Queen Mercedes of Spain died, at Madrid, of aggravated typhoid
fever, on the 26th inst. She was only just eighteen, had not been married six months, and must have had charming qualities, to excite the deep and almost personal sorrow which all classes in Spain evince at her sad fate. The daughter of- the detested Duke de Moutpensier, herself a Liberal, and selected by the King in defiance of his mother, of his Ministry, and of the whole Moderado party, she appears to have attracted the regard of all who had access to her, as well as of the whole popu- lation of Madrid. Her Court was thronged by the best men in Spain, and during her last illness the storm of inquiries never ceased, 11,000 letters and telegrams being received in one day ; the Cortes, on the news of her death, passed the budget without inquiry, in order to adjourn ; and the populace on the last night of her life encamped round the Palace, to read the half-hourly bulletins. Sympathy of that universal kind is rarely called out by mere position. It is felt that the Throne has received a blow, and that King Alfonso will no longer be sup- ported by the undivided strength of all Monarchical parties.
