Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/227

201 HER CHARACTER. 201 from the peculiar attributes of her sex ; at least chapter ... XVI from those which constitute its peculiar charm ; for she had abundance of its foibles, — a coquetry and love of admiration, which age could not chill ; a levity, most careless, if not criminal ;^^ and a fond- ness for dress and tawdry magnificence of orna- ment, which was ridiculous, or disgusting, according to the different periods of life in which it was indulged.^" Isabella, on the other hand, distin- guished through life for decorum of manners, and purity beyond the breath of calumny, was content with the legitimate affection which she could in- spire 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 69 Which of the two, the reader of the records of these times may be somewhat puzzled to determine. — If one need be convinced how many faces history can wear, and how difficult it is to get at the true one, he has only to compare Dr. Lingard's account of this reign with Mr. Turner's. Much obliqui- ty was to be expected, indeed, from the avowed apologist of a persecut- ed party, like the former writer. But it attaches, I fear, to the latter in more than one instance, — as in the reign of Richard III., for ex- ample. Does it proceed from the desire of saying something new on a beaten topic, where the new can- not always be true .' Or, as is most probable, from that confiding be- nevolence, which throws somewhat of its own light over the darkest shades of human character ? The unprejudiced reader may perhaps agree, that the balance of this great queen's good and bad qualities is held with a more steady and im- partial hand by Mr. Hallam than any preceding writer. ■^0 The unsuspicious testimony of her godson, Harrington, places these foibles in the most ludicrous light. If the well-known story, re- peated by historians, of the three thousand dresses left in her ward- robe at her decease, be true, or near truth, it affords a singular contrast with Isabel'a's taste in these mat- ters. 'i'l The reader will remember how effectually they answered this pur- pose in the Moorish war. See Part I. Chapter 14, of this History. VOL. III. 26