Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/282

256 256 REIGN AND DEATH OF PHILIP. II ter. lART last.'^ He was but twcntj-eight years old, of which brief period he had enjoyed, or endured, the " golden cares" of sovereignty but little more than two months, dating from his recognition by the cortes. His body, after being embalmed, lay in state for two days, decorated with the insignia, — the mockery of royalty, as it had proved to him, — and was then deposited in the convent of Mira- flores near Burgos, to await its final removal to Granada, agreeably to his last request.^" His diarac- Philip was of the middle height ; he had a fair, florid complexion, regular features, long flowing locks, and a well-made, symmetrical figure. In- deed, he was so distinguished for comeliness both of person and countenance, that he is designated on the roll of Spanish sovereigns as Felipe el Hermoso, or the Handsome.^' His mental endowments were not so extraordinary. The father of Charles the Fifth possessed scarcely a single quality in common 19 Oviedo, Quincuag-enas, MS., 187. — Sandoval, Hist, del Emp. bat. 1, qiiinc. 3, dial. 9. — Fortu- Carlos V., torn. i. p. 11. nately for Ferdinand's reputation, 21 I^. Mariiieo, Cosas Memora- Pliilip's death was attended by too l)les, fol.lST, 188. — Sandoval, Ilist iineqnivocal circunnstances, and re- del F.nip. Carlos V., nbi ."supra, corded by too many eyewitnesses, Martyr, touched with the meian- to admit the suggestion of" poison, choly late of his young sovereign. It seems he drank freely of cold pays tiie following not inelegant, water while very hot. The fever and certainly not parsimonious trib- he brought on was an epidemic, ule to his memory, in a letter writ- which at tiiat time afflicted Castile, ten a few days after his death, Machiavelli, Legazionc Scconda a which, it may be noticed, he makes Koma, l(-t. ~!). — '/uMiga- Anales, a day earlier than other contoni- de Scvilia, ailo 1500. jxirary accounts. " Octavo Calcn- 20 Peter Martyr, Opus Epist., das Octobris aniinam emisit ille ju- epist. 313, .31. — JJcrnaldez. lleyes venis, formosus, pulchcr, elegans, Catolicos, MS.,cap. i?OG. — Gomez, aiiinio pollens et ingenio, procera^ De Rebus Gestis, fol. (50. — Car- valida-quc nalura uii flos vornus bajal, Anales, MS., afio l.'JOG. — evanuit."' Opus Epist., epist. 31C. li. Marineo, Cosas Memorables, fol.