To which D. John answered gravely, that the undertaking was in the service of God and of the King his lord, and that this being so, he could not give it up with honour; so he sent D. José de Acuña to Barcelona, to see if there was a galley for his passage. The Archbishop and Governor and many gentlemen also begged him "to go back to Madrid, as they had orders from the King to stop him." But to this D. John would not give in either. The Archbishop, accordingly, with the King's letter in his hand, notified him "that he should not go further," but D. John, without losing his calmness or politeness, persisted in his wish. Then the Archbishop, Governor, and notables of Aragón, who had hurried to Saragossa, were so charmed by the audacity and firm purpose of this lad of eighteen, that they begged him, if he still persisted in going, "to take 500 arquebusiers for his guard, as it was not right to go alone, and that the Kingdom would pay for them, as long as the expedition lasted." To which D. John replied that, "if he embarked, he would accept their offer." Then they offered him a great sum of money in crowns, but D. John gratefully and courteously refused this. With an enthusiastic farewell from everyone D. John set out from Saragossa for Belpuche, where he lodged with the Viceroy of Naples. Then he went to Montserrat, to visit the celebrated sanctuary, and the monks, in league with the Viceroy of Catalonia, who was the Duque de Francavilla, arranged to amuse him in the monastery until the galleys for Malta had set sail from Barcelona. Then the Viceroy, the Duque de Francavilla, with the magistrates, the Archbishop of Tarragona, and the Bishop of Barcelona came to receive him in Montserrat, begging him to return to Madrid in accordance with the King's will as the galleys had sailed for the island of Malta. To which D. John answered imperturbably that, if there were no galleys in Barcelona, he could easily find one by crossing France, as he thought of doing, to seek one in another place. Puzzled what to do, the Viceroy accompanied him to Barcelona, with much honour and a great following, and entertained him there with feasts, rejoicings and balls, in order to give time for the last resource, which was an autograph letter from the King to D. John, ordering him to return at once, without delay, to Madrid, under pain of his royal and lasting displeasure. D. John bowed his head to such a conclusive threat, and returned at once to Madrid, with as much applause from everyone for his obedience as for his first brave resolution. He was received with great enthusiasm in Madrid, and the first to go and meet him was Prince Carlos, who gave him a gold ring with a magnificent diamond, the work of Jacome Trezzo, which cost 800 ducats. The King was not then in Madrid, having gone to Segovia and Sepulveda to meet the Queen Doña Isabel, his wife, who was returning from the celebrated conference of Bayonne.