ess of Ovistan and Goziano!
After assuming the heavy burden implied by this somewhat overpowering
list of titles, the young queen's first serious annoyance came from her
husband, strange as the case may seem. Fernando of Aragon was the
nearest living male representative of King Henry, and he somewhat
selfishly began to take steps to supplant Isabella in her succession.
Little did he know his wife, however, if he imagined it possible to
deprive her of Castile, and events soon showed that she was the stronger
of the two. At her orders, the laws and precedents with regard to royal
succession were carefully examined, and it was soon published abroad
that there was no legal objection to her assumption of power. Fernando
was appeased to some degree by certain concessions made by his wife,
their daughter Juana was recognized as heiress of Castile, and, all in
all, in spite of his disgruntled state of mind, he wisely concluded to
remain at Isabella's side and help to fight her battles. A new cause for
alarm soon appeared: another of Isabella's former suitors, Alfonso, King
of Portugal, was affianced to the pitiful La Beltraneja, the two were
proclaimed King and Queen of Castile, and the country was at once
invaded by a hostile force. Isabella interested herself personally in
the equipment of her troops, she faced every emergency bravely, and
after a short campaign her banners were triumphant and all things seemed
to indicate that an era of peace had been begun. The pope dissolved the
marriage between Alfonso and La Beltraneja soon after, and these two
unhappy mortals forthwith retired from the world, she to the convent of
Saint Clare at Coimbra, while the poor king resigned his crown and
became a Franciscan monk. So great, in fact, was Isabella's victory at
this time, and so keen was her appreciation of the fact that her
greatest cause for alarm had been completely removed from the scene of
action, that she walked barefooted in a procession to the church of
Saint Paul at Tordesillas, to express her feeling of thanksgiving for
her great success.

Following close upon the heels of this last stroke of good fortune for
Castile came the news that the old King of Aragon, Fernando's father,
was dead, and now, in truth, came that unity of Spain which had been the
dream of more than one Utopian mind in days gone by. With fortune
smiling upon them in so many ways, the sovereigns of this united realm
were still confronted by many serious