4000003871

Royal Commentaries.

OOK

VII.

Confider therefore your condition, and encouragc one the other, to confult

your fafeties by a valiant purfpance of our firft Engagement: Our cafe is

not defperate, but hopeful ; for having

500

·men on our 'fide,

2000

againíl:

-us can never hurt us, unlefs we prove falfe to ou~ felV'es: See then to the

roain point, and confider what will become of.vou if I· mifcarr,y.

Thefe

and many other things to this purpofe, were fpoken by

Hernandez.

to his

Souldiers, who, notwithftanding all thac was faid, could not bue b:: fenlible

of the lofs they fuftained by the revolc of

Vaz..quez..,

&c. Thus far

Pden–

tino.

That which

Hernandez..

faid concerning the Pardons, 'That they would be

hanged with them abouc their Necks, was fulfilled wit~ more certainty

thao all che Prediétions and Prophefies in which he trufted : for

r.ho'

neither

Vat.que:r..,

nor

Piedrahita

were hanged, yet they were both frr

angled

in the

Prifon, nocwithftanding their Pardons, which they fued. out of Chancery

nndér the Great Seal, and notwithftanding the Pleas they made,

that a

Man having obtained his Pardon, and not committed any· offence afterwards,

ought not to fuffer ·Death or any other Punifhment,

Thus what

Hernanekz..

foretold of this matter was accornplifhed, which we having anticipated out

, of ics due place, we fhall noc need

repeat, or enlarge upon ic

hereafter.

CH A P.

XXVIII.

Francifco

Hernandez

fl.yes away alone.His Lieutenant General

witb a hundred111en tak,.B another way.They are purfuedhy

Pau–

lo de

Menefcs;

and ar~ tak_en,

and

hrought to Jujfice.

Otwichftanding all that

Hernandez.

had faid to his Souldiers, he was

yet

troubled and confofed 'within himfdf for the lofs of

Vaz.que:r..;

that he refolved that very Night to run away, and leave his Souldiers;

for fuf¡,ition and jealoufie had

feized on ali che faculties of his ·soul, as

to affliél: him with ali chofe torments, which the Divine

Ario/fo

defcribes

in five Cantos of his Poem; which caufed him to believe, thac his own

Souldiers would kili him,. ·in hopes

fuch

piece of Service, to efcape

the punifhment they had deferved, by joyning with him

all his

bludy

Murd

ersand Treafons againft his Majefty. As

Palentinofaith, Chapter

55. in ·

che.fe

words.

Fine,

Hern1mdez.

refolved to leave bis· Men, and run away' that night,

upon a fecret intimation given him, That his Captains were confpiring bis

Death,

&c.

And tho' in reality there was no fuch Plot or Defign, but thac

every man would certainly have died with him, had he trufted

to their

Fidelity, as will appear hereafter: Yet

violent was the Jealoufie he con–

ceived ofthis matter, that he would not entruft this fecret to his Wife, though

a Woman both Noble. and Vercuous, nor to any of the moft faithful and

intimate of all his Confidents: Bue

foon as it was Night,

telling bis

Wife, and thofe then pre:fent with him, that he was going abone fome bufinefs

relating to the Army, he called for his Horfe

Almaraz..,

-which he

named

from

·Almaraz..

his Kinfrnan, from whom he had bought him; and mounted on

him, faying to thofe ftanding by, that he would prefently return; and

part–

ed from them, not knowing or defigning any place whereunto to repair ; for

pr~valen't was the fear which poffeffed him, thac he could not be at reft or

repofein .his own mind, until he had quitted his Friends and Souldiers:

Nor did any thing appcar comfortable or pleafant to him, bue only foli–

tude.

Thus did this miferable

Hernandez.

wander without ai,y Companion;

onl;, two or three Friend$ followed him by che track, whom when he heard

.coming,

he ftole awav from

them, and bid hjmfelf in a hollow Cave:

' And