s of nineteen that she was devoted to the service of her
religion." Such was Isabella when she married Fernando; and the wedding
was quietly celebrated at Valladolid, in the house of a friend, Don Juan
de Vivero, while the warlike Archbishop of Toledo had charge of the
ceremony. Never was there a simpler royal wedding in all the annals of
Spanish history: there was no throng of gay nobles, there were none of
the customary feasts or tournaments, there was no military display, no
glitter of jewels, no shimmer of silks and satins, but all was quiet and
serious, and the few guests at this solemn consecration seemed impressed
with the dignity of the occasion. The pathway of the young princess was
not all strewn with roses, however, as her marriage seemed to enrage her
degenerate brother and to stimulate him to new deeds of unworthiness. In
spite of the fact that King Henry's shameless conduct in private life
had been given a severe rebuke, by implication at least, at the time
that Isabella was being urged on all sides to declare herself as queen
and dispossess her brother, this perverted monarch continued his
profligate career in most open fashion. He had not only one mistress
but many of them at the court, he loaded them with riches and with
favors, and often, in a somewhat questionable excess of religious zeal,
he appointed them to posts of honor and importance in conventual
establishments! No sooner had Isabella's wedding been celebrated than
Henry began to stir up trouble again, declared that the queen's
daughter, La Beltraneja, was the only lawful heir to his estates, and to
further his projects he succeeded in arranging for a betrothal ceremony
between this young woman and the young Duke of Guienne, heir presumptive
to the crown of France, who had been one of Isabella's suitors, as will
be remembered. This French alliance, threatening for a moment, was soon
impaired by the unexpected death of the young duke, and Isabella's
position was strengthened daily by the growing disbelief in La
Beltraneja's legitimacy. To give in detail an account of all the plots
which were concocted against Isabella would take many chapters in
itself, for she met with bitter opposition in spite of the fact that she
seems to have won the sympathies of the larger part of the population of
the two countries.

In the midst of this continual intrigue came the news of King Henry's
death in 1474, and then Isabella, who had been biding her time, was
p