Agnes Strickland's Queens of England (18 page)

• isted. Consequently, that ceremony was appointed for St. George's day, April 23, 1661, and was celebrated with great splendor and universal rejoicing.

The following month Charles II. opened parliament in person, and imparted the news that he intended to marry " the daughter of Portugal."

In June, the treaty which united England and Portugal was signed by King Charles at Whitehall; and the acquisi tion of Bombay, which it granted, gave England a foothold in India that she has retained ever since, as we know.

The contract secured for Catharine the free exercise of her religion and the privilege of fitting up a chapel in any palace she might occupy, besides a settled income of thirty thousand pounds a year, with full liberty to return to her native land, should she become a widow, without forfeiting her jointure.

Meanwhile, Vatteville was so enraged at being outdone, that, although a Catholic representative, he circulated papers among the populace, setting forth the ills that must necessarily arise in England from the introduction of a popish queen. He meant to do this secretly, but was caught in the act of distributing some of these documents from his own window among the soldiers. The king was so indignant that he sent his secretary of state to order the ambassador's immediate departure. Vatteville begged to be allowed to ask his majesty's pardon, but his request was not granted, and the troublesome busybody was obliged to go back to Spain without being permitted to speak to the king again.

There was great rejoicing in Lisbon when the Count da Ponte arrived with full power from the king to complete the arrangements for his marriage, and the streets rang with the cry of, "Long live the King of Great Britain, whom God hath raised to protect us from our implacable foes ! " The count was the bearer of a letter from the king to

• Donna Luiza, as well as one to the princess, whom he addressed as " The Queen of Great Britain, my wife, and lady, whom God preserve," Both were considered fine specimens of letter-writing in their day, and prove Charles II. to have been a clever correspondent. As soon as the marriage treaty was ratified, Catharine was addressed as queen, and treated with the utmost deference at her brother's court. A great change had suddenly come to the life of this young girl, and she was called upon to fill a position for which she was totally unprepared, and to become the wife of a merry monarch, whose views of life were entirely different from her own. We cannot help pitying her at the outset. She had been brought up under the most rigid laws, kept in seclusion, and only began to appear in public after she assumed the proud title of Queen of England. Ignorant of the trials that awaited her in the future, Catharine watched for the arrival of the Earl of Sandwich and the fleet that was to convey her to England with the utmost impatience. No anxiety as to her fate marred the bright hopes of the young girl whose path seemed strewn with roses; she beheld not the hidden thorns while listening to the flattering representations of those around her, and prepared herself to leave her family and her native land without a pang.

It was not until he had cleared the Mediterranean of pirates, taught Algiers and Tunis to respect the British flag, and taken possession of Tangiers in the name of his sovereign, that the Earl of Sandwich made his appearance in the Bay of Lisbon. Now it happened that the Spanish troops were marching to besiege a seaport town near Lisbon just when the English ships sailed into the harbor, and as the town was not prepared for resistance, it must certainly have fallen, and the consequences have been disastrous to Portugal. But alarmed at the assistance that had come.

just in the nick of time to their enemies, the Spaniards made a precipitate retreat, and Catharine congratulated herself upon beinp^ the means of saving her country from ruin.

Sir Richara Fanshawe was the bearer of a miniature of King Charles to his lady-love, accompanied by an affectionate letter. Catharine was delighted with it, and made numerous inquiries about her royal lover, whose romantic history had excited her admiration and wonder.

Charles passed the winter in making preparations for the reception of his bride; and while he was so engaged there were magnificent displays of fireworks, illuminations, and bull-fights at Lisbon for the amusement of the English guests; and the queen-regent was so well pleased with the Count da Ponte's good management, that she signified her approval of it by again promoting him. He was created Marquez de Sande.

The greatest formality was observed at the reception of the Earl of Sandwich, and no point of etiquette was omitted that might tend to add to the importance of the occasion.

The earl had the honor of being presented to the queen-regent and Queen Catharine, to whom he delivered letters from King Charles, written in Spanish.

Several English gentlemen of rank were presented to the Queen of Great Britain, who had been appointed officers of her household by the king, her husband, and she admitted them formally to their different posts.

Fetes and rejoicings were the order of the day; and nothing else was thought of until the moment for handing over the money arrived. Then trouble began ; and this is by no means the first instance of its arising from a similar cause.

In consequence of the late advance of the Spanish army,

r92 The Queens of England.

Donna Luiza had been compelled to fall back on some of the gold she had reserved for her daughter's portion, to meet the expenses incurred for the defence of her realm. So she sent for the Earl of Sandwich, and after making profuse apologies, and explaining her difficulty, offered to pay down half the promised sum at once, and pledged herself to deliver the rest within the year.

The ambassador was perplexed. He had been ordered to receive the entire sum, and knew perfectly well how much his sovereign depended upon it. Besides, he had already taken possession of Tangier, and had stationed an English garrison there. He dared not incur the expense of removing the troops back home, nor would his gallantry permit him to insult the lady he was sent to convey to England by leaving her behind. His was an exceedingly delicate position, and he behaved like a kind-hearted gentleman by consenting to receive Catharine with half the sum of money originally offered. Then rose another difficulty, which proves that Donna Luiza was more diplomatic than honest; for when it came to the delivery of the bags, they were found to contain, not gold, but sugar, spices, and other merchandise, which had been valued by the Portuguese at a much higher rate than was fair.

This was an imposition against which the Earl of Sandwich violently protested, but that did him no good, for he could get nothing else unless he would accept jewels, which he positively refused. After a great deal of argument, it was at last arranged that Diego Silvas, a man of wealth and excellent character, should accompany the goods as supercargo, dispose of them in London, and pay the sum realized thereon to the king's exchequer. At the same time a bond was given by the government of Portugal for the payment of the residue within the space of a year. Thus everything was settled at last, and the royal bride

took her departure. Although she was leaving her mother and her native land, Catharine did not shed a tear. Everything seems to have been sacrificed for the formality of court etiquette — no sentiment being permissible.

The young queen, followed by the king and Don Pedro, her two brothers, the officers of the royal household, and a train of grandees, emerged from her apartments and descended the grand staircase to the main hall, where, at the entrance to the court chapel, she was met by her mother. This was the spot appointed for the leave-taking of the two queens. Catharine asked permission to kiss her mother's hand, whereupon Donna Luiza folded her in a fond embrace, and blessed her. Then they parted, and Catharine was led to her carriage between her two brothers. Before entering she turned and made a profound courtesy to the queen-mother, who forthwith retired. Perhaps in the privacy of her own chamber, this woman, who, though a queen, was still a mother, gave vent to the emotions she had schooled herself to conceal.

It was St. George's day, and that saint being the patron of Portugal as well as of England, the festival was celebrated with more than the customary splendor.

Amidst salvos of artillery the queen's barge approached the " Royal Charles," which carried eighty cannon and six hundred men, and Catharine was assisted to mount the ladder that had been built for her special use.

As soon as she got on board, a salute was fired by the British fleet, and answered by the Portuguese forts. Then, having been formally delivered over to the Earl of Sandwich, Queen Catharine was conducted to her cabin, where she bade farewell to her two brothers, who immediately returned to the city.

Everything was now ready for the fleet to set sail excepting the wind, which proved contran', and prevented the

ships from leaving the bay. That night there was a general illumination and a magnificent display of fireworks, both on land and water. The wind continued unfavorable throughout the next day, and the queen-mother sent frequently to inquire how her daughter fared on shipboard. There was no complaint to make; for the royal cabin and state-room were most luxuriously fitted up with damask furniture and curtains, costly carpets, and soft downy cushions.

A little surprise was prepared for Queen Catharine that night by her brother, the king, who with Don Pedro and a chosen party of courtiers, embarked in several barges with their musical instruments, and serenaded the departing princess, performing the music and singing the sonnets and madrigals that had been composed in honor of her nuptials.

On the morning of the twenty-fifth the wind changed and the voyage began. The fleet consisted of fourteen men-of-war ; but only three, the " Royal Charles," the " Gloucester," and the "Royal James," were occupied by Catharine of Braganza, her attendants, and officers of state. The others contained the queen's equipage and the merchandise that represented half her dowry. There were more than a hundred Portuguese in Catharine's suite, the principal ones being two ladies of the highest rank, Donna Maria de Portugal, Countess de Penalva, and sister to the Marquis de Sande, and Donna Elvira de Vilpena, Countess de Ponteval. These were appointed to chaperon the bride. Six noble young ladies formed part of the suite also, and an English count very discourteously described them as " six frights, calling themselves maids-of-honor, and a duenna, anothei monster, who took the title of governess to these extraordinary beauties." Besides these, there were six chaplains, four bakers, a perfuiner, and a barber.

The voyage to England was so tempestuous that some of

the vessels had to put in at Mount's Bay for repairs. All the passengers suffered terribly from sea-sickness, and many of them from terror. The Duke of York's squadron awaited the fleet off the Isle of Wight, and as soon as it appeared in sight the royal brother-in-law sent his secretary in a boat to ask permission to kiss Queen Catharine's hand. Having obtained it, the duke, accompanied by Lord Chesterfield, the Duke of Ormond, Lord Carlingford, the Earl of Suffolk, and others, all in full dress, went in a barge to the admiral's ship. The Marquez de Sande received the party and conducted them to the royal cabin. Catharine, dressed in an English costume, was seated on a throne, under a richly embroidered canopy, when the duke was announced. She advanced to meet him; he knelt to kiss her hand, but she quickly raised him, and allowed him to salute her cheek. Then returning to her throne, Catharine conversed for a few minutes with his highness, her almoner, Russell, acting as interpreter. But the Duke of York spoke Spanish well; so in a few moments, after he had taken a seat by the queen's invitation on her left, he continued the conversation in that tongue.

When the royal brother-in-law retired, Catharine advanced beyond the canopy with him, but he tried to prevent it, telling her "she should recollect her rank," whereupon she sweetly replied, " that she wished to do that out of affection which she was not obliged to do." This answer pleased the duke so much that he called to see his sister-in-law every day, and a most friendly relation was established between them. On* one occasion he expressed a desire to sees her in her national dress ; so the next day she received him attired as a Portuguese lady.

The fleet arrived at Portsmouth, May 13, the Duke of York's boat following the " Royal Charles," and the duke himself handed the qUeen to her barge, when she disem-

barked. Countess de Pontevel attended Catharine, but Countess Benalva was too ill to leave the ship. The governor of Portsmouth, the city officials, and the leading persons of the neighborhood assembled on the beach to welcome the queen, who entered an open carriage and drove through the principal streets, to gratify the people's desire for a look at her. She had the good sense to appear in an English costume, so that she would not seem so much of a stranger among her new subjects. It was not until five days after his bride landed at Portsmouth that King Charles found time to leave home. He was accompanied by Prince Rupert, his cousin, and attended by a troop of his bodyguard. On reaching Portsmouth he went directly to visit the queen. The Marquez de Sande and other dignitaries awaited his approach, and after being graciously received by the king, conducted him to an apartment, where he made his toilet before presenting himself to her majesty.