The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1878-08-29
THE DEAD QUEEN

1here seems TO be a fatal star SHINING
over Spanish royalty. The position OF the
hings or spain has at all times been pre-.
carious enough but the fate of the Queens
Is possibly still worse. Natural calamities
loin In their lives political disasters. Ell.
queen Christina is living the life of an exile
IN faris- Ex-Queen Isabella is in q like no.
sition- Ex-Queen Maria, wife of Amadeo.
had to take to flight out of child -bed. and
never having recovered from the shock.
died when barely thirty years old. And
now Queen Maria de las Mercedes ia carr
RED away after only Eve months of we'd
lock.
Deep md sincere will be the popular sor-
row both in Spain and outside, for it was
Wen known that the marriage of Aiphonso
al. was not an ordinary royal union-it
was a love match. The husband and wife
being in this case first cousins, were brought
up together. Their affection for each
other overcame all political difficulties. and
even the luminosity of their parents. Queen
Isabella detests the Duke of Monpensier.
VINO conspired with Serrano and Topete for
overthrow in 1868. She has ever since
objected to her son having anything TO do
with the family Of her broth~er-in-law: vet
A~iphonso's attachment to his cousin stood
nnshaken. He was separated from her
ior over six years; but the moment he
came to power and was enabled to return
to Spain, he declared that his personal
sympathies should not be regulated either
by Cabinet Ministers or by his relations.
and that, he would not marry any woman
except the one he had loved from his child
hood. H
Strangely enough, this love match came
TO be the realization Of an old political
scheme 1t was always the dream Of the late
King Louis Philippe to make nm Alliance
between his dynasty and that of the Span
ish Bourbons. Almost every one Of his
sons was in turn proposed as the husband
OF the young and then maiden Queen Isa-
Della; but England put in her veto. In.
tensely Jealous of any increase of the power
OF France, she declared that no Prince of
the reigning French dynasty should be the
consort of the Queen Of Spain. The long
contest which took place in regard to this
SUBJECT between the Cabinets of Guizot and
sir Robert Peel will always stand a memor-
able page in the diplomatic history of
Europe. 1t resulted in q victory for the
English. Isabella was married to a man
she detested, Don Francisco d'Assise. md
by the way of compensation to France. her
sister, Maria Louisa, was allowed to become
the wife Of Louis Phillippe's youngest son,
the Duke of Montpensier. 49,
The members of the Orleans dynasty did
not, however, despair of attaining their
object From the beginning of Isabella's
misruie they exerted all their efforts to put
Montpensier upon the throne of Spain.
But the Spaniards hated the French too
intensely to give any hope of success to a
scheme of this nature. They refused to
accept him even as a deputy in the Cortes.
Alter this defeat at the elections. the
Duke retired from political life and became
a "dTdhye'o, an orange merchant, as he is
popularity called, OIL account of the i'm
mense orange plantations be possesses
around Seville. The constantly growing
anection between his daughter and the son |
ot the ex-Queen made him evidently con- |
hdent that, If he was unable to get the |
crown for himself, it would at ali events |
De secured for one Of his descendants.
And he was not mistaken. On the 23d |
d Last January his third daughter became |
The Queen Of Spain. The nuptial cere-
mony was performed in the ancient Church |
81 Atocha by the Cardinal Primate, assisted
~ the Patriarch of the Indies and a long
array of other distinguished priests. The
ceremony was of unusual splendor even for |
Spain, where pageantry is carried toabsurd
extravaganza. The festivities throughout
the country lasted FIVE days; and nobody |
have believed that five months later |
the nation would be thrown into mourning. |
The bereaved widower is not fully
years of age. The poor Queen |
eighteen.