Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/224

198 198 ILLNESS AND DEATH OF ISABELLA. PART II. Parallel with aueen Elizabeth. move her above the sympathies of friendship. ^^ With her friends she forgot the usual distinctions of rank, sharing in their joys, visiting and consoling them in sorrow^ and sickness, and condescending in more than one instance to assume the office of ex- ecutrix on their decease." Her heart, indeed, w^as filled with benevolence to all mankind. In the most fiery heat of war, she was engaged in devising means for mitigating its horrors. She is said to have been the first to introduce the benevolent in- stitution of camp hospitals ; and we have seen, more than once, her lively solicitude to spare the effusion of blood even of her enemies. But it is needless to multiply examples of this beautiful, but familiar trait in her character. ^^ It is in these more amiable qualities of her sex, that Isabella's superiority becomes most apparent 63 The best beloved of her friends, probably, was the mar- chioness of Moya, who, seldom separated from her royal mistress through life, had the melancholy satisfaction of closing her eyes in death. Oviedo, who saw them fre- quently together, says, that the queen never addressed this lady, even in later life, with any other than the endearing title of hija mar- guesa, " daughter marchioness." Quincuagenas, MS., bat. I, quinc. 1, dial. 23. 64 As was the case with Carde- nas, the comendador mayor, and the grand cardinal Mendoza, to whom, as we have already seen, she paid the kindest attentions dur- ing their last illness. While in this way she indulged the natural dictates of her heart, she was care- ful to render every outward mark of respect to the memory of those whose rank or services entitled them tc such consideration. "Quan- do," says the author so often quot- ed, " quiera que fallescia alguno de los grandes de su reyno, o algun principe Christiano, luego embia- van varones sabios y religiosos para consolar a sus heredores y deudos. Y demas desto se restian de ropas de luto en testimonio del dolor y sentimiento que hazian." L. Ma- rineo, Cosas Memorables, fol. 185. 65 Her humanity was shown in her attempts to mitigate the fero- cious character of those national amusements, the bull-iighls, the popularity of which throughout the country was too great, as she inti- mates in one of her letters, to ad- mit of her abolishing them alto- gether. She was so much moved at the sanguinary issue of one of these combats, which she witness- ed at Arevalo, says a contempora- ry, that she devised a plan, by guarding the horns of the bulls, for preventing any serious injury to the men and horses ; and she never