Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/284

258 II. 258 REIGN AND DEATH OF PHILIP. PART the first linked their fortunes to those of his rival, as the duke of Najara, the marquis of Villena, and, above all, Don Juan Manuel, saw in it their certain ruin, and turned their thoughts towards Maximilian, or the king of Portugal, or any other monarch, whose connexion with the royal family might aflford a plausible pretext for interference in the govern- ment. On Philip's Flemish followers the tidings fell like a thunderbolt, and in their bewilderment they seemed like so many famished birds of prey, still hovering round the half-devoured carcass from which they had been unceremoniously scared. ^^ The weight of talent and popular consideration was undoubtedly on the king's side. The most formidable of the opposition, Manuel, had declined greatly in credit with the nation during the short, disastrous period of his administration ; while the archbishop of Toledo, who might be considered as the leader of Ferdinand's party, possessed talents, energy, and reputed sanctity of character, which, combined with the authority of his station, gave him unbounded influence over all classes of the Castilians. It was fortunate for the land, in this emergency, that the primacy was in such able hands. It justified the wisdom of Isabella's choice, made in opposition, it may be remembered, to the wishes of Ferdinand, who was now to reap the greatest bene- fit from it. the old duke of Alva in Henry IV.'s 23 ]Iariana, Hist, de EspaHa, time, " Que era como cl perro del torn. ii. lib. 29, cap. 2. — Bernal- ventero, que ladra a los do fuera, dez, Reyes Catolicos, MS., cap. y miierdc a los dc dentro." Znri- 206. — Zurita, Anales, torn, vi, lib. ta, Anales, tonfi. vi. lib. 7, eap. 39. 7, cap. 22.