Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-05-06
SOBRlQUETS OF WOMEN.
NiCkNAhiES 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 sobrquets have not
been besto we'd upon women in any such de-
gree as upon men. Yet considerable num-
Der may be collected For the most part they
are far les 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" rs Mary, queen of Eng
land, was called, is certainly anything but
fiattering oognomen. 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,
ui'otiuItll ltScl 10 put GGT SISTER
beth and tie 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
iar'ls 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
often taken advantage of by her ministers.
Mary wa5 succeeded on the throne by her
sister Eliza 18th, who was known in history
as Good Queen Bess" Quite different
title from nat borne by Mary. The normal
disparity between the two was not, however,
so great 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 go. Elizabeth is also called THE Vir
gin Queen
PAIR OF FEMALE WARRIORS
Mary of dodena, 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 persona ge 50 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 p-ophesied that great calamities
would fall Upon England, and that Henry
VIII would die speedy and violent death
should he div orce Queen Catherine and marry
Anne Boleyr. 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
''The Sem ramis of the North" was so
briquet bestC wed upon Margaret, daughter of
Waldemar Ill, king of Denmark, for her
warlike quail ties. 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 ac-
knowledged Is queen. In the latter country
she was unpopular, and her name is still held |
in Ioathing 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 sobriqueC ''Semiramis of the North has |
also been given to Catherine H. empress of |
Russia, for The same reasons that it was |
given to Mar yaret, and with equal appropri- |
ateness.
Another woman of military renown was |
Augustine Zaragoza of Spain, who earned |
the sobriquet, ''The Maid of Saragossa," by |
her bravery during the defense of Saragossa |
against the French in 1S0S-9 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 managem ent of jails and prisons In her |
own and other European countries was called |
1.-The Female Howard" in recognition Of the |
similarity of ler life work to that of the illus
trious prison reformer, John Howard. The |
great amount of good accomplished by these |
two unselfish lovers of humanity cannot be |
calculated. 1t is felt today, and will be felt |
until the end Of time
Another benevolent English woman was |
Florence Nightingale, upon whom Longfellow |
bestowed the title, ''St. Filomena" In his |
poem Of that name the poet pays the highest !
tribute to the character and work of Miss |
Nightingale. Her name is held in reverence |
by the whole population of Great Britain, and |
especially by the soldiers
The pecrliar sect, or society called Shakers |
had for their leader and founder in America !
u woman named Ann Lee. She was regarded |
by her followers as the spiritual mother" |
and hence was always called Mother Ann" |
By some she was, and still is considered q |
manifestation of Christ in the female form. |
Jesus is recog iized as the male manifestation.
Mother Ann was a woman of much ability. |