THE BIG BLUE CAR.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 929, 23 September 1910, Page 9

THE BIG BLUE CAR.

In'speaking;of the visit paid by the King: and Queen of .'Spain- to England re--cently,: the "Manchester Guardian" says they could not. fly .fast enough to elude the pavement crowd that watches the shining track of royalty. . It was a'queer little crowd that spent most of the morning opposite the, gate of Marlborough House on the off-chanco of seeing the King and Queen come,'to lunch : with King George. There is always the nucleus of these crowds in .the people who habitually walk slowly past the royal gate.with the idea that somebody, royal may be going out or .in. ' If these determined sightseers notice that' there are one oi two extra-policemen about they stop and .watch' until, something happens. To-day they were' soon-reinforced by a score or so of: American women, whose scent for royalty is wonderful. Two of these personages' settled themselves comfortably on Sir hVancis Laking's doorstep and proceeded to ■ stare-solemnly by the hour through their rimless glasses at.;the green door:, opposite.-",'. More Americans-, were towed into -position, by- guides -who were including the King of Spain in the day's lions,, and there'was at,least one Frenchman, who looked like tho Frenchmen on' 'tho , pictorial backs of boulevard fiction. He had a monocle and a black.beard, a huge pahama and. yellow boots, but he wearied of .watching: the stream of taxis and inquired: the way (in perfect English)' to; the : Abbey. Towards oho o'clock the big doors: opened, and the watchers saw scarlet-coated-:flunkies' standing erect inside with an important air. The crowd hearer the' Americans left their doorsteps for a better place, while the policemen stood very upright: and barred ( the Way to the. Cabs. .' And: then a big railway van rumbled inside. This was galling, especially; as the real: arrival was so much inferior as a. spectacle.. A* big, silent, blue car camo round the corner of St. Jameses Street, and it was inside the grounds before, many people knew that the King and Queen of "Spain were inside it. And then plain-clothes detectives who had been searching the crowd for Anarchists went away to lunch, and those of the crowd who had any lunch to go to did the same. Sonic of the Americans stayed to see King Alfonso and the Queen startoff for Southampton an hour or so later.