DESCRIPTION OF THE FULL-LENGTH, COLORED, AUTHENTIC PORTRAIT OF ISABELLA CLARA EUGENIA, IN HER MONASTIC DRESS. (WHO DIED december 1, 1633,) (Which appeared in the Court Magazine for August, 1842. No. 110.) 66 'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity saith the preacher." Who but must see the truth of these words as they contemplate the wretched looking object who represents the latter days of her whose portrait we gave, radiant with youth and beauty, in our last number. By this time, she had felt the utter worthlessness of worldly grandeur, and retired to a monastery, there to finish the remaining portion of her once royal existence, in penitence and sorrow. Her habit is that worn by the sisterhood of St. Francis, and is composed of coarse brown cloth The dress is very loose, and confined round the waist with a common hempen girdle of cord, one end of which hangs down in front, and is finished with a tassel. The sleeves are very full, and show an under one fitting tight; this is finished by a plain linen cuff. A straight piece of linen, stiffened, is pinned under the chin, and descends nearly to the waist. There is an apron of the same color and material as the dress, which is also confined by the girdle. The hood is composed of a large piece of brown cloth, and falls not ungracefully round the figure, one end passing under the arm, and being attached to the girdle by a ring. The coif is most probably of scarlet, as a small piece of that color peeps from underneath the hood in front. In her right hand, she carries a missal splendidly bound in violet-velvet and gold, and, in the left, a rosary with a portrait of St. Francis attached to it. The shoes are of an immense size, and the same color as the habit. [See also the Portrait, No. 110, of this exalted lady, together with a Memoir in the Court Magazine for July, 1842.] DESCRIPTION OF THE FULL-LENGTH, COLORED, AUTHENTIC PORTRAIT OF ISABELLA CLARA EUGENIA, INFANTA OF SPAIN, (AFTER REGINALD Eustace,) (Which appeared in the Court Magazine for July, 1842, together with a Memoir, No. 110 of the Series of Authentic Ancient Portraits.) [See also the Portrait, No. 111, of this exalted lady in her monastic dress, described at the back hereof, which appeared in the Court Magazine for August, 1842]. One can scarcely fancy an Infanta of Spain in any costume that does not comprise the high comb, flowing veil and mantilla, which have become historical for that country, yet the lady now before us boasts of none of those national appendages, but is attired in a loose robe or surcoat of green and gold brocade, with a slight admixture of violet in its hue. The fashion thereof is not particularly becoming to the figure, as it resembles a very loose dressing-gown more than anything else. The sleeves are of the rebras, of hanging form, and are lined with violet-colored satin; they are open at the inside part of the elbow to admit of the arm passing through, and the lower part hangs loosely down. The front of the body turns back to the waist, but can be closed at pleasure or may remain open, as in this instance, to show the jewels which are worn on the breast. The under dress is composed of white satin, elaborately trimmed round the bottom and down the front with gold. This dress is made up to the throat, and fits the shape tightly; the sleeves are also tight to the arm, and ornamented with gold in the same manner as the skirt. They are finished at the wrist with a very wide ruffle of lace which turns upwards. An enormous ruff of the some costly material encircles the throat, and renders stooping impossible, were such a thing ever contemplated by the stately dames of yore. The hair is drawn up tight to the top of the head, where it forms a bow, which is hid behind the ornamental comb, visible, and which fastens the pretty flower-knot that appears at the back and droops to the left side; the front hair is brushed back, and arranged in short frissled curls round the face—these are fuller in front than at the sides. A splendid cross, formed of rubies and gold, from each side of which depends a pear-shaped pearl, is worn on the breast; we perceive a round ornament of the same material on the right side. A double row of costly pearls depends from under the cross, and reaches some way below the waist. A green-and-gold fan is held carelessly in the left hand. The ear-drops consist of a single pear-shaped pearl. [It may be mentioned that there is in the Gallery of Goodrich Castle a beautiful Portrait of this lady in her wedding-robes; indeed, she is depicted in a great variety of forms, since her history is itself very remarkable, and not less so the times in which she lived; as will again appear in our forthcoming Memoir of Anne of Denmark and James I., and the Queen of Bohemia and the Palatine, to which the reader will please refer.] THE COURT, LADY'S MAGAZINE, MONTHLY CRITIC AND MUSEUM. A Family Journal OF ORIGINAL TALES, REVIews of literATURE, THE FINE ARTS, MUSIC, DRAMA, FASHIONS, &c., &c. UNDER THE DISTINGUISHED PATRONAGE OF HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUCHESS OF KENT. With an authentic Memoir, and full-length colored Portrait, after Reginald Eustache, (No. 110, of the series of full-length authentic ancient Portraits). OF ISABELLA CLARA EUGENI A, DAUGHTER OF PHILIP II. OF SPAIN, AND WIFE OF ALBERT, ARCHDUKE OF AUStria. THE PROTÉGÉE: A TALE. BY MRS. T. R. EDMONDS. CHAPTER I. "Tis pleasant by the cheerful hearth to hear Of tempests and the dangers of the deep, And pause at times and feel that we are safe ; Then, with an eager and suspended soul, woo terror to delight uɛ." THE traveller, whose love for the picturesque has induced him to leave the bright verdure of England, and seek nature in her wildest moods on the rugged shores of Scotland, will, I doubt not, agree that the town of B- is one of the prettiest features on the north eastern coast of that kingdom. Like most country towns it can boast of little regularity; art has contributed little towards framing the beautiful panorama which unexpectedly greets the eye of the Southern tourist, after a long drive over a bleak tract of country which, but for a blue wreath of smoke which here and there marks a human habitation, would appear to be almost deserted. In summer, A-(COURT MAGAZINE)-JULY, 1842. nothing can exceed the quiet beauty of the little town of B, with its " shining river" and richly cultivated park on one side, and, on the other, the broad and boundless ocean. But turn we now to the dark side of the picture, the scene, so beautiful in the bright season of summer, is often in winter blackened and deformed by tempests, and the river, bearing on its bosom the troubled waters of many tributary streams, has more than once overflowed its banks, threatening destruction to the town and its environs. It was during one of those tempests, when the " sea and waves roared, and men's hearts were failing them from fear," that a vessel was descried buffeting the waves, which at one moment seemed to lift her high in air, and at another rendered her invisible. The report that human lives were in danger spread quick as lightning, and hundreds crowded to the beach, notwithstanding the violence of the storm, anxious to watch the fate of the little bark. It was soon ascertained by the assembled multitude that the vessel could not stand out to sea, and that a few short hours, perhaps even moments, would decide the fate of their exhausted fellow creatures. Though not above a quarter of a mile from the beach, the mountain billows rendered any attempt to approach the vessel impossible. The spectators stood with suspended breath and straining eyes, and when a loud crash, almost at their feet, announced the destruction of the doomed ship, a shriek burst from the assembled multitude that mingled fearfully with the howlings of the tempest. But Heaven was merciful, and no widow's hearth was rendered desolate by the event which had for awhile caused so much excitement. The crew, which consisted of only four men and a boy, were by the unceasing exertions of those on shore rescued from the foaming sea. One of those stout mariners, who himself had so narrowly escaped death, suddenly seized a rope which was lying on the beach; fixing it firmly round his waist, and throwing the other end to his companions, he plunged with resolute recklessness into the abyss, and made towards a plank to which a young woman, with a child in her arms, was clinging in the last agonies of despair. Quick as thought, the sailor seized his almost senseless burden, and the next billow laid them at the feet of the applauding crowd. There is no country in the world where the duties of hospitality are more cheerfully exercised than in Scotland, and there were few of those assembled, even in the humbler walks of life, who would not willingly have afforded shelter to the interesting female, who had been so miraculously rescued from the fury of the elements. There was nothing in the stranger's simple attire to indicate her station in life. Her black gown and a coarse woollen shawl which encircled the waists of herself and child might have been assumed for greater convenience in travelling; but her dress, and the humble mode of conveyance which she had chosen, seemed ill suited to the majestic, yet feminine style of her beauty. She could not have seen more than twenty summers, yet sorrow had set his seal on those beautiful features; and, but for the uplifted eye and the pious ejaculation which passed her lips on seeing her still living child, the bystanders might have thought that they had perilled their lives but to save a willing victim from the raging sea. But if the mother seemed little grateful for renewed existence, not so the fair |