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ISABELLA OF CASTILE 115 be coerced in her matrimonial alliance. In 1468, with great pomp and ceremony, Isabella was solemnly proclaimed Princess of Asturias, heir-apparent to the throne of Castile and Leon. She is described as of medium height, of fair complexion, regular features, auburn hair, clear blue eyes, and with a sweet but serious expres- sion that told both sides of her character. She inherited from her father a desire for knowledge and a love of literature, and was herself a fine linguist. These graces of mind and person, added to her nearness to the throne, soon brought many ardent suppliants from the principal thrones of Europe for the honor of her hand. Her cousin, Prince Ferdinand of Aragon, was her wise choice, and to him she was married, notwithstanding her brother's opposition, in 1469. The brilliant wedding at Valladolid, in the presence of the nobility and about two thousand persons, closes the second period of her life. Five years intervened be- fore the Princess of Asturias became Queen of Leon and Castile. Stormy years, for the angry brother instituted a fresh rebellion against her succession, and Isa- bella was again the peace-maker ; years of poverty, also, for the heirs-apparent of Castile and Aragon had scarcely a competency for their daily needs. Isabella was residing in Segovia at the time of her brother's death ; hence, in Segovia, with more than the usual solemnities which accompany the accession of a new sovereign even in Spain, she took the vows and was crowned Queen of Castile and Leon in 1474. During the first four years and a half of her reign civil war desolated her kingdom, for Joanna, the reputed daughter of Henry IV., again contested her right to the crown, supported by the King of Portugal, to whom she was affianced. But the same people who had said " Isabella shall be the heir-ap- parent," said now " Isabella shall rule over us," and conquered. The reign of Isabella, therefore, dates from 1479, when she was left in undisputed, possession of her throne, rather than from 1474, when she wore her crown for the first time in Segovia. The same year that brought peace to the Queen of Castile elevated Ferdinand to the throne of Aragon. No more important epoch marks the history of Spain than the union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon ; it meant the end of petty principalities and pow- ers, it meant united Spain. But the crowns were only linked together, for Isa- bella, even in her marriage contract, had maintained the independence of the crown of Castile and her individual right to rule over it. It was this loyalty to her inherited crown that won the love and confidence of her people and made them ready, when the need came, to die for Isabella of Castile. And it was this in- dependence of her crown that enabled her to say at last to Columbus : " I will assume the enterprise for mine own crown of Castile," and " to the crown of Castile " belonged the first discovered territories in the .New World. Had the reign of Isabella been less distinguished for events of such momentous magnitude as to involve the future interests of the world, her personal life would yet furnish data for a series of volumes, so replete was it with stirring incidents and with heart-breaking sorrows. But the same mental strength and moral courage that made her eminent as a queen, made her remarkable also as a friend and mother. Prescott says : " Her heart overflowed with affectionate sensibilities to her family