small building, containing eight rooms, four
on each floor, was raised against the southern wall of the monastery.
The rooms were low, and of a moderate size. They were protected by
porticos, which sheltered them on two sides from the rays of the sun,
while an open gallery, which passed through the centre of the house,
afforded means for its perfect ventilation. But Charles, with his gouty
constitution, was more afraid of the cold damps than of heat; and he
took care to have the apartments provided with fire-places, a luxury
little known in this temperate region.

A window opened from his chamber directly into the chapel of the
monastery; and through this, when confined to his bed, and too ill to
attend mass, he could see the elevation of the host. The furniture of
the dwelling--according to an authority usually followed--was of the
simplest kind; and Charles, we are told, took no better care of his
gouty limbs than to provide himself with an arm-chair, or rather half a
chair, which would not have brought four reals at auction.[282] The
inventory of the furniture of Yuste tells a very different story.
Instead of "half an arm-chair," we find, besides other chairs lined with
velvet, two arm-chairs especially destined to the emperor's service. One
of these was of a peculiar construction, and was accommodated with no
less than six cushions and a footstool, for the repose of his gouty
limbs. His wardrobe showed a similar attention to his personal comfort.
For one item we find no less than sixteen robes of silk and velvet,
lined with ermine or eider-down, or the soft hair of the Barbary goat.
The decorations of his apartment were on not merely a comfortable, but a
luxurious scale;--canopies of velvet; carpets from Turkey and Alcaraz;
suits of tapestry, of which twenty-five pieces are specified, richly
wrought with figures of flowers and animals. Twelve hangings, of the
finest black cloth, were for the emperor's bed-chamber, which, since his
mother's death, had been always dressed in mourning. Among the ornaments
of his rooms were four large clocks of elaborate workmanship. He had
besides a number of pocket-watches, then a greater rarity than at
present. He was curious in regard to his timepieces, and took care to
provide for their regularity by bringing the manufacturer of them in his
train to Yuste. Charles was served on silver. Even the meanest utensils
for his kitchen and his sleeping apartment were of the same costly
mat