THE EX-QUEEN OF SPAIN.

Tuapeka Times, Volume I, Issue 40, 14 November 1868, Page 6

THE EX-QUEEN OF SPAIN.

We have 90- doubt -maay~> of otir readers will feel* interested ills' description of Isabella, ex-Queen of Spain. From the following it will be seen she is not a very fascinating character^. She is 3'S years [of ageVaaid has the-* characteristics common to the Bourbons -i-premature wrinkles, and obesity. She has none of : the features of her -parents nor of.the Spaniards ; she lacks the long Bourbon noscof her father — hers is retrousse — and the winning grace of her mother, Queen Christiana. Her features are coarse and wellmarked ; eyes small and ; hair 'auburn; complexion highly coloured; voice strong, coarse, and masculine ; manners, more than homely, familiar and trivial.* . Louis XVI. was a fair locksmith ; Charles IV. a good cabinetmaker ; Christina is a good painter ; but Isabella has no taste whatsoever. Not an article of dress carries her name. She dresses richly as a Queen — always in Sunday clotaes ; but" they reflect no prestige. Her living is simple, but not healthful ; she sleeps a great deal, and has as strong an appetite as Louis XVI. She often hears mass at four o'clock in the afternoon, which must be trying to her chaplain, who has to fast till then. Towards evening she promenades in the reserved part of the Retiro, sometimes in the more frequented walks. Whenever she leaves the palace it is always in a State carriage, drawn by six horses, escorted by cavaliers, and followed by four or six carriages drawn by mules, resembling the equipages of the Roman Cardinals. At midnight she eats with as good an appetite as in the morning. After the theatre succeeds a Privy Council, then the private camarillas. Trie courtiers who kiss her hand know that it is short, bloated, and herpetic. The Queen has manners all masculine — the King all feminine ; her voice is a contralto, his a falsetto ; she likes bold exercises ; he the contrary — he is afraid to ride a horse, his muscles being so weak that he cannot keep in the saddle. His Egeria is Sister Patrociaio ; the spiritual adviser of the Qupen is le pere claret. Their ]\%jesties suffer " each other's foibles /y accord," and experience the "sweetness," of occasional quarrels.