Between these ruins came that of the no less august and worn-out majesty, the invincible Emperor, vanquished only by years, wars, worries and his gluttony, for this really great man who had controlled two worlds could never control his own excessive appetite, and this had overcome him, crippling his hands and paralysing his knees. His wide forehead was bald, and his under-lip, already a characteristic of this great race and still distinguishing it, fell more than ever. On the 6th of October the Emperor set out from Laredo after dinner, and in one march reached Ampuero, where he made the first halt. The road did not permit all the suite to travel together, and they were divided in this way. First went the Alcalde Durango with fifty alguaciles with wands, and behind came the litter of the Emperor with Quijada at his side; it looked more like the procession of a prisoner than the escort of the greatest monarch on earth. As a matter of precaution there was also a sedan-chair in which they could place His Majesty in difficult places, and behind came valets and several mules with the things indispensable to the Emperor wherever he was.
At the distance of one march followed the litters of the Queens and their ladies, some of whom went on horseback; also sedan-chairs in case of necessity, and a mule and a horse saddled for the Queen of Hungary, who liked to ride occasionally. The third group consisted of the rest of the suite of the Emperor and the Queens and more than a hundred mules laden with baggage.
This modest escort was Quijada's despair, as only five alguaciles guarded the Emperor like a prisoner, and he had several discussions on this point, giving his opinion with his usual peevish frankness. The Emperor sent him to the devil, as was his custom, and Quijada, annoyed and in a bad temper, was silent till the next opportunity.
The Constable of Castille and D. Francisco Baamonde came out to meet them at Burgos, and accompanied them to Valladolid with a very brilliant guard. At Cabezón, two leagues from Valladolid, the Emperor met Prince Carlos; his grandson went to greet him with some gentlemen of his household. The Emperor did not know this unfortunate Prince, who was afterwards so tragically celebrated, and was very pleased to see him. D. Carlos was then eleven, and as the day was rather cold had put on a very richly lined doublet, which, according to a letter from Francisco Osorio to Philip II, suited him very well, and His Highness looked a "foreigner." The bravery of his attire, however, could not hide the Prince's feeble frame, or the notable disproportion of his head to the rest of his body. His grandfather and the two Queens gave him their hands to kiss, which the Prince did very politely and respectfully. But the first moment of shyness passed, the boy returned to his usual restlessness and self-will, and began to make a noise and upset the room with very little respect for those great personages. And seeing a portable stove, which served to warm the Emperor's room during the journey, a thing then unknown in Spain, he asked his grandfather to give it to him. This was refused, and, the child still persisting, the Emperor, almost angry, said sternly, "Be silent, D. Carlos. After my death you will have time to enjoy it." It did not please the Prince that the Emperor and the two Queens talked French among themselves, as they usually did, as he could not understand this language, which drew down upon him another reproof from his grandfather, who told him very severely that his was the fault for having taken so little pains to learn it.
Meanwhile the good Queen Elinor begged her brother to tell the child something of his campaigns; this the Emperor gladly did, and the Prince listened with great attention. But when he referred to his flight from Innspruck before the Elector Maurice, the Prince interrupted him abruptly and disrespectfully, saying that he should not have run away. The grandfather laughed at his grandson's outburst, and explained that want of money, finding himself alone, and the state of his health had obliged him to make this flight.
"It does not matter. You ought not to have run away." His persistence amused the Emperor, who went on arguing, "But if your own pages wished to seize you and you were alone among them, you would have to run away to escape from them." "No," said the Prince proudly and with anger, "I should never run away." The Emperor laughed at this haughty persistence, which pleased him, but he was not altogether very well satisfied with the heir to the throne, as he said to his sister, the Queen of France.
"He seems very noisy, and his manner and temper please me little. One does not know what may become of such a hot-tempered youth."
CHAPTER IX
Luis Quijada hoped that, once established at Yuste, the Emperor would allow him to return to his castle of Villagarcia and rest by the side of Doña Magdalena. The Emperor, however, thought otherwise, and all his generosity consisted in giving Quijada a few days' leave two months after his arrival, in April, 1557.