First came the Gentlemen-in-Waiting, _de casa y boca_ (of the house and the mouth), their gold or silver keys signifying the respective offices of attendance; then came four mace-bearers, grandees of Spain, the men-at-arms with the royal arms, all the Infantes and Infantas in full Court dress, with their ladies and gentlemen in attendance; the seven gentlemen of the Chamber--the Marquis of Salamanca, the Dukes of Almenara and Valencia, Count Villanueva de Perales, the Marquis of Sotomayor, the Marquis of Benamejis de Sistallo, and the Count of Superunda--all passed in gorgeous dress and with stately step, bearing respectively the salt, cut lemon, cruse of oil, piece of cotton-wool, the cake, the white cape, and the water of Jordan, which all had their part to play in the baptismal service. The royal infant itself was carried between Isabel II., who was godmother, and the Pope’s Nuncio, who represented His Holiness as godfather. Then followed the proud young father, accompanied by his military suite, and the procession ended with the band of the halberdiers, playing a cheerful march from an opera. By the wish of the Queen, the infant Princess was named, after her predecessor, Mercedes. [Illustration: DON CARLOS, PRINCE OF ASTURIAS, AND HIS LATE WIFE, THE INFANTA MERCEDES] It was in 1882 the King and Queen paid a visit to the Duke and Duchess of Montpensier at their beautiful Palace of Sanlucar de Barrameda, and the Queen won the hearts of her host and hostess by her charming manners and the admiration with which she always spoke of their daughter, the late wife of Alfonso. On November 12, 1882, the Infanta Maria Teresa was born, and two days later she was baptized with the customary ceremony. On April 2, 1883, the King’s sister, Doña de la Paz, was married very quietly to Prince Lewis Ferdinand of Bavaria. The Prince is a very able surgeon, and when he comes to Madrid he delights in going to the military hospital and exhibiting his scientific skill on some soldier-patient. The newly wedded pair laid the foundation-stone of the Cathedral of the Almudena, and, according to the custom, the Princess de la Paz placed in the casket a poem from her own pen to the Virgin of the Almudena. The departure of the Infanta de la Paz left the Infanta Eulalia with no companion in her musical and artistic tastes, for the sisters had worked, played, painted, and poetized, together. In September, 1883, Alfonso XII. went to France and Germany. True to his old friends, the King went to see the Warden of the Teresian College at his private house. As he was not at home, Alfonso asked for a pencil and paper to write him a note, which he handed to the servant. When she saw that the letter ran, “I came to pay a debt of gratitude by coming to see you. I shall be going to the Teresian College in two hours. ALFONSO, King of Spain”