Isabel was their favourite child,—her gentle, sweet-tempered yet somewhat melancholy nature so recalling her invalid grandmother, that the Queen in private would teasingly address her as “Mother.” It would not be a far journey to the Court of Lisbon; and nothing but rejoicing filled her parents’ hearts at the gorgeous festivities in Seville, which were the background of her formal betrothal. Not only had peace been established on a firm foundation, but one more link was forged in the chain between the Houses of Portugal and Castile, that might at some future date unite all Spain under a single sovereign. In the autumn of 1490 the young Princess departed to her new home; but contrary to the general expectations she was to reap sorrow rather than joy. A few months of happiness with her bridegroom, whose memory she never ceased to cherish, and the Castilian Infanta was left a widow. She returned to her parents, seeking only a sanctuary, where she might indulge in her grief; and it was with genuine horror, on King John of Portugal’s death in 1495, that she repudiated the offer made for her hand by his cousin and successor, the new King, Emmanuel. To Ferdinand and Isabel the proposed match was both politically and personally agreeable. Their daughter was too young to let a single sorrow eat away her joy of life; while Emmanuel’s obvious anxiety to please and win her augured well for their future domestic peace. They therefore pressed his suit, hoping once more to consummate the union so dear to Castilian ambitions, but at first quite without avail. We must tell you [wrote the Queen to her ambassador in England] that the Princess, our daughter, is very determined not to marry; on which account we are obliged to give the Infanta, Doña Maria, to the King of Portugal. Emmanuel, however, preferred the elder sister to the younger; and Maria was destined to wait for her bridegroom till a more formidable barrier than mere disinclination had removed her rival. In the meanwhile, when the Portuguese alliance still hung in the balance, proposals for other marriages, no less fateful for Spain, were occupying the sovereigns’ attention. Where should they find a fitting bride for their son and heir? [Illustration: ISABEL, QUEEN OF PORTUGAL, ELDEST DAUGHTER OF FERDINAND AND ISABEL FROM “ICONOGRAFIA ESPAÑOLA” BY VALENTIN CARDERERA Y SOLANO ] Since the days, when still almost in his cradle, he had been suggested as a husband for Joanna “La Beltraneja,” both gossip and statesmanship had been busy weaving his matrimonial fate. The threads were often broken abruptly; but one design ran clear through all, the circumvention of the growing power of France.