imancas, which afford the most authentic
records for the narrative, were inaccessible to the scholar, native as
well as foreign.[280]

[Sidenote: CHARLES AT YUSTE.]

Charles, as we have seen, had early formed the determination to
relinquish at some future time the cares of royalty, and devote
himself, in some lonely retreat to the good work of his salvation. His
consort, the Empress Isabella, as appears from his own statement at
Yuste, had avowed the same pious purpose.[281] She died, however, too
early to execute her plan; and Charles was too much occupied with his
ambitious enterprises to accomplish his object until the autumn of 1555,
when, broken in health and spirits, and disgusted with the world, he
resigned the sceptre he had held for forty years, and withdrew to a life
of obscurity and repose.

The spot he had selected for his residence was situated about seven
leagues from the city of Plasencia, on the slopes of the mountain chain
that traverses the province of Estremadura. There, nestling among the
rugged hills, clothed with thick woods of chestnut and oak, the
Jeronymite convent was sheltered from the rude breezes of the north.
Towards the south, the land sloped by a gradual declivity, till it
terminated in a broad expanse, the _Vera_ of Plasencia, as it was
called, which, fertilized by the streams of the sierra, contrasted
strongly in its glowing vegetation with the wild character of the
mountain scenery. It was a spot well fitted for such as would withdraw
themselves from commerce with the world, and consecrate their days to
prayer and holy meditation. The Jeronymite fraternity had prospered in
this peaceful abode. Many of the monks had acquired reputation for
sanctity, and some of them for learning, the fruits of which might be
seen in a large collection of manuscripts preserved in the library of
the monastery. Benefactions were heaped on the brotherhood. They became
proprietors of considerable tracts of land in the neighborhood, and they
liberally employed their means in dispensing alms to the poor who sought
it at the gate of the convent. Not long before Charles took up his
residence among them, they had enlarged their building by an extensive
quadrangle, which displayed some architectural elegance in the
construction of its cloisters.

Three years before the emperor repaired thither, he sent a skilful
architect to provide such accommodations as he had designed for himself.
These were very simple. A