ISABELLA OF CASTILE.

SHOULD We seek through the pages of history for a sovereign, such as the Supreme Spirit of Good might indeed own for his vice-regent here on earth, where should we find one more blameless and beautiful than that of Isabella? Or, should we point out a reign, distinguished by great events-events of such magnitude as to involve in their consequences, not particular kings and nations, but the whole universe, and future ages to the end of time—where could we find a reign such as that of Isabella, who added a new world to her hereditary kingdom? Or, did we wish to prove that no virtues, talents, graces, though dignifying and adorning a double crown and treble sceptre; nor the possession of a throne fixed in the hearts of her people; nor a long course of the most splendid prosperity, could exempt a great queen from the burthen of sorrow, which is the lot of her sex and of humanity; where could we find an instance so forcible as in the history of Isabella ?

This illustrious woman was the daughter of John the Second, King of Castile and Leon, and born in 1450, four years before the death of her father. King John, after a long, turbulent, and unhappy reign, died at Medina-del-Campo, leaving by his first wife, Maria of Arragon, a son, Don Henry, who succeeded him; and by his second wife, Isabella of Portugal, two children in their infancy, Alphonso and Isabella.

Among the many princes who sought the hand of Isabella,

Don Ferdinand, son of the King of Arragon, was preferred by the young princess, and their marriage was accordingly performed at Valladolia, privately-the king, her brother, Henry the Fourth of Castile, who was a vicious prince, and whose acts of misgovernment had already led to a general revolt, at the head of which was the Archbishop of Toledo, and the chief nobility-being opposed to this alliance from motives of interest.

At the period of her marriage, (in 1469), Isabella had just entered her twentieth year. In person she was well formed, of middle size, with great dignity and gracefulness of deportment, and a mingled gravity and sweetness of demeanor. Her complexion was fair; her hair auburn, inclining to red; her eyes were of a clear blue, with a benign expression, and there was a singular modesty in her countenance, gracing, as it did, a wonderful firmness of purpose and earnestness of spirit. She exceeded her husband in beauty, in personal dignity, in acuteness of genius, and grandeur of soul. She combined a masculine energy of purpose with the utmost tenderness of heart, and a softness of temper and manner truly feminine. Her selfcommand was not allied to coldness, nor her prudence to dissimulation, and her generous and magnanimous spirit disdained all indirect measures, and all the little crooked arts of policy. While all her public thoughts and acts were princely and august, her private habits were simple, frugal, and unostentatious. Without being learned, she was fond of literature; and being possessed of a fine understanding, had cultivated many branches of knowledge with success. She encouraged and patronized the arts, and was the soul of every undertaking which tended to promote the improvement and happiness of her subjects. Her only fault-most pardonable in her sex, her situation, and the age in which she lived-was, that her piety tended to bigotry,