Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/388

364 Isabella. 364 THE ROYAL FAMILY. PART of her delivery ; and in less than one hour after ^ — that event, which took place on the 23d of August, 1498, she expired in the arms of her afflicted parents. ^^ Its effects on This blow was almost too much for the unhappy mother, whose spirits had not yet had time to rally, since the death of her only son. She, indeed, ex- hibited the outward marks of composure, testifying the entire resignation of one who had learned to rest her hopes of happiness on a better world. She schooled herself so far, as to continue to take an interest in all her public duties, and to watch over the common weal Mnth the same maternal so- licitude as before ; but her health gradually sunk under this accumulated load of sorroAV, which threw a deep shade of melancholy over the evening of her life. The infant, whose birth had cost so dear, proved a male, and received the name of Miguel, in honor of the saint on whose day he first saw the light. In order to dissipate, in some degree, the general gloom occasioned by the late catastrophe, it was thought best to exhibit the young prince before the eyes of his future subjects ; and he was accordingly borne in the arms of his nurse, in a magnificent litter, through the streets of the city, escorted by the principal nobility. Measures were then taken for obtaining the sanction of his legitimate claims to the crown. Whatever doubts had been enter- 33 Carbajal, Anales, MS., alios Faria y Sovisa, Europa Portuguesa 1470, 14!)8. — Florez, Reynas Ca- torn. ii. p. 504. iholicas, torn. ii. pp. 846, 847. —