and the other Alvarez I put her into the hands of a Souldier who served long under me and whose fidelity was well known to me his name was John Becaio our parting was very passionate altho' I did not think I should have lost her as I have done without ever having been able to learn any news of her After the Siege of Diu was raised I went to the Molucca's where I made some stay and from thence took passage to Portugal where I could not hear any news either of Zulemaide or of John Becaio I searched for her in all the Courts of Europe and not having been able to discover any thing which could quiet my mind I returned to Lisbon where I heard the King of Portugal was sending a Fleet to the Molucca's and I obtained a Ship I had during this Voyage a quarrel with the Admiral of this Fleet and separated my self from him in the Night with a design to return for Lisbon My Lieutenant to whom I had not communicated my design opposed me when he saw me change my Course Upon this Contest we fell to words and drew our Swords upon the Deck our Souldiers took parties each following his own inclination and the fight was so bloody that of above 500 which we were at first there remained alive but 50 and those almost all wounded and for a full Complement of our misfortunes we were driven by so cruel a storm that we thought every moment our Ship was going to sink we were driven near an Island and altho' we knew it was not inhabited yet we put out our Long-Boat to land there fearing our Vessel should run a ground coming too near the Land It was almost night when we landed and we passed the Night in great disquiet under some Banian Trees the great Leaves of which defended us from the injuries of the weather when it was day we travelled further into the Island to get some fresh water but we were very much amazed to meet there that Lady said Mendez shewing the unknown Lady vvith a Man in a Spanish habit vvhich we afterwards found to be Don John de Serano vvho vvent out vvith Magellan to discover the Straights to vvhich he gave his Name they told us by vvhat accident they came into this Island vve offered them to carry them vvhither they pleased and the Lady in return offered us to procure an employment for us of the King of Borneo her Father if vve vvould conduct her into that Island We used so much diligence in repairing the dammages vvhich the Tempest had done to our Ship that in a fevv days vve vvere in a condition to set sail again We vvent on Board with this Lady and Don John de Serano and the Wind being favourable vve arrived in a short time at one of the Ports of this Island When we had landed we mounted upon Beasts little differing from our European Stags of which the great ones are made use of here instead of Horses and they being very nimble we came in a short time to the King of Borneo's Court who gave us a favourable reception upon the account and for the sake of his Daughter This Prince having sent an Army under the Conduct of Don John de Serano against Mucitapan King of the Island of Cuba I had the Honour to serve him in this War with my Ship we overcome Mucitapan and after his death this Lady was married to Don John who was crowned King of Cuba My Lady was baptized by one of the Priests aboard my Vessel and was named Isabella all the Ladies of our Court followed our example and in a short time the Exercise of the Christian Religion was â—etled in this Island with as much freedom as in Spain I remained still at the Court of the new King who had always a great value for me looking upon me as a Man to whom he owed his life Sometime afterwards the Emperor Charles the fifth sent Don Garcia to Timâ—ala where Don John kept his Coursâ— but this Embassadour instead of acquitting himself of the Commission the Emperor had given him minded nothing but his private interest and stole away the Princess Constantia Daughter to King John This Prince went after him with the lightest of his Ships and I remained with the Queen to take care of the Government of the Island in his absence Some days after the Kings departure the Queen had notice that Constantia was carried away with the consent of Don John that he had pretended to pursue Don Garcia only to take that opportunity to go to Charles the fifth's Court who promised to marry one of his natural Daughters to him provided he would quit to him the Soveraignty of the Island of Cuba The Queen desired me to conduct her to the Imperial Court to demand justice of the Emperor against Don John for his Treachery I would not undertake this Voyage until I had consulted how I was to behave my self with Don Lorenzo who knew better than I the humour of the Ministers whereof the Emperor made use We went to Penco to seek for him but we heard at our arrival that he was gone from thence some days before to find out Rominagui and they telling us at the same time that Don Estevan was his Father and that he had retired himself into this Grotto we sent to desire him to come to the Queen to Penco in the mean while I was very much amazed that the Land-Lord of the House where we lodged was the same John Becaio whom I had intrusted with the Princess Zulemaide I asked him what he knew concerning her one day when I was alone in my Chamber and he thus related to me what had hapned to him since our separation The History of John Becaio YOU know Seigneur that I went on board Winchester's Ship with the Princess Zulemaide of whom you gave me charge I observed that this Privateer lookt upon her with great earnestness but I never stirred far from her and he durst scarce speak to her This constraint being uneasie to him he endeavoured to find out some way to be rid of me without using any violence he stayed till we were in the narrow Seas and putting upon the Coast of Brittain in France he sent me on Shore in the Long-Boat under pretence to buy him some Provisions which we wanted it was above half a League from the place where I went on shore to St. Maloes and it was already almost Night I made all the haste I could that I might come to the Town before the Gates were shut But I found in my way some Recruits which were newly raised who stripped me without leaving me so much as my Shirt I continued my Journey to St. Maloes and thought my sell very happy that I got into the Town I came under a Shop where I would have sheltered my self and have slept all Night But I had not been there above half an hour before I had been sprinkled with some water
place came out follovved by the Lyon So soon as he savv Velasquez he came tovvards him and offered him his assistance in Spanish My Companion extreamly rejoyced to find in such a Desart a Man vvho understood his Language related to him in a fevv vvords the adventure vvhich had brought him into this place and told him he had left me with two Servants on the Sea side They came together to take us vvith them by a much easier vvay on the other side of the Mountain but it ending a great vvay from the place vvhere vve vvere vve vvere forced to turn about the Cape in a Boat vvhich the Old Man used for Fishing Velasquez asked in his vvalk vvith the Old Man vvhy the Lyon took another Path than that vvhich vve follovved to go to the Sea To vvhich he ansvvered That the Lyon in hunting sought after places vvhich vvere least frequented I began to fear some accident had happened to Velasquez vvhen I savv the Boat come to the place vvhere vve vvere I went on Board vvith an unconceivable Joy but it vvas much greater vvhen the Old Man told me vve vvere in the Kingdom of Chilli and not far from the Tovvn of Penco Being extreamly tired and in a very bad Equipage I desired Velasquez to seek my Father taking his tvvo Servants vvith him and come to me again vvhere I vvas vvith Cloaths Horses and Arms but the nevvs vvhich you have brought me of the loss of the Battel makes me fear he is fallen into the hands of the Enemy Don Garcia thus finished his Relation and although Don Henriquez had hearkened to it as a pleasant Fable the Complaisance he had for the fair disguised Person prevailed vvith him not to discover his thoughts And he also found some advantage for him in doubting of his Sex since under the notion of a Brother he might take Liberties vvhich vvere not allovvable vvere the Sex of Don Garcia knovvn He expressed by the most tender transports the Joy vvhich he had for so happy a meeting but it being late he vvas forced to go into the Cave vvith him to â—ake that nourishment vvhich must not be refused to Nature DON HENRIQUES DE CASTRO Book II. AFter the two Brothers had dined they thought they could not spend the day better than in seeing the Lyon Hunt Don Henriquez who loved this exercise very well followed him as well as his strength would give him leave But Don Garcia or rather Princess Constantia for so it was in reality being more tender stayed in the Wood which was upon the side of the Hill A Fountain which precipitated it felf from the top of the Rock formed many Cascades and made that place very fit to muse in she promised her Companion to wait for him there but when he was gone out of sight she took the way towards Penco thinking she could not with Decency stay with a Man who had given so many instances to her of a violent Passion Altho' he began not to be indifferent to her yet her Vertue made her renounce the Pleasure which she might receive from his Conversation She took the way towards the Sea that she might put her self in the Old Man's Boat and follow the Shore She thought that thereby she would be least exposed to the meeting either of Indians or the wild Beasts and she made so much haste that she was very soon at the bottom of the Rock Don Henriquez who had not had any suspicion of her design return'd to the Wood where he had left her so soon as he had ended his Chase his mind full of the tender thoughts with which his Passion inspir'd him When he missed her he accused himself of neglect for having abandoned her in so wild a place where she was exposed to a thousand Dangers A moment afterwards he reproched himself for having discovered to her his Passion before he had sought for the ways of pleasing her and he feared he had constrained her to go from him by reason of his too precipitated Declarations But upon the whole matter he did not know what to think of it sometimes he thought she was become a Prey to the wild Beasts wherewith â—hese Mountains were filled and â—nother time he fancied she had â—ooked for another retreat to keep a decency and not to expose her Honour Sometimes he blamed his own levity and the easiness with which he had forgotten Leonora to love the next Object which presented it self to his Eyes From this thought he ran to another and took the meeting of the tame Lyon and of the young Beauty which had charm'd him all for a Delusion It may be said he to himself it is the Spirit of Leonora who had a mind to put thy Constancy to this Tryal and her sudden retreat is a convincing proof of it Thou didst not say any thing to this Fair Stranger which could affright her and what could make her apprehend thou should'st ever sail in thy respect to her And since she had no reason to leave thee it is to be presumed it could be nothing but an Apparition so fearful as she seemed to be certainly she would never have undertaken a Journey thus alone in an unknown Countrey She would rather have stayed with me than expose her self to unavoidable dangers by flying from me Therefore thou canst not but think that it is the Ghost of a dead Leonora and dead because she would have given her self to thee and which will eternally haunt thy steps to punish thy unfaithfulness Don Henriques was not so possest with this thought but he had a remainder of hope which made him search for her in all the places where he thought he might find her He spent so much time in this that it was far in the Night before he came into the Grotto He was amazed to meet there the old Man who had dwelt there with a Lady of a great Beauty although she was not very young She was drest after the Spanish fashion as also a Gentleman who accompanied her and she had almost all the Features of the Counterfeit Don Garcia which increased the surprize of Don Henriquez However he accosted the Company with a freedom of mind which shewed the greatness of his Birth He Complemented the Master of this Habitation with an excuse for having in his absence taken up his lodging he told him that he had done it by the encouragement of Don Garcia who had assured him that he would not take it ill that he had used this liberty but that he was very much ashamed to come back without that dear Friend who had promised to make his excuses for him At the naming of Don Garcia the Lady in a passion could not forbear interrupting Don Henriquez to ask him what was become of that Traytor and what he had done with her Daughter Madam replied this Gentleman if she be in the power of Don Garcia you need not fear any thing for her Honour I know very well
Francis de Gonzaga This great General disputed with us the passage of the Texin and we were forced to come to blows I was so happy in this fight as to save the life of the Marshal de Gie who commanded our Van-Guard his Horse having been killed under him I gave him mine and after having dismounted with a blow of my Sword a Horseman who had his Sword at the Marshals back mounted upon his Horse the Marshal was so thankful to me for this Service that he would not suffer me to make use of any other Table but his and lodged me in his House when I came to Paris He had a Nephew in his House called Keroline with whom I contracted a strict Friendship and the chief employment of the French being to visit the Ladies in time of peace I accompanied him in a visit he made to a Kinswoman of the Dutchess of Candale for whom the Duke of Orleance had a great passion this Lady whom I had the honour to please introduced me into that Princes service whose Favourite I became soon after few days after this the Dutchess of Beaujeu whom the Duke courted to marry having discovered this Intreague became jealous of it and complained to the King who sent my Master Prisoner to the Tower of Bourges I remained some time at Paris for my Master's service but having heard that Keroline reported every where that my indiscretion had been the cause of the Duke's disgrace I could not avoid challenging him and fighting him we fought with Sword and Daggar upon the Road to the Bois de Vincent many of our Friends ran after us to part us but they came too late for our Combat was ended by the death of Keroline And Duels being forbidden then in France the fear I had of being taken Prisoner made me without delay take Post for Lyons and then repassed the Alpes I heard at Turin that Ferdinand was come back into his Dominions that King Charles was dead that my Master had succeeded him by the name of Lewis the twelfth and that he had entered into a League with Spain for the Conquest of the Dutchy of Milan and the Kingdom of Naples Although I had a great deal to hope for in France from the goodness of the new King who had been so kind to me when I served hm yet the love of my Countrey made me resolve to take a Command in the Spanish Army so soon as it was raised I came thither in all diligence and I waited upon Ferdinand Gonzalez de Cordoua Marquess de Leve who commanded it he had heard of me to my advantage when I went by the name of Demiguel Cardegnas which I had taken in France this induced him to make me Lieutenant of his own Lances Ferdinand having been a second time Stript of his Countrey the two Kings quarrelled about the dividing of their Conquest and I was forced to bear Arms against the French at the Battel which the Marquess de Leve fought aginst the Duke of Nemours I took several Prisoners in this fight and amongst others Blessac who was a near Kinsman to the Lady that had given me to the Duke of Orleance he made himself known to me and being very glad to have this opportunity to acknowledge the favours I had received from his Kinswoman I sent him back without ransom which afterwards saved my life as I shall tell you I was taken at the Battel which the French won neer Ravenna under the Command of Gaston de Foix and being so unhappy as to render my self to Keroline's Brother he would have killed me to revenge the death of a Man I had killed without treachery but Blessac who was present could not suffer so great a baseness he took my part with so much warmth that it came to blows and they fought at the head of the Camp this quarrel happenning in the presence of so many they were soon parted but however in this disturbance I found an opportunity to escape I got back to Ravenna whither the remaining part of our Army had retreated where I remained sick for many Months for the wounds which I had received in the last fight having been long without dressing inflamed and put me into a Feaver and out of which I recovered with great difficulty a Spaniard named Don Alvarez who had been my dearest Neighbour when I lived at Sevil lodged in the same House where I lay sick he came by chance into my Chamber and knew me although I was very much altered he offered me his service with so good a Grace that I spoke to him without disguise I enquired of him what had passed since my departure and he informed me that my Son who was but four years of age when I was forced to leave my Countrey and who is the same Don Lorenzo whose Son you are was gone into the Indies with Ferdinando Cortez he told me also that although he was very young yet he had gained a great Reputation which was a great comfort to me The Wars of Italy being ended by the loss of the Battel of Pavie and by the Imprisonment of Francis the First King of France who had succeeded Lewis the twelfth I found my self without employment and not daring to return into Spain I resolved to go to Naples to pass my time there till a new War should find me an employment I had done great services the last time this Town was taken to Alexander Cappaccio who made there a considerable Figure and although he was since dead his Wife did not forget it I went to give her a visit and she would not suffer me to lodge in any other House but hers she had with her a Daughter who was the only fruit of her marriage Flavia for so she was called was grown as much in Beauty as in Age since I saw her and her Charms raised jealousie in the greatest Beauties of Naples her Lovers were in great number but in that Crowd she had cast her Eye more especially upon two Brothers who were no less considerable for their Merit than their Birth the name of the Eldest was Scipio and the Youngest Octavius there was so great an equality between them that Flavia durst not chuse the one for fear of displeasing the other I having the opportunity to see her at all hours she told me her thoughts with great freedom One day after having related to me what these two Brothers had done to deserve her kindness and having described to me the Character of each she asked my advice concerning the choice she was to make I answered her pleasantly to make them agree her best way was to give me a Heart for which these two Rivals disputed with so much heat to hinder Love from distinguishing in them the Sentiments of Nature She looked upon me smilingly and seeing in my eyes an amorous languishing which she had never before observed she began to think I spoke this only to discover her thoughts My humour was not