To thee I dedicate my body, as the only return I can
make for all the benefits conferred on me."
Then kneeling, and holding the crucifix before him, with tears streaming
from his eyes, and all unmindful of the attendants who were around, he
breathed a fervent prayer of gratitude for the past, and commended
himself to God for the future. By slow and easy stages, as he was very
infirm, he journeyed to the vale of Estramadura, near Placentia, and
entered upon his silent, monastic life.
His apartments consisted of six small cells. The stone walls were
whitewashed, and the rooms furnished with the utmost frugality. Within
the walls of the convent, and communicating with the chapel, there was a
small garden, which the emperor had tastefully arranged with shrubbery
and flowers. Here Charles passed the brief remainder of his days. He
amused himself with laboring in the garden with his own hands. He
regularly attended worship in the chapel twice every day, and took part
in the service, manifestly with the greatest sincerity and devotion.
The emperor had not a cultivated mind, and was not fond of either
literary or scientific pursuits. To beguile the hours he amused himself
with tools, carving toys for children, and ingenious puppets and
automata to astonish the peasants.
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