Show ft AA A ONA GRANDEES OF SPAIN CU curious C custom ol 01 head covering in the presence ol 01 royalty loyalty AI w our madrid correspondent writes under date april 8 3 tho the ceremony of head cowering cover coi ering ng was yesterday per formed by a number of spanish peera peers who thereby passed to the fank rink of grandees of spain the mony inhere blaff tin on account of its antiquity and its historical la Is like many spanish cu customs remarkable mark ablo for iks extreme simplicity the peers who yesterday took part in it were the count of cobra cabra the count of Plas onci cl the marquis of the marquis of malterie Malt Mal erit ferit the mar quis of at the count del real the marquis of hoyos the marquis do la ceala the count of 0 bilbao the marquis of vlana and the marquis of tovar who were each attended by a grandee as their sponsor when they had mado made three customary reverences to the throne the queen regent in the kings name bade them cover your beads heads and speak the speeches which followed justifying the right of each peer to the honor he be was receiving were for the most part interesting excursions into the past history of spain the first arst which was also the most brief that of the count of caora ceara may seve seive as an example senora if 1 nobl noblesse lal obliges mo me to receive the honor ot of covering my head in the presence presena oi of your majesty I 1 como boro hero obliged ta to tho merits and virtues of 0 my forefathers and with the desire at last to imitate them although to do so la in reality may unfortunately be im pos possibly blo I 1 am called deorlo gorbon dorbon ponce do loon leon carrillo Carrl llo do albornoz Albo moz hurtado de Mea blen doza fernandez do cordova gusman manrique Mau rique do laro larn silva kojas rojas alvarez dc do toledo and by other names as well so illustrious that were it possible to forget them one would have to forget with then them the history of spain piety heroic valor wisdom wisdom in all these my fir havo have offered examples for imitation and though it be not permitted to tie no to reach such heights except in admiration in my lova love and loyalty to my country and my king I 1 am worthy of them tho the other new now grandors grandees gran does were far more precise not to say discursive in relating the histories of their families and one the count of plasencia devoted almost the whole of bis his dig dis course to en an ancient grievance that philip 11 II handcut had cut off oft the head bond of ono of bin ancestors by mistake antunes un tunes to error condou times |