The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1873-03-06
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&arX the dShghter az Primes UbSftEs
EmhAnuel dai Poxap deiI4 I. Cl1sts siiaa;
she ia only twenty i've Of 4gej she b. g
very devout Catholic; and she fs the
m6thsf -csfthree children, ths youngest
OF whom. Q prince, was born al Madrid
9nIy,a fey days ,ago; IgWeatatsly, be-
Tor" the bfrth' Of 'thIs child, the young
3ueenwassing grszs iistress- Of mind aud
in very :isr~a.E-Physiost pain; and in
a VOW: .Q the. B)eased Virgin, that il,
through the .smsroy 3of God, she was
brought safely through the periIs that
then environed her, che would beg her
husband on her knees to resign the
throne of Spain aud to hasten back 90
Italy. Her husband was present when
perhaps in delirium-she made this vow,
and he;made no remopstrauce against it.
There iy no doubt that he has been grow
Ing more and more weary OF Spain for
several months, and the distress and an.
guish Of his young wife, to whom he is
tenderly attached, probably strengthened
bis desire to get rid Of his thankless
task Events which happened after the
birth Of the child-who, in fhe opinion
OF its mother, was given her only as q
hostage for the performance of her vow
doubtless removed all hesitation which
he might have still felt. He aud his
wife-despite all his noble qualities and
all her grace and beauty-had never
been able to win over to their side the
proud mobiles of Spain. just as in Rome
the nobility OF the highest rank. with
one or two exceptions. side with the
Pope, and refuse to attend the Court of
S~
conntenauoe to his Government, so in
Madrid the grandees held aioof from
",he foreign adventurer," as they called
King Amadeo. while their wives could
not be induced to appear in the train OF
his wife. This alarmed and irritated
both of them-not without reason; but
they continued to hope that in time the
nobility could be won over to their side.
The King made u last effort to do this on
the occasion of the christening of ths
new born child. He asked the Duchess
de in Tore, the wife of Serrano, to pre-
sent the royal infant at the baptismal
ceremony. She refused with scorD, and
the poor baby would have probably had
to suffer the ignominy of being ''pre.
sented" by lady of low rank, had not
tho widow Of Marshal Prim, herself a
Duchess, consented to leave her mourn
ing retirement and perform the function.
am told there was terrible scene in
| the foaldce that day, and it was then that
the King finally yielded to the prayers
and tears of his wife, and made to her
the promise OF abdication, which, US you
| know, he fulfilled On the l1th of this
month"; t'It is great honor" said the
King in his message TO The Oortes an.
nouncing his abdication. ''to preside
| fl,o, 4 mi - l.
disturbed. had resolved to Keep my
oath and respect the Constitution, for I
believed that my loyalty to Spain would
compensate for whatever errors might be
caused BY my youth and inexparience
But my good wishes have deceived me,
for Spain lives in q perpetual contest If
my enc mics had been foreigners, would
not abandon the task; bnt they are Spa
r1iards. wish neither to be the King
OF party nor to act illegally; but. be-
lieviBg all my efforts to be sterile, I re-.
nonnce the crown for myself, my son
and heirs"
| These a,e pluin, sad aud bold words;
but the Cortes listened to them with
scarcely concealed joy, and the abdica
ton was unanimously accepted There
are wheels within wheels; and had the
Cortes known all that was within the
Aing's mind. they probably would have
listed to his message with emotions of a
very mixed character-for I have as yet
told only one-half of my story. The
King has abdicated, it is true, to please
his wife; but if my informants are cor
rect, he did this all the more willingly
because he believes that by giving up
the insecure throne of Spain he makes n
stride towards the throne of Italy. Vic
tor Eaanuel's health is extremely preca-
.rious, and his death at any moment
would surprise no one who knows him;
the Grown Prince Humbert is tho victim
of nameless disease which makes his
life burden, and from whioh death
may soon relieve him; and his Hon-the
four-year old Prince OF Naples-is in
such a condition that his life can be pro-
| tracted only by something like miracle.
These three precarious lives are all that
stand between Amadeo and the italian
crown; and even should Victor Emanuel
and Humbert die before the baby Prince
| Of Naples expires, Amadeo wonld have q
claim to q regency which would be in
fnct sovereignty. The personal rela-
lions between Victor Emanuel and Hum
bort are Of tho most unhappy character.
l