If we except our Elizabeth, and Catherine of Russia, no princess of
modern times can equal Isabel in ability, or in the success of her
administration: and, in the qualities of her heart, in Christian
fervour, and an unspotted life, how far does she not exceed either!
Prudent in the formation, yet prompt in the execution, of her plans;
severe towards guilt, yet merciful towards misfortune; unbending in her
purposes, yet submissive to her husband; of rigid virtue, yet indulgent
to minor frailties; devout without ostentation, and proud without
haughtiness; feeling towards the pains of others, yet exhibiting no
sentiment of her own, she might well command the respect, no less than
the affection, of her people. Of her humble piety an anecdote is
related, with great applause, by catholic writers. When the sovereigns
of Castile were at confession, it was usual for the priest to kneel at
the same time with themselves. The first time she attended this duty,
after her elevation to the throne, she knelt; but the priest, Fernando
de Talavera, quietly seated himself beside her. On her expressing some
surprise that he also did not kneel, the friar replied, "This, senora,
is the tribunal of God, whom I here represent, and I shall therefore
remain seated; your highness will continue to kneel!" After her
devotions were concluded, instead of expressing any resentment, she
observed to an attendant, "This is just the director I have long
sought!" The friar became archbishop of Granada. Her only defect--yet it
is surely great enough--is her approval of the infernal tribunal which
consigned to torture, imprisonment, or death, so many thousands of her
subjects. Strange that this very lady, whom sufferings so exquisite
could not move, should have been the constant and successful advocate of
the Moors, whenever any town or fortress was taken by storm.
To Isabel must be ascribed the glory of the enterprise of Columbus in
his discovery of America. At first she received with natural coldness
the proposals of this wonderful man; but overcome at length by the
representation of a monk, the friend of Columbus, and still more by the
resistless reasoning of the navigator himself, whom she admitted to her
presence, she borrowed the sum of money necessary for the armament, and
bade him depart.
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