Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. II.djvu/410

386 386 RISE OF XIMENES. PART II. and virtue, as amply compensated any deficiency of birth. oflTeredto ^s soon as thc papal bull reached Castile, con- Ximenes. r k ' firming the royal nomination, Isabella summoned Ximenes to her presence, and, delivering to him the parcel, requested him to open it before her. The confessor, who had no suspicion of their real pur- port, took the letters and devoutly pressed them to his lips ; when his eye falling on the superscription, " To our venerable brother Francisco Ximenez de Cisneros, archbishop elect of Toledo," he changed color, and involuntarily dropped the packet from his hands, exclaiming, " There is some mistake in this, it cannot be intended for me ;" and abruptly quitted the apartment. The queen, far from taking umbrage at this un- ceremonious proceeding, waited awhile, until the first emotions of surprise should have subsided. Finding that he did not return, however, she de- spatched two of the grandees, who she thought would have the most influence with him, to seek him out and persuade him to accept the office. The nobles instantly repaired to his convent in Madrid, in which city the queen then kept her court. They found, however, that he had already left the place. Having ascertained his route, they mounted their horses, and, following as fast as possible, succeeded in overtaking him at three leagues' distance from the city, as he was travelling on foot at a rapid rate, though in the noontide heat, on his way to the Franciscan monastery at Ocana. After a brief expostulation with Ximenes on his