er in the evening supped heartily on anchovies, or some
other gross and savory food of which he was particularly fond.[351] On
one occasion, complaining to his _maitre d'hotel_ that the cook sent him
nothing but dishes too insipid and tasteless to be eaten, the perplexed
functionary, knowing Charles's passion for timepieces, replied, that "he
did not know what he could do, unless it were to serve his majesty a
ragout of watches!" The witticism had one good effect, that of provoking
a hearty laugh from the emperor,--a thing rarely witnessed in his latter
days.[352]

It was in vain that Cardinal Loaysa, his confessor, remonstrated, with
an independence that does him credit, against his master's indulgence of
his appetite, assuring him that resistance here would do more for his
soul than any penance with the scourge.[353] It seems a pity that
Charles, considering his propensities, should have so easily obtained
absolution from fasts, and that he should not, on the contrary, have
transferred some of the penance which he inflicted on his back to the
offending part. Even in the monastery of Yuste he still persevered in
the same pernicious taste. Anchovies, frogs' legs, and eel-pasties were
the dainty morsels with which he chose to be regaled, even before the
eyes of his physician. It would not have been amiss for him to have
exchanged his solitary repast more frequently for the simpler fare of
the refectory.

With these coarser tastes Charles combined many others of a refined and
intellectual character. We have seen his fondness for music, and the
delight he took in the sister art of design,--especially in the works of
Titian. He was painted several times by this great master, and it was by
his hand, as we have seen, that he desired to go down to posterity. The
emperor had, moreover, another taste, perhaps talent, which, with a
different training and in a different sphere of life, might have led him
to the craft of authorship.

A curious conversation is reported as having been held by him with
Borja, the future saint, during one of the visits paid by the Jesuit to
Yuste. Charles inquired of his friend whether it were wrong for a man to
write his autobiography, provided he did so honestly, and with no motive
of vanity. He said that he had written his own memoirs, not from the
desire of self-glorification, but to correct manifold mistakes which had
been circulated of his doings, and to set his conduct in a true
light.[354] O