proached his brother to salute him, the unhappy monarch could not restrain his tears. "May God be merciful to you," he cried; "for my part, I pardon you.*" The queen-mother and Doña Leonor awaited him in the monastery of San Domingo. They led him thither immediately, without parading him through the city, fearing doubtless that the people might be touched at beholding their king a prisoner. The two queens received him as if he were a wayward child returning to the paternal roof, resigned to the punishment there awaiting his disobedience. "Good nephew," said the Queen of Aragon, "it becomes you well thus to show yourself in the midst of all the grandees of your kingdom, instead of wandering from castle to castle to escape from your lawful wife. But it is not your fault, youth as you are; it is all through those wicked men who have corrupted you, especially one Juan de Hinestrosa, whom I see here, with Don Simuel el Levi, and others like them. We will now have them removed, and will place about you men of character, who will care for your honour, as well as your interests.+" The king immediately cried out * Sumario, &c., p. 64. + Ayala, p. 169. Sobrino, Señor, mejor vos paresce estar acompañado asi como agora sodés de todos los Grandes e buenos de vuestros Regnos, que andar de la guisa que fasta aqui avedes andado dexando vuestra muger legitima la Reyna Doña Blanca é andar, apartado por los Castillos. E vos non avedes culpa, ca aun non sodes de tan grand edad (the king was then only twenty years of age) pero esto facen los privados que tenedes que vos asi aconsejan de los quales es uno Juan Fernandez de Hinestrosa que aqui viene con vusco, é Don Simuel el Levi, é otros : é será that Juan de Hinestrosa had ever served him faithfully, and that he trusted that they would treat with respect a man who came under his safeguard. These protestations were useless. Those who had remained true to Don Pedro in his adversity were arrested under his very eyes. Hinestrosa was placed in the hand of the Infante Don Fernando, and the Jew was committed to the safe keeping of Don Tello. At the same time it was signified to Don Pedro that all the offices appertaining to the crown had been filled. Don Fernando de Aragon was Grand Chancellor, and Sanchez was constrained to deliver to him forthwith the seals of the kingdom, the Infante Don Juan again became Grand Standard bearer, and the royal banners were immediately placed in his hands. The dignity of grand comptroller of the household was restored to Don Fernando de Castro, who for some time past had, it seems, forgotten the wrongs of his sister-Doña Juana; lastly Don Fadrique had the office of chamberlain, or rather that of jailer to the king. Until then, these functions had never been entrusted to a personage of his rank, and in confiding them to the Master of Santiago, the leaguers showed that they thought it necessary to place their captive under strict surveillance. After the king had been thus constrained to assist in the partition of his own spoils, he was separated from the ordinary officers of his household, and conducted to a palace belonging to the Bishop of Zamora, where Don Fadrique committed him to the safe keeping of Don Lope de Bendaña, that same bien que estos sean anedrados de vos, e que vos rijades de aqui adelante por otros que sean mas honrados e que caten mejor por vuestro servicio é por vuestra honra. commander of Santiago who, a few months previously, had refused to receive the king into the castle of Segura. An esquire, belonging to the Master, slept every night in Don Pedro's chamber; his guards had strict orders not to lose sight of him for a single instant, and indeed no one was even admitted into his presence without permission from Don Fadrique. From that day, all the public employments were divided amongst the principal leaguers. Every one expected a place as a recompense, and arrogantly demanded it as his share of the spoil. Don Fernando de Castro had claimed his beforehand : it was the hand of Doña Juana, the natural daughter of King Don Alfonso and Leonor de Guzman. It was in vain that Don Pedro protested against this union. The pride of the king's brothers was perhaps as much outraged as his own by the alliance; but Don Fernando de Castro exercised so great an influence among the Confederates, that it would have been dangerous to have broken faith with him. The Conde de Trastamara, as head of the family, gave his sister away, and the marriage was at once solemnized with great pomp in the Cathedral of Toro. Almost immediately afterwards, and with equal magnificence, were celebrated the obsequies of Alburquerque, whose manes were now avenged and might enjoy repose after victory. The queen-dowager of Aragon, Don Tello and a crowd of nobles attended the funeral procession to the monastery of Espina, which had been chosen by Alburquerque himself as the place of his sepulture.* * Ayala, p. 172. Amongst the crowd of nobles who honoured that great statesman by their presence at his interment, was Don Juan de la Cerda, the son-in-law of Alonso Coronel, the man whom Alburquerque had pursued unto the death.-T. CHAPTER IX. ESCAPE OF DON PEDRO-HE REGAINS HIS AUTHORITY. I. THE Concord which had subsisted among the leaguers whilst there was a common enemy to subdue was of short duration, when nothing remained to be done, but to divide the fruits of the victory. Notwithstanding the care which was taken to separate the king from the men who had proved themselves sincerely attached to him, Don Pedro still found means to correspond secretly with several of his friends. Among the confederates themselves, there was more than one who, touched with compassion, or imagining himself ill-requited for his rebellion, began to consider how he might best provide against a change of fortune, and make a merit of his repentance. Some chiefs, vexed at seeing their authority expire with the civil war, discovered, a little too late, that it was easier and safer to obtain a secondary place under a king, than the first among equals. On the other hand, the Commons, who had been carried away for the moment by the general revolt, now found that they had gained nothing by overthrowing the detested favourites. Power had only passed into hands still more rapacious. The Commons, by declaring against the king, had aug mented the strength of the men they rightly regarded as the most dangerous enemies of their ancient liberties. They were now completely unprotected, and exposed to the insatiable ambition of the feudal nobility. As for Queen Blanche, whose name a few days before had served as a war-cry, shewas already forgotten by those gallant knights who had pretended to take up arms solely for her sake. The people would have liked to have seen her come forward and intercede for her husband, to have beheld her take some steps to win his love and confidence. But Blanche remained at Toledo. She was a mere child, who could only repeat what was taught her, and no one now cared to induce her to play a part. Amidst this ambitious and selfish crowd, the king stood alone with a calm and haughty demeanour. Misfortune had given him dignity. The people began openly to express pity for him, to regret his stern, but equable administration of justice, to excuse his past errors. Thus, hardly had the royal cause seemed irretrievably lost than it regained its ascendancy in popular opinion. All parties turned towards Don Pedro, and although a captive, he exercised more power than he had ever possessed before, even when commanding a faithful army. The League was rent into two factions; the one headed by the Infantes of Aragon and their mother, the other by the three bastards and their brother-in-law, Don Fernando de Castro. The queen-mother was totally incapable of governing, and, moreover, no one respected her. Between Don Pedro and his brothers, the spectre of Doña Leonor de Guzman raised, as it were, a barrier against all reconciliation. On the side of the Aragonese princes, there did not exist the same motives |