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7 March 1870 — Madrid | |
Monday. 7th [March 1870]. Being tired I did not get up to breakfast. At 12 I went in the landau to the Hotel de Principes & fetched Lady Ely & then we went to [the] Palace where Henry met us & we & one or two others were shown over the Palace all the Queen’s private apartments where was her bureau & in the bed rooms reliques & pictures of saints &c– We also saw all the large rooms one of wh the Throne Room is very fine & a room near it with the walls covered with old embroidered satin & the ceiling festooned with flowers of buen Retiro China also one room entirely covered with Buen Retiro walls ceiling & all. But the whole [of] the furniture is of a bad date & the inside far inferior in every way to the out side. We took Lady Ely home & then came home to luncheon. Afterwards Henry & I went out for a walk but before going Venturita came with her governess to see me & wanted to go out driving with me, but I told her to come tomorrow instead. Henry & I took a walk together. We went to call on the Ayltons but did not find them but met them a few steps on in the street. We walked up the Jacometrezo to Montera where I saw a paste diamond locket in a window & round by the Puerta del Sol—Calle Arenal—home– This evening we had Genl. Prim & Contess de Reus—Adl: Topete, Lady Ely, the French Amb. (Mercier) Vizconte del Cerro, & the Prussian Minister & Mme Canitz to dinner. I never saw Prim more cheerful. Topete drew him out & they chaffed & tweaked each other. Mercier asked Prim if a story he had heard abt Prim having shot a robber were true– He said, “no not quite” & said “This is what happened. I was going one night in a diligence with several other travellers on the high road to Madrid, when we were stopped by robbers & made all to descend & lie in the road. I being cross & sleepy refused—when a man with his face hidden by some kind of mask held a poniard to my breast & had me descend—so I did—he then ordered me to lie flat-down. I refused at which [he] held the poniard to my throat again & I was obliged to obey. When they had robbed us they departed & we went on our way to Madrid. Two years afterwards I wanted to complete 2 regiments of Chasseurs & of Guards & I gave orders to get men to enlist—(We were at the time in the neighbourhood where we had been robbed)—this was done & on a certain day the men were brought before me for examination. I went the round till I came to the last man in the file who was standing with his musket, erect– It suddenly flashed across me—“I know that man.” I went up & said to him I know you– “Me? Col.?” (I was then a colonel) “Yes you—& you know me”– I then gave orders he should be brought to me privately. When I had him alone in a room with me I told him that I recognized him I said “Two years ago a diligence was stopped on such & such a road– A man was made to lie down by a man with a poignard– That man was I– The man with the poniard was you”– He turned slightly pale but denied it stoutly– I told him I would give him so many minutes by my watch by which time if he had not confessed I would have him shot– I went out & called a Captain & told him if I called him in & told him to arrest the man and take him down to the river to be shot, he was to obey but not to shoot him—and it was just possible I might have made a mistake after all—as I had not seen his face that night– When the time was up & the man still refused to confess I called the captain saying “take this man to the river & shoot him”– The moment the man felt the touch of the Captain on his shoulder he trembled, turned pale—& confessed– I bade him tell who his confederates were– Two had enlisted in the same regiment & others were in different parts—there were 6 besides him– We caught them all gave them up to Justice & they all had the usual term of punishment”– After dinner a good many people—the Hunts—Figueras—Bedmars &c &c but Prim did not stay very late as he was obliged to go to the Cortes. However we were amused to see him & Bedmar (great political extremes) in deep confab– There were also several newspaper editors & they were all very happy together– Miss Figuera & Mr Montgomery played & Mrs Hunt sang magnificently & every one stayed very late. At dinner Mercier also asked Prim why he had called the Duke of Montpensier on Saturday in the Cortes “Don Alfonso de Bourbon”. He said that it had been quite a slip of the tongue & so he had taken care to correct the speech before going to the press– | |
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