William Henry Davenport Adams' biography of Kristina, 1890s, part 13

Source:

Some Historic Women; or, Biographical Studies of Women Who Have Made History, pages 292 to 293, by William Henry Davenport Adams, 1890-1899; original at the University of Toronto - Robarts Library

https://archive.org/details/somehistoricwome00adam/page/292/mode/2up

Above: Kristina.

The biography:

Having exhausted the sights and amusements of Rome, the impetuous Queen resolved on visiting Paris. She arrived at Marseilles on the 24th of July, 1656, and was received there by the Duke of Guise on behalf of the French Court. He accompanied her to the capital, and en route, wrote the following graphic description of her for the amusement of a friend: —

"She is not tall, but well-proportioned. Her arm is handsome, and her hand white and excellently shaped, but more like a man's than a woman's. One shoulder is somewhat higher than the other; but she conceals the defect so skilfully with her strange dress and movements, that you might make a bet about it.

"Her face is large; her features are strongly marked; the nose is aquiline, the mouth large but not unpleasant, and the teeth are good. Her eyes are beautiful, and full of animation. Her complexion is good; but she wears an extraordinary headdress, namely, a man's wig, made very large and high in the front. She uses a great deal of powder, and seldom carries gloves. Her boots are men's boots, and she has a man's voice and manners. She is very polished: speaks eight languages well, and French as if she had been born in Paris. She knows more than all our Academy and the Sorbonne put together; is an admirable judge of paintings and of everything else. She knows more of the intrigues of our land than I do, — in short, — she is an extraordinary person.

"I am escorting her to Paris, so that you will be able to judge of her for yourself. I think I have omitted nothing from her portrait, except that she sometimes wears a sword and a buff jerkin."

At Paris she was overwhelmed with attentions. Those of the French ladies were by no means to her taste. "What has inspired them", she said, "with such a passion for kissing me? Is it because I am like a man?" Her eccentricities of conduct, which increased every year, caused a good deal of satirical comment. When she went to the theatre with Madame de Montpensier [sic], she stretched her legs over the back of the chair, threw herself down on the carpet, and indulged in strange oaths. The Parisians, however, appreciated her wit and talent for repartee.