John, of Austria, 1547-1578; Spain -- History -- Philip II, 1556-1598
Antonio Pérez gave up the "Casilla" to D. John and his household, and
retired with his wife and sons to his other magnificent and sumptuous
house "La Villa," which had belonged to the Conde de Puñonrostro, and
was contiguous to the church of St. Justin (the site now occupied by the
military school). Every day, however, he went to the "Casilla," to pay
his court to D. John and to attend him on his visits, business, and
pleasures. Antonio Pérez wasted no time; he had already on the way from
Guadalajara exaggerated D. Philip's displeasure, and had offered to go
post-haste to the Escorial to try to placate the King with some pretext
which he would invent. This he did as soon as he had installed his
illustrious guest in the "Casilla," and at the Escorial the King and the
secretary decided together that D. John should present himself there as
soon as possible, in order not further to delay his departure for
Flanders, and that Pérez should boast of the friendly act in having
smoothed the annoyance of the King, the more to confirm D. John's
incautious confidence, which Pérez was so treacherously acquiring.
D. Philip received his brother with the greatest affability, and without
making the slightest allusion to the annoyance the coming of D. John had
caused him; he rose on seeing D. John enter the room, and at once gave
his hand to be kissed, embracing him tenderly, and then, what always
happened when the two brothers met face to face, occurred. The ice
melted, suspicion was calmed, and D. John's loyal frankness and lovable
charm penetrated and even overthrew D. Philip's cold reserve. It is
nowhere related that D. John spoke at that time, as he meant to have
done, about his title of Infante: perhaps the artful Pérez had dissuaded
him, or maybe he forebore of his own accord, in view of D. Philip's
determination to organise the English expedition, according to the plans
of Gregory XIII, as soon as Flanders should be pacified. D. Philip's
promises were so clear and definite that it is impossible to believe, as
Antonio Pérez asserts, that it was simply a strategy to animate D. John
by these hopes, without supposing in Philip a falseness and bad faith
capable of sweeping away and treading everything under foot. Because it
was not only D. John who was taken in by this strategy; it was also the
Sovereign Pontiff, the instigator and principal upholder of the English
enterprise, and the English and Scotch lords and all the Catholics in
these kingdoms, who were risking their lives and properties; and it was,
above all, the unlucky Queen of Scots who, deceived by these false
hopes, would lose time and the opportunity for using surer means of
freeing herself from captivity and death.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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