South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1918-01-26

ana commented upon
la Granja Revived.
But the present king had from the
| first time he had been taken 70 the
/ lovely palace. hidden among the
roses and orange trees which are the
glory OF its gardens, evinced a sin
gular liking for the place, and his
young wife had shared his tastes in
! that respect, so that the couple ac-
quired the habit of spending part Of
the summer at La Granja. Queen
| Ena had the private apartments of
| the palace transformed into a real
English home without. however, de-
strOying its original character. She
| liked tine grounds with their mar
velous fountains, one that goes by
| the name Of Baths of Diana" had
been erected by King Philip V, in
| imitation of Versailles. at an i'm
mense cost; he is reported TO have
said that 1T had cost him three
millions. and had amused him three
minutes" But he cared more for
La Granja than he owned, and it
| became the scene of one of the
most important events in his life. his
abdication in 1924 in favor of his
son, Luis.
1t was also at La Granja, that sew
eral treaties of supreme Importance
! in Spanish history were signed
those of 1777, 177S, 1896 and 1900,
and il was also there that Ferdinand
WI promulgated the famous decree
xrrh fRh Do l..
Sanction" and which abolished the
Salic law introduced by the dynasty
of Bourbon in Span. and allowed his
daughter Isabella. the grandmother
of the present king. to ascend the
throne. 1t will be seen from these
remarks that La Granja, apart from
| its loneliness. has historical assOcia-
tions connected with it, which add
10 the regret the king and queen
I must feel endeared TO them by so
many entrances. Several of
their children, too. had been born
there.
The Art Collection.
! Ii is 10 be hoped that the splendid
collection of pictures. which was to
\ be seen in the state departments of
the castle, has been saved from the
fury of the flames AS for the sculp-
ture that once had been assembled
there. it was taken TO the Musea del
| Prado in 1886, and some facsimiles
! in plaster put in their stead in the
vast halls and corridors where they
stood. Thus they have escaped the
conflagration, which outside of the
! palace itself. is said to have wreck
ed the church which was built in
the French style of the 18th century
| by Philip V in 1924, and where he
was buried together with his sec
ond wife, Elisabeth Farnese. the
ambitious woman who ruled Spain
more than he did together with her
favorite, the famous Cardinal Alder
oni.
1t was really this king who was
the creator of la Granja. which be-
fore hi mhad merely been a royal
shooting box and tradition says that
when he started on the construction
of this splendid residence. at a time
when the public exchequer was al
most empty. he had declared that
/ he would make out Of it something
far more beautiful than Versailles,
which his grandfather. Louis XIV,
| had just completed. He copied
however. the gardens Of this French
home of his race. but in a more
magnificent style. and despite the
tasteless ornamentation which de
tracts from their loneliness the sc
| fountains which beside artificial
| lakes and waterfalls. are TO be
| found scattered all over the park
are probably the finest in the world
These, OF course, have been saved
| from the destruction that has over
taken the palace itself, and proba bly,
King Alfonso will try TO build there
another residence. But. of course
it will never be the same, nor have
/ the same sweet associations for him
as Well as for his young queen, who
I has never felt quite at home i'm the
splendor of her apartments in
Madrid. where everything is so
gloomy that il must weigh on the
/ brightest of spirits; and where be-
sides, the pretty English princess is
more or less oVerawed by the pres
ence Of her mother-in-law, Queen
Marie Christine. whose rigid prin-
ciples and severity cannot add to the
enjoyment OF a lively, charming and
merry creature like the consort of
( Alfonso XIII is reported 10 be. The
legend of the mother-in-law holds
good in a palace as we'll as in the
poorest of homes, and is sometimes
1 even more oppressive in the former
place than in the latter. where peo-
/ pie are too busy 10 find time TO an
noy one another.