CHAPTER IV

D. Carlos left Alcalá to complete his convalescence in Madrid on the 17th of July, and Alexander Farnese and D. John of Austria remained alone to continue their studies until the end of 1564.

D. John was then at the dangerous age of adolescence, when nature unconsciously awakes, and the imagination wanders in unknown spheres, giving rise to strange fears, vague desires, and curious dreams which trouble the mind and heart, and sadly often lead the will from the right road, if some evil influence changes its course.

D. John, however, was too high-minded and had been too well guarded for the vulgar influence of the student crew to affect him. These students, of whom Alarcón has since said in the "Verdad sospechosa":
Son mozos, gastan humor,
Sigue cada cual su gusto,
Hacen donaire del vicio,
Gala de la travesura,
Grandeza de la locura,
Hace al fin la edad su oficio.[4]

But there were students in Alcalá of the highest nobility, who paid their court to the Princes and shared their pleasures and exercises, and one of these, who appears to have been D. Rodrigo de Mendoza, second son of the Duque del Infantado, provided D. John with some of the romances so much in fashion at the time.

The effect of these readings on D. John's mind was that of throwing a lighted torch down on a dry stubble field.

Certainly his good sense reduced the fabulous deeds of Amadis and Palmerin to the limits of possibility, but the spirit, and the inclination to what is daring, chivalrous and romantic, inflamed his already ardent imagination, and made his heart glow, having from his childhood always been drawn to what was great and marvellous.

To honour God and succour the poor, as Do?a Magdalena de Ulloa had taught him, always attracted him; his dream was to serve the King loyally, as Luis Quijada had taught him, and on his own account to do great deeds, to which he seemed to be called by the blood of Charles V coursing through his veins. But, after his novel-reading, all this seemed to him small and insignificant, without glamour or glory, and besides a God to honour, a King to serve, and renown to earn, he then added a kingdom to conquer for the faith of Christ, and a lady to love, not in the low, sinful way of Prince Carlos and Mariana Gardeta, but spiritually and platonically, like the Oriana of Amadis of Gaul.

These dreams, pondered over during those two years, determined for ever the great qualities and perceptible faults of D. John of Austria. While he was in this state of mind he learnt, we do not know how, that his brother D. Philip had begged a Cardinal's hat for him from the Pope Paul IV, but this was not really the wish of Charles V, as expressed in his will; because the Emperor never orders that D. John should be forced into the Church, or even adorned with the purple of a Cardinal; but only desires "that he should be well guided, that of his free and spontaneous will he should take the habit in some house of reformed friars, to which he shall be led without undue pressure or extortion whatever."

The sorrow and indignation of D. John on learning this news was boundless, and he hastened to tell it to the good and discreet Do?a Magdalena, bemoaning his lost illusions with all the bitterness and despair of youth.

Do?a Magdalena understood the enormous mistake it would be, and the dangers to which the soul of D. John would be exposed, were he forced into a career for which God had given him no vocation; and with the independent spirit of strong and saintly souls she earnestly besought him to do all in his power to prevent the hat being given to him, and in case of not being able to prevent it, openly to resist the King with as much respect as firmness.

Conscience and honour are outside vassalage, and the noble dame, like many others of the time, shared the feeling of Calderón, who, making himself the echo of this race, already so degenerate in his day, said:
Al Rey la hacienda y la vida
Se debe; pero el honor
Es patrimonio del alma
Y el alma es solo de Dios.[5]

Encouraged by this, D. John said no more about the matter, even to Do?a Magdalena, and nobody could have suspected that he knew what was on foot.

D. Philip returned to Madrid shortly afterwards from the Cortes de Monzón, which he had been attending, bringing with him his two nephews, the Archdukes Rudolph and Ernest, sons of the Emperor Maximilian and of the holy Empress Maria, sister of Philip and of D. John of Austria. D. John went at once to greet the King and welcome the Archdukes, and he met them at the castle of Valsain, away in the wood of Segovia. There was nothing else talked of at the Court, or in the town, but the formidable attack of the Turks on the island of Malta, and the heroic defence made by the old Master of the Order, Juan Parissot de la Valette. The leader of the strong Ottoman squadron was Admiral Pialy, with those two terrible pirates, Hassen and Dragut, with whom were 45,000 men to be landed, led by Mustafa Pacha. The Grand Master de la Valette, only having 600 knights of the Order and 4500 soldiers to defend the whole island, earnestly sought help from the Princes of Christendom, but specially from the Pope and the King of Spain, the one being particularly interested in the defence of the faith, and the other in the preservation of his dominions in Africa and Italy, which were safeguarded by the island of Malta.

Philip II at once ordered a squadron to be prepared with 25,000 soldiers, of whom some were to go from Barcelona and the rest to be taken from Sicily. The besieged urged promptness more and more earnestly, and at the same time came tidings of the heroic valour of their resistance and of the ferocity of the Turk. In mockery of our holy religion Mustafa had made a cross with the numerous hearts of the Knights of Malta killed in the encounter, and had stuck it up at the confines of his camp; and the Grand Master de la Valette had answered this barbarous sacrilege by charging his big cannons with the heads of Turks, as bombs, and firing them at the enemy.

All this made D. John's young blood boil, and he silently made his plans. Certainly here was an enterprise that included everything! The glory of the faith, the succour of the helpless, the service of the King! The kingdom to be conquered was lacking, but, on the other hand, it was an occasion to show the King at once that an iron helmet suited the son of Charles V better than a red hat. Also the lady was wanting; but who could say that in the course of the enterprise he would not meet with her? Nobody noticed, however, that D. John was preoccupied, and they only observed that he had long talks with D. Juan de Gúzman, one of his gentlemen of the bedchamber, and with D. José de Acu?a y Pe?uela, keeper of his wardrobe.

He went out one morning, the 9th of April, 1565, for a ride with Prince Carlos, and with studied pretence separated from him and turned towards Galapagar, followed only by D. Juan de Gúzman and D. José de Acu?a.

D. John did not return that night, and the King, as he missed him next day, sent for Luis Quijada, who thought that he was with Prince Carlos and the Archdukes, but when the King undeceived him he could give no information as to his whereabouts.

Everyone was alarmed; a great search was made, and at length the Duque de Medinaceli said that according to a postillion who had met D. John on the road, this last had taken post for Galapagar with two gentlemen of his household, and was on the way to Barcelona, to embark on the galleys which were going to help the Island of Malta. The annoyance of the King at his independence was somewhat softened by the generosity of the boy's impulse, and couriers were sent to all the ports, and Viceroys, in order that he should be stopped with this message, "that he was to come back at once, as the enterprise was without his (the King's) knowledge or sanction, and that the boy was very young for such a long journey and such a dangerous undertaking." D. Pedro Manuel was dispatched with this message, and with orders that he should follow until he had overtaken D. John, and the King charged Luis Quijada also to write and show how displeased he was. Luis Quijada's displeasure was indeed great, not on account of D. John's escapade, for that pleased him extremely, but on account of the want of confidence in having said nothing to him. But Do?a Magdalena, who saw better than anyone to the root of all this, made Quijada note the prudence and affection of D. John in using such great reserve towards him; because if he had told his project to Quijada, he would have been obliged, by virtue of his trust, to forbid it, and to have countenanced it would have been to incur the annoyance of the Monarch. So it was most prudent to be silent, and this is what D. John had been.