Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/237

MARRIAGE OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA. 93 Isabella discerned too clearly, however, the path chapter of duty and probably of interest. She unhesitat- '- — ingly refused the seductive proffer, and replied, 't. that, " while her brother Henry lived, none other had a right to the crown ; that the country had been divided long enough under the rule of two contending monarchs ; and that the death of Al- fonso might perhaps be interpreted into an indica- tion from Heaven of its disapprobation of their cause." She expressed herself desirous of estab- lishing a reconciliation between the parties, and offered heartily to cooperate with her brother in the reformation of existing abuses. Neither the elo- quence nor entreaties of the primate could move her from her purpose ; and, when a deputation from Seville announced to her that that city, in common with the rest of Andalusia, had unfurled its standards in her name and proclaimed her sove- reign of Castile, she still persisted in the same wise and temperate policy .^'^ The confederates were not prepared for this Treaty be. •T r tween Henry , magnanimous act from one so young, and in oppo- fJIferaler"' sition to the advice of her most venerated counsel- lors. No alternative remained, however, but that of negotiating an accommodation on the best terms possible with Henry, whose facility of temper and love of repose naturally disposed him to an ami- cable adjustment of his differences. With these dispositions, a reconciliation was effected between 37 Lebrija, Rerum Gestarum — Alonso de Paleneia, Coronica, Decad., lib. 1, cap. 3. — Ferreras, part. 1, cap. 92, —part. 2, cap. 5. Hist. d'Espagne, torn. vii. p. 218.