The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-07-05
The Scraps of Spanish History.

The failure of the Carlist insurrec-
ton, and the rumOr that SerranO, is in
triguing to put the son of the ex-Queen
Isabella on the throne, will lend some
interest to the following extracts from
John Hays pleasant book, Castilian
Days :"
Ferdinand VII, his mind weakened
by illness, and influenced by:his minis
tiers, had. proclaimed his brother Don
Carlos, heir to the throne, to the excIu-
sion of his own infant daughter, Isa-
bella. His wife, Queen Christine,
given way in despair. But her sister,
Dona Louisa Carlota de Bourbon, heard
of the news in the South of Spain, and
leaving her babies at Cadiz, 1.-TWO little
urchins, one of whom was to be king
cOnsOrt and the other was to fall by his
cousin MOntpensier's hand in the field
of Carabanchel,) she posted without a
moments pause for rest or sleep over
mountains and plains from the sea to
the royal chateau of La Granja. She
fought with the lackeys and the minis
tiers twenty-four hours before she could
see her sister, the Queen. Having
breathed into Christine her own invin-
chile spirit, they succeeded, after endless
pains, in reaching the king. Obstinate
as the weak often are, he refused at
first to listen to them but by their
wOmanly wiles, their Italian policy,
their magnetic force, they at last
brought him to revoke his decree in
favor of Don Carlos, and recognized
the right of his daughter 10 the crown.
Then, terrible in her triumph, Dona
Louisa Carlota sent for the Minister
CalOmarde, overwhelming him with
abuse, and unable to confine her victo-
riOus rage and hate to words alone, she
slapped the astOnished minister in the
face. CalOmarGe, trembling with rage,
bowed and said" A white hand can
not offend"
A few years la.er, when Ferdinand
was in his grave, and the lady Isabel
reigned under the regency of Christine,
a movement in favor of the consttitu-
ton of 1872 burst out, where revolu-
tions always do, i'll the South, and
spread rapidly over the contiguous
provinces. The infection gained the
troops of the royal guard at La Granga,
and they surrounded the palace bawl-
ing for the constitution. The regentess,
with a proud reliance upon her own
power, ordered them to send a deputa-
ton to her apartment. a dozen of the
mutineers came in and demanded the
constitution.
what is that ?" asked the queen.
They looked at'each other and cud
CALLED their brains. They had never
thought of that before.
"Cramba !" said they, I'VE don't
know. They say it is "a good thing,
and will raise our pay and make salt
cheaper"
The political economy was somewhat
flimsy, but they had the bayonets and
the queen was compelled to give way
and proclaim the constitution.
The following anecdote is Il clIarac-
teristic illustration of the despicable
despotism of tue Spanish Bourhous.
The prince of Asturias mentioned is
the person whom it is said SerranO de-
sires should supplant Amadeus:
A Colonel of Engineers, in the sum
mer before the late revolution, was
standing before the palace with some
officers, when a meau-lOOking cur ran
past "What an ugly dog" said the
colonel. "Hush," replied another with
awe-struck face, "that is the dog Of
his royal highness the prince OF As
turias." The colonel unfortunately had
a logical mind, and failed to see that
ownership had any bearing on purely
aesthetic question. He defined his po-
sition al do not think the dog is
ugly because he belongs to the prince;
| only meant that the prince has an
ugly dog"
The window just above them Slam
med, aud another officer came up and
said that the devil was to pay. "The
queen was at the window and heard
every word you said" An hour after
ward the colonel received an order
from the commandant of the palace,
revoking his leave of absence and or
dering him on duty at Madrid. 1t is
not very surprising that this officer was
at the bridge of Alcolea.