New-York tribune., 1910-12-18
Literary .Neta,S and Criticism

girl was So violently affected that the
prior. whose duty it was to admit her
to the vault. found il difficult to recover
her and convey her back to the light OF
day.
Ruthless eXactions on the part of the
court under the reign of the queen
favorite G0doy. went on without consid-
Grafton for the ailing country embroiled
with France. Lady Holland gives these
details communicated to her in 1854:
The carriers and muleteers forced into the
royal service in the last journey TO BadaJoZ
are not Yet paid for their labor ana loss OF
mules and We miserable peasants were
robbed Of their poultry. corn, fodder, ETC
and forced to quit their harvest work 70
mend We roads. Olive trees, it is poSltlEelE
asserted. were cut down in some places Tor
fuel because other wood could be op-
| tanned All the abuses of former purEeE-
ance for the senor SubsiSt at TINS Gay
Houses, castles and provisions are ilaple
! to be seized for the use of the court anu
the most petty officer belonging to 1t, at me
| price which they choose TO fN. ana tiiS
| price not paid till the miserable creolIot c..
! has lost double in hanging about lf!e court
| TO solicit payment The king loufheH,
even 10 the sitiOs. is regularly preceded
! 10y embargo upon mules. and the same
method is taken 10 procure mules Whei-
ever they are wanted for any other purpose,
and We hire instead of being regulated by
similar tax is fixed on houses at We sif'os
and Madrid or wherever the King moves
with his court, and it is sufft that a mouse
| is empty to force the proprietor TO let
| il to the person who gets order to
t that purpose from ye goNernt-
Don Miguel Cayetano Soler, the Min
| lister of Finance, credited at one time
With being i reformer. was later said TO
retain his place because he had no
| scrupIes how he obtained money for the
| royal Golfers. Our diaTist quotes TINS
| ingenious story concerning him: about
a year since the parish of st. Martin
| applied to Governt. for permission to
repair and decorate their parish church.
They We're asked how they expected to
| provide funds for SO expensive work
| as they proposed to undertake: they in
| cautiously answered that besides expect
| ing aid from the charity of the plouS
| they had provided sum of 100000 reals
to begin with. Soler praised their fore
sight, and that very evening sent an
order for the money. saying that his
majesty had resolved to take the repairs
Of their church into his own hands
Charles " outdid most of the other
Bourbons in stupidity and ignorance
and that is saying much Lady Hol-
land tells us that in 1903 he knew SO
| little Of the history Of his own time
| that he had not become aware Of the
| independence of America, and continued
| to call the Minister of the United States
! "Fl Ministro de las COlonias." being per-
| fectly satisfied that the former colonies
still belonged to the English. The etl-
ouette OF his court was primitive as
! were his own brains. When the cup
from which his majesty was to drink
| WAS carried through the corridors OF
| the palace every person by whom 1t
! passed was expected to take off his hat
| 4 man in the Escoriai, being somewhat
in advance of his generation, declined
| to remove his head covering, Whereupon
the bearer of the august beaker threw
| it down, exclaiming, 'COpa profanada.
/ and thu recalcitrant byStander was i'm
nrisoned for his insult" one Of the
tasks Of the twelve gCntlemen-in-Wait-
| ing was TO scratch the back Of the King
when his majesty was in bed at night.
Death did not release these attendants
upon a Spanish king Of that period; until