of such had been prince henry for the kingdom of and such was now for spain the illustrious de la per ji i or chapter iii of cot s to the of arrived at early in i he was disappointed however in his hopes of immediate he found it impossible to obtain even a hearing de prior of instead of being secured to his interests by the recommendation of de looked upon his plan as extravagant and impossible indeed the slender interest on be founded liis hopes ti engaged in of the in person arrived at the was like a military camp the rival kings of bo the called also el and the nephew generally termed el had just formed a and their league for prompt and e ly in the ring the marched off to lay to the city of and the it she was continually employed in troops and supplies to the army and at the same time attending to the multiplied of civil on the i th of june she repaired to the camp engaged in the siege of and both s remained for some time in the of the war with vigour they had barely returned to to their by when they were obliged to set out to suppress a of the count of from thence they repaired to for the winter this brief picture of the occupation and the bustling life of the spanish sovereigns during the first year after the arrival of may ve an idea of their throughout the term of his which precisely with tb war with the the court was continually from place to place according of the were either on journeys or in the field and when had an interval of repose from tbe ragged toils of war they had a thousand claims on their time and attention from the and which they were throughout their c til life and ge of amidst such pressing concerns of domestic and so to the treasury it is not to be wondered at that the should find little time to attend to a scheme of foreign discovery which required much called for great expense and was generally esteemed the wild dream of an it is a question even whether for some time bis application reached their ears de who was to have been his of communication was to his cause and was himself taken up with military concerns and absent with the court in its being one of tlie who the queen in this as it was termed holy war during the summer and autumn of the period of the campaign and transactions just alluded to remained at he continued to support himself it is believed by maps and and trusted to time and exertion to make him and friends of influence warmly into his views by the aid of these friends he was introduced to the celebrated de of and grand cardinal of this was the most important personage about court the king and queen had him always at their side in peace and war he accompanied them in their and they never took any measure of consequence without consulting him he was called by peter martyr the third king of spain he was a man of a clear understanding eloquent judicious and of great quickness and capacity in business simple yet curiously nice in his apparel lofty and venerable yet gracious ai d gentle in his though an elegant scholar the grand cardinal like many learned men of his day was but httle skilled in and was in his ous scruples when the theory of was first mentioned to him it struck him as opinions with the form of the earth as described in the sacred further explanations had their force with a man of his quick apprehension and sound sense he perceived that at any rate there could be nothing in attempting to extend the bounds of human knowledge and to ascertain the works of creation his scruples once removed he gave a courteous and attentive hearing the latter knowing the importance of his exerted himself to produce conviction the clear headed cardinal listened with profound attention he saw the grandeur of the conception and felt the force of the arguments he was pleased likewise with the noble and earnest manner of and became at once a firm and serviceable friend page translation t l c l c t � � the of cardinal f b he before fur lit fi ll as k afterwards in his letters an in ihe hand of to accomplish its designs was too a e of men not � a the character of � pen soaring might be his and ma the scheme had and practical his ambition was b uie possibility of more important than tho e which had shed such glory upon still as usual he was cool and wary and determined to take the opinion of the men in t i� kingdom and to be guided by their decision he the matter to de the prior of him to the and to hold a chapter iv tht council at the interesting conference relative to the proposition of took place in the great seat of learning in spain it was held in the of st in was lodged and entertained with great hospitality during the course of the examination religion and science were at time and more especially in that country closely associated the treasures of learning were in and the professors chairs were exclusively filled from the the of the clergy extended over the state as well as the church and posts of honour and influence at court with the exception of hereditary were almost entirely confided to it was even common to find and in and at the of armies for the had been thrown bv for the lance during the holy war against the the era was for the revival of but still more for the of religious zeal 