Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/375

351 I ALLIANCES AND DEATHS. 35] on board the fleet towards the end of August, at chapter the port of Laredo, on the eastern borders of the '■ — - Asturias, where she took a last farewell of the queen her mother, who had postponed the hour of separation as long as possible, by accompanying her daughter to the place of embarkation. The weather, soon after her departure, became The queen'. ^ anxiety. extremely rough and tempestuous ; and it was so long before any tidings of the squadron reached the queen, that her affectionate heart was filled with the most distressing apprehensions. She sent for the oldest and most experienced navigators in these boisterous northern seas, consulting them, says Martyr, day and night on the probable causes of delay, the prevalent courses of the winds at that season, and the various difficulties and dangers of the voyage ; bitterly regretting that the troubles with France prevented any other means of commu- nication, than the treacherous element to which she had trusted her daughter. ^^ Her spirits were still further depressed at this juncture by the death of her own mother, the dowager Isabella, who, under the mental infirmity with which she had been vis- ited for many years, had always experienced the most devoted attention from her daughter, who ministered to her necessities with her own hands, and watched over her declining years with the most tender solicitude. ^^ 15 Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., 16 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiio epist. 172. — Carbajal, Anales, 1496. — Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., MS., ano 1496.— Mariana, Hist, de epist. 172. EspaiTa, torn. ii. lib. 26, cap. 12.