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26 April 1876 — Madrid | |
Wednesday. 26th April [1876]. Henry had to go off to the Prince &c I went in the morning at 11.30 to see the Infanta to ask her in due form to come & dine with us on Friday as the King had sent no word he wished to dine. The Infanta kept me talking a long time abt every kind of thing & then she spoke of society & how sorry she was that it had been so unpleasant for us & explained that it was not that people would not come to us but that they did not like meeting their political enemies. I said I well understand this but that for all that—a feeling of loyalty forbid one to cast off ones friends & those who had been kind & civil to one only because they had fallen from power– The Pss said she quite understood that & we both knew (altho no name was mentioned) that by that the Serranos were meant. Coming out of her appartments I met Bauer who had followed me from our house to see if he cd help us. I took him home & we went into the state rooms to see how things were getting on. At 2 we went to Canovas’ (the Presidencia) to see the Review. It was a very hot day. Henry left me & went to the Serranos to speak again abt the arrangements abt their coming to us on Friday & all was settled. Henry said it was agreed with Canovas that the Serranos shd do as they did at the Palace. When the King & HRH had reviewed the troops in the Prado they came & took up their place opposite the Presidencia in front of San José to see the defilé. We stayed abt ½ hour & then rushed home to write invitations for the ball. Greindl & Hatzfeldt came to tea & Emilia & D. Juan came to help. We went to the banquet given at the Palace. I sat next the King & had P. Louis of Battenberg next me—next to him Mme Alcañices & then Henry. The King had Mme Calderon Collantes on his left. She is the wife of the Min: for F. Affairs. opposite sat the Infanta between the P. of Wales & P. Arthur. We were 96 at table. The King was very jolly & talked all the time. He told me he meant to arrange the Palace & fit it up comfortably– As yet he had only done the stables—but it cd not be done all at once. He said he was doing what had never been done in the Palace before—paying for everything as he bought it & that therefore everything I saw before me was already paid. He talked abt England & his life there– How in his small house at Sandhurst he only had 3 rooms. That he only had a cook & a housekeeper & one manservant—that he had two names for him—John & James—that when he called “John” the man came in in indoor get up & when he called “James” he put on his hat to go out with the carriage. After dinner the P. of Wales spoke to me for the 1st time since his arrival & I was presented to P. Arthur. Henry was just going to present to HRH all the Corps Dip: when by some mistake of Alcañices the King carried off HRH to smoke thereby making the Dips: furious. There was then a reception & a great number of people came. Serrano had dined & the Dss came in the eveng but she was not in a very good humour & when Sir J. Walsham went from Henry to beg her to stand somewhere where he could present her to HRH she asked why he could not go to her. I later had to present several ladies to him but the heat was so great & I was so exhausted we retired abt 12 o’cl: HRH was very civil to Bernadine Aylton whom he had seen last night in the Phipps’ box at the Zarzuela & he horrified everybody by offering her his arm & taking her to tea. Here it is not the custom for royalty to offer their arms. When the Prince offered his arm to the Infanta going to dinner she drew back & would not take it. | |
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