John, of Austria, 1547-1578; Spain -- History -- Philip II, 1556-1598
For three days very solemn services were celebrated in Yuste, and Luis
Quijada presided over everything, dressed in a cloak of black baize and
a mourning hood which almost completely hid his face. During all these
days Jeromín was at his side, also dressed in a cloak and hood which
only left uncovered those blue eyes which saw and scrutinised
everything. "It certainly astonished us," wrote the nameless monk of
Yuste, "how he had the strength to remain standing so long."
It happened that on the first day of these services Quijada saw the page
of the Marqués de Miraval bring a chair for his master into the church,
and ordered him to take it out. The page answered that his master was
ill, and that it was necessary for him to take it in. To which Quijada
replied, "Then let him stop outside; I will not allow anyone to be
seated before the Emperor, my Lord, alive or dead."
Jeromín asked Quijada if he might have the Emperor's parrot and one of
the kittens, the other having died a short time before, and with real
pleasure Luis Quijada brought them to Cuacos and placed them in the
child's care, until they were claimed by Princess Juana, who had been
notified of their existence. And such weight had this august
"Zapirón"[3] with the austere steward that in a letter to the Secretary
of State, Juan Vázguez, he adds this curious postscript, "This letter
was written two days ago, and as I had much to do, and as I wished to
wait till they had all gone, I did not send it. To-day they have
finished taking out all his baggage. Your Honour will forgive the paper
being cut, because the devil of a kitten upset the inkpot on the other
sheet."
Footnote 3:
Zapirón is the feline hero of Lope de Vega's "Gatomaquia"
(Translator's note).
Luis Quijada stayed in Cuacos until the end of November, as it took all
that time to finish the arduous task of arranging the Emperor's house,
making inventories, sending away servants, settling accounts, and paying
debts. Doña Magdalena took this opportunity of going with Jeromín to the
sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadaloupe, which was not far off. While she
was away something happened which surprised and displeased Quijada,
though he had had warning of it a long time back.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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