The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-12-29
Reycia,lOn In Spanish History.

Bergenroth, and recently pubished IN LONDON,
contains some curious and interesting infor-
mation;-
Among the scholars employed under Lord
Romilly in raking up from many quarters the
neglected materials for q true history OF England,
no man has done his work more bravely aud
thoroughly than Mr. Bergenroth. This gentle
man was certainly lucky in the mine which he
had 10 explore. Simancas was unusually rich 10
ore; and SO tar as Englihs story Is concerned ~
was all but virgin ground. In the old castle
of Simancas lie the secret reports OF What was
being said and done in the English Court at
time when the English Court was England
itself, in years before the Reformation took
infanta Katalina, commonly called Catharine OF
Aragon, as to her marriage with Prince Arthur,
her early wldowhood, her second courtshp, her
married life as Queen, her trial and divorce ana
things which followed close on these events Mr.,
Bergenroth has turned his great opportunities
to very good account.
volume of Supplement, he has opened these old
state secrets for forty years-from the day OF
Bosworth field down to the date of Catharlnes
quarrel with Wolsey, when the proud Cardinal
inst suggested to the King DOUBT OF his mar
riage being good in law. For the first time we
see what kind of men and women many of these
rulers were. Harry of Richmond we knew,
since his portrait had been drawn in immortal
prose. These letters deepen the lnes and
heighten the color of Lord Bacon's portrait of
changed in either outline or tint Not so Fer
nando, Isabel, and Charles the Fifth. or these
princes we have now in our hands new set of
studies; and in future we shall need to have
new portraits painted of these princes for our
gallery of great men.
On two points OF singular interest we meet in
these Calendars with surprise, which amounts
to a shock. In the first place, Mr.. Bergenroth
finds reason to believe that Queen Juana OF
Castillo the Crazy Jane of romantic art, was
not mad; and, in the second place, that her
sister, Catharlne of A1agon, was, during her
residence at the English Court, as young
widow, not altogether blameless in her private
life.
These curious points are worked out in Sup
plement to the Calendar, whereby hangs tale.
Years ago, when Mr.. Bergenroth was in the
early stage of his work OF reading and copying
these secret records, he began to suspect that
certain papers were being withheld from his
sight, and though he could not guess how many,
he could fairly guess with what purpose:
Simancas free access to the collection in their
charge, he went to Madrid, saw ministers, and
tried to persuade them that the throne of Spain
could not be shaken by the publication of few
letters written four hundred years ago. Minis
ters smiled, but Spain is a slow country; years
elapsed, and the Calendars were printed, before
the orders from Madrid were practically obeyed
at Simancas, and the papers, heretofore with
held, were laid On the table. Mr. Bergenroth
saw at glance that his work required in many
points to be recast. Partial views had been
taken, faults OF character had been suppressed.
He had been led to form higher opinion of
Isabel the Catholic than she deserved. He had
been induced to pass by some OF the worst traits
of Fernando. He had been absolutely deceived
as to the story of Queen Juana He had been
purposely kept in ignorance OF charge made
by the Spanish am mbassador against Catharine,
Princess of Wales. What was he to do? Ali
these matters touch us nearly; most of all the
matters OF Queen Juana and Princess Catharine.
Juana came within thought of being Queen OF
England; and Catharine's troubles were con.
nected with the awakening of our religious life.
MIR. BergeDroth had no choice. With all their
faults, his Calendars were in type, and he was
bound to add in a Supplement the new matter
which corrected all that was amiss.
The new matter, being very curious aud of
great moment, he has given at full length;
printing the original records, with translation
OF such as are in old Spanish. 1t was found i'm
possible, however, to put the whole of these
papers into plain English speech. Some part of
Fray Dego's correspondence has been yelled in
Latin, for men of science.
As every one knows, Henry the Seventh,
rather late in life, proposed to marry Juaua, the
young and beautiful Queen of CASTLE. 1t is uni
Versaly supposed that when he offered MS haud
to Juana she was mad and that the King knew
she was mad. Hence much odium has been
heaped on Henry's head.
On this subject MIR. Bergeuroth has found
hundreds of letters from Queen Juana from her
mother, from her son. from her daughters, as
well as from her jailors and domestic priests.
All these letters he has printed in full, so that
the evidence on. which he rests his new opinion
is before the world His inference from the
facts ts, that she was not really insane; her
confinement being the result OF a plot between
her father and her son to rob her-in the inte-
rests Of great political purpose-of the
rights which belonged to her Dy birth.
II this be a true report of the affair, 1t is a
tale to beat the widest romance OF modern
fiction out of the field.
Fernando and Isabel having closed the era
OF civil war in Spain by marriage which united
the crowns of Aragon and CASTLE, and having
vastly increased their power by driving the
Moorish dynasty from Granada, nursed the
, patriotic hope OF leaving all these crowns,
inherited by birth aud won by the sword on
single brow. They had only one son, the sicKly
Don Juan, whose hickering flame they had the
misery to see waste away and finally expire.
Leaving no issue of his own, Juan bequeathed
his rights TO his lovely sister Juana and her
little son, Don Carlos. Now, as Queen Isabel
was sickly, Juana sure to succeed as
Queen OF Castillo while Fernando still reigned
IN ATagon; so that Spain ran the r'sk of being
divided into two great kingdoms of the north,
as OF yore, with the chance of fierce contest
as to who should rule the newly-conquered
kingdom of the Moors. Out of this difficulty
Fernando saw one way, and only one way:-
Juana must be sacrificed. IT, on any preteXt
whatever, the princess rights under the law
could be set aside, so as to permit Fernando to
govern all these States and territories until his
grandson, Don Carlos, was OF age, Spain might
become a nation. How could her rights be set
aside? Her birth could not be gainsaid; and
her title being above debate. it was certain that
when her mother died she would be proclaimed
Queen OF CASTLE by the estates of that kingdom.
How could she, being Queen, be hindered from
setting up her own court, her own council, her
own governments In two ways: the membesr
OF her family might represent her as unsound
In faith; and they might represent her as uu.
sound In mind. Either would be a dreadful
thing for man to do against his child; but the
King had no conscience; and his desire TO see
ruling passion of his life. To make the game
certain he adopted both these WAYS. AT first