Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 01).djvu/281



Most Serene and very excellent King and Prince and very dear and beloved brother and uncle: I received your letter of the twelfth of February and I was extremely pleased to learn concerning the state of your health and that of the most serene queen, your wife, my very dear and much loved sister; and especially was I gratified to hear of the pleasure you take in her company, of which her serene highness likewise wrote me. So I have always wished it, and, besides fulfilling what you owe your royal character, you do me therein very great pleasure, for I love the most serene queen, my sister, so much, that my love for her far exceeds that which is due her from me. I pray you affectionately always to inform me concerning your health and hers, and I will always let you hear as to mine. And now with regard to what is further to be said, I have been informed by letters which I have received from persons near you that you entertain some fear that the fleet which we are dispatching to the Indies, under command of Hernando Magallanes and Ruy Falero, might be prejudicial to what pertains to you in those parts of the Indies. We believe that, in spite of the fact that certain persons desire to imbue you with such an idea,