802 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
BooK
V.
it~
College, he was a perfon of a quiet and mild difpofition, he was nos
d1er, nor pretended
to
the
War,
and was then repeating
his
Office of our
L
0
3
1-
to
whom he was entirely devoted; but he being alarm>d with this noife
j
y,
up his Breviary into his bofom , and laying hold of a rufl:y Sword and a
H~lb
apt
which came next to hand, he
ran into
the Market-place, and the
firft perfc
h'
m7c
with
happened to
be
Diego Cenren_o,
and
not knowing
~
ith whom he
en
~n
e e
without farther ceremony, he took him over the lefr hand with a good
blo~ ~~
":ith the
next
he rhrufi
him
into the thigh with the point of his Halbert,
~hich
did
not
pa{S
through,
becaufu
rhere was a crofs bar to that weapon in
form
of
a
Flower-9e-luc~; a~d
endeavouring co difengage his Halbert, and
pull
it our,
that
fo
he might give_ h1m another thrufr, the barbes were fafl:ned co bis breeches ofVel-
. vet, fo that pullmg
at
them,
Centeno
fell to the ground : at which time a Page of
his, who is grown
up
to be
a
man ( whofe name
I
have forgot) came
in
to
the
affifience
of.
his
Ma~er,
and fuo_t
Maldonado
with
a
Carbine, wich which he
fell
foon; but
nfing
aga1.n co
fight_
with
Centeno,
more
Co~pany
came in,
and
feifed
0,11
Maidonado>
and
d1farmed h1m, and chen purfued
their
V1Ctory, which
was ea–
fily
gained; for
by this time moll: of the Enemy's party ha_d declared for the
King,
and
the 1·efi
had
conveyed themfelves away.
In
all
which Engagement nothing
happened
fo
remarkable as the Combat becween
Pedro M aldonado
and
Diego
Cmteno
with
both whom,
I
was acquainted , nor was there one drop of bloud
fhed,
bu~
onely
that of
Centeno.
·
CH
A
P. X.
A ftrange Accident which happened upon
this Combat of
Pedro Maldonado.
The death of
Antonio de
Ro–
bles.
Diego Cenceno
i&
chofen Comrnander in
chief.
Lucas
Marcin
u
redttced to
his
Majefl/'s
fervice.
An
Agreement is 1nade between
Alon(o de Men
do~
and
Diego Centeno.
P
Edro Maldonado
was
one of the fatteft and mofi corpulent men that ever
I
have
feen: and though the ilior which
was
given him knocked him
co
the
ground,
yet he received no wound ; for the bullet happened
to
{l:rike on the Breviary
which was
in his
bofom ; and
fo
by the miraculous Providence of the B.
Virgin
(co
whom he was zealoufly devoted) his life was preferved.
I
my felf faw the Bre–
viary fome years after; far happening
to
be on a Saturday at Mafs with
Pedro de
Mlflldonado
,
for on that day in the Church of
Merced! ,
they always fing
Mafs ro
the Mocher
of
God;
I
defired him
to
lee me fee that Office or Breviary which is
now called theOffice of Miracle, for
I
cold
him, that
I
was very defirous and
cu–
rious to fay,
I
had feen
it
:
he was pleafed
to
comply
\.Vith
my requefi, and
I
opened the Book , and found
that
the Bullet had
pa~d
the cover , and entered
the firfr -thirty or fourty pages, and fome twelve or
fifteen
leaves farther
it
had
rumpled
up
together , and had impre!Ied the bignefs and form of the Bullet ,
as
far
as
to
that leaf where the Mafs of our Lady begins; and
V\
hich in thofe
days
they bound up with our Lady>s Office and \lVith other Offices of Devotion, as the
Bookfellers pleafed;
for then
there was
not
that care
taken
of Books
a
hath
been
fince
that
time ordered by the Council of
T rent ;
for then the Breviaries ,,·ere
of
that fize as the Prayers are now for daily Devotions.
That night there
was
no other encounter than this which happened becween
Maldonado
and
Centeno,
though fome Authours make a long relation of men
kil–
led
and
wouaded;
uc
certainly
it was
not true, of
which
I have as
much
~er
rnmcy