with envy and half with triumph. How he longed to
make one of the group of brothers who had covered themselves with glory,
and had been knighted by their father in the mosque, which was now
consecrated and declared a cathedral. But he was getting stronger every
day, and by-and-by he felt that a halo of glory would enshrine his name
also. And so it has, and will for all time, only it was won in another
way from those of his brothers.

* * * * *

It was soon after his return from Africa that king John's health began
to break down, and though he lived for eighteen years longer, he left
the government of Portugal mostly to his son Duarte, who was guided in
military matters by the advice of his father's old friend, the constable
of the kingdom. Fighting still went on in the neighbourhood of Ceuta,
but though the other princes, or infantes, took part, Fernando stayed in
Portugal.

We know little as to how he passed his time. Probably he shared the
studies of prince Duarte, who collected a large library and himself
wrote a book of philosophical maxims, which gained him the surname of
Duarte the Eloquent. The two brothers were bound together by the same
tastes, and we may be sure Duarte approved when by-and-by Fernando
refused the pope's offer of a cardinal's hat, on the ground--unheard of
at that period--that, not being a priest, he was quite unfitted to wear
it. For the same reason, though the cases were rather different, he
wished also to refuse the office of grand master of the order of Aviz,
which had been held by his father; but in the end Duarte's counsels
prevailed, and he kept it.

* * * * *

Fernando was thirty years old when his father died, and never yet had
his sword left its sheath, though he longed from his soul to join in the
frequent expeditions that went out from Ceuta to attack the strongholds
of the unbelievers scattered about the coast. But king John always
refused to let him leave the country, thinking he was too delicate to
bear the hardships of a soldier's life; and so Fernando stayed at home,
making himself as happy as he could with his books and his prayers, and
long philosophical talks with Duarte. Now Duarte was king, and perhaps
Fernando would be able to gain his heart's desire.

The new king was putting on his robes for the ceremony of his
proclamation when his physician craved humbly an immediate audience. Dom
Duarte wondered wh