Show A GRIM CEREMONY an a death hastened by ilia III own funeral charles N of spain brought about his death by rehearsing his own funeral for the last two years of his life after resigning the scepter of spain and the N liet et herlands to his son philip in 1506 charles retired to the monas tery of lusto uste in Estre madura and there lived a cloister life in cloea close inter course with the monks devoting much time to religious religions exercises daring DIrring this period prompted it may be by the ex ample of cardinal de la marck who for several years before his death in 1328 1528 had annually rehearsed his own on obsequies the emperor inthe in the summer of 1558 formed the resolution to cele brate his own funeral before he be died accordingly on aug 80 of that year the grim farce m was as carried out with the most elaborate ceremonial the imperial domestics domestico marched with black tar era in their bands hands and the emperor emper or clad in bable sable weeds himself followed wearing his shroud while the solemn masa mass for the dead was sung before the high altar in the cathedral charles gave up his ta per to the priest typifying thereby his resignation of life and was solemnly laid in bis his coffin the ceremony closed with sprinkling holy water on his body then all the attendants retiring the doors were shut abut and charles rose from his narrow bed and withdrew to his vate apartment the damping of the cs in deuced a chill which aided no doubt by the mental dep depre fAion caused by the grew some ceremony induced a fever which ended in his death three week weeks later on the of Ser 1588 |