Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/195

169 CHAPTER XVI. ILLNESS AND DEATH OF ISABELLA. — HER CHARACTER. 1504. Decline of the Queen's Health. — Alarm of the Nation. — Her Testament. — And Codicil. — Her Resignation, and Death. — Her Remains transported to Granada. — Isabella's Person. — Her Man- ners. — Her Character. — Parallel with Queen Elizabeth. The acquisition of an important kingdom in the chapter heart of Europe, and of the New World beyond ., . , Decline of the waters, which promised to pour mto her lap all {,g^,^^^®°"' the fabled treasures of the Indies, was rapidly rais- ing Spain to the first rank of European powers. But, in this noontide of her success, she was to ex- perience a fatal shock in the loss of that illustrious personage, who had so long and so gloriously pre- sided over her destinies. We have had occasion to notice more than once the declining state of the queen's health during the last few years. Her constitution had been greatly impaired by incessant personal fatigue and exposure, and by the unremit- ting activity of her mind. It had suffered far more severely, however, from a series of heavy domestic calamities, which had fallen on her with little inter- mission since the death of her mother in 1496. VOL. III. 22