their robes of office, of crimson velvet,
with hose and shoes of spotless white. After these came the
military,--horse and foot,--in their several companies, making a
brilliant show with their gay uniforms; and, after going through their
various evolutions, they formed into an escort for the princess. In this
way, amidst the sound of music and the shouts of the multitude, the
glittering pageant entered the gates of the capital.

The infanta was there received under a superb canopy, supported by the
magistrates of the city. The late ambassador to Portugal, Don Luis
Sarmiento, who had negotiated the marriage treaty, held the bridle of
her mule; and in this state she arrived at the palace of the duke of
Alva, destined for her reception in Salamanca. Here she was received
with all honour by the duchess, in the presence of a brilliant company
of cavaliers and noble ladies. Each of the ladies was graciously
permitted by the infanta to kiss her hand; but the duchess, the
chronicler is careful to inform us, she distinguished by the honor of an
embrace.

All the while, Philip had been in the presence of the infanta, unknown
to herself. Impatient to see his destined bride, the young prince had
sallied out, with a few attendants, to the distance of five or six miles
from the city, all in the disguise of huntsmen. He wore a slouched
velvet hat on his head, and his face was effectually concealed under a
gauze mask, so that he could mingle in the crowd by the side of the
infanta, and make his own scrutiny, unmarked by any one. In this way he
accompanied the procession during the five hours which it lasted, until
the darkness had set in; "if darkness could be spoken of," says the
chronicler, "where the blaze of ten thousand torches shed a light
stronger than day."

The following evening, November the twelfth, was appointed for the
marriage. The duke and duchess of Alva stood as sponsors, and the
nuptial ceremony was performed by Tavera, archbishop of Toledo. The
festivities were prolonged through another week. The saloons were filled
with the beauty of Castile. The proudest aristocracy in Europe vied with
each other in the display of magnificence at the banquet and the
tourney: and sounds of merriment succeeded to the tranquillity which had
so long reigned in the cloistered shades of Salamanca.

On the nineteenth of the month the new-married pair transferred their
residence to Valladolid,--a city at once fortunate and fatal to th