San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-05-04
SOBRIQUETS OF WOMEN.
MECHANICS BORNE BY SOME OF
EURoPE,s FAMOUS LADIES.

Many Of Them Were Merely Compliment
airy. and Did Not Signify Anything in
Particular - Some Were Appropriate,
While Others Said Too Much.
An excursion into the realm Of history and
biography shows that sobriquets have not
been bestowed upon women in any such de-
gree as upon men. Yet a considerable num-
Der may DO collected. For the most part they
are far less expressive and typical Of charac-
ter than those given to the male SEX. Many
Of them are simply complimentary terms in
reference to their beauty or accomplishments,
and were bestowed by chivalrous gentlemen
"Bloody Mary" as Mary, queen Of Eng
land, was called, is certainly anything but q
hattering cognomen. Historians differ as to
whether she deserved the name Some assert
that the responsibility for the sanguinary
acts of her reign should rest with her coun-
selors, who are known to have approved and
projected them: others say, that, having
permitted these barbarisms, Mary well
merits the title history has fastened
upon her. However this may be, it is
well known that she signed the death
warrant Of Lady Jane Grey with reluctance,
and absolutely refused to put her sister Eliza
beth and the Earl of Devonshire to death
She often interfered in behalf of those whom
her ministers wished to deprive of their lives
The renewal Of the old laws against the Lei
lards is charged directly to her, though some
historians claim that many of the details OF
their persecution were kept from the knowl
edge of the queen Mary was i'll most of the
time during her reign and her condition was
often taken advantage Of by her ministers.
Mary was succeeded on the throne by her
sister Elizabeth, who was known in history
as Good Queen Bess." Quite different
title from that borne by Mary The normal
disparity between the two was not, however,
so great as the sobriquet would indicate.
Mary seems to have been credited with less
goodness than she possessed, and Elizabeth
more. But it cannot be denied that the reign
of Elizabeth was very successful, and one OF
the most glorious and most celebrated epochs
in English history 1t was an era Of states
men, scholars warriors and poets of the
highest renown. Considering the times,
Elizabeth was probably good enough to war.
rant her title. She was a good queen, as
queens CO. Elizabeth is also called 1.-THE Vir.
gin Queen"
A PAIR OF FEMALE WARRIORS.
Mary of Modena the unfortunate queen Of
James II of England bore the title of
Queen of Tears" Samuel Noble wrote:
Her eyes became eternal fountains of sorrow
for that crown her own i'll policy contributed
to lose." To the average reader, however.
that misfortune would seem to be slight in
comparison with that of being yoked for life
to parsonage so stupid and unreasonable as
James
Joanna, the beautiful daughter of Ed
mund, Earl of Kent, gained the sobriquet Of
Fair Maid of Kent" She was three times
married, the third time to Edward, the
Black Prince. King Richard II of England
was their son.
Elizabeth Barton, supposed seeress of the
Sixteenth century, was known as the "Holy
Maid of Kent" She was executed at Tyburn,
April 81, 1884, on the charge of high treason,
in having prophesied that great calamities
would fall upon England, and that Henry
VIII would die speedy and violent death
should he divorce Queen Catherine and marry
Anne Boleyn. Her prophecy does not appear
to have been fulfilled.
Elizabeth, queen of Bohemia and daughter
of James ! of England, was called the
Queen of Hearts," from her kind and en-
gaging manner. Through all her trouble and
i'll fortune, of which she had more than her
share, she preserved her dignity and good
ness, and commanded the love and admira-
ton of all who were brought in contact with
her.
1.-THE SemramiS of the North" was a so
briquet bestowed upon Margaret, daughter OF
Waldemar Ill, king of Denmark, for her
warlike qualities She seems to have fairly
earned it. After her fathers death she be-
came queen of Denmark. On the death of
her husband, Haco VIII, king of Norway,
she became the ruler of that country also
She then conquered Sweden, and was &C.
knowledged its queen. In the latter country
she was unpopular, and her name is still held
in loathing by the Swedes, who accuse her OF
having been cruel and oppressive. Some his
torians deny this charge. At any rate, Mar
garet was a queen of great executive ability.
The sobriquet "Semiramis of the North" has
also been given to Catherine II, empress Of
Russia, for the same reasons that it was
given to Margaret, and with equal appropri-
ateneSs.
Another woman of military renown was
Augustine Zaragoza Of Spain, who earned
the sobriquet, 1.-The Maid of Saragossa," by
her bravery during the defense of Saragossa
against the French in 1862. Her most cele-
brated act of heroism was taking the station
of her lover, who had fallen, in one of the
batteries and working the gun in his place.
Byron has immortalized her in "Childe Har
old"
FOR THE GOOD THEY DID.
Mrs. Elizabeth Fry, the benevolent English
woman, who wrought so many reforms in
the management of jails and prisons in her
own and other European countries was called
the Female Howard" in recognition of the