The New Hampshire Gazette And General Advertiser

March 6. A Correspondent who has read remarks concerning the ridiculous and often fatal result of an adherence to etiquette, begs leave to remark, that there could not have been produced a stronger proof than the case of the Queen of Spain, whose fondness for riding on horseback is well known. In the moment she had mounted, for a trial, a spirited Andalusian courser, he curveted and overthrew his rider. The foot of the Queen became hitched in the stirrup; she was dragged along the ground; and no person dared to assist. A rigorous etiquette forbade the freedom; because it is death to touch the foot of a Queen of Spain. The King, who saw the disaster from a balcony, wrung his hands in agonies of grief, and exclaimed, "Will no one venture to preserve the Princess?" Two cavaliers instantly ran up; the one seized the horse by the bridle, and the other disengaged the entangled foot of her Majesty. Aware of the peril of having violated a sacred law, they availed themselves of the alarms which were still felt for the Queen's person, and directly kneeling for pardon, obtained it.