“But the man makes no answer, till at length His Sacred Majesty speaks again, half mused, half angry.
“‘Still silent, cousin? Still without a word?—even when you have the chance of telling the truth to a grey-beard! Come now, shall I abdicate or stay upon my throne, O silent one?’
“‘Most Sacred Majesty,’ replies the thin man, ‘at the approach of winter even the strongest oaks let fall their leaves.’
“Three o’clock strikes.
“‘Lend me your shoulder, silent one, that I may lean upon it.’
“And, so saying, His Most Sacred Majesty leads the way into a great room wherein is a canopy, and under the canopy a dais covered with a carpet of crimson silk. On the dais are three chairs. His Sacred Majesty seats himself on the mid-most one, which is more ornamented than the others and surmounted by the imperial crown. King Philip takes the second chair, and the third is occupied by a woman, who is no doubt the Queen. On either side are long benches covered with tapestry, and sitting upon them are men dressed in red robes and wearing round their necks the image of a golden sheep. Behind stand various personages who would seem to be princes and lords. Opposite these, and at the bottom of the dais, there is a row of bare benches which are occupied by men dressed in plain cloth. I hear it said that these men are clothed and seated so modestly because it is themselves that have to pay all the costs. At the entrance of His Sacred Majesty these people all stand up, but when he has sat down he makes a sign and they sit also.
“Now a very aged man is talking of his gout interminably. After which the woman, who seems to be a Queen, presents a roll of parchment to His Majesty. His Sacred Majesty reads what is written thereon in a low voice, coughing all the time, and then he begins to speak for himself.
“‘Many and long are the journeys that I have made through Spain and Italy and the Netherlands, through England and through Africa, all for God’s glory, for the renown of my arms, and the good of my peoples.’
“And so on, and so on, till at last he comes to tell of his growing weakness and fatigue, and of his determination to relinquish the crown of Spain, together with the counties, duchies, and marquisates of all those countries, and of his desire to hand them over to his son. Thereafter he begins to weep, and every one weeps with him, and King Philip gets up from his chair and falls upon his knees before his father.
“‘Most Sacred Majesty,’ he cries, ‘am I indeed to receive this crown from your hands while yet you are so strong to wear it?’