* * *

Spain is still sorrowing for the loss of her Prime Minister, Senor
Canovas.

This great statesman was buried with all the honors which his patriotism
merited. The public buildings were all draped in black, all business was
suspended in Madrid during the ceremonies, and all honor was paid to his
memory, the Queen Regent sending personal messages of sympathy to his
widow, and ordering the court to go into mourning for him for three
days.

Kings and princes cannot give expression to their feelings as private
individuals do; they have their public duties to perform, and therefore
no matter how sincere their grief they are not at liberty to shut
themselves away from the world and mourn their loss.

When a member of a royal family dies, the sovereign orders that a
certain number of days or weeks shall be observed as days of mourning.
During this time the whole court is dressed in black or the color that
is used as mourning in that special country. In France, purple used to
be the color of the court mourning; in China they use white. The
servants as well as the ladies and gentlemen of the sovereign's
household all wear the mourning color, and during the period set apart
for the days of mourning no dinners or festivities of any sort are
given, no persons are received or presented at the court, and the king
and court retire into private life.

As soon as the appointed time is passed, the mourning garments are laid
aside, and the gaieties are resumed as if nothing had happened to
interrupt them.

As a rule, a court only goes into mourning for a relative of the
sovereign or a member of the reigning family. It is most unusual for a
court to be ordered to mourn for a person who is not of the royal blood,
and that the Spanish court has been ordered to pay this mark of respect
to Senor Canovas shows the high esteem in which he was held.

The cowardly assassin who murdered the Prime Minister has suffered the
penalty of his infamous crime. He was tried, found guilty of his
dreadful deed, and put to death.

The Queen Regent has had to choose another Prime Minister in Canovas'
stead, and this has been a hard task for her. In Canovas she lost her
best friend and constant adviser, and his place was not easily filled.

On the death of Senor Canovas, General Azcarraga, by virtue of his
office of Minister of War, assumed the duties of the Prime Minister, and
it is upon him that the Queen's choice has fallen. G