"Praised be God," said the person below.
"And the Virgin1, Our Lady," replied he on the wall.
Cap in hand, the horseman then added pompously2, "A letter from Her Highness the very Serene3 Princess Governess."
This naturally made a stir throughout the castle. Luis Quijada himself came out to meet the messenger, half dressed, with his spectacles in his hand. He read the Princess's letter and then handed it to Do?a Magdalena gloomily, for he was one of those people who are all self-sacrifice and abnegation in their acts, but grumbling4 and cross in their words. This is what the letter said:
"The Princess.
Luis Méndez Quijada, Steward5 to the Emperor my Lord, this morning I have received tidings that the Emperor, my Lord, and the Very Serene Queens, my aunts, arrived last Monday, the eve of St. Michael, at Laredo, and that H.M. disembarked that day, and they on the following one, and that they are well, for which much thanks to Our Lord, and were received with due pleasure and contentment. And as you are wanted for the journey, and as it is convenient to know where to lodge6 them in this town, I pray you that as soon as you receive this you will start and go at once to H.M. by post, and that when you are arrived you will give an account of the two apartments which we had arranged and let me know, with all diligence, which one H.M. would prefer, and that you will say whether any stoves shall be put in them or other things, so that it may be done ready for his arrival.
"Also I beg you that you will ascertain7 from H.M. if he wishes that foot and horse guards should be sent for his escort or that of the Very Serene Queens, my aunts. If it will be necessary for any Grandees8 or knights9 to come as escort. Also if he wishes that there should be any reception in Burgos or here for H.M. or the Queens, my aunts, and of what kind.
"If he wishes the Prince, my nephew, to go to meet them on the road, and where. If he would like me to do the same, or the councillors who are here. That you may advise me with all diligence, particularly as to his wish in everything.
"Also that you should undertake the charge, which I give you, of seeing that His Majesty10 is well provided on the road with everything necessary, and also the Very Serene Queens, my aunts, and to see that the taxes are well collected, advising the Alcalde Durango what it appears to you necessary for him to provide, that nothing be lacking, and me here what it is convenient to provide for him, in doing which you will please me much. From Valladolid, 1st of October, 1556.
"The Princess."
Do?a Magdalena returned the letter, after reading it, to Quijada, saying sadly that he would be obliged to set out that afternoon or the next day at latest, to which Quijada answered irritably11 that he saw no need to wait until the afternoon when on the Emperor's service, and that he would start at once. And he gave his orders so quickly, and so expeditious12 was everyone in executing them, that two hours later, at five in the morning, Quijada and his people were all ready to set out. Jeromín came to kiss his hand with eyes full of tears; but shaking him roughly by the shoulders Quijada told him "to keep those tears for when he confessed his sins, that only at the feet of a confessor it became men to cry." Ashamed, the boy swallowed his tears, and then Quijada, thinking that he had been over-severe, gave him his hand to be kissed, making the sign of the cross on his forehead, and promised him the suit of Milanese armour13 the first time he should break a lance in public.
Luis Quijada made the journey from Villagarcia to Laredo in three days and a half, according to the letter he wrote himself to the Princess's secretary, Juan Vázguez, on the 6th of October.
"Illustrious Sir,
I arrived here from Villagarcia in three days and a half, with great difficulty, as I could not find posts or animals to hire." And further, he adds, "Nothing more occurs to me to say except that it does nothing but rain, that the roads are bad, and the lodgings14 worse. God keep us; we shall have work, but not so much as I have gone through this journey. I tell your Honour the truth, I have never passed through worse or greater dangers, because I could already see myself knocking off the tops of thirty peaks, as a mule15 fell with me across a wide gap, and if it had been to the left, I should have had a still worse fall. From Bilbao, 6th of October, 1556, sent from Laredo.—
Luis Quijada."
Luis Quijada then met those three august ruins the Emperor and his two sisters, the widowed Queens of Hungary and France, in Laredo, who, despoiled16 of everything, and weary of acting17 great parts in the world's drama, were come to die in the peace of the Lord, each one in a different corner of Spain.
The eldest18 of the three was Queen Elinor, widow by a first marriage of D. Manuel the Fortunate of Portugal and by a second of the magnificent Francis I of France. Do?a Elinor was fifty-eight, but more than years, troubles, anxieties and the dreadful asthma19 she suffered from had aged20 her, so that no one would have recognised in this sad, bent21 old woman the former brilliant Queen of Portugal and France. But neither age, nor illness, nor her many and bitter disappointments had been able to alter the serenity22 of her character or her goodness, which made D. Luis de ávila and Zú?iga say in a letter written to the secretary, Juan Vázguez, "She was really an innocent saint, and I think she had no more malice23 than an old dove."
The Queen of Hungary, on the other hand, was masculine and decided24. As quick to see as she was prudent25 and energetic to execute. Her brother loved her beyond everything, and Do?a Maria repaid his fraternal affection with interest, and was always his greatest admirer, upholding his policy with great ability. Her energy and talent got him out of grave difficulties and real troubles during the twenty-five years this great Princess was Regent of Flanders. At the time of her return to Spain she was fifty-two, but had no signs of age except grey hair, and in spite of her years, and the heart disease from which she suffered, would have performed the journey on horseback by the side of her brother's litter if the weakness of the Queen of France had not kept her at her sister's side. Do?a Elinor, recognising the affection and superiority of her sister, always sought advice and help from her, which Do?a Maria gave, as the most loving mother might to the most trusting daughter. The sisters were also physically26 a contrast. At that time Do?a Elinor was a little, short, dried-up old woman, with very white hair and such a peaceful, sweet face that she attracted by this imposing27 but gentle majesty, which was placed in relief by virtue28 of her rank.
Do?a Maria was tall for a woman, with a good figure and extremely stately, though not in the same way as her sister, but with that other majesty which stamps the fact of superiority by merit, rather than that of superiority by birth. Neither of the Queens dressed in Spanish fashion, but richly and plainly in the Flemish style, with double skirts caught up, and severe coif of black velvet29, linen30 collars, and black veils which covered them from head to foot.
Photo Lacoste
EMPEROR CHARLES V. CHARLES I OF SPAIN
By Titian. Prado Gallery, Madrid
Between these ruins came that of the no less august and worn-out majesty, the invincible31 Emperor, vanquished32 only by years, wars, worries and his gluttony, for this really great man who had controlled two worlds could never control his own excessive appetite, and this had overcome him, crippling his hands and paralysing his knees. His wide forehead was bald, and his under-lip, already a characteristic of this great race and still distinguishing it, fell more than ever. On the 6th of October the Emperor set out from Laredo after dinner, and in one march reached Ampuero, where he made the first halt. The road did not permit all the suite33 to travel together, and they were divided in this way. First went the Alcalde Durango with fifty alguaciles with wands, and behind came the litter of the Emperor with Quijada at his side; it looked more like the procession of a prisoner than the escort of the greatest monarch34 on earth. As a matter of precaution there was also a sedan-chair in which they could place His Majesty in difficult places, and behind came valets and several mules35 with the things indispensable to the Emperor wherever he was.
At the distance of one march followed the litters of the Queens and their ladies, some of whom went on horseback; also sedan-chairs in case of necessity, and a mule and a horse saddled for the Queen of Hungary, who liked to ride occasionally. The third group consisted of the rest of the suite of the Emperor and the Queens and more than a hundred mules laden36 with baggage.
This modest escort was Quijada's despair, as only five alguaciles guarded the Emperor like a prisoner, and he had several discussions on this point, giving his opinion with his usual peevish37 frankness. The Emperor sent him to the devil, as was his custom, and Quijada, annoyed and in a bad temper, was silent till the next opportunity.
The Constable38 of Castille and D. Francisco Baamonde came out to meet them at Burgos, and accompanied them to Valladolid with a very brilliant guard. At Cabezón, two leagues from Valladolid, the Emperor met Prince Carlos; his grandson went to greet him with some gentlemen of his household. The Emperor did not know this unfortunate Prince, who was afterwards so tragically39 celebrated40, and was very pleased to see him. D. Carlos was then eleven, and as the day was rather cold had put on a very richly lined doublet, which, according to a letter from Francisco Osorio to Philip II, suited him very well, and His Highness looked a "foreigner." The bravery of his attire41, however, could not hide the Prince's feeble frame, or the notable disproportion of his head to the rest of his body. His grandfather and the two Queens gave him their hands to kiss, which the Prince did very politely and respectfully. But the first moment of shyness passed, the boy returned to his usual restlessness and self-will, and began to make a noise and upset the room with very little respect for those great personages. And seeing a portable stove, which served to warm the Emperor's room during the journey, a thing then unknown in Spain, he asked his grandfather to give it to him. This was refused, and, the child still persisting, the Emperor, almost angry, said sternly, "Be silent, D. Carlos. After my death you will have time to enjoy it." It did not please the Prince that the Emperor and the two Queens talked French among themselves, as they usually did, as he could not understand this language, which drew down upon him another reproof42 from his grandfather, who told him very severely43 that his was the fault for having taken so little pains to learn it.
Meanwhile the good Queen Elinor begged her brother to tell the child something of his campaigns; this the Emperor gladly did, and the Prince listened with great attention. But when he referred to his flight from Innspruck before the Elector Maurice, the Prince interrupted him abruptly44 and disrespectfully, saying that he should not have run away. The grandfather laughed at his grandson's outburst, and explained that want of money, finding himself alone, and the state of his health had obliged him to make this flight.
"It does not matter. You ought not to have run away." His persistence45 amused the Emperor, who went on arguing, "But if your own pages wished to seize you and you were alone among them, you would have to run away to escape from them." "No," said the Prince proudly and with anger, "I should never run away." The Emperor laughed at this haughty46 persistence, which pleased him, but he was not altogether very well satisfied with the heir to the throne, as he said to his sister, the Queen of France.
"He seems very noisy, and his manner and temper please me little. One does not know what may become of such a hot-tempered youth."
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1
virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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2
pompously
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| adv.傲慢地，盛大壮观地；大模大样 | |
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3
serene
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| adj. 安详的，宁静的，平静的 | |
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4
grumbling
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| adj. 喃喃鸣不平的, 出怨言的 | |
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5
steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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6
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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7
ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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8
grandees
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| n.贵族，大公，显贵者( grandee的名词复数 ) | |
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9
knights
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| 骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马 | |
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10
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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11
irritably
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| ad.易生气地 | |
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12
expeditious
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| adj.迅速的，敏捷的 | |
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13
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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14
lodgings
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| n. 出租的房舍, 寄宿舍 | |
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15
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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16
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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17
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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18
eldest
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| adj.最年长的，最年老的 | |
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19
asthma
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| n.气喘病，哮喘病 | |
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20
aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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21
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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22
serenity
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| n.宁静，沉着，晴朗 | |
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23
malice
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| n.恶意，怨恨，蓄意；[律]预谋 | |
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24
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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25
prudent
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| adj.谨慎的，有远见的，精打细算的 | |
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26
physically
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| adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律 | |
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27
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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28
virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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29
velvet
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| n.丝绒，天鹅绒；adj.丝绒制的，柔软的 | |
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30
linen
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| n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的 | |
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31
invincible
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| adj.不可征服的，难以制服的 | |
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32
vanquished
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| v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制 | |
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33
suite
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| n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员 | |
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34
monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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35
mules
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| 骡( mule的名词复数 )； 拖鞋； 顽固的人； 越境运毒者 | |
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36
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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37
peevish
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| adj.易怒的，坏脾气的 | |
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38
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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39
tragically
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| adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地 | |
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40
celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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41
attire
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| v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装 | |
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42
reproof
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| n.斥责，责备 | |
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43
severely
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| adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地 | |
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44
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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45
persistence
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| n.坚持，持续，存留 | |
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46
haughty
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| adj.傲慢的，高傲的 | |
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