. Their majesties as I knew them; personal reminiscences of the kings and queens of Europe . pressive authority that emanatedfrom his whole person! He found the right wordfor everybody, was careful of the least shades ofetiquette, moved, talked and smiled amid the gold-laced uniforms with a sovereign ease, showing fromthe first that he knew better than anybody how toplay his part as a king. There is one action, very simple in appearancCj^but in reality more difficult than one would think,by which we can judge a sovereigns bearing in aforeign country. This is his manner of saluting thecolours.
. Their majesties as I knew them; personal reminiscences of the kings and queens of Europe . pressive authority that emanatedfrom his whole person! He found the right wordfor everybody, was careful of the least shades ofetiquette, moved, talked and smiled amid the gold-laced uniforms with a sovereign ease, showing fromthe first that he knew better than anybody how toplay his part as a king. There is one action, very simple in appearancCj^but in reality more difficult than one would think,by which we can judge a sovereigns bearing in aforeign country. This is his manner of saluting thecolours. Some, as they pass before the standardsurrounded by its guard of honour, content them-selves with raising their hand to their cap or helmet;others stop and bow; others, lastly, make a wide andstudied gesture which betrays a certain, almost the-atrical affectation. Alfonso XIIIs salute is likenone of these: in its miHtary stiffness, it is at oncesimple and grave, marked by supreme elegance andprofoimd deference. On the platform of the Or-leans railway-station, opposite the motionless bat-. KING ALFONSO XIII 47 talion, in the presence of a number of officers andcivil functionaries, this salute which so visibly paida dehcate homage to the army and the country, thegraceful and respectful salute moved and flatteredus more than any number of boasts and , when, at last, I went home, after witnessingthe young Kings arrival in the capital and noticingthe impression which he had made on the govern-ment and the people, I recalled the old Spanishdiplomatists remark: The King would charm the bird from the tree! 2. I saw little of King Alfonso during his first stayin Paris. The protection of sovereigns who are theofficial guests of the government did not come withinthe scope of my duties. I therefore left him at thestation and was not to resume my place in his suiteimtil the moment of his departure. The anarchistrevolutionary gentry appeared to be unaware of thisdetail, for I dai
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