History of the Reign of Philip the Second, King of Spain Part 47 (2/2)
We must now, after a long absence, return to the sh.o.r.es of Spain, where events were taking place of the highest importance to the future fortunes of the monarchy. At the time when the tragic incidents described in the preceding Book were pa.s.sing in the Netherlands, others, not less tragic, if we may trust to popular rumor, were occurring in the very palace of the monarch. I allude to the death of Don Carlos, prince of Asturias, and that of Isabella of Valois, Philip's young and beautiful queen. The relations in which the two parties stood to each other, their untimely fate, and the mystery in which it was enveloped, have conspired with the sombre, unscrupulous character of Philip to suggest the most horrible suspicions of the cause of their death. The mystery which hung over them in their own time has not been dissipated by the researches of later chroniclers. For that very reason, it has proved an inexhaustible theme for fiction, until it might be thought to have pa.s.sed from the domain of history into that of romance. It has been found especially suited to the purposes of the drama; and the dramatic literature of Europe contains more than one masterpiece from the hand of genius, which displays in sombre coloring the loves and the misfortunes of Carlos and Isabella.[1401]
[Sidenote: HIS EDUCATION AND CHARACTER.]
The time for discussing so dark and intricate a subject had not arrived while the Spanish archives were jealously locked up even from native scholars. But now that happily a more liberal system has prevailed, and access has been given to the dread repositories of the secrets of the Spanish sovereigns, the time seems to have come for investigating this mysterious story. And if I cannot boast that I have been able to dispel the doubts that have so long gathered around the subject, I may at least flatter myself that, with the materials at my command, I have the means of placing the reader in a better point of view than has yet been enjoyed, for surveying the whole ground, and forming his own conclusions.
Don Carlos was born on the eighth of July, 1545. His mother, Mary of Portugal, then only eighteen years of age, died a few days after giving birth to her ill-fated child. Thus deprived from the cradle of a mother's watchful care, he experienced almost as little of his father's; for, until Carlos was fourteen years old, Philip was absent most of the time, either in the Low Countries or in England. The care of the child was intrusted, during the greater part of this period, to Philip's sister, the Regent Joanna,--an excellent woman, but who, induced probably by the feeble const.i.tution of Carlos, is said to have shown too much indulgence to the boy, being more solicitous to secure his bodily health than to form his character. In our easy faith in the miracles claimed for education, it sometimes happens that we charge on the parent, or the preceptor, the defects that may be more reasonably referred to the vicious const.i.tution of the child.
As Carlos grew older, Philip committed the care of his instruction to Honorato Juan, a member of the emperor's household. He was a well-trained scholar, and a man of piety as well as learning; and soon after a.s.suming the task of the prince's preceptor, he embraced the religious profession. The correspondence of Honorato Juan with Philip, then in Flanders, affords a view of the proficiency of Carlos when eleven or twelve years old. The contentment which the king evinces in the earlier letters diminishes as we advance; and anxious doubts are expressed, as he gathers the unwelcome information from his tutor of his pupil's indifference to his studies.[1402]
In the year 1556, Charles the Fifth stopped some time at Valladolid, on his way to his cloistered retreat at Yuste. He there saw his grandson, and took careful note of the boy, the heir to the vast dominions which he had himself so recently relinquished. He told over his campaigns to Carlos, and how he had fled at Innsbruck, where he barely escaped falling into the hands of the enemy. Carlos, who listened eagerly, interrupted his grandfather, exclaiming, ”I never would have fled!”
Charles endeavored to explain the necessity of the case; but the boy st.u.r.dily maintained, that he never would have fled,--amusing and indeed delighting the emperor, who saw in this the mettle of his own earlier days.[1403] Yet Charles was not blind to the defects of his grandson,--to the wayward, overbearing temper, which inferred too much indulgence on the part of his daughter the regent. He reprehended Carlos for his want of deference to his aunt; and he plainly told the latter, that, if she would administer more wholesome correction to the boy, the nation would have reason to thank her for it.[1404]
After the emperor had withdrawn to his retreat, his mind, which kept its hold, as we have seen, on all matters of public interest beyond the walls of the monastery, still reverted to his grandson, the heir of his name and of his sceptre. At Simancas the correspondence is still preserved which he carried on with Don Garcia de Toledo, a brother of the duke of Alva, who held the post of _ayo_, or governor of the prince.
In one of that functionary's letters, written in 1557, when Carlos was twelve years old, we have a brief chronicle of the distribution of the prince's time, somewhat curious, as showing the outlines of a royal education in that day.
Before seven in the morning Carlos rose, and by half-past eight had breakfasted, and attended ma.s.s. He then went to his studies, where he continued till the hour of dinner. What his studies were we are not told. One writer of the time says, among other things, he read Cicero's Offices, in order the better to learn to control his pa.s.sions.[1405] At eleven he dined. He then amused himself with his companions, by playing at quoits, or at _trucos_, a kind of billiards, or in fencing, and occasionally riding. At half-past three came a light repast, the _merienda_; after which he listened to reading, or, if the weather was fine, strolled in the fields. In the evening he supped; and at half-past nine, having gone through the prayers of his rosary, he went to bed, where, as his _ayo_ says, he usually made but one nap of it till the morning.--It was certainly a primitive way of life, in which more regard seems to have been had to the cravings of the body than of the mind, and as regular in its routine as the monastic life of his grandfather at Yuste. Yet Don Garcia does not fail to intimate his discontent with the want of interest shown by his pupil, not merely in his studies, but in fencing, cane-playing, and other manly exercises, so essential to the education of a cavalier of that day.[1406] He notices, at the same time, the first symptoms of those bilious attacks which already menaced the prince's const.i.tution, and so effectually undermined it in later years.[1407]
In another epistle, Don Garcia suggests that it might be well for the emperor to allow Carlos to visit him at Yuste, trusting that his grandfather's authority would accomplish what his own had failed to do.[1408] But this suggestion found no favor, apparently, with the royal recluse, who probably was not disposed to do penance himself by receiving so troublesome an inmate in his family. The emperor's own death, which occurred shortly after this, spared him the misery of witnessing the disastrous career of his grandson.
[Sidenote: HIS EDUCATION AND CHARACTER.]
The reports of the Venetian ministers--those precious doc.u.ments that contain so much instruction in respect to matters both of public and domestic interest--make occasional allusions to the prince, at this period. Their notices are by no means flattering. They describe Carlos as of a reckless, impatient temper, fierce, and even cruel, in his disposition,[1409] and so arrogant as to be unwilling to stand with his head uncovered, for any long time, in the presence of the emperor or his father.[1410] Yet this harsh picture is somewhat redeemed by other traits; for he was generous, though to a degree of prodigality,--giving away his trinkets and jewels, even his clothes, in default of money. He had a fearless heart, with a strong pa.s.sion for a military life. He was far from frivolous in his tastes, despising buffoons, and saying himself so many good things that his tutor carefully made a collection of them.[1411] This portrait of a youth scarcely fourteen years old seems as highly overcharged, whether for good or for evil, as portraits of princes usually are.
Yet the state of the prince's health may be fairly mentioned in extenuation of his defects,--at least of his infirmity of temper. For his bilious temperament already began to show itself in the form of intermittent fever, with which he continued to be afflicted for the remainder of his life. Under this depressing disorder, his spirits sank, his body wasted away, and his strength failed to such a degree, that it was feared he might not reach the age of manhood.[1412]
In the beginning of 1560, Isabella of France came to Castile, and on the second of February was united to Philip. By the preliminaries of the treaty of Cateau-Cambresis, her hand had been a.s.signed to Don Carlos; but Mary Tudor having died before the ratification of the treaty, the name of the father was subst.i.tuted for that of the son, and the royal maiden was affianced to Philip.
The marriage ceremony was performed with great splendor, at Toledo.
Carlos was present; and, as he gazed on the beautiful bride, it is not improbable that some feelings of resentment may have mingled with regret, when he thought of the unceremonious manner in which her hand had been transferred from him to his father. But we should be slow to believe that Isabella could have felt anything like the tender sentiment that romantic historians have attributed to her, for a boy of fourteen, who had so few personal attractions to recommend him.
On the twenty-second of the same month, Carlos was formally recognized by the cortes of Castile as heir to the crown. On this occasion, the different members of the royal family were present, together with the great n.o.bles and the representatives of the commons. The prince rode in the procession on a white horse, superbly caparisoned while his dress, resplendent with jewels, formed a sad contrast to the sallow and sickly countenance of its wearer.[1413] He performed his part of the ceremony with dignity and feeling. When Joanna, his aunt, and his uncle, Don John of Austria, after taking the oath, would have knelt, according to custom, to kiss his hand, he would not allow it, but affectionately raised and embraced them. But when the duke of Alva inadvertently omitted the latter act of obeisance, the prince received him so coldly, that the haughty n.o.bleman, rebuked by his manner, perceived his error, and humbly acknowledged it.[1414]
In the autumn of the following year, with the hope of mending his health by change of air, Carlos removed to Alcala de Henares, famous for its university founded by the great Ximenes. He had for his companions two youths, both destined to a conspicuous part in the history of the times.
One was Philip's illegitimate brother, Don John of Austria, the hero of Lepanto; the other was the prince's cousin, Alexander Farnese, son of Margaret of Parma, who was now in the course of training which was one day to make him the greatest captain of his time. The three boys were nearly of the same age; but in their accomplishments and personal appearance the uncle and the cousin afforded as strong a contrast to their royal kinsman, as in the brilliant fortunes that awaited them.[1415]
Carlos had not been at Alcala many months, before he met with an accident, which was attended with most disastrous consequences. One evening in April, 1562, as he was descending a flight of stairs, he made a misstep, and fell headlong down five or six stairs against a door at the bottom of the pa.s.sage. He was taken up senseless, and removed to his chamber, where his physicians were instantly summoned, and the necessary remedies applied.[1416] At first it seemed only a simple contusion on the head, and the applications of the doctors had the desired effect.
But soon the symptoms became more alarming. Fever set in. He was attacked by erysipelas; his head swelled to an enormous size; he became totally blind; and this was followed by delirium. It now appeared that the skull was fractured. The royal physicians were called in; and after a stormy consultation, in which the doctors differed, as usual, as to the remedies to be applied, it was determined to trepan the patient. The operation was carefully performed; a part of the bone of the skull was removed; but relief was not obtained.[1417]
[Sidenote: DANGEROUS ILLNESS AND RECOVERY.]
Meanwhile the greatest alarm spread through the country, at the prospect of losing the heir apparent. Processions were everywhere made to the churches, prayers were put up, pilgrimages were vowed, and the discipline was unsparingly administered by the fanatical mult.i.tude, who hoped by selfinflicted penance to avert the wrath of Heaven from the land. Yet all did not avail.
We have a report of the case from the pen of Dr. Olivares, the prince's own physician. Some of the remedies were of a kind that would look strangely enough if reported by a medical journal of our own day. After all efforts of professional skill had failed, and the unguent of a Moorish doctor, famous among the people, had been rubbed on the body without success, it was resolved to make a direct appeal to Heaven. In the monastery of Jesus Maria lay the bones of a holy Franciscan, Fray Diego, who had died a hundred years before, in the reign of Henry the Fourth, in the odor of sanct.i.ty. King Philip and his court went in solemn procession to the church; and in their presence, the mouldering remains of the good father, still sweet to the nostrils, as we are told, were taken from their iron coffin, and transported to the prince's apartment. They were there laid on his bed; and the cloth that wrapped the skull of the dead man was placed on the forehead of Carlos.[1418]
Fortunately the delirious state of the patient prevented the shock that might otherwise have been given to his senses. That very night the friar appeared to Carlos in his sleep. He was m.u.f.fled in his Franciscan robe, with a green girdle about his waist, and a cross of reeds in his hand; and he mildly bade him ”be of good cheer, for that he would certainly recover.” From this time, as the physician who reports the case admits, the patient began speedily to mend. The fever subsided, his head returned to its natural dimensions, his eyes were restored to sight. At the end of something less than two months from the date of the accident, Carlos, who had shown a marvellous docility throughout his illness,[1419] was enabled to walk into the adjoining apartment, and embrace his father, who, during the critical period of his son's illness, had established his residence at Alcala, showing the solicitude natural to a parent in such an extremity.
The merit of the cure was of course referred to Fray Diego.[1420] An account of the miracle, duly authenticated, was transmitted to Rome; and the holy man, on the application of Philip, received the honors of canonization from the pontiff. The claims of the new saint to the credit of achieving the cure were confidently a.s.serted by the Castilian chroniclers of that and succeeding ages; nor have I met with any one hardy enough to contest them, unless it be Dr. Olivares himself, who, naturally jealous of his professional honor, intimated his conviction,--this was before the canonization,--that with some allowance for the good wrought by Fray Diego's intercession and the prayers of the righteous, the recovery of the prince was mainly to be referred to the skill of his physicians.[1421]
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