LETTERS FROM QUIETSIDE. 77

 

 

who were in humble spheres were re-
_membered kindly, and provided for
In his will. This document presents
acurious study for those who think
0f Charles as a religieuse, living and
dying in the odor of sanctity, accor-
dmg to the conventual rules and usa-
ges.
He brought with him from 1101-
and a large quantity of very rich
Papestry, which was sometimes hung
In his rooms; occasionally a black
drapery was used instead. Besides
many articles of vertu, such as
drawings, paintings, crucifixes, statu-
ary, reliques set in precious woods,
s§0nes, metals, etc.; the plate of
his chapel, chamber, pantry, cellar,
arder, dispensary, and wax-room,
Bmounted to 1461 marks, or 11,688
Ounces; nearly $200,000. IIis 1i-
I‘al‘y contained thirty-one volumes,
escribed as bound in crimson Velvet,
with silver clasps and mountings. In
this nineteenth century, such a library
appears insignificant. enough, but it
must be remembered that Charles
died in the middle of the sixteenth
century, in the closing day of the
“Dark Age,” and the dawning of
Fhat which introduced the art of print-
.“18. We, who live under its merid-
lan blaze, enjoy literary facilities
Which the wildest enthusiasm could
not then have dreamed of.

To return to Charlcs‘s will. IIis
bed-chamber was furnished with tWo
eds, sixteen blankets, fourteen fea-
t '81‘ bolsters, thirty-seven pillows,
With much Holland bed-linen, sev-
eral chairs covered with black velvet
aInd garnished with nails. His own
arm-chair had sixteen cushions and a
foot-stool, besides one chair in which
6 was carried about with staves.
mong other things, his wardrobe
contained sixteen long robes, lined
With eider down, ermine, Tunis kid-
Slim, or velvet. In his stables were
six mules and one horse. One of the
fnules was chestnnt color, and called
‘Cardinala.” He had two litters,
098 lined with black velvet, mounted
With steel; the other was covered

 

with leather, and lined with black
serge.

Such an establishment, with all
these appliances of luxurious indul-
gence, is certainly opposed to our
reconceived notions of monastic life.

his is supposed to require severe
personal penance, to secure accept-
ance with the Most High.

Charles fasted on all those occa-
sions appointed by the church; but
generally he would not abstain from
such food and drink as were pro-
nounced injurious by his physician,
who was kept in constant attendance,
watching, and administering sedatives
to counteract the continual violence
done to his digestive organs. He
was not only an epicure, but a gor-
m‘and.

It seems difl‘icult to reconcile such
contrarieties of character; and yet
Charles exhibited in an eminent de-
gree many of these traits which most
exalt humanity. Religious venera-
tion and enthusiasm were prominent
elements in his character; but instead
of producing in perfection the fruits
of Holiness, Faith, Hope, and Charity,
which are the legitimate growth of
Christian principles, they were dis
tortcd in the germ by the blighting
influence of bigotry and superstition.
He not only countenanced those ter-
rible persecutions in which so many
millions were barbarously murdered,
but he encouraged and sustained the
inquisition in its work of bloody
butchery. His dying injunction to
his son Philip, was not to spare the
heresy, nor those who embraced it.
How this command was observed,
has been recorded by the pen of his-
tory, and leaves an eternal stain upon
the page consecrated to that age.

II is domestic life prcSents a brighter
obverse. He cherished the memory
of his wife, as has been mentioned,
with an ardor that savers of the ro-
mantic ; was an affectionate, fund, and
just father, even extending his regards
and provident care to Don John of
Austria, his natural son; was warm
and demonstrative in his friendships,