half an hour.
When the time Is up the master of cere-
monies gives signal to the king, who
rises and leads the way back to the ladies.
There ne makes himself agreeable to those
whom he Is pleased to honor, and half an
hour later at a certain signal, he bows
goodnight and retires The host, being a
king closes the entertainment. No one
can leave the room until he retires After
| ward the guests can stay as long as they
like, but they usually take their departure
| leisurely.
Everybody who has the pleasure of at
tending these functions testifes to the tact,
the grace and affability of the queen
mother. She never failed to address direct
ly every lady In the party. These are the
only entertainments that have been given
in the Spanish palace since the death of
Alfonso XII, with the exception of two
balls when the two fnfantaS came out
and at the recent coronation.