Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/206

180 180 ILLNESS AND DEATH OF ISABELLA. TART successors, in the most earnest manner, to quicken the good work of converting and civilizing the poor Indians, to treat them with the greatest gentleness, and redress any wrongs they may have suffered in their persons or property. Lastly, she expresses her doubts as to the legal- ity of the revenue drawn from the alcavalas, con- stituting the principal income of the crown. She directs a commission to ascertain whether it were originally intended to be perpetual, and if this were done with the free consent of the people ; enjoin- ing her heirs, in that event, to collect the tax so that it should press least heavily on her subjects. Should it be found otherwise, however, she directs that the legislature be summoned to devise proper measures for supplying the wants of the crown, — • " measures depending for their validity on the good pleasure of the subjects of the realm." ^^ Such were the dying words of this admirable woman ; displaying the same respect for the rights and liberties of the nation, which she had shown through life, and striving to secure the blessings of her benign administration to the most distant and barbarous regions under her sway. These two documents were a precious legacy bequeathed to her people, to guide them when the light of her personal example should be withdrawn for ever. n^idf'* The queen's signature to the codicil, which still exists among the manuscripts of the royal library at 13 The original codicil is still It is appended to the queen's testa- preserved amontr the manuscripts ment in the works before noticed, of the Royal labrary at Madrid.