LtKKEii's Civil. LinuiiTY aj?i Ski.vGovhunmext.
157
Imvo endured. At another she woulil be
seen kneeling beside the dying soldier,
binding up bis ghastly wounds, mid
bathing his fevered brow with as much
care and tenderness as she would one of
her own household. Again, she could
grace the throne as became tin. Queen of
a mighly nation', and when this was iin.
necessary, dolling her royal robes which
she scarcely ever wore except on state oc
casionsand taking her woik, she would
go and sit beside some of her bereaved or
invalid subjects, cheering them with
words of joy and comfoit. " No wonder,
then," you say, " that her subjects were so
ultached to her." Hut it may be asked
" Did siiu ever make a blunder? Had she
no faults as well as viitues?" Certainly,
at least as we now look at matters from
our degree of civilization, nor do wo in
tend to omit them, but while presenting
them will siiow as clearly as possible that
they were mistakes caused rather by the
times, and influences brought to bear up
on her, than by any fault of her own.
Before charging her with 11113- crime, we
must remember that the world was but
just emerging from barbarism, and many
acts which are now looked upon as inhu
man were then regarded as perfectly legit
imate and just. Moreover, the doctrines
of Catholicism were so impregnated in
the very natures of the people that the
priests had almost absolute control of the
destinies of nations.
Two of her acts seem hard to excuse;
namely, the expulsion of the Jews, and
the establishment of the "Holy Inquisi
tion," the most diabolical institution that
ever disgraced the face of the earth. The
workings of this institution, and the terri
ble ordeal through which tens of thous
anils of innocent persons have been com
pel led to pass, are well known to all.
Isabella's whole nature revolted at brutal
treatment, and had it not been for the in
fluence which her ghostly advisers had
over her, these two acts would not disfig
ure his otherwise illustrious reign. From
her youth she had been taught to ever re
gard the advice of the Catholic, dignita.
vies. Hut, as we said, her nature was
such that the priest never gained absolute
control, and ofllimes the Pope himself
had to swallow his chagrin at her refusal
to obey his mandates. Wa enn more read
ily excuse these blunders than those simi
lar ones of our ancestors In New England
several centuries alter.
Isabella was human and consequently
liable to err, yet Spain has never had her
equal, and the whole world, we believe,
has never produced her superior. Her
name is ever used with reverence by all
Spaniards and of all the bright lumina
ries of the past she will ever be retained
in the memory of after ages as the Arenus
of the starry firmament.
LIEBE1VS CIVTL LIBERTY AND
SE LF.GOViltNJrENT.
As the above has lain on the library
shelves unnoticed, I thought, after care
1 ly reading the work, that it was a duty
to give it a brief review. Though I have
heard from my childhood the term liberty
resounding from all, its meaning had ever
perplexed me, until I chanced to meet
Dr. Lieber's work. Hut few authors are
able to give an impartial view of sociolo
gy. They are seldom able to get beyond
the confines of their own county. Like
many theologians, who think that their
creed is the only medium of salvation
they believe their country is the only one
possessing liberty, and the only one fit for
it. As a result, we hear nothing but Eng.
lisli, French, Swiss, or American liberty,
as though each one held and derived lib.
erly within itself. But Dr. Lieber's mind
is broad and unbiased. He seems never
to have become contaminated with narrow
sectional views, which enables him to
give us u clear idea of government.
Like the French, we are in danger of
confounding liberty with the absolute
power of the populace cox pojntli, vox
Dei. Dr. Licber, from his vast knowledge
of historical facts, plainly shows that the
