less of the world than he, though none was more in it or knew
it better. He became as renowned for his wisdom and ability in conducting
affairs as he had long since been for his sanctity, and the confidence
which the King and Queen reposed in him caused him to be admitted to their
counsels on all the most important matters of government.

[Illustration: Cardinal Ximenez de Cisneros]

Cardinal Ximenez de Cisneros

From a relief preserved in the Universidad Central. Photo by J. Laurent &
Co., Madrid

When the death of King Ferdinand occurred, the Cardinal was nearly eighty
years of age, yet he accepted and assumed the regency imposed upon him by
the King's testament. Adrian of Utrecht, Dean of the University of
Louvain, who had resided for some months at the court of King Ferdinand in
the quality of ambassador from Prince Charles, produced full powers from
the young sovereign, which conferred upon him the regency after
Ferdinand's death. Cardinal Ximenez acknowledged him without delay, and a
joint regency was instituted in which Adrian's part was merely nominal, as
the actual government was carried on exclusively by the Cardinal.

It could hardly have been otherwise, for Adrian, as a foreigner, was
unpopular in Spain, where he exercised no influence; he did not even speak
Spanish and being, moreover, of a scholarly disposition, little used to
the intricacies of affairs of state, he was doubtless glad enough to
shelter himself behind the powerful figure of his masterful colleague.
The Cardinal was adored by the people; the sanctity of his life, the
integrity of his character, the superlative order of his genius, and his
princely munificence made him more powerful than any sovereign. Some of
the great nobles who had imagined that the regency of an aged monk would
favour the designs of their invasive ambitions were sharply checked by the
energy of the new regent, who had organised an efficient body of troops in
his own pay and speedily made it apparent that Spain had a ruler with whom
it was perilous to trifle. One incident in the contest he sustained in
defence of the crown's prerogatives against the encroachments of the
feudal nobles, illustrates his character. The Duke of Infantado, the
Grand Admiral of Castile, and the Count of Benevente came as
representatives of the nobles, to inquire into the nature of the powers by
which the regent exerci