“The Duc de Montpensier will be the husband of the Infanta; this is what is arranged, and what will take place. The Citizen Louis has made a plan by which he thinks that in time Montpensier will occupy the throne of Spain by the side of the immediate heiress, Luisa Fernanda, because experienced doctors in medicine have declared to Bresson that the Queen is very ill with an hereditary disease which will take her to the grave. Why has not the Princess got it? That is a mystery which time will reveal. Who will give his hand in marriage to Queen Isabel? We hear that the candidature of Prince Henry is in favour. But this illustrious youth cannot be the husband of the Queen, neither can his brother, Don Francisco de Asis. “The Minister whom I have the honour of addressing is ignorant of the reason, and I can give it to him. “The Minister must know that when Princess Luisa Carlota was on her death-bed she did not, even in this sad moment, forget the troubles of her sister; and impelled by conscientious scruples, she sent for her illustrious sons, and, taking them each by the right hand, she said these solemn words to them, in a sad tone and with a tenderness which was truly Christian: ‘My sons, I wish to reach heaven, I wish to quit you and the world without remorse, and therefore I declare I repent having contributed through imprudent affection to thwarting the legitimate succession of the Crown of Spain, and this I swear on my salvation. So I command you as a mother, as a Princess, and as a repentant sinner, to swear that neither of you will aspire to the hand of Isabella.’” Narvaez showed that this document was a fraud, as, at the death of the Infanta, Don Henry was at some distance from Madrid, and Francisco was at Pampeluna. Isabella’s own feelings about her marriage were hardly taken into consideration at all. As a matter of fact, she had been more inclined to Prince Henry, the younger son of Doña Luisa Carlota, than to Francisco, and it will be remembered that even as a child she had admired the portrait of the Prince, which had been secretly sent by the mother to the young Queen; but inclination had no part in the negotiations, which were regulated entirely by self-interest and policy, so the tide of influence was soon seen to be in favour of the eldest son of Prince Francisco de Paula. Don Henry was furious when he found he was left out in the cold in the negotiation for the marriages of Isabella and her sister. In a letter to Bulwer Lytton he writes: “The old man at the Tuileries is very delighted and pleased. He has written three letters full of hypocritical words, telling the great Mama that she has drawn the first prize, and that she is very fortunate to be marrying her daughters to Paquito (Francisco) and Montpensier. A French fellow has arrived at the palace. You will recollect that I told you before last night that, judging from the appearance of things, you and I were going to have our noses put out of joint.