The Press.
London, England, 1857-02-14 00:00:00

gabal anb yililitarg ,ntellignut.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge on
Thursilay inspected the garrison at Colchester.
Lieut.-Gen. Sir Charles Pasley inspected Chatham
garrison on Wednesday.
The Army Estimates for the year 1857.58 amount
to 11,225,5331., of Rhic.► 8,993,6581. goes for the ef.
fective, and 2,231,8751. for the non-effective. The
number of men rtquired for the service of the
year 1857 58 is 126,706, against 246,710 last year—
equivalent to a decrease of 119,920. The original
estimate of last year was the same as the revised, as
regards the number of men.

The Navy Estimates for the service of the year
1857.58 were issued on Wednesday. They are com-
prised in seventeen distinct votes, and amount in all to
the snm of 8,109,1681. This is a net decrease of
7,702,9 a/. upon those of last year, which were
15,812,1271.

The estimate for the Post•OTice Department
(packet service) for the year 1857.58, separated from
the navy estimates, but prepared by the Naval
Department, is 983,0841., being a reduction of
208,5771.

LADY FRANKLIN has addressed and published a
letter to Lord Palmerston, seeking to engage the
sympathy of those in power in the despatch of an
expedition in search of the remains of the Franklin
patty. She endeavours to show that the proposed
search may be made with slight hazard of life and
very small cost, and observes :—" This final and ex-
hausting search is all I seek in behalf of the first and
only martyrs to Arctic discovery in modern times,
and it is all I ever intend to ask."
THE REGISTRAR-GEM:AL% RErunNs for the last
week show a remarkably high rate of mortality.
With the highest average allowed for increase of
population the deaths should only reach 1,998; they
amounted to 1,368. The Registrar General attzi.
hates it t 44 the severe cold. The births reached
1,891.

FEBRUARY 14, 1857.

yitcratart.

Elizabeth de Valois, Queen of Spain, and the
Court of Philip 11. By Martha Walker
Freer. Two Vols. London: Hurst and
Blackett.
THESE volumes will repay perusal. They have
done more than amuse us; they have pleas-
ingly engaged our mind, and have suggested
topics of reflection to which it is impossible
that we can more than cursorily allude here.
They relate to a period of history not yet
thoroughly explored, though rich in materials
of interest. Poetic genius has illuminated
some of its dark caverns, and historic research
has found some stepping-stones on which in
the treacherous marsh the foot may firmly
tread. But we think it possible that a rich
harvest may yet be in reserve to reward the
patient explorer who shall endeavour to tread
the tortuous mazes in which the coldest and
cruellest bigot of historic record—Philip IL of
Spain—delighted to move.
Of his four wives, Elizabeth of Valois—
daughter of Henry IL and Catherine de
Medici—was the third. She reigned Queen
of Spain for the space of eight years. Her
biographer, Miss Freer, cries up the affection-
ate solicitude of her husband ; yet it is probable
that his bigotry and his unnatural cruelty to
his son broke her heart. Among the causes
which contributed to her early death, her
treatment by her Spanish physicians must
not, however, be overlooked. The character
of Dr. Sangredo, in" Gil Blas," could not have
been caricatured in the slightest degree. The
Queen's physicians bled her for everything.
They bled her for childbirth ; they bled her on
occasion of every illness till she fainted, and
then bled her for fainting. The unfortunate
Don Carlos was served, if possible, still worse.
Reading the remedies administered to him
during his illnesses, the wonder is that he
lived to attain the age of twenty-three.
Miss Freer is an industrious historiographer.
She goes to original sources of information,
and she gives the reader all the details she
can collect. She follows in the path which
Miss Strickland struck out. She represents
the manners of a period, so far as they can be
collected from contemporary chroniclers'
accounts of processions and dresses, and
state formalities of all kinds. This kind of
description grows excessively tedious when
long continued, as it is in these pages ; but it
has some kind of value in contributing to
the illustration of character. We can better
understand, for example, the difficulties which
the young Queen had to contend with at the
commencement of her reign, and can more
highly appreciate her firmness and good sense
in her fifteenth year, when called on to decide
the rival claims of her French and Spanish
attendants, when we read the list of the atten-
dants who accompanied her from France into
Spain. The enumeration is curious :
Suzanne de Bourbon, Countess de Harcourt and de
Rieux, and Madame de Clzrmont-Lodeve were appointed
chief ladies of honour. Anne de Bourbon, Elizabeth's
favourite friend, was nominated maid of honour with
Mesdemoiselles de. Riberac, de Carton, de Thorigny, de
Noran, de Monte!, de St. Ana, and de St. Legier. Madame
de Vineux, with Mesdemoiselles de Gironville, Parne, and
de la Motte, were gratified with the post of bedchamber
women. The Queen was attended by her principal tire
woman, Claude Nau. She had, also, three chaplains ; a
French confessor; and likewise her old preceptor the
AbbO St. Etienne. One Andre de Vermont was nomi-
nated her chief maitre d'hôtel. Her physician in ordinary,
Burgensis, accompanied her into Spain, with Dunoir her
surgeon. and two apothecaries. Elizabeth had a numerous
suite of gentlemen of the chamber; twelve valets-de-
chambre ; a dwarf Montaigne ; twelve gentlemen-ushers ;
a treasurer of the household, one Emery Tissart ; a trea-
sury of the privy purse; and a band of six musicians.
There was also nominated a staff for the kitchen depart-
ment under Maitre Vermont. She had, likewise, two
French secretaries, besides an infinite number of subonli
nate personages, such as tire-women, wardrobe-keepers,
and others. The Countess de Harcourt, or as she was
generally called, Madame de Hien; and her niece
Mademoiselle de Montpensier, being princesses of the
blood, had, moreover, their own train of attendants.
We can well understand the difficulties that
must have attended the passage of this nume-
rous retinue across the Pyrenees in the depth
of winter, more especially as the trousseau of
the young Queen alone was of unexampled
magnitude and splendour. All details of this
kind are related by Miss Freer with great

THE PRESS.

minuteness, and often with dramatic effect.
Her fault is ou the side of excessive elabora-
tion.

In the higher qualities of an historic writer
she is totally deficient. She has no penetra-
tion—no original judgment. She relates the
surface of events only. Because Philip has
been described by contemporary authorities as
a most affectionate husband, an exemplary
father, a sage statesman, and a great ruler,
she accepts the portraiture as correct, and
faithfully copies it. The effect is almost ludi-
crous, knowing what we do of his unexampled
falsehood and cruelty.
When the betrothal of Elizabeth to Don
Carlos was first proposed, the Prince was
scarcely fourteen, and the Princess nine months
younger. How different might have been the
lives of both had fate permitted their union !
While the negotiation was in progress Philip's
consort, Mary of England, died. She expired
on the 15th of November, 1558, and in two
months afterwards Philip's ambassadors at
the Court of France received orders to substi-
tute his own name for that of his son as the
proposed husband of Elizabeth of Valois.
The French Court gladly accepted the change,
and on the 3rd of April, 1559, the Princess was
formally affianced to the most powerful sove-
reign of Europe.
It is admitted by Miss Freer that the young
Princess " regarded the alliance with uncon-
querable dread." Her home had been affec-
tionate and happy. She had been brought up
with the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots;
and at the commencement of this biography
some pleasing details are given of their youth.
ful studies. Elizabeth was of a gentle nature,
and her face seems to have eminently reflected
her serene and affectionate character. She
was excessively lovely, and her amiability is
established by numerous instances. Her
prudence, considering the tender years at
which she was called to be the consort of
Philip, was wonderful.
Her bethrothal was gloomily signalised by
the death of her brother the King, who was
killed at the tournament given in honour of
the event. She put off her departure till the
impatience of Philip would bear no longer
delay. She finally quitted the French Court
at the end of November, 15:59, and first saw
Philip. two months later. Not the glowing
reports which reached him of the charms of
his young bride, nor his impatience to behold
her, would induce the formal monarch to anti-
cipate their meeting till she knelt before him
in ceremonious state in the halls of Mendoza
on the 2nd of February, 1560.
We may remark here that Miss Freer falls
into great confusion respecting dates. A letter
of Philip, urging the more rapid progress of
the Queen, is dated January 26, 1561 (i. 130),
and it is said that at the time of her marriage
Elizabeth had just entered her sixteenth year.
If the date of her birth is correctly given
(April 22, 1546), it is evident that on the 2nd
of February, 1560, she could not have been
quite fourteen.
On the following 15th of February Elizabeth
made her public entry into Toledo, and met
Don Carlos for the first time. He arose front
a sick-bed to welcome the fair young Queen.
He was seldom free from ague for any long
time together, and probably that indisposition
to martial exercises, and that irritability of
temper which have been dwelt on so malig-
nantly by contemporary writers, arose from
the severity of his bodily suffering. The
meeting has been described by one of the
French ambassadors :
Don Carlos advanced towards the Queen, fixing his eyes
earnestly on her countenance ; be then bent the knee, and
kissed her hand. Elizabeth received the Prince with
gracious affability ; and her words were so appropriate,
that the Prince showed by his manner what great con-
tentment they gave him. " Her Majesty," says the
ambassador, " received M. le Prince with such favour and
demonstration of regard, that if the King and all present
derived contentment therefrom, the said Prince was still
more flattered ; a sentiment which he plainly evidenced
then, and also since, when he hag visited her said Majesty,
which, however, has not been frequent ; for visits in this
country are not so much the fashion as in France ; besides,
the said Prince has been so tormented with fever, that
from day to day he seems to grow weaker."

The fancy of the young Prince had been
fired by reports of the beauty of the Princess
when she was spoken of as his destined
bride, and at his first interview, beholding a

159

face whieh must have surpassed his expecta-
tion, it. is probable that he conceived the fatal
passion which ended in the darkest tragedy of
his father's gloomy reign.
In these volumes the report of his passion
is treated lightly. Miss Freer hardly gives
credence to it. Adopting all the calumnies
published to justify the conduct of Philip
towards his son, she recounts incredible stories
of his violence and brutality, and seems to
conceive it impossible that Elizabeth could
have regarded him with any other sentiment
than compassion. The course of her own nar-
rative might have taught her better. We
continually meet with passages indicative of
the affectionate regard —if we suppose no
warmer feeling existed—which certainly united
the young queen of Philip 11. to his unfor-
tunate son.

It was while the festivities in honour of
Elizabeth's arrival still continued, that Don
Carlos was with great pomp publicly recog-
nised as heir to the crown. It would require
minute and most critical examination of those
contemporary chronicles from which black
accounts of the character and conduct of Don
Carlos have descended to us, to determine the
degree of credit which should be attached to
them. Of all kinds of injustice that which notun-
frequently prevails in history through the deli-
beratefalsification of contemponwy record is the
most cruel. The ruling power, of whatever
nature it be, may not only imprison its victims,
subject them to inhuman torture, and shorten
thew lives, but may blacken their character
for all time. It is surprising that so acute a
man as Mr. Fronde should not see the danger
of trusting too implicitly to State records.
Who prepared those records ?—who preserved
them ? Is it not certain that the power which
at any time committed injustice would endea-
vour to screen it with an appearance of fair-
ness ? What would be the history of the worst
transactions of our own time, if the perpetrators
of those transactions had power to impose on the
world their own version of them ? Would Sir
John Dean Paul, or Redpath, or Robson, appear
forgers and felons? It is necessary to inspect
with the greatest jealousy those versions of
state occurrences which have been bequeathed
to us by the ruling power of the time; and.
more especially is it necessary to exercise
such caution when the occurrences are of a
domestic character, as in the case of Henry
VIII.'s prosecution of Anne Boleyn, and of
Philip ll.'s conduct to his son. Between the
fate of the unfortunate Don Carlos and that of
the son of Peter I. of Russia, there exist so
many points of resemblance as to suggest a
curious parallel. The irresponsible power of
the parent has in each case shrouded the fate
of the son in impenetrable mystery. In the
case of Don Carlos, however, the suspicion of
foul play is the stronger, from the notorious
treachery of Philip—treachery which would
seem incredible, if the records of it did not
exist under his own hand in relation to his
murder of the Flemish deputies, Montigny
and Bergin. The discovery of the Simancas
records has exhibited Philip as a monster of
perfidious bigotry. Yet Philip may possibly
some day meet with a Fronde to justify him.
The manner in which Miss Freer uniformly
speaks of the " forbearing tenderness " of
Philip, and of the malignant violence of Carlos,
is positively amusing from its simplicity. It
is more profitable to note, however, the evi-
dences we meet with of the young Prince's
real condition. When Elizabeth wrote to the
Queen her mother, some months after her
marriage, she said—" The Prince suffers from
" fever as usual." When Elizabeth was dan-
gerously ill, the narrative says :

Don Carlos, who, during these months, had never
thoroughly rtcovered from his ague, sent frequently to
inquire after the Queen's progress, and displayed the
greatest grief when informed of her danger. When in-
telligence reached him that Elizabeth's physicians had
good hope other recovery, he despatched his chamberlain.
Don Diego de Pimental. to Mazaxambroa to deliver " his
commendations to the Queen, and to inform her that his
ague was much subdued, so that, during the last attack,
he had not even thought it necessary to go to bed, and
that he hoped soon to pay his respects to her Majesty."

When the Prince fell dangerously ill from an
accident, "his docility and obedience are de-
" scribed as most exemplary." In 1363, when
negotiations were in progress for betrothing
Carlos to the Archduchess Antle► (laughter