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PAGE 23

The Spanish-English Lady
by [?]

The master, who desired to give the Queen contentment, told her that he would do it, and that he would land them either in Lisbon, Cadiz, or Seville. Having taken sufficient security of the merchant, and assurance from the master, the Queen, by way of message, sent unto Clotaldo that he should not take anything of that away from Isabella which she had given her, as well in jewels as in clothes.

The next day came Isabella with her father and mother to take their leave of the Queen, who received them with a great deal of love. The Queen gave them the merchant’s letter and many other gifts, as well in money as other curious dainties for their voyage. And Isabella with such courtship thanked her Majesty, that she left the Queen anew obliged unto her for to continue her favours still towards her. She took her leave likewise of the ladies, who now that she was grown disfigured would not that she should have left them, seeing themselves free from that envy which they bare unto her beauty, and would have been very well content to enjoy her gifts of wit and discretion. The Queen embraced all three of them, and recommending them to their good fortune and to the master of the ship, and desiring Isabella to advertise her of her safe arrival in Spain, and from time to time of her welfare, by the way of the French merchant, she took her leave of Isabella and her parents, who that very evening embarked themselves, not without the tears of Clotaldo and his wife, and of all those of the house, of whom she was extremely beloved.

At this their taking of their leaves Ricaredo was not present, who that he might not make show of his tender-heartedness and manifest his sorrow, procured some of his friends to go abroad that day a-hunting with him. The gifts which the lady Catalina gave Isabella for her voyage were many, her embracings infinite, her tears in abundance, her entreatings that she would write often unto her without number. And the thanks rendered by Isabella and her parents were answerable thereunto, so that though weeping they left each other well satisfied.

That night the ship hoisted sail, and having with a prosperous gale of wind touched upon the coast of France, and there taking in such provisions as were necessary for their voyage into Spain, within thirty days after they entered the bar of Cadiz, where Isabella and her parents disembarked themselves. And being known by all those of the city, they received them with expressions of much content. They received a thousand congratulations of the finding out of Isabella, and of the liberty which they had gotten, being first captured by the Moors and afterwards by the English, having been made acquainted with all the passages of that business by those captives whom the liberality of Ricaredo had set free.

Now, Isabella in the meanwhile began to give great hopes of returning to recover her former beauty. They remained but a little more than a month in Cadiz, refreshing themselves of their weariness in their voyage, and then they went to Seville for to see whether the payment would prove good of the ten thousand crowns which were to be put to the account of the French merchant who had undertaken for to see it disbursed. Two days after their arrival at Seville they inquired after him, and found him, and gave him the French merchant’s letter; he did acknowledge the bill, but told them that until he had received letters from Paris and a letter of advice he could not let them have the money, but yet that he looked every moment to be advertised thereof.