lives of Ferdinand and Isabella that had appeared are the meagre and unsatisfactory ones of the Abbé Mignot and Rupert Becker, one published in Paris in 1766, and the other in Prague in 1790.

Mr. Alexander H. Everett was our minister at the court of Spain when Mr. Prescott decided upon the choice of his subject, and through his aid and that of two other American gentlemen residing at the time in the Peninsula, he succeeded in obtaining whatever was known to exist that could not be supplied by the public and private libraries of his own city. Among the works thus procured were some brought to light by the researches of recent Spanish scholars, in the peculiar freedom of inquiry they have enjoyed, which gave him a great advantage over previous historians. In his preface he refers particularly to Llorente's History of the Inquisition, the analysis of the political institutions of the kingdom by such writers as Marina, Sempere, and Capmany; the version of the Spanish-Arab chronicles by Conde; the collections of Navarette, and the illustrations of the reign of Isabella by Clemencin, the Secretary of the Royal Academy of History; besides which he succeeded in obtaining various contemporary manuscripts, covering the whole ground of the narrative, none of which had been printed, and some of which were but little known to Spanish scholars.

When these literary treasures reached him, Mr. Prescott was not able to read even the title-pages of the volumes. He had strained the nerve of his eye by careless use of it, and it was several years before it recovered so far as to allow him to tax it again. By the sight of his Spanish treasures lying unexplored before him, he was filled with despair. He determined to try whether he could make the ears do the work of the eyes. He taught his reader, unacquainted with any language but his own, to pronounce the Spanish, though not exactly in the accent of the Court of Madrid. He read at a slow and stumbling pace, while the historian listened with painful attention. Practice at length made the work easier for both, though the reader never understood a word of his author. In this way they ploughed along patiently through seven Spanish quartos. He found at last he cogo over about two-thirds as much in an hour as he could when read to in English. The ex

periment was made, and he became convinced of the practicability of substituting the ear for the eye. He was overjoyed, for his library was no longer to consist of sealed volumes.

He now obtained the services of a secretary acquainted with the different ancient and modern languages. Still there were many impediments to overcome. His eye, however, gradually improved, and he could use it by daylight, (never again in the evening,) a few hours; though this was not till after some years, and then with repeated intervals of weeks, and sometimes months of debility. Many a chapter, and some of the severest, in Ferdinand and Isabella, were written almost wholly with the aid of the eyes of his secretary. His modus operandi was necessarily peculiar. He selected, first, all the authorities in the different languages that could bear on the topic to be discussed. He then listened to the reading of them, one after another, dictating very copious notes on each. When the survey was completed, a large pile of notes was amassed, which were read to him over and over again, until the whole had been embraced by his mind, when they were fused down into the consecutive contents of a chapter. When the subject was complex, and not pure narrative, requiring a great variety of reference, and sifting of contradictory authorities, the work must have been very difficult. But it strengthened memory, kept his faculties wide awake, and taught him to generalize; for the little details slipped through the holes in the memory.

His labour did not end with this process. He found it as difficult to write as to read, and procured in London a writing-case for the blind. This he could use in the dark as well as in the light. The characters, indeed, might pass for hieroglyphics, but they were deciphered by his secretary, and transferred by him to a legible form in a fair copy. Yet I have heard him say his hair sometimes stood on end at the woful blunders and misconceptions of the original, which every now and then, escaping detection, found their way into the first proof of the printer.

Amid such difficulties was the composition of Ferdinand and Isabella heroically completed, at the end of something less than ten years from its commencement. He remembered that Johnson says Milton gave up his History of England because it was scarcely

possible to write history with the eyes of others; and was stimulated in the midst of his embarrassments to overcome them. Well might he feel a proud satisfaction in conquering the obstacles of nature.

Mr. Prescott had four copies of the History first printed for himself, and had so little confidence in its immediate success, that he had thought of postponing the publication till after his death, but his father told him "the man who writes a book which he is afraid to publish is a coward." This decided him. The work was published in the beginning of 1838. Its reception in his own country and in all parts of Europe was such as to repay him, if any thing could, for the long night of toil by which it had been produced. It quickly made its appearance in London. It was praised in the Quarterly and Edinburgh Reviews, and in the leading journals, and has since gone through four editions in England, and twelve in the United States. It was republished in Paris, and translated into Spanish, German, and Italian. It was everywhere recognised at once as a great history. The voice of posterity was anticipated: by the unanimous judgment of the learned it was admitted without probation into the circle of immortal works.

Mr. Prescott allowed himself but short repose. He was not content to rest upon his laurels, nor fearful of endangering his great reputation by a second effort. The success of his first work gave him advantages he had not before possessed of collecting materials. He was made a member of the Royal Academy of Madrid, and its rich collections by Muñoz, the historiographer of the Indies, by Ponçe, from the archives at Seville, and by Navarette, its president, were thrown open to him, with permission to have copies of whatever he desired. From these collections, the results of half a century's diligent and intelligent researches, he obtained a mass of authentic and original documents relating to the conquest and settlement of Mexico and Peru, comprising altogether about eight thousand folio pages, some of which were of the highest interest and importance. The descendant and representative of Cortes, also, the Duke

The words of Johnson are, "To compile a history from various authors, when they can only be consulted by other eyes, is not easy, nor possible, but with more skilful and attentive help than can be commonly obtained."-Life of Milton, quoted in preface to Ferdinand and Isabella.

of Monteleone, of Sicily, opened to him the archives of his family, from which were obtained some interesting particulars respecting the conquestador's biography. His friend, the accomplished and highly respected Don Calderon de la Barca, now resident minister at Washington from the court of Madrid, was at that time in the same capacity in Mexico, where his estimable qualities had their natural effect in securing to him every privilege he desired, and through him he obtained such materials illustrative of his subject as were existing in the country itself. The manuscripts of the Tezcucan historian Ixtlilxochitl, described as the "Livy of Anahuac;" the works of Veytia, Sahagun, Boturini, and Camargo; with the splendid pictorial works of Dupaix and Kingsborough, and whatever else was published, were also gathered round him before he entered fully upon his studies.

The History of the Conquest of Mexico was written under much greater advantages of eyesight, which had been so far improved that he was enabled to do most of the reading himself, restricting always this part of labour to the day. His writing is still conducted in the same manner as has been already described, for he has ever found the process of writing a severe tax on the eye.

Mr. Prescott's second historical work was even more successful than the first. Messrs. Harpers of New York sold nearly seven thousand copies of it in a single year. It was published at the same time in London, where it quickly passed to a second edition. It was reprinted in Paris, and was translated there, as well as in Berlin, Rome, Madrid, and Mexico. The Mexican translator, a person of some consideration in that country, advertised that he should accommodate the offensive opinions in religion and politics to the more received ideas of the Mexicans! But the version which appeared in Madrid being faithful, the Spanish Americans have perhaps had an opportunity to see the work in an unmutilated form. Among the evidences of its success abroad was the election of Mr. Prescott into the Institute of France.

The death of the venerable father of the historian for a time interrupted his studies, or The Conquest of Peru, upon which he was engaged when that event occurred, would probably by this time have been given to the world. It will form a pendant to the Con

quest of Mexico, and will be quite equal in romantic interest to that admirable history. But the work for which Mr. Prescott has assembled the largest mass of materials, and upon which he proposes to employ the last ten years of his historical life,-Da Jupiter annos,—is The History of the Reign of Philip the Second: the history of the beginning of the decline, as that of Ferdinand and Isabella was of the end of the rise, of the greatness of the Spanish monarchy. For this work he has drawn materials from the principal archives and private libraries of Europe, (especially in Spain, where the libraries of the descendants of the old statesmen of Philip the Second, have been thrown open to him,) amounting to nearly ten thousand folio pages of manuscripts. Mr. Prescott is undoubtedly entitled to a prominent place in the first rank of historians. With extraordinary industry he explores every source of information relating to his subjects, and with sagacity as remarkable decides between conflicting authorities and rejects improbable relations. His judgment of character is calm, comprehensive, and profoundly just. He enters into the midst of an age, and with all its influences about him, estimates its actors and its deeds. His arrangement of facts is always effective, and his style flowing, familiar, singularly transparent, and marked throughout with the most felicitous expressions.

Whatever may be the comparative merits of the two great histories he has already published, as intellectual efforts, there is little room to doubt that The Conquest of Mexico will continue to be the most popular. It is justly remarked in the Edinburgh Review, that, considered merely as a work of amusement, it will bear a favourable comparison with the best romances in the language. The careful, judicious, and comprehensive essay on the Aztec civilization, with which it opens, is not inferior in interest to the wonderful drama to which it is an epilogue. The scenery, which is sketched with remarkable vividness and accuracy, is wonderful, beautiful, and peculiar. The characters are various, strongly marked, and not more numerous than is necessary for the purposes of art. Cortez himself is a knight errant, "filled with the spirit of romantic enterprise," yet a skilful general, fruitful of resources, and of almost superhu

man energies; of extraordinary cunning, but without any rectitude of judgment; a bigoted churchman, yet having no sympathy with virtue; of kind manners, but remorseless in his cruelties. His associates, Valasquez, Ordaz, Sandoval, Alvarado, the priest Olmedo, the heroine Doña Marina, and others of whom we have glimpses more or less distinct, seem to have been formed as well to fill their places in the written history, as to act their parts in the crusade. And the philosophical king of Tezcuco, and Montezuma, whose character and misfortunes are reflected in his mild and melancholy face, and Guatemozin, the last of the emperors, and other Aztecs, in many of the higher qualities of civilization superior to their invaders, and inferior in scarcely any thing but a knowledge of the art of war, are grouped and contrasted most effectively with such characters as are more familiar in the scenes of history.

The biographical and bibliographical information and criticism contained in notes and addenda to the different books of Ferdinand and Isabella and The Conquest of Mexico, form one of the most attractive of their features, and would alone sustain a high reputation for learning and judgment.

Mr. Prescott perhaps excels most in description and narration, but his histories combine in a high degree almost every merit that can belong to such works. They are pervaded by a truly and profoundly philosophical spirit, the more deserving of recognition because it is natural and unobtrusive, and are distinguished above all others for their uniform candour, a quality which might reasonably be demanded of an American writing of early European policy and adventure.

In private life, I may be permitted to add to this account, no man is more admired and beloved than Mr. Prescott. He is not more remarkable for his abilities and acquirements than for his amiability, simplicity, and highbred courtesy. He is one of those men who are a blessing as well as an honour to the community in which they live. I deem it not improper thus to state what every Bostonian feels to be true, because it adds very greatly in my opinion to the value of any work of history, to know that its author, to research, discrimi nation, and love of his subject, adds a truly conscientious spirit.

ISABELLA OF SPAIN AND ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND.

FROM FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.

It is in the amiable qualities of her sex that Isabella's superiority becomes most apparent over her illustrious namesake, Elizabeth of England, whose history presents some features parallel to her own. Both were disciplined in early life by the teachings of that stern nurse of wisdom, adversity. Both were made to experience the deepest humiliation at the hands of their nearest relative, who should have cherished and protected them. Both succeeded in establishing themselves on the throne after the most precarious vicissitudes. Each conducted her kingdom, through a long and triumphant reign, to a height of glory which it had never before reached. Both lived to see the vanity of all earthly grandeur, and to fall the victims of an inconsolable melancholy; and both left behind an illustrious name, unrivalled in the subsequent annals of the country.

But with these few circumstances of their history, the resemblance ceases. Their characters afford scarcely a point of contact. Elizabeth, inheriting a large share of the bold and bluff King Harry's temperament, was haughty, arrogant, coarse, and irascible; while with these fiercer qualities she mingled deep dissimulation and strange irresolution. Isabella, on the other hand, tempered the dignity of royal station with the most bland and courteous manners. Once resolved, she was constant in her purposes; and her conduct in public and private life was characterized by candour and integrity. Both may be said to have shown that magnanimity which is implied by the accomplishment of great objects in the face of great obstacles. But Elizabeth was desperately selfish; she was incapable of forgiving, not merely a real injury, but the slightest affront to her vanity; and she was merciless in exacting retribution. Isabella, on the other hand, lived only for others,—— was ready at all times to sacrifice self to considerations of public duty; and, far from personal resentments, showed the greatest condescension and kindness to those who had most sensibly injured her; while her benevolent heart sought every means to mitigate the authorized severities of the law, even toward the guilty.

Both possessed rare fortitude. Isabella, indeed, was placed in situations which demanded more frequent and higher displays of it than her rival; but no one will doubt a full measure of this quality in the daughter of Henry the Eighth. Elizabeth was better educated, and every way more highly accomplished than Isabella. But the latter knew enough to maintain her station with dignity; and she encouraged learning by a munificent patronage. The masculine powers and passions of Elizabeth seemed to divorce her in a great measure from the peculiar attributes of her sex; at least from those which constitute its peculiar charm; for she had abundance of its foibles-a coquetry

Isabel, the name of the Catholic queen, is correctly rendered into English by that of Elizabeth.

and love of admiration which age could not chill; a levity most careless, if not criminal; and a fondness for dress and tawdry magnificence of ornament, which was ridiculous, or disgusting, according to the different periods of life in which it was indulged. Isabella, on the other hand, distinguished through life for decorum of manners and purity beyond the breath of calumny, was content with the legitimate affection which she could inspire within the range of her domestic circle. Far from a frivolous affectation of ornament or dress, she was most simple in her own attire, and seemed to set no value on her jewels, but as they could serve the necessities of the state; when they could be no longer useful in this way, she gave them away to her friends.

Both were uncommonly sagacious in the selec tion of their ministers; though Elizabeth was drawn into some errors in this particular by her levity, as was Isabella by religious feeling. It was this, combined with her excessive humility, which led to the only grave errors in the administration of the latter. Her rival fell into no such errors; and she was a stranger to the amiable qualities which led to them. Her conduct was certainly not controlled by religious principle ; and, though the bulwark of the Protestant faith, it might be difficult to say whether she were at heart most a Protestant or a Catholic. She viewed religion in its connection with the state, in other words, with herself; and she took measures for enforcing conformity to her own views, not a whit less despotic, and scarcely less sanguinary, than those countenanced for conscience' sake by her more bigoted rival.

This feature of bigotry, which has thrown a shade over Isabella's otherwise beautiful character, might lead to a disparagement of her intellectual power compared with that of the English queen. To estimate this aright, we must contemplate the results of their respective reigns. Elizabeth found all the materials of prosperity at hand, and availed herself of them most ably to build up a solid fabric of national grandeur. Isabella created these materials. She saw the faculties of her people locked up in a deathlike lethargy, and she breathed into them the breath of life for those great and heroic enterprises which terminated in such glorious consequences to the monarchy. It is when viewed from the depressed position of her early days, that the achievements of her reign seem scarcely less than miraculous. The masculine genius of the English queen stands out relieved beyond its natural dimensions by its separation from the softer qualities of her sex. While her rival's, like some vast, but symmetrical edifice, loses in appearance somewhat of its actual grandeur from the perfect harmony of its proportions.

The circumstances of their deaths, which were somewhat similar, displayed the great dissimilarity of their characters. Both pined amidst their royal state, a prey to incurable despondency rather than any marked bodily distemper. In Elizabeth it sprung from wounded vanity, a sullen conviction that she had outlived the admiration on which she