deed, from his half-brother Philip
of Spain. As joyous as Philip was gloomy, as open and frank as Philip
was cloudy and suspicious, and as beautiful as Philip was grotesque, Don
John was the Bayard of our day, the very mirror of all knightly graces.
To the victory of Lepanto, which had made him illustrious as a soldier,
he had added, in '73--the year of Eboli's death the conquest of Tunis,
thereby completing the triumph of Christianity over the Muslim in the
Mediterranean. Success may have turned his head a little. He was young,
you know, and an emperor's son. He dreamt of an empire for himself, of
sovereignty, and of making Tunis the capital of the kingdom he would
found.

We learnt of this. Indeed, Don John made little secret of his
intentions. But they went not at all with Philip's views. It was far
from his notions that Don John should go founding kingdoms of his own.
His valour and talents were required to be employed for the greater
honour and glory of the Crown of Spain, and nothing further.

Philip consulted me, who was by then the depositary of all his secrets,
the familiar of his inmost desires. There was evidence that Don John's
ambitions were being fomented by his secretary, who dreamt, no doubt,
of his own aggrandizement in the aggrandizement of his master. Philip
proposed the man's removal.

"That would be something," I agreed. "But not enough. He must be
replaced by a man of our own, a man loyal to Your Majesty, who will not
only seek to guide Don John in the course that he should follow, but
will keep close watch upon his projects, and warn you should they
threaten to neglect your interests the interests of Spain for his own."

"And such a man? Where shall we find him?"

I considered a moment, and bethought me of Escovedo. He was able; he
had charm and an ingratiating manner; I believed him loyal, and imagined
that I could quicken that loyalty by showing him that advancement would
wait upon its observation; he could well be spared from the Council,
where, as I have said, he occupied a quite inferior post; lastly, we
were friends, and I was glad of the opportunity to serve him, and place
him on the road to better things.

All this I said to Philip, and so the matter was concluded. But Escovedo
failed me. His abilities and ingratiating manner endeared him quickly to
Don John, whilst himself he succumbed entirely, not only to Don John
of Austria's great personal charm, but also to Don John's ambitious