Temper as to believe those Persons who advised her ill She was very lovely although she was not in the Prime of her Youth her Eyes were lively quick and piercing her Teeth admirable her Hair blacker than Jet and in a great quantity her Stature Noble and her Leg well shaped The Queen being informed of her Misfortunes was mightily concerned at them and continued to be very angry with the Duke de Medina Câ—li for not keeping his Promise to her The Calamities occasioned by the Plague were not the only Evils which the People of Spain suffered The publick Poverty spread it self farther still for the scarcity of Provisions continued and no Remedies were applied to rectifie these Disorders No alteration was made in the Government and the Chief Minister seemed to be possessed with a Lethargy Every body hung down his Head and Men were so enfeebled that they had scarce strength enough to lift up their Eyes and Hands to Heaven to implore its Assistance and Relief The past and present Miseries made them apprehend what was to follow every one made melancholy Reflections upon the sad condition of Affairs which carried them further than they desired But to compleat the general Calamity after they had for six Weeks together beheld terrible Inundations that did a world of Mischief in several goodly Cities these Accidents were followed by an Earthquake which happened two days after the King's departure to the Escurial We perceived it at Madrid on the 9 th of October between six and seven a Clock in the Morning it was so violent that it made a general Concussion and the most Resolute Persons were possess'd with fear This extraordinary Motion was perceived all the Kingdom over and even at Lisbon and the other parts of Portugal but the City of Malaga found the saddest Effects and sustained the greatest Loss by it This City is situated in the Kingdom of Granada upon the Coasts of the Mediterranean Sea within Twenty five Leagues of the Streights at the foot of a Mountain upon the top of which stands a Castle that Commands the Town and the Port. It is large well peopled and rich by reason of the considerable Trade they drive in Spanish Wine Oyl Citrons Fruits and other Commodities which draw a vast number of Vessels to that Port. Its Fortifications although they are Old are very good and are adorned with several stately Buildings which are remainders of the Magnificence of the Moors and the Cathedral Church was formerly the Principal Mosque They perceived there a great Trembling of the Earth which lasted but a few moments however the concussions were so violent that they caused a general fear and desolation in in the City by the strange disorders it occasioned The Harbour and the Walls on the same side with their Bulwarks Towers and Ramparts were overthrown the Sea was in so extraordinary an agitation that the Fishes every where leapt out of the Water the Vessels that were in the Port were lifted up above Twenty Foot high and all their sides crack'd as if they had been in a real Tempest so that the Mariners believed they were unavoidably lost Fifteen Convents of Men and Women were ruined after that manner that scarce one stone lay-upon another and in that of the Observance of St. Francis there were fourteen persons buried in the Ruins This Magnificent Church which had been enlarged and beautified in the Year 1521. leaned several times on its two sides ready to overturn and yet received no damage which the Inhabitants took for a Miracle 1300 Houses were sorely battered and more than 1200 ruined 'T is easie to judge what a vast number of persons must have been killed hurt and buried in this Confusion As soon as the Earthquake had ceased the Bishop followed by his Clergy and a great multitude of people went in Procession to the Church to implore the Divine Commiseration Assuredly in these sorts of Occasions the most irreligious hardned persons pray heartily and sincerely The Inhabitants being affrighted retired into the Country fearing to be overwhelmed in the City by some new Concussion but several Houses fell down all about Malaga a great Mountain was perfectly overthrown the Earth opened in abundance of places and cast up the Water in such prodigious quantities that great Torrents were occasioned by it which swelled the Rivers so as to make them overflow their Banks 'T was observable that the Wall of the Church d' Albavrin opened it self the breadth of four foot and afterwards closed again so that the place where this fissure happened could not be discerned The Jasper Pillars in the same Church were removed from their Pedestals but afterwards returned to their old place and sustained no damage At the City of Velez Malaga the Earth opened and swallowed up a River which runs near it after this it closed again with so terrible a noise and threw up the Water with so great a violence that it rose above ten Pikes higher than the Houses and had like to have overwhelmed every thing when it fell down Several Cities here were entirely overthrown and the Earthquake did a great deal of Mischief at Sevil Corduba and at Iaen where Palaces and Churches and many Houses were ruined It is impossible for any thing in Nature to be more terrible than this was for no body knew where to save themselves and Death seemed to pursue them where-ever they fled A few days after this Earthquake there happened at Night a Tempestuous Storm which overturned part of the Roof of the Escurial broke the Crystal Windows of the King's Apartment and tore up abundance of Trees in the Garden by the Roots The King perceiving the Queen to be affrighted at it was so complaisant as to rise with her and sent for some Company to come to her Chamber and comfort her a little It has been a Custom long ago established in Spain that when any thing happens the truth of which they cannot immediately discover for the Ministers to suspect that France had a hand in it Thus they had received certain Advice that the Count d'Estrées had sailed with several Men of War in his Company for the West-Indies and therefore they presently concluded that it was he who burnt Porto-bello but they were informed of the contrary by two Vessels which were arrived from the Honduras at the Port of Cales laden with six thousand Chests of Indigo and two hundred thousand Piasters These brought word that some Bucaniers commanded by an English-man had landed at the Port de Bastimentos and after five days march in the Mountains had attacqued Porto-bello that the Spanish Garrison threw away their Arms and retired without fighting a stroke into the Citadel that a poor Negro who was Seventy Years old had marched out of it followed by twenty five Soldiers and made a brave Resistance but was killed upon the place being abandoned by his Men. The Bucaniers carried away thirty six Thousand Crowns and all the Booty they were able
de 〈◊〉 Bâ—lbaraâ— arived at Madrid who brought the happy neâ—â— that the marriage of the King with Mademoiselle had been solemnized at Fountainbleau and this gave occasion to the Masquerades on Horseback and the bonefires that were to be seen for three days together All this publick rejoycing did not in the least diminish Don Iuan's melancholy and 't is certain the great perplexity of mind he was under very much impaired his health and the vigour of his constitution He was at a stand what party to take for as he had too much bravery ever to think of giving way to his enemies so his credit was not strong enough to put him in capacity of resisting them In this violent condition he was sensible enough thaâ— he should never be able to sustain the weight of his affliction and to say the truth it cost him his life at last But great men seldom complain when they become the sport of fortune and after their example Don Iuan expected his last day with the constancy and steadiness of a Heroe His Tertian Ague seized him again and on the seventh of September he found himself so extreamly ill that the Physitians acquainted the King that there was but little hopes of his recovery At this news his Majesty wept and testified a sensible grief He ordered Cardinal Pâ—rtocarerâ— to go to him and learn what condition he was in he appeared but little concerned and prepared himself for death like a â—ood Christian and Philosopher He comforted 〈◊〉 his friends with a wonderful presence of â—â—nd A man has lived long enough said he to â—â—em when he dies without having any thiâ—g to 〈◊〉 him I mean in râ—laâ—ion to Honour 〈◊〉 for what concerns my dâ—ty to God I have been too deficious and the time of my repentance cannot be too long He received the Holy Viaticum and the King almost every other moment came into his Chamber testifying a great deal of friendship for him and tenderly complained that he would abandon him at a juncture when his assistance was become so necessary to him Don Iuan made his Will by which he constituted the King his Heir he left almost all his Jewels to the young Queen and the Queen Mother and named Cardinal Portocarero the Duke de Medina Celi the Duke of Alva and the President of Castile to be his Executors He likewise gave order that as soon as ever he was dead they should remove his Cabinet which was filled with Papers of great importance out of his own Apartment to that of the King This extream illness of the Prince put some stop to the publick rejoycings that were resolved upon and particularly to a Bull-feast but however it did not hinder them from making fine artificial Fireworks in the Court of the Palace nay he desired it himself altho he was troubled with a furious pain in his Head that might very well be increased with the noise of Rockets and Crackers All this while his Physitians who knew nothing of the profound melancholy wherein he was plunged punished his body for an indisposition that was properly lodged in the mindâ— and made him suffer a sort of martyrdom by the several torments they inflicted upon him In fine this poor Prince died on the seventeenth of September 1679. on the very same day that his Father Philip IV. did He was born in 1626. and abounded with a thousand good qualities A little time after his birth his Mother received the habit of a Religious Woman from the hands of Pope Innocent X. who was then the Pope's Nuncio to King Philip IV. this action of her retiring out of the world justified her from abundance of suspicions which people entertained upon the score of her imprudent conduct The King did not acknowledge him till the year 1642. He had the Grand Priory of Malta in Castile bestowed upon him and was sent against the Portugueses with the Title of Generalissimo of the Armies by Sea and Land After this he reduced the City of Naples to its obedience and went to Flanders to command the Troops there He was Governour of the Low Countries of Burgundy and Charâ—lois but he came back to march once more against the Portugueses After the deâ—â—h of the King his Father he passed his time as it above mentioned at Consuegra the ordinary residence of the Grand Prior of Castile and when the present King came to be of age he continued near him On the twentyeth his body was carried to the Escurial and was interred in the Paâ—theon for so the place is called where they lay the bodies of the Kings of Spain but those of the Princes and Princesses of the Royal Family are placed in a Vault which is not far from it nay they don't lay the bodies of the Queens of Spain in the Pantheon unless they have had Children He left a very beautiful Daughtâ—r behind him whom he had by a Person of Grâ—â—t Quality She is a Religiouâ— among the Carmâ—litâ—â— at Madrid who are called las Descaltas Reâ—les The first journey the King made after the death of Don Iuan was to go and visit the Queen Mother he parted the very same day from Madrid and lay on the way at Araâ—juez and arrived the next day at Toledo The Queen received him with great testimonies of tenderness they mingled their Tears together as they embraced one another and dined and afterwards entertained one another a long time in private All those that accompanied the King kissed her Majesty's hand so after the day was agâ—eed upon for her to come back to Madrid he left her We may easily believe that she took but little time to prepare her self for a journey that was so welcome to her The King parted from Madrid on the twenty seventh he lay again at Aranjâ—â—z and the next day he set forward to meet the Qâ—een on the way that leads to Toledo As soon as they met he desired her to come into his Coach that they might discourse in private and so he brought her to Buen Râ—tâ—râ— which is one of the King's Houses scituate at the end of the City There she rested her self for some time till the House of the Duke Dâ—â—eda could be fitted up foâ— her which it seems she chose to reside in because the Palace was not spacious enough to lodge the two Queens It would be an endless piece of trouble to reckon up all the Persons of Quality besides the vast multitudes of people that accompanied their Majesties at their arrival and indeed this mighty alteration of fortune was very remarkable on the Queen Mothers side There was an universal joy for her return in the very same City where but two years ago Don Iuan was seen to enter as the Deliverer of his Country and the Queen to go out like a meer Fugitive under all the weight of the publick hatred The King â—arried there till evening and there scarce passed a day over his head from the time he went to meet the
by the Council The Council of the Crusade Pope Iulius the Second in the year 1509. granted the priviledge of the Crusade to the Kings of Spain to make war against the Infidels the Revenue of it is so considerable that it brings in several millions and in the same year Queen Ioan and the King her Father who Governed in her name formed and erected the Council of the Cruzada The President thereof carries the Title of Commissary General and he is at present Don Henriquez de Benavides y Bazan Patriarch of the Indies It is composed of two Councellors of the Council of Castile and two Regents one of the Council of Arragon the other of that of the Indies a Fiscal two Treasurers a Reporter two Registers and three Sollicitors This Council gives permission or licence to publish Jubiles and to print Books all the States of his Catholick Majesty are under its jurisdiction except those of Flanders Milan and Naples who would never admit of its Authority They Judge without Appeal The Council of Flanders Philip the Fourth named the President and Councellors of it in the year 1628. This Council is superiour to all those that are established in Flanders The Prince de Stillano was President of it but the Count de Monterey is now preferred to this Post. It consists of no more than three Councellors The Council d' Aposento Since the first Floor that is raised in all the Houses in Madrid belongs to the King this Council may Rent it or Sell it until the Proprietors redeem it Don Alonzo the Eleventh of that Name erected in the year 1341. a Junto consisting of a President who is called the Aposentador Major of six Aposentadores of exercise because some others may be admited into it if they are Veteranes of a Fiscal a Secretary a Receiver an Alguazil and a Porter This Junto preserves His Majesty's Rights they take care likewise to lodge the Officers of the King's Houshold The Council of the Chamber of Castile Queen Ioan and Charles the Fifth her Son erected this Council in the year 1518. The President of Castile is the Chief Man of it with four Councellors of the same Council three Secretaries and a Reporter They meet toward night on Mundays and Wednesdays every week at the Presidents House and give him an account of all the Posts that are to be filled in the two Castiles They expedite all Remissions and deliver the Titles to Dukes Marquesses Counts and the names of the Villages They likewise look after all the Benefices that are in the King's Presentation by the Apostolick Commission The Iunto de Bosques Reale Charles the Fifth established it in the 1545 It consists of two Councellors an Alcalde a Fiscal and a Secretary Their business is to look after the Palace and the rest of the King's Houses as well in City as in Country and likewise to take care of His Majesty's Woods The Iunto of the Millions Philip the Fourth observing that the Council de Hazienda was overcharged with business in the year 1653. formed a Chamber composed of a President four Councellors of the Finances four Commissaries Deputies of the States a Fiscal and two Proctors of the Court This Chamber is called the Tribunal of the Millions because here they receive the Revenue that arises from Imposts upon Victuals Oyl Wine and Vinegar and amounts to a Prodigious Summ. The End of the First Part. MEMOIRS OF THE COURT OF SPAIN PAâ—T II. ON the Feaâ—â— of the Annunciation the Young Q. went to the Monastery of the Incarnation The French Ambassador's Lady accompanied her thither but tho' she never so earnestly desired to have an opportunity to entertain her in private she could not find one single moment to do it for the vigilant Camarera would not allow the Q. that Liberty At her return she served Nine Poor Women at Dinner and gave each of them a Suit of Apparel and five Pistols in their Purse The Maids of Honour carried the Dishes the Q. Mother performed the same Ceremony on her side But what infinitely surprized the Q. was to find a Billet privately slipt into her Pocket and thus Superscribed For the QUEEN Alone At first she was in doubt whether she ought to open it or no but presently after she had a mind to carry it to the King Nevertheless the uncertainty of what was contained in it and after what manner the K might take it prevailed with her at last to open it It seemed to be written in a disguised sort of an Hand and contained these Words in Spanish The Supreme Elevation of your Majesty and the mighty difference that 〈◊〉 between us has not been able to efface that Passioâ— which your admirable Qualities have infused into my Heart I adore you my Queen I die in adoring you and I dare say that I am not unworthy to adore you I see you I sigh after you but you don't know my Sighs you don't understand my secret Languishings nay you don't turn your Charming Eyes upon me Ab Madam how unhappy am I to be born a Subject who find my self possessed with the Inclinations of the greatest K. in the Universe The Queen continued some time surprized and astonished She could not imagine who this Rash Person was that had the hardiness to write to her in these Terms and did not question but that the Billet was slipt into her Pocket by one of the Poor Women whom she had served But then it appear'd very strange that a Man who seem'd to be of great Quality would trust his Life for nothing less was hazarded into the Hands of a poor needy Creature for such she must be that could approach the Q. that day It was true indeed that she had been amongst the Religious Women of the Incarnation but altho' some of them might undertake this business yet there was little probability to believe it by reason of the Consequences that would have proved fatal to the Party concerned if ever the matter came to be discovered Sometimes she thought that perhaps it might be a Trick of the Camarera Mayor to see what use she made of this Billet and then to acquaint the King with it and turn the most Innocent thing in the world into a wrong sense After these different Reflections at last she judged it would be the safest way to discover the Matter to the Q. Mother and follow her Advice She went the next day to dine with her and afterwards shew'd her the Letter beseeching her to keep it That if the K. came to know any thing of the matter she would be so kind as to testifie the whole Truth The Q. Mother seeing that she was discomposed at it assured her that it was not worth the while to torment her self about it and from whatever Hands the Letter came if the King was disquieted at it she would take care to acquaint him wiâ—â—â—ne Truth So that the Queen leâ—t her more at ease than she was before by