isappointed man
who carried his sorrows to the monastery at St. Yuste, where the
austerities and severities he practiced finally cost him his life
(1558). But let no one suppose that these penances were on account of
cruelties practiced upon his Protestant subjects! From his cloister
he wrote to the inquisitors adjuring them to show no mercy; to deliver
all to the flames, even if they should recant; and the only regret of
the dying penitent was that he had not executed Luther!

CHAPTER XVIII.

Philip established his capital at Madrid, and commenced the Palace
of the Escurial, nineteen miles distant, which stands to-day as
his monument. His coronation was celebrated by an _auto-da-fe_ at
Valladolid, which it is said "he attended with much devotion." One of
the victims, an officer of distinction, while awaiting his turn said
to him: "Sire, how can you witness such tortures?" "Were my own son in
your place I should witness it," was the reply; which was a key to the
character of the man.

[Illustration: From the painting by Velasquez.
The Surrender of Breda.]

He asserted his claim through his mother, the Princess Isabel of
Portugal, to the throne of that country, and after a stubborn contest
with the Lusitanians, the long-desired union of Spain and Portugal was
accomplished. This event was celebrated by Cervantes in a poem which
extravagantly lauds his sovereign. Henry VIII. had been succeeded in
England by Mary, daughter of his unhappy Queen, Catherine of Aragon,
who, it will be remembered, was the daughter of Ferdinand and
Isabella. Mary had inherited the intense religious fervor and perhaps
the cruel instincts of her mother's family, and she quickly set about
restoring Protestant England to the Catholic faith. Philip saw in a
union with Mary and a joint sovereignty over England, such as he hoped
would follow, an immense opportunity for Spain. The marriage took
place with great splendor, and in the desire to please her handsome
husband, of whom she was very fond, she commenced the work which has
given her the title, "Bloody Mary." In vain were human torches lighted
to lure Philip from Spain, where he lingered. She did not win his
love, nor did Philip reign conjointly with his royal consort in
England. Mary died in 1558, and her Protestant sister Elizabeth,
daughter of Anne Boleyn, was Queen of England.

Philip had made up his mind that Protestantism should be exterminated
in his kingdom of t