The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-24

wtsived frum HE faiiNf tho utr ~ Nm
~ sicily, aRd th~ mafriaRr rubitHUt Naa
finally siaisd In Ilea. Nv this rpn'fsot the
fiahts ~ tsat~l WvFp carefully guarded
she wss " ~ sovereign diern ~ teslllr
ehleh fepfrssntel The 'tpfunH shils Tho
lsaasf hine,l'm ~ AtseuH SO only W"
'tofuhilla ~ smaller cfuwb 4 mas
hiONht duWpf, mUFpuvrf Nas prom
l@d w. ~ young Princess Hfratrt than
had iseh -it~d pN any preceding VueeH
~ AmguB An Rsilrie ~ tic crn'fac'
by Whieh '%FefhsH,la Il eaftss'ly 90
join-d ~ chefish and treat hes mother
9Th al reverence sems a. indi.
Eats q p%fpnohi,luh ~ tho mental lfuuble
which wa IN clu,I the laiet years ~ lha,
royal lady and witch wea Ia lr transmitted
w laabelia's daughter luana
The match was Violently uvpt-rJ Nv Tho
court ~ Ehrlaie ~, and Isabella wWild
have hsen ina,e q ~ptlsUnef had ale mo-
begn ~feaoue,I Ivy tho Archbishop ~ Iuletl"
and the Admiral ~ Castle. who bore her
~ N safety from MsdtaRHl 10 ValladUlid,
where tho marriage iOoh place on October
10, il6a AZ the bride and bridegroom
were within the forbidden degree u rcla-
tionship uhcy were second co'tsinsD n Iai0l
bun Of ~dlspenaa,lon WAS necessary To
mest this difficulty, the goddess old King
Of Aragon, Juan H., hia son Fernando and
the time serving Archbishop Of Toledo,
aRreed 70 forge the necessary document,
In order to satisfy the ecruplea 81 the pious
Isabel The incident gives an insight into
the atmosphere Of subterfuge and duplioity
which throughout his life was to pervads
the secret o~ounsels Of Fernando the Diplo-
matte. IL should be added, however. that
when the forgery came to lsabella's knowl-
edge ZONE years later. she was much dis
tressed, and lost no time in obtaining a
genuine dispensation from Pope Sixtus ~.
Yet, although the marriage was thus tainted
with fraud, there IL no reason to doubt
that there was a deep and strong affection
between this husband and wife. who were
30 young eighteen and seventeen respec-
tively) when they came together; and, so
far as the wife was concerned, the affection
was steadfast to the end. The author OF
this book points out that 'the fierce light
which beats upon a throne does not reveal
any breach in the abiding love and tender
ness which Isabel to the close Of her life
bestowed upon Fernando. and to which
she alludes with touching simplicity In her
idSt tostdiiicuti Wuen sne leiJ MIN neT Jewels
that he may be reminded Of the singular
love / always bore him when living, and
that am o waiting for him in a better
world" 1t is also to be noted that the
husband OF this noble woman always treated
her with the greatest consideration and
respect, although his character was of a
far lower type than hers, and he was not
free from the infdelities 30 common among
the princes Of his day.
During the five years that elapsed before
the death Of her half-brother, Enrique ".
the young married pair had to contend
with the adherents of her niece, Juana,
the "Beltraneja." who had been declared
heir to the throne, and she and her husband
were at times SO poor that they scarcely
knew where to turn for the needful ey-
penses of their household. Isabel was in
Segovia when on December II, 1874, En-
rique ~. died from a lingering disease,
INC a few days later she was proclaimed
Queen Of CASTLE and Leon, amid the en-
thusiasm Of the people. On the arrival
of her husband, who was not present at
the coronation, he somewhat ungraciously
set up a claim OF his own to the throne of
CASTLE, as heir male Of Fernando the Good.
but Isabel maintained her right to the
crown with unyielding decision, and the
Archbishops Of Seville and Toledo, to whom
the question was referred, decided that
according to the law OF CASTLE Isabel
was sole heir and "Reina Proprietaria.-
of which there had been one previous in
stance, in the case Of Queen Urraca, daugh-
ter Of Alfonso VI. 1t was finally agreed
that all royal grants, charters and coins
issued in CASTLE and Leon were to bear
the names OF both Fernando and Isabel,
but the Queen was to be supreme in Church
matters, and to keep the finances Of CASTLE
in her own hands, while the governors Of
all the castles and strongholds Of her king
dom we're to be responsible to her alone.
The solemn recognition Of Isabel as
Queen of CASTLE by the Cortes did not put
an end to her troubles, however, for the
adherents Of the +~Beltraneja" now urged
her claims more strongly than ever, and
they we're strengthened by the support of
the Archbishop Of Toledo, who had become
Jealous Of the rising influence Of Cardinal
Mendoza with the young queen. Alfonso
v. OF Portugal saw an opening for his
ambition at this critical moment and in
vaded the Castilian realm, while his ally.
the King Of France. advanced simultane-
ously into Biscay. In a great battle fought
near Toro in February, l476, the Portuguese
and the Castilian rebelsw we're decisively de-
feated, and the hopes Of the 'Beltranejas
were forever crushed; two years later a
definite treaty Of peace was signed be-
tween CASTLE and France Within a twelve
month later a splendid inheritance fell
to Fernando on the death Of his father,
Juan II. OF Aragon-. namely, a great terri
tory extending from the Pyrenees to beyond
Valencia, inhabited by a sturdy and indie
pendent people Injured to constant warfare,
while all along its Mediterranean coasts
we're safe and roomy harbors and great
merchant cities carrying on commerce
with all the then known world, chief among
which was Barcelona, whereof Isabella
now became the Countess" While such
were the home possessions Of Aragon, it
will be recognized that those abroad were
Of no mean value when we name the Bal
carlo Islands, Sardinia and Sicily.
For some time after she had become
Queen Of Aragon as we'll as CASTLE, Isabella
seems to have dwelt in the Alcazar of Toledo,
where, in November 1479, her second daugh-
ter. Juana, destiaed to become the mother
of the Emperor Charles ", was born. In
the following year the same CITY witnessed