New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-05

for the innocent babe dragged from its mother
arms almost tho instant of rs birth and immured
IN a convent bv n crocodile of a father loses
somethne of its force when we learn from Gaia
rna's own lips that she was four years OF age
before she left her mothers care in San Sebas-
tan 10 enter the nunnery In that town SINH
Iarlv De Quincy reckons Catalina's monetary
abstrac actions from the conventual treasury on the
night Of her escape. at the age OF hfteen, at one
shilling She does not mince matters herself. but
remarks that among her plumber were "quelque
reaux de huit" Catalina. in De Qu!nceys eyes
was more slnned against than SHINING, ana her
tragic years in the two Americas were
burdened much with misdeeds 1orc"u
upon her by others with instructive trans
grcssions The truth Is that the young A'ferez
or Lieutenant was quick Of hand and quicker
of temper. and was as ready to begin a quarrel
as to end one. That at any rate. is the conclu-
sion 10 which the reader is driven by her own
words. Fear Of authority. fear OF pain, fear OF
death. were all unknown TO her. and this au-
dacity IL reflected In the very fibre of her dis
course If the reader doubts this let him pur
chase the little volume just printed by Lemerre
and read at page 30 the account Of the duel
fought in the obscurlty Of night by two principals
whose simultaneous fall precptate1 Catalina
and the other second upon each other she killing
her opponent only to discover that he was her
brother. Dumas. Scott. Hugo. the masters Of
romance might have envied the tense reality,
the dauntless mood the dramatic force OF those
few bloody pages.
Catalinas trumphal return 10 Spain after the
discovery Of her sex. and her welcome at the
Papal Court In Rome. owe much in De Quincey's
account to De Qulncey's Imagination. She was
honored. more or less. I'm her native land. meet
Ing Philip " and his minister Olivares. She had
much notorloty. and tho king granted her a PEN
sion But ~ how much subtantial service - her
the court was is doubtful Before she could pre-
sent the letters given her to Urban VIII she suf
fcrel many an unnecessary hardship on the road.
Arrived in Rome however. her path was for
while at least made comparatively smooth
and even. at times. luxurious. she was
indeed sumptuously entertained. and says. with
some pride. that during the month and half she
spent In the Eternal city. rare tut !" jour on Je
ne fus invite 81 fttH chez cuelquc prince" The
Pope gave her a license to wear manly attire, and
the cardinals made much OF her Her reply u
one II them. who said her only fault that
she a Spaniard. Is worth quotation as an H.
lusrat.on ~ her spirit. "a mon avis Monselgne ur.
ct sauf lc respect que jc dO!s Votre Illus
trissime Scigneuric. 80 nat que celia Dc bon"
VI. de Nalon and De Quincy both take leave Of
Catalina as mysteriously disappearing at the
very hour that her ship brings her back - the
Mexican coast. forty-three years old and with ten
years IF life In Europe 10 ada to her record ~
some sixteen years In Spanish America. VI dc
Naon oplnel that 4 shark had snapped mp the
nun. as she fell overheard In d.scmoarkinR on a
dark and stormy nght De Quincy sc7rn7 this
Illuminating climax and susponds judgment In
brilliant passage. Catalina. for her part. closes
her memoirs upon quarrel In Naples In 1926.
prior q her recorded departure for America. with
some oilers who jeercl her. Now comes VI. 10
Here ia AMI adds an opllogue. in which be cites
q certain Fray Nicholas 10 Reutcria. # tho order
II Capuchlns who was AZ Vera Cruz several
times I'm 1915. and there met the nun. living
under the name 4 Don Antonio d. Erauso. She
commanded mule train Tor me transportation
= passengers and merchandise. ana tn, reverend
father travelled with her himself Here tho
record closes How she died eventually is a mys-
terry apparently impossible - solution. Perhaps
she dlo1 IN her bod. Perhaps she assassi-
mated "a ono - her journeys and her boly thrown
lnto the ditch "D'autrcs" conclu ics VI. DO Here
dia srimly "croicnt qu'ellc tut emporte par le
Dablo'