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 being 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.
Fêtes 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, 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.