OCR Text |
Show ?B?r.r..bRTRAiTs bip'Tiiii six 1 TEENTU OEKTURy; ' raiXCB ALEXANDER' Of PARMA. UsTiRiK.e, uncomplaining, thoughtful ', if others, prodigal of himself, generous, ' nodest, brave: with . so much intellect and ! 0 much devotion to what ho considered ils duty, be deserved to bo n patriot and 1 1 champion of the.right, rather than an instrument of despotism. , . ' And, thus ho. paused 'for a .moment ritli muph' work, already accomplished, ' mt hts'hartlcst" life task before bun; still i the. noon of manhpod, a fine martial'jlg. j ire, standing, spear in hand, full in tho- ! uulight, though all' tho sccno around him , ras wrapped in gloom a.noble. command-ng command-ng sbajK?, entitled to tho admfratiou which ! he cucrgetio. display of great powers : ioevcr unscrupulous, must always com- ' laud, A dark-, men'mniml physiognomy 1 i quiet, alert, Imposing licadj jot bluvk, 1 foso .clipped bafrj n bold eaglu's face, ' rJthuU, bright, rustfuas eye; u man raro- jrreiitwing, .always vcady, never alarmtdf I ivmg ln this saddle! with harness on, his ' lupk such "was tho. Prince of Parma: ' naturcd nnd.mtllowcd, butitill unhaniicu : ly time. 1IKJT,V' OF .VA'Altl5K. i Ai'lits.ycry name n, figure seems to leap ' ortjt liium 'tho mist of tbms eeutnric?, ? nstiiict yitfi ruddy, vigorous life. Such " ras,tholii.tt!iiso, itality of- the lfqarneso. ifiuce, thu't cvcii now ho seems moru ' horougbly alive and rcpoguiiuiblu than 1 udf the actual pcrpouuges, Avho ato fret- 1 iiig their hour upo,n tho stage. 1 Wo sec, at once, u man of itiodcrutu j tdturc, liglit,,siu'wy, a,iid,stroiig; u faeo ' irpwuwl with; coutruual-cxposunf; -small, ' nirthfuUy'et commanding blue eyes', glii- criug from, bcneatli an arching brow, 1 iiid prominent clicoktbones; n lung hawk's ! lose, almost resting upon a salient cliiti, u ' icndeut moustaglip, aud n thick, brown, 1 urly bcartl, prematurely grizzled; we see 1 lio lhitm of frarik uulbority and maguiuV 1 eut good humor, wp hear the ready sal- ' lesof the shrewd Onston iiioUicr-wii( w 1 cct tljO' electricity whiqh Hashes out of j liiu, and sets nil hearts around him on fire,. ! r'l'ieit tho trumpet sounds to battle. Tho 1 icadlotig.dpperato charge, the siiovv.wbite ilumc wnvmg whcrc.the lirpJ hottcst.the I arge capacity for cju'oywent of the man, Jotlng without aCTeclatiou in tlicrrrnmiHu 1 ''audia, thu insane gallqpc after the com- ! Nitlp Iay,th,o tropldcs at the feet of tho i yn(lint, of tho jiihiute, aud tlms.to-for- ' c:t its' fruits;. al( are as familiar (o us as 1 f -JhoJ seven, distinct) wars, "tho, hundred lltched battlesrtho'two huudred siege I ft wJir.thtt. lJearn.csQ, waa., psnonutly A rcsent, had been; occurrcuees pf.put owu J lay. . j , itSNnv in, nr. frascb, 3 lie bad not beeu.bbni without natural ;'tfts, such .ns.IIeavcn rarely, denies, to ' riuctftor jcasaht; but the courage which o onco possessed liad been 'exhausted on be field of Moiicontour, his manhood had ! ecn, Ieftbeldnd him p.t-Vcnicej aud such rjt od Ilcaveii had cudowed hjm withal J raa t'ioW exoended in darting VltWona . pigrams at court-ladies whom ho was uly capable of dishonoring ,by calumny, ! nu .whoso charms ho burned to outrival i tlie estimation of his minions. 1 With silken flounces, jewelled stoma- f her, and painted face, with pearls of , reat price adorning his bared ncqk and g reast, and satia-slippcred feet, of whoso lelicate i shape aud size ho was justly vain, L was' bis delight to pass his days and igbtsiua ceaseless round of' gorgeous estivals, tourneys, processions, manner- f do banquets, and balls, tbe cost of which ' littering frivolities caused the popular ' urden, and the popular execration to row, from day to day, more intolerable nd more audible. Surrounded by a gong 1 f "minions," tho most debauched, and ' he most despcrato of France, whose be- c izc'iied dresses exhaled perfumes through- 1 ut Paris, and, whose sanguinary encoun- K era dyed ev'cry street' lu. blood, Henry ved'a life of whit be called pleasure, r arcless of what rn.Ight.come after, for ho raS the last, of, bis race. Tup fortunes of is mbiioiii roiO higher and higher, as r tieir.crimM rendered them morp aud more c stimablein" the ejes of u JCing who took 'woma'nVprido hi tho valor of such cham- f ious to hu wvukuess, aud more odious to 1 n pepplo wbosp nifserohlo homes Were made cyqu mormtscrihle, that the coffers b'f a" few5 court favorites mtglifbo filled, tfow sauhttrlng full dressed, tit the public prom-eiindfes prom-eiindfes with ghastly little- dcnthV heads Ktrutig'upon his. Sumptuous gitrnicntin, and fragmchtsdf,hnmaii,boiib$ datlgling utr.oiig hli p.rdcTS of knighthood, playing at cup ahd ball as he Walked, and followed by a few .select' courtier,- who gravely pursued tho "same cxcjling occupatiouj now pre siding, likff n quepo of beauty, nt n tour-uamcnt, tour-uamcnt, to assign the prico or Valor; arid now by the mlvlcc bl his, mother, going about the streets in robes, or penitence, telling his bcads aa 'hrvrent, tfmttb'o populace pop-ulace might bo edified -by hls'tilety, and solemnly offering op prayers hi tim' Churches Church-es that tho blessing or an heir jntjiht bo vouchsafed tV himHenry of STalois seemed sfraiuliig every uervo in1 order to bring himself and hisgreat.oflice Into contempt. con-tempt. ... i ''..,!., Aa orthodox as ho was' profligate, ho , hated the llliguenob, who sought his protection' und who could have saved bis j throne, oS cordially as ho Idvcd the Jesu- its, whp.passcd", thilr lives ' tu sccrcfplot-, ' tings -against, his authority and his per-1 soar or in fierco- (Icimnciatioiis from the' ; Parts' pulpits against his manifold crimes, N'cxt to nri exquisite ' and ' languinary, fop, be dearly lored.a monk.' The presence of a friar, he said,1 exerted 'as agrccabldnu i effect upon. his mind as 'the' most delicate ' and gentle, tickling could produce upon his ; body j and he was destined to have a ful- , Icr dostf of that charming presence than he coveted, . j pu ; f' sr.Ats; " ' ( J 'A small, dull, elderly, Imperfectly educated, edu-cated, patient, plodding invalid, with white hair and protruding under-jaw nd dreary visageVwas sitting day after day, seldom ipeaking', never smiling, seven . or -eight hours out of every twenty-four,' at a writ- Ing-tabto covered with heaps of Intcrmin-, i blp dispatches, In a cabinet far away be- J jfond' the seas "and mountains, In tho, very ! Iieart of Spain. A clerk or tw6, nobc lessly ojiuning and shutting tho dopr. from i timo to time, fetching fresh bundles of letters, and taking away others all writ ten and composed by secretaries or high ' functionaries and all to bp scrawled over i in tho margin by tho diligent old mar), in 1 a big achootboy'a liand and stylo- if ever i schoolboys even itt the sixteenth century, ' could write so illegible, or express hhiisulf 50 awkwardly couriers in tlie, courtyard,;! arriving from or departing for, the.uttcr- 'i most parts of- tho. pdrth Jtsla tTfic&, 1 America, Europe; to latch and carry theso intcrniinabio epistles which contained the irrosponsiblo commands of this, one : individual, und wcro, freighted with tho : Jooni and destiny of countless milliouffof tho world's iuhabitauts such Wastho systcia of government against which tlie , Netherlands, had protested and revolted. ' It was a system under wlilch their-ficlditt iiad becntnadp'dusolatc, tiieircities burned rj md pillaged, their men hanged, burned, lrowncdof tracked la pieces; their wo- ! men subjected to, every uqtragc; and to put nn end to which they Jiad been devoting devot-ing their treasure and their .blood for nearly tho length of one generation. . It ' tviis a system, too, which, among other results, hud just brought about tho death 1 at tho foremost statcsmail of Europe, and ' Iiad nearly, effected simultaneously the ' murder of thu most eminent Sovereign in ' iho world. Tho industrious Plitljp, safe ' und traniiutl In the depths of the Escurial, Haying his prayers t(ireo limes n duy, , with exemplary regularity, hail just sent ' three bullets through the body of William Wil-liam tho Sllvuf, at his diutng-fooui door ' in Deirt. ! A most important dispatch in 'which tho King, with iis own hand, was snp- , posed to be conveying secret intelligence to Mcndoza concerning thp Armada, to- aether with minutp directions for tho rcg- illation of Guise's conduct at the mcmora- , bo epoch of the barricades contained , but a slnglp comment from thomouach's J awn pea. ''The Armada has been in Lis- , bon aboat a month quatd vn viafi' wrote the Secretary. ''There Is but one , i in quasi," said Philip. Again, a diipnlcll of Mendoza to tho i King contained the Intelligence that Queen J Elizabeth was, nt tho date of thp totter, residing at St. James's. Philip, who bad I ap objection to display his .knowledge Qf J English alfairs as became the man who I bad already been almost Sovereign of : Euglnnd, und meant to be entirely so i lupptied a piece of information in nu npo$- I tille to this dispatch. "St. James is a I ouso of recreation," ho said, ''which Was t ace a monastery. There is a nark be-' . ween it and the palace which is called t" Iuytaj; but why it k called lluytal, Ii' msurelrlon't. know," II is researches ' t the English language had not enabled ira to recognlq tlie adjective and sub-tantivo sub-tantivo out of which tho obtuse compound Vhlte-llall (liny tat) was, formed, j On another occasion a tetter from Eng- 5 md, containing important intelligence c ouceraing the number of soldiers enrolled I i that country to resist the Spanish in- asion, the quantity of gunpowder aud 1 arious munitions collected, with other 1 etails of like nature, furnishe6, besides a t it of Information of less vital interest, c In the windows or the Queen's presence- I liamber they have discovered a great uautltyof lice, all. clustered together," iys. the writer. Such a minute pioco of statistics could j ot escape the. microscopic cyo of Philip, r o, disregarding the soldier and the gnu. owdcr, lio commented only ou this last- ( lentioned clause of tho letter; and did It c tutlously, too, as a king surnamcd tho s Irudtnt should: j "But, perhaps they were fleas,' wrotb t 'hilip. |