beth 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 foibles; a coquetry and a 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 selection of their ministers, though Elizabeth was drawn into some errors, in this particular, by her levity, as was Isabella by her 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 counte. nanced 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 con L template 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 death-like 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, like some vast and 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 sprang from wounded vanity; a sullen conviction that she had outlived the admiration on which she had so long fed, and even the solace of friendship, and the attachment of her subjects. Nor did she seek consolation where alone it was to be found, in that sad hour. Isabella, on the other hand, sank under a too acute sensibility to the sufferings of others. But, amidst the gloom which gathered around her, she looked, with the eye of faith, to the brighter prospects which unfolded of the future. And, when she resigned her last breath, it was with the tears and universal lamentations of her people. It is in this undying, unabated attachment of the nation, indeed, that we see the most unequivocal testimony to the virtues of Isabella. Her own subjects extol her as 'the most brilliant exemplar of every virtue, and mourn over the day of her death as 'the last of the prosperity and happiness of the country;' while those who had nearer access to her person are unbounded in their admiration of those amiable qualities whose full power is revea ed only in the unrestrained intimacies of domestic life." JOAN OF ARC. THIS interesting and extraordinary girl, surnamed the "Maid of Orleans," from her heroic defence of that city, was born about the year 1410, or '11, in the little hamlet of Domremy, near the Meuse, and about three leagues south of Vaucouleurs, on the borders of Champagne. Her parents were humble and honest peasants. The district was remarkable for the devout simplicity of its inhabitants, as well as for those romantic superstitions, which, in a rude age, are so often allied with religion. It appears from the copious depositions of witnesses from Domremy, examined at Joan's trial, that she was unremitting in her prayers and other religious exercises, and was strongly imbued, at a very early age, with the prevailing superstitions of her native place. During that period of anarchy in France, when the supreme power, which had fallen from the hands of a monarch deprived of his reason, was contended for by the rival houses of Orleans and Burgundy, the conflicting parties carried on war more by murder and massacre than by regular battles. When an army was wanted, both had recourse to the English; and these conquering strangers made the unfortunate French feel still deeper the horrors and ravages of war. At first, the popular feeling was undecided; but when, on the death of Charles VI., the crown fell to a young prince, who adopted the Armagnac side, whilst the house of Burgundy had sworn allegiance to a foreigner, Henry V., as king of France, — then, indeed, the wishes and interests of all the French were in favor of the Armagnacs, or the truly patriotic party. Remote as was the village of Domremy, it was still interested in the issue of the struggle It was decidedly Armagnac, and was strengthened in this sentiment by the rivalry of a neighboring village, which adopted Burgundian colors. Political and party interests were thus forced upon the enthusiastic mind of Joan, and mingled with the pious legends she had caught from the traditions of the virgin. A prophecy was current that a virgin should rid France of her enemies, and this prophecy seems to have been realized by its effect upon the mind of Joan. The girl, by her own account, was about thirteen, when a supernatural vision first appeared to her. She describes it as a great light, accompanied by a voice, telling her to be devout and good, and promising her the protection of Heaven. Joan responded by a vow of eternal chastity. From that time, the voice or voices continued to haunt Joan, and to echo the enthusiastic and restless wishes of her own heart. Her own simple account was, that "voices were her visitors and advisers, and that they prompted her to quit her native place, take up arms, drive the foe before her, and procure for the young king his coronation at Rheims. These voices, however, had not influence enough to induce her to set out upon the hazardous mission, until a band of Burgundians, traversing and plundering the country, had compelled Joan, together with her parents, to take refuge in a neighboring town: when they returned to their village, after the departure of the marauders, they found the church of Domremy in ashes. re Such incidents were well calculated to arouse the indignation and excite the enthusiasm of Joan. Her "voices" turned, and incessantly directed her to set out for Orleans, but to commence by making application to De Baudricourt, commander at Vaucouleurs. Her parents, who were acquainted with Joan's martial propensities, attempted to force her into a marriage; but she contrived to avoid this by paying a visit to an uncle, in whose company she made her appearance before the governor of Vaucouleurs, in May, 1428. De Baudricourt at first refused to see her, and, upon granting an interview, treated her pretensions with conteinpt. She then returned to her uncle's abode, where she continued to announce her project, and to insist that the prophecy that "France, lost by a woman, — Isabel of Bavaria, — should be saved by a virgin from |