He was very obedient to all the commands of Holy Church, and heard all its offices with great devotion; aye and caused the same to be celebrated in his chapel, with no less splendour and ceremony than they could have had in the College of any Cathedral Church. And so he held all sacred things in great reverence and treated the ministers of the same with honour, and bestowed on them favours and largess. Well-nigh one-half of the year he spent in fasting, and the hands of the poor never went away empty from his presence. Of a surety I know not how to find any prince so Catholic and religious, that I could say as much of him. His heart never knew what fear was, save the fear of sin; and since from chaste habits and virtuous actions spring great and lofty deeds, I will collect in this next chapter all the notable things which were performed by him for the service of God and the honour of the Kingdom. CHAPTER V. In which the Chronicler speaketh briefly of the notable matters which the Infant performed for the service of God and the honour of the Kingdom. Where could this chapter begin better than in speaking of that most glorious conquest of the great city of Ceuta, of which famous victory the heavens felt the glory and the earth the benefit. For it seemeth to me a great glory, for the sacred college of the Celestial Virtues,[N23] that all those holy sacrifices and blessed ceremonies should have been celebrated in praise of Christ our Lord in that city from that day even until now, and by his grace ever shall be celebrated. And as to the profit of our world from this achievement, East and West alike are good witnesses thereof, since their peoples can now exchange their goods, without any great peril of merchandise--for of a surety no one can deny that Ceuta is the key of all the Mediterranean sea. In the which conquest the Prince was captain of a very great and powerful fleet, and like a brave knight fought and toiled in person on the day when it was taken from the Moors; and under his command were the Count of Barcellos, the King's bastard, and Don Fernando, Lord of Braganza, his nephew, and Gonçalo Vasquez Coutinho, a great and powerful noble, and many other lords and gentlemen with all their men-at-arms, and others who joined the said fleet from the three districts of the Beira, and the Tral-os-Montes and the Entre Douro-e-Minho.[N24] Now the first Royal Captain who took possession by the walls of Ceuta was this same of whom I write, and his square banner was the first that entered the gates of the city, from whose shadow he was never far off himself. On that day the blows he dealt out were conspicuous beyond those of all other men, since for the space of five hours he never stopped fighting, and neither the heat, though it was very great, nor the amount of his toil, were able to make him retire and take any rest. And in this space of time, the Prince, with four who accompanied him, made a valiant stand. For as