there is a striking contrast between the two princes. the prince of asturias is absolutely fair with flaxen hair, while don jaime is as dark as a typical spaniard. even at the age of two, his hair is dark and his eyes are as lustrously brown as his father’s.
all three of the children are learning to speak english, spanish and french, with equal fluency. they have between them two english nursery governesses and one french maid in addition to a usual number of spanish maids and other servants. their mother, the queen, was brought up familiar with french and german, in addition to her own english, while king alfonso was taught english, french and german from his boyhood. it is expected that a modern king be able to talk and think in two or three languages, but it is exceptional to find a crown prince of three who can already express himself in three tongues.
when speaking to his mother, the queen, the little prince invariably uses english, but with his father, the king, he uses spanish. he seems to know instinctively one tongue from the other. if he is handed something—for example, a box—he{87} will take it and pronounce the word in english and spanish and sometimes in french also. in that way he seems to instinctively teach himself the three languages simultaneously.
the two princes are naturally constant playmates. in the casa de campo where they are taken every morning at half-past ten they play in the sand together and stand up their little toy soldiers. as i had the privilege of playing here with them one morning i shall have more to say of this later. the crown prince usually refers to his brother as “my brother, the infante,” never as don jaime or jaime, although occasionally he lapses into english and calls him “jimmy.”
the princes are very fond of each other, but like all children they have their quarrels now and again. the crown prince has a good deal of a will of his own and sometimes his nurses find him something more than a handful. one morning he rushed up to the royal governess and said: “my brother the infante has been very naughty, very naughty, so i kicked him and he cried. but now he is no longer naughty so i shall run and kiss him,” whereupon he rushed off to the playroom in the chalet where he found don jaime and tenderly kissed him.
don jaime has one of the sweetest baby faces i have ever seen. he has inherited his father’s soft, beautiful eyes and winning smile. his nature is said to be as lovely as his smile. he is a great favourite in the royal household and already is{88} manifesting unusual signs of keenness and intelligence.
curiously enough, the newspapers of europe including england, and also of america, have from time to time printed stories to the effect that these two princes are deaf and dumb and otherwise defective. these rumours are all baseless slanders. the king’s secretary has been put to great trouble writing to inform people all over the world that there is no truth in these stories. on one occasion the prime minister found it necessary to issue a public signed statement to the effect that he had personally talked with the princes and that he knew them to be mentally and physically fit and normal. as a matter of fact, i found them both unusually sturdy boys with exceptional intelligence for their years.
in this connection i had a striking experience of the way these stories are circulated. the second or third day after i arrived in madrid the head porter at my hotel said to me: “so you are the american physician?”
“what american physician?” i asked in surprise.
“the doctor who has been brought from new york to attend the crown prince.”
“no,” i replied, “i am not a doctor. how did you come to think that i was?”
he thereupon explained that shortly after my arrival in madrid the king’s private secretary had called for me at my hotel and that directly after i{89} had been seen entering the royal palace. this aroused some curiosity among the hotel people and finally someone concluded that as i wore a van-dyke beard i must be a physician, and as i had gone to the palace i had undoubtedly gone to examine the princes who were said to be deaf and dumb! this absurd tale circulated about the capital and as it went from mouth to mouth details were added, and that which at first was characterised as probable and circumstantial became absolutely definite.
it is really cruel to spread such nonsensical stories about two such bright boys as the prince of asturias and don jaime.
both the prince of asturias and don jaime are devoted to horses and all the trappings of the stables. they are also very fond of cats. there is one big nursery cat which is an especial favourite. so far they have not taken much interest in dogs, and in fact there isn’t even one dog about the royal palace in madrid. formerly the king had many dogs, but now very few and these are kept in the country. the queen had a dog which was presented to her by her uncle, the late king edward of england, but one day at la granja the dog strayed away—as the best of dogs sometimes will, even when their masters are sovereigns and their abode a royal palace.
the palace of the alcazar in seville is a favourite residence with the princess just as it is with the queen. the gardens of this old moorish pal{90}ace are very delightful and here the royal children love to play just as their father did when he was a boy. down one of the walks is a series of tiny holes. ordinarily no one would even see them. it was a favourite prank of the little don alfonso to send some unsuspecting person along this walk while he loitered in the rear; suddenly he would turn a hidden wheel and instantly a fine stream of water would shoot up through each of these squirt holes, to the astonishment and oftentimes consternation of the victim of the royal joke.
there is a maze of boxwood in these gardens which affords the children endless amusement. a stranger once entering this maze gets completely entangled and bewildered. it takes even an adult some time to discover the path leading out. here, too, are several small ponds stocked with gold fish and every day the princes visit the ponds to feed the fish.
the prince of asturias is especially fond of playing in sand, and on his third birthday the queen bought for him a set of sand pails and little shovels which pleased him tremendously.
one day i was in the nursery playroom at the alcazar and i took occasion to examine the toys of the royal children. what was my surprise to find a great assortment of little tin mechanical toys such as one sees exhibited all along fourteenth street or twenty-third street—toys that cost about ten cents each. the things that are wound up with a
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the court of the virgins at seville.
{91}
key and then rush about in circles. there were boxing men, and little go-carts drawn by monkeys and donkeys and a great assortment of similar devices.
of course, they have many grand toys, gifts from sovereigns, potentates and ambassadors, but so far neither of the princes has exhibited any particular predilection for these expensive toys. the simple ten-cent things afford them as much pleasure as anything.
the favourite toy of the crown prince for a long time was a doll dressed as a soldier. the one positive passion that this little fellow has as yet revealed is soldiering. to most children, soldiering is the most fascinating thing in the world. but to the prince of asturias, soldiers are almost an obsession. the sound of bugles and drums excites him tremendously and he never wearies of watching troops at drill or on parade. the guard mount at the royal palace in madrid takes place every morning at eleven o’clock, and is considerable of a ceremony, many troops being employed and representing several branches of the army—infantry, cavalry and field artillery, while two bands are constantly playing. the prince’s room in the palace looks out upon the esplanade where this takes place, and never a day does he fail to watch this when he is in the palace. this is another trait inherited from his father.
another remarkable evidence of more than ordinary brightness in the prince of asturias in his{92} familiarity with the different uniforms. he knows them all and rarely makes an error. even from his window looking down into the street, he can distinguish an artillery uniform from the infantry,—a lancer from a halberdier.
queen victoria eugenie is one of the most devoted of mothers. as it has been the policy in spain for queens-consort to hold aloof from politics, she has been able to devote more of her time than would ordinarily be the case to her children, without at the same time neglecting other duties of queenship.
she is devoted to each of them alike, with a possible special fondness for the infanta beatrice. but the infanta is only one year old and as she is the baby as well as the one daughter, this slight preference is understandable.
the princes get up every morning at half-past seven. after their bath they repair at once to the queen’s room and remain for an hour or more. thus is every day started.
every bright morning when the royal family is in residence at madrid all three children are taken to the casa de campo to play, at half-past ten. when they tire of their play they drive a little, and the prince of asturias takes his morning ride on his pony “belaye,” and then they go to the pretty little chalet which has been built for them in the park and enjoy a nap before luncheon. the prince is keen to hear stories—especially sto{93}ries about soldiers. they must be invented stories, however, and each morning the governess or one of the nurses is implored to tell a story. generally he drops off to sleep before the story is finished, which is what he likes. at bedtime the queen generally tells him a story until he falls asleep.
one monday morning in one of the rooms of the private apartments in the royal palace at madrid i noticed a suspended sheet. there were a group of chairs in front and obviously the sheet had been used as a screen for lantern pictures. upon inquiry i was told that every sunday evening the king and queen and all the royal family dine together informally—en famille as it were—and after the meal they all adjourn to the adjoining room for a biograph exhibition. these sunday evening suppers and entertainments constitute one of the most charming features of the spanish court life.
the children of the spanish royal family are especially fortunate in having parents who are above all things human—vibrant with youth, indulgent with the pranks and pleasantries of childhood. it is not so long since king alfonso himself was a mischievous lad, and queen victoria eugenie a capricious girl. according to all reports, the boy alfonso was quite as full of spirit and mischief as the average small boy anywhere in the world.
king alfonso even now has not outgrown this{94} love for fun. the first shrove tuesday that queen victoria was in spain she was made the victim of a joke by her royal spouse and his sister, the infanta maria teresa. as her majesty was passing through one of the corridors of the palace the king and the infanta suddenly sprang out upon her, disguised behind masks, giving her a considerable start. this is the survival of an ancient custom in spain peculiar to this particular day. this boyishness is constantly cropping out, often to the amusement of the court. there can be no doubt that when the little princes are old enough to indulge in practical jokes that they will find their royal father and mother the most sympathetic of parents.
i had seen the royal children a good many times during my stay in spain, but i had had no opportunity for close observation of them. i wanted to see them at play, and to take some snap-shots of them with my own camera. none of my friends at court quite knew how to obtain this privilege for me. the request was without precedent, as the princes have not yet reached the age of holding audiences. so i spoke to his majesty the king about it. i broached the matter delicately, but without the slightest hesitation the king replied: “most certainly you may meet them. in the palace if you like, but they are so little i am afraid they would be shy and quiet. the best thing would be for you to go to the casa de campo one morning and play with them. there you may also{95} have your camera and take as many snap-shots as you like. and if the pictures are good,” he continued, “you will let me show them to her majesty the queen who is always much interested in all photographs of the princes.{96}”
