Charles II alighting from his carriage to give to the priest.
Charles II., King of Spain, took a ride in his carriage at Madrid, on the twentieth of January, 1685, accompanied by many personages of nobility and high rank, and followed by a large concourse of the common people. Perceiving a priest approaching with the Blessed Sacrament, he quickly alighted from his carriage and knelt down to adore his Saviour in the Holy Eucharist, after which he begged the priest to take his place in the carriage. Taking his hat in his left hand, and holding, like a coachman, the reins of the horses, he followed on foot, with uncovered head, to the house of the sick person. Here he again knelt down to adore his Lord and God in the Blessed Sacrament. He served the priest to the best of his power. Finally, he bestowed a rich present on the family, in order that the sick man might die with less solicitude for those he was to leave behind him.¹
¹ Bollandus.
The Blessed Eucharist, our greatest treasure by Müller, Michael, 1825-1899, Pgs. 222 & 223.
Short Stories on Honor, Chivalry, and the World of Nobility—no. 740
