Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-08
QUEEN ISABELLA.
As M0ther-As an EqueStrienne- As
aGourmond-At the Opera.

aGourmOnh-At the Opera.
From the chapel Queen Isabella pro-
ceeds to the nursery, The nursery Is a
| suite of four or five rooms in the weater n
wing of the palace. 1t is here that her,
Majesty makes the most favorable impres
sion upon us. As we said before she Is an
afectionate mother, and her small blue
eyes beam with delight az che embraces
her children, who are brought to her by
their nurses and governesses. The Queen
has seven children living, of whom, at the
time of which we are speaking, the eldest,
beautiful dark-haired and dark-eyed girl
Of fourteen-noW the wife of the Duke OF
Girgenti-was the Queens darling. The
young lady was noted for her somewhat
petulant and self.willed character but at
the same time she was exceedingly kind
hearted, and, ia consequence, her rele-
tiTes and servants were much attac he'd
to her. She was at first decidedly opposed
to the union with the brother Of the ex-
King of Naples; but when abe made the
acquaintance of the husband whom her
mother had chosen for her, and Who, though
he is the son of King Bomba, ia believed to
be very good young man. She told him
at once with charming naiUste that she would
be glad 10 take him, and the young couple
are believed to live very happily together.
As regards the rest of the Queens children,
they are mostly pale and sickly and by no
means good looking. Especially is this
the case with the young Prince of Asturias,
a scrofulas boy of eleven, whose stubborn,
peeyish character has already driven a
dozen governesses and tutors to despair, and
who was so already in his earliest boyhood
50 unpopular in Madrid that the people
freely expressed the hope that lie might
never ascend the Spanish throne. We
cannot wonder, therefore, that the recent
attempt to proclaim him King Of Spain
under legal regency proved so utterly
fruitless.
As usual, the Queen went on tina! day
with all her children to the Rstiro-that
quiet, charming promenade close to the
royal palace, from which the general pub.
lie was carefully excluded whenever the
royal family intended to take walk in it..
On very fine days the Q1een would appear
in a carriage or on horseback on the public
promenade for, awkward az she is as Pc
destrian, she is very graceful and even
intrepid hor5ewoman, and the people OF
Madrid say that she takes special and
rather malicious delight in asking the King
Consort, who is known 10 be utterly aYerse
10 riding on horseback, and who can never
find a charger gentle and quie. enough for
him, to accompany her on such occasions.
From the promenade the Qleen went 10
dinner, where che never staid less than be-
tween two and three hours Isabella has
always been a gourmand, and from her
earliest youth her appetite has been
enormous. Ia Madrid she is considered a
glutton and to the Spanisrds, Who are
so abslemious, gluttony Is even psSre
pulsive than to other nations so that
Isabella's performances at the dinner table
have added as much to her unpopularity
az her love AFFAIR." She seldom admits
many guests to her table besides her Tela-
tiyes, and few of her Ministers or Of foreign
ambassadors can boast Of having often
been invited to the royal table.
After dinner dhe Queen used to hold a
siesta, or chatted and played with her
children; and then the gala carriages
were ordered, and then the whole
family drove to the opera The opera
house is situated very close to the royal
palace, but the Queen never repaired
ihither bnt with the display Of consider
able pomp. Outriders heralded her COM
| ing on these occasions, and her equ!page
was escorted by half squadron of dra-
goons Of the guard, The regularity with
which the Queen Visited the opera, how
ever, should not be taken as evidence o
her musical taste; on the contrary, it Is
said that she never inquiries for the mans
of the opera which she see, performed, ant
often falls asleep during the representa-
ton at all events, she always left tht
opera shortly after nine o'clock. Upon
he= return to the palace she used to re
ceiye her ministers and distinguished
foreigners, spend an hour or two al tn
supper table, and then retired to her pri
| vote anurtToaDf5