pared for the prince in the royal palace.
Charles willingly accepted them, and on the 16th of March rode through
the streets of Madrid, on the right hand of the king, to his new abode.

The people were now permitted to applaud to their hearts' desire, as no
further pretence of a secret existed. Glad acclamations attended the
progress of the royal cortege. The people shouted with joy, and all,
high and low, sang a song composed for the occasion by Lope de Vega, the
famous dramatist, which told how Charles had come, under the guidance of
love, to the Spanish sky to see his star Maria.

"Carlos Estuardo soy
Que, siendo amor mi guia,
Al cielo d'Espana voy
Por ver mi estrella Maria."

The palace was decorated with all its ancient splendor, the streets
everywhere showed signs of the public joy, and, as a special mark of
royal clemency, all prisoners, except those held for heinous crimes,
were set at liberty, among them numerous English galley-slaves, who had
been captured in pirate vessels preying upon Spanish commerce.

Yet all this merrymaking and clemency, and all the negotiations which
proceeded in the precincts of the palace, did not expedite the question
at issue. Charles had no thought of becoming a Catholic. Philip had
little thought of permitting a marriage under any other conditions. The
infanta hated the idea of the sacrifice, as she considered it. The
authorities at Rome refused the dispensation. The wheels of the whole
business seemed firmly blocked.

Meanwhile, Charles had seen the infanta again, somewhat more closely
than in a passing glance from a carriage, and though no words had passed
between them, her charms of face strongly attracted his susceptible
heart. He was convinced that he deeply loved her, and he ardently
pressed for a closer interview. This Spanish etiquette hindered, and it
was not until April 7, Easter Day, that a personal interview was granted
the ardent lover. On that day the king, accompanied by a train of
grandees, led the English prince to the apartments of the queen, who sat
in state, with the infanta by her side.

Greeting the queen with proper respect, Charles turned to address the
lady of his love. A few ceremonial words had been set down for him to
utter, but his English heart broke the bonds of Spanish etiquette, and,
forgetting everything but his passion, he began to address the princess
in ardent words of his own choice. He had not gone far before there was
a sensa