Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. III.djvu/411

383 f DEATH AND CHARACTER OF FERDINAND. 383 The king seemed desirous of closing his eyes to chapter the danger of his situation as long as possible. He ^^'^' would not confess, nor even admit his confessor into biuty"w "Ta !• 1 1 07 TT I !••! •! ^ t • situation. nis chamber. ^ He showed similar jealousy of his grandson's envoy, Adrian of Utrecht. This per- son, the preceptor of Charles, and afterwards raised through his means to the papacy, had come into Cas- tile some weeks before, with the ostensible view of making some permanent arrangement with Ferdi- nand in regard to the regency. The real motive, as the powers which he brought with him subse- quently proved, was, that he might be on the spot when the king died, and assume the reins of gov- ernment. Ferdinand received the minister with cold civility, and an agreement was entered into, by which the regency was guarantied to the mon- arch, not only during Joanna's life, but his own. Concessions to a dying man cost nothing. Adrian, who was at Guadalupe at this time, no sooner heard of Ferdinand's illness, than he hastened to Madri- galejo. The king, however, suspected the motives of his visit. " He has come to see me die," said he ; and, refusing to admit him into his presence, ordered the mortified envoy back again to Guada- lupe. ^^ tion from the character of Ferdi- up by the prediction of an old sybil, nand. He was not superstitious, "la beata del Barco," that "he at least while his faculties were in should not die till he had conquered vigor, Jerusalem." (Anales, MS., cap. 27 "Alaverdad," saysCarbajal, 2.) We are again reminded of " le tento mucho el enemigo en Shakspeare, aquel paso con incredulidad que le " it hath been prophesied to me many years ponia de no morir tan presto, para I should not die but in Jerusalem." que ni confesase ni recibiese los '"= ^'^^^ Sacramentos." According to the ^8 Carbajal, Anales, MS., aiio same writer, Ferdinandwas buoyed 1516, cap. 1. — Gomez, De Rebus