Chapter V

During the absence of D. John on the royal galley that afternoon a courier had arrived at Barcelona from the Court, bearing various letters from the King, all in D. Philip's writing, and one of them, dated the 17th of June, or six days after D. John had left Madrid, caused the latter the bitterest and deepest dismay. It is not recorded what the orders of D. Philip were which caused such distress to D. John of Austria; but judging from the two letters which he wrote then, and from other preceding and following ones, it is certain that following other orders, unknown to us, this letter also brought reproaches, more or less severe, from D. Philip to his brother, for having allowed himself to be addressed as Highness, and for having accepted the honours due to an Infante, which on all sides were given him; forbidding D. John in future to accept these honours, which the King had not granted him, and saying that a letter from Antonio Pérez was coming with a copy of the instructions which had been sent to the ministers in Italy, respecting the way in which D. John was to be received and addressed, and he was to keep strictly to these same instructions.

D. John was thunderstruck at this letter, and it amazed the faithful secretary Juan de Soto, the only person to whom D. John dared to confide it. Up to a certain point the fact was true, because it is certain that nobles and people, great and small, regarded and respected D. John, both in Spain and out of it, as an Infante of Castille, as he was a son of the great Emperor and brother to the present King, and because his personal gifts and deeds made him worthy of the high dignity. But that which was the spontaneous act of nations and peoples had been transformed by those envious of D. John into intrigues and presumptuous efforts to occupy a rank he did not possess, and this had been treacherously whispered in the Monarch's ear. It seems certain that D. John's enemies had carried their tittle-tattle and misrepresentations to Philip II himself; it was also certain that he believed them, and equally certain—and this is what so pained D. John's loyal heart—that D. Philip had hidden his displeasure as King and brother, and had said good-bye to him with false words of kindness and confidence, condemning him unheard, in his absence, and deputing a minister to sanction, by a letter, the grave humiliation which he was imposing.

D. John's youthful blood boiled at these thoughts, and, depressed and dismayed under the weight of his first disillusion, he seriously thought of renouncing his dreams of glory, and of taking refuge in the ecclesiastical state, as the Emperor, his father, had counselled, as being quieter and more peaceful. Juan de Soto comforted him with much wise reasoning, and for his counsel and encouragement wrote to the Prince de Évoli, to whom Soto owed his appointment as secretary, the following letter, asking for advice and explanations, which clearly shows the trouble and fears which perturbed him:

"Lord Ruy Gómez, as you well know of H.M.'s new wishes for me
since I came here, I will not weary you by mentioning them; but
availing myself of your knowledge, and the permission you gave
me to go to you as to a father about my concerns, I will say
that I have resented and do feel it, as I cannot help doing; not
so much, my lord, is my vanity wounded—as I take God to witness
that I am free from that—but it gives me much pain that I, alone
in the world, have deserved such fresh orders, as I lived in the
utmost confidence that H.M. would show to all that he held to
me, and that he would be pleased by my being more honoured. I
confess that the disfavour of putting me on the common level has
wounded me so much that at times I feel inclined to find some
other way of serving God and H.M., as in the one I am following
I am so clearly shown that I do not succeed; however, if
anything deters me, it is that, as I do not deserve it, it is
not H.M.'s wish, but that of someone who has more influence with
him than I have. Consequently, then, Lord Ruy Gómez, if one
could see through people, perhaps those who enjoy the public
confidence would have most need of advisers and of reform, and
this truth I feel the more as the present and future punishment
is bitter, not through the fault of those less opinionated, who
have less say in the matter, but by means of those who through
being so much in favour, and this is certainly seen, show
themselves finding fault in every way. All this moves me to
speak and hear others more than to be silent, believing that I
am pursued by false stories; at all events, I have great cause
to complain, when you come to think of the little value that has
been placed on all that I have done, to find myself, which is
what I feel most, now ordered by H.M. to be placed on a level
with those whom God, having made me his brother, did not place
between him and me. I well know that my services do not deserve
crowns of laurel; but that what I desired to arrive at, and for
which I worked, should be so little esteemed, and that instead
of being appreciated it should be thought less of by H.M. is
what weighs on my mind. I put my trust again in you, whom I
implore without keeping anything back to write and tell me what
are the causes of H.M. treating me thus, because if you will
only let me know that I do not deserve his favours, I would
rather serve him in some other way than weary him in my present
one. On which matters, if it appears well to you, I would like
you to talk to him and give me your advice, reminding him how
much he will be worthy of God's pleasure in acting as a father
to one who has no other, but a thousand people who will take
advantage of my youth and want of experience to compass my ruin,
as if that were an honour and glory to them. And as far as this
concerns me I again commend myself and it to your notice, to you
whom alone I entirely trust.

"Our Lord, etc. From Barcelona, July 8, 1571."

CARDINAL DE GRANVELLE

_From his portrait by Gaetano in Musées Municipaux, Besançon_
]

But not satisfied with this, and thinking that it was disloyal not to tell the King what he was feeling, he wrote this other letter on the 12th of July, humble and submissive, as a vassal of the King, but dignified, loyal and energetic, as was always his heart and conduct.

"Sir! For the grace and favour Y.M. has done me by writing with
your own hand, from the bottom of my heart I kiss your hands. I
have also received the instructions and other dispatches for my
journey, and they have arrived in such good time that it annoys
me how much is being lost here, and consequently so much for
Y.M.'s service; every day I expect the Marqués de Santa Cruz, on
whose arrival we can set out, as everything is ready. As to
following the instructions and opinions of those whom Y.M. has
designated to help and counsel me, particularly the Knight
Commander, I will certainly do so, as I know it is my duty, and
this being so, it will be my pleasure to care for Y.M.'s
affairs, with as much sincerity and prudence as the one I am at
present entrusted with. In truth, I have no other desire, and it
is my duty to arrive at this object, postponing the things of
less importance, and Y.M. must not doubt that I will continue to
act thus, and I beg you to tell me always what I do not
understand, for, as I have written before, I trust so little to
my youth, experience and judgment, that I well see the want I
have of another's help; for which reason I again beg Y.M., with
all humility, that you will continue to warn and reprimand me as
you think well (after having heard) of what I have left undone,
because it will not be want of devotion which will prevent me
doing my duty. The instructions Y.M. gave me on my first setting
out on a galley, I look on as very precious, and they will be
the more so now that I realise that it gave Y.M. pleasure, and
nothing I hold dearer than fulfilling your desires.

"I answered the Pope as the Knight Commander thought it was best
not to wait for Y.M.'s reply; and that it was well to let him
know how the matter stood: however, in future I will keep such
things secret.

"You have done me a great favour in ordering Antonio Pérez to
let me know what he is writing to the ministers in Italy, about
the way I am to be addressed, and not only shall I be very
pleased to conform to the wishes of Y.M. in this, but also it
will be my delight to guess your desires, in order that I may
follow them as I ought to do; only I make bold to say, with all
the humility and respect due, that it would be a boundless
favour and grace if Y.M. would be pleased to communicate
directly with me about what you desire, for two reasons; the
chief one being that it is now your pleasure that any of your
ministers should confer with me as to your wishes, as none of
them are under as great an obligation to do them as I am; the
other reason is that before leaving I ought to have given some
notice that what Y.M. wished should have been done and with less
fuss; and inasmuch as God has made me Y.M.'s brother, I cannot
help saying, or continuing to feel, that personally I am worth
little, but when everyone thought that I deserved more from
Y.M., and expected to see it, by Y.M.'s orders I see exactly the
opposite, putting me on the common level, which I do not
deserve, because I have put the service of Y.M. before vanity
and everything else, of which God is my witness, and it has
given me so much pain to see how little you are satisfied with
me, that often I think that if it is Y.M.'s pleasure I will seek
some other way of serving you, as in the present one I seem so
unfortunate in obtaining what I yearn for. Meanwhile I will obey
Y.M.'s orders as far as possible, although it will be difficult
amid the adulation I am told exists in Italy. Y.M. will believe
me that I desire neither honour nor good except that with it one
can serve the better, but the consideration of this detail does
not affect me, only to execute your orders, which for no reason
will I fail to do.

"Our Lord, etc. From Barcelona, July 12, 1571."

This was the first sign that Philip II gave his brother D. John of Austria of the unjust want of confidence which the ingenious Antonio Pérez knew how to sow in his path, to whom belongs the doubtful honour of being the only man who for long years could deceive and often pervert the straight and calm judgment of the prudent Monarch.