XVI. from the peculiar attributes of her sex; at least CHAPTER from those which constitute its peculiar charm; for she had abundance of its foibles, -a coquetry and love of admiration, which age could not chill; a levity, most careless, if not criminal; 69 and a fondness for dress and tawdry magnificence of ornament, which was ridiculous, or disgusting, according to the different periods of life in which it was indulged.70 Isabella, on the other hand, distinguished through life for decorum of manners, and purity beyond the breath of calumny, was content with the legitimate affection which she could inspire within the range of her domestic circle. Far from a frivolous affectation of ornament or dress, she was most simple in her own attire, and seemed to set no value on her jewels, but as they could serve the necessities of the state; when they 69 Which of the two, the reader of the records of these times may be somewhat puzzled to determine. -If one need be convinced how many faces history can wear, and how difficult it is to get at the true one, he has only to compare Dr. Lingard's account of this reign with Mr. Turner's. Much obliquity was to be expected, indeed, from the avowed apologist of a persecuted party, like the former writer. But it attaches, I fear, to the latter in more than one instance, as in the reign of Richard III., for example. Does it proceed from the desire of saying something new on a beaten topic, where the new cannot always be true? Or, as is most probable, from that confiding benevolence, which throws somewhat of its own light over the darkest shades of human character? The 70 The unsuspicious testimony ters. 71 The reader will remember how effectually they answered this purpose in the Moorish war. See Part 1. Chapter 14, of this History. PART II. could be no longer useful in this way, she gave them away, as we have seen, to her friends. 72 Both were uncommonly sagacious in the selection of their ministers; though Elizabeth was drawn into some errors in this particular, by her levity, as was Isabella by religious feeling. It was this, combined with her excessive humility, which led to the only grave errors in the administration of the latter. Her rival fell into no such errors; and she was a stranger to the amiable qualities which led to them. Her conduct was certainly not controlled by religious principle; and, though the bulwark of the Protestant faith, it might be difficult to say whether she were at heart most a Protestant or a Catholic. She viewed religion in its connexion with the state, in other words, with herself; and she took measures for enforcing conformity to her own views, not a whit less despotic, and scarcely less sanguinary, than those countenanced for conscience' sake by her more bigoted rival. 73 This feature of bigotry, which has thrown a 72 It is scarcely necessary to mention the names of Hatton and Leicester, both recommended to the first offices in the state chiefly by their personal attractions, and the latter of whom continued to maintain the highest place in his sovereign's favor for thirty years or more, in despite of his total destitution of moral worth. 73 Queen Elizabeth, indeed, in a declaration to her people, proclaims, "We know not, nor have any meaning to allow, that any of our subjects should be molested, either by examination or inquisition, in any matter of faith, as long as they shall profess the Christian faith." (Turner's Elizabeth, vol. ii. p. 241, note.) One is reminded of Parson Thwackum's definition in "Tom Jones," "When I mention religion, I mean the Christian religion; and not only the Christian religion, but the Protestant religion; and not only the Protestant religion, but the church of England." It would be difficult to say which fared worst, Puritans or Catholics, under this system of toleration. XVI. shade over Isabella's otherwise beautiful character, CHAPTER might lead to a disparagement of her intellectual power compared with that of the English queen. To estimate this aright, we must contemplate the results of their respective reigns. Elizabeth found all the materials of prosperity at hand, and availed herself of them most ably to build up a solid fabric of national grandeur. Isabella created these materials. She saw the faculties of her people locked up in a deathlike lethargy, and she breathed into them the breath of life for those great and heroic enterprises, which terminated in such glorious consequences to the monarchy. It is when viewed from the depressed position of her early days, that the achievements of her reign seem scarcely less than miraculous. The masculine genius of the English queen stands out relieved beyond its natural dimensions by its separation from the softer qualities of her sex. While her rival's, like some vast, but symmetrical edifice, loses in appearance somewhat of its actual grandeur from the perfect harmony of its proportions. The circumstances of their deaths, which were somewhat similar, displayed the great dissimilarity of their characters. Both pined amidst their royal state, a prey to incurable despondency, rather than any marked bodily distemper. In Elizabeth it sprung from wounded vanity, a sullen conviction, that she had outlived the admiration on which she had so long fed, — and even the solace of friendship, and the attachment of her subjects. Nor did she seek consolation, where alone it was to be PART II. Universal homage to found, in that sad hour. Isabella, on the other hand, sunk under a too acute sensibility to the sufferings of others. But, amidst the gloom, which gathered around her, she looked with the eye of faith to the brighter prospects which unfolded of the future; and, when she resigned her last breath, it was amidst the tears and universal lamentations of her people. It is in this undying, unabated attachment of the her virtues. nation, indeed, that we see the most unequivocal testimony to the virtues of Isabella. In the downward progress of things in Spain, some of the most ill-advised measures of her administration have found favor and been perpetuated, while the more salutary have been forgotten. This may lead to a misconception of her real merits. In order to estimate these, we must listen to the voice of her contemporaries, the eyewitnesses of the condition in which she found the state, and in which she left it. We shall then see but one judgment formed of her, whether by foreigners or natives. The French and Italian writers equally join in celebrating the triumphant glories of her reign, and her magnanimity, wisdom, and purity of character. 74 Her own subjects extol her as "the 74Quum generosi," says Paolo Giovio, speaking of her, "prudentisque animi magnitudine, tum pudicitiæ et pietatis laude antiquis heroidibus comparanda." (Vitæ Illust. Virorum, p. 205.) Guicciardini eulogizes her as "Donna di onestissimi costumi, e in concetto grandissimo nei Regni suoi di magnanimità e prudenza." (Istoria, lib. 6.) The loyal serviteur notices her death in the following chivalrous strain. "L'an 1506, une des plus triumphantes et glorieuses dames qui puis mille ans ait esté sur terre alla de vie a trespas; ce fut la royne Ysabel de Castille, qui ayda, le bras armé, à conquester le royaulme de Grenade sur les Mores. Je veux bien asseurer aux lecteurs XVI. most brilliant exemplar of every virtue," and mourn CHAPTER over the day of her death as "the last of the prosperity and happiness of their country." 75 While those, who had nearer access to her person, are unbounded in their admiration of those amiable qualities, whose full power is revealed only in the unrestrained intimacies of domestic life.76 The judgment of posterity has ratified the sentence of her own age. The most enlightened Spaniards of the present day, by no means insensible to the errors of her government, but more capable of appreciating its merits, than those of a less instructed age, bear honorable testimony to her deserts; and, while they pass over the bloated magnificence of succeeding monarchs, who arrest the popular eye, dwell with enthusiasm on Isabella's character, as the most truly great in their line of princes." de ceste presente hystoire, que sa vie a esté telle, qu'elle a bien mérité couronne de laurier après sa mort." Mémoires de Bayard, chap. 26. See also Comines, Mémoires, chap. 23. Navagiero, Viaggio, fol. 27.- -et al. auct. 75 I borrow the words of one contemporary; "Quo quidem die omnis Hispaniæ felicitas, omne decus, omnium virtutum pulcherrimum specimen interiit ;" (L. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, lib. 21,)—and the sentiments of all. 76 If the reader needs further testimony of this, he will find abundance collected by the indefatigable Clemencin, in the 21st Ilust. of the Mem. de la Acad. de Hist., tom. vi. 77 It would be easy to cite the authority over and over again of |