pay to Richard twenty
thousand pieces of gold as her dowry! Richard was, of course, to take
this money as the guardian and trustee of his nephew, and he was to
engage that, if any thing should occur hereafter to prevent the
marriage from taking place, he would refund the money. Tancred was
also to pay Richard twenty thousand pieces of gold besides, in full
settlement of all claims in behalf of Joanna. These terms were finally
agreed to on both sides.

Richard also entered into a league, offensive and defensive, with
Tancred, agreeing to assist him in maintaining his position as King of
Sicily against all his enemies. This is a very important circumstance
to be remembered, for the chief of Tancred's enemies was the Emperor
Henry of Germany, the prince who had married Constance, as has been
already related. Henry's father had died, and he had become Emperor of
Germany himself, and he now claimed Sicily as the inheritance of
Constance his wife, according to the will of King William, Joanna's
husband. Tancred, he maintained, was a usurper, and, of course, now
Richard, by his league, offensive and defensive, with Tancred, made
himself Henry's enemy. This led him into serious difficulty with Henry
at a subsequent period, as we shall by-and-by see.

The treaty between Richard and Tancred was drawn up in due form and
duly executed, and it was sent for safe keeping to Rome, and there
deposited with the Pope. Tancred paid Richard the money, and he
immediately began to squander it in the most lavish and extravagant
manner. He expended the infant princess's dower, which he held in
trust for Arthur, as freely as he did the other money. Indeed, this
was a very common way, in those days, for great kings to raise money.
If they had a young son or heir, no matter how young he was, they
would contract to give him in marriage to the little daughter of some
other potentate on condition of receiving some town, or castle, or
province, or large sum of money as dower. The idea was, of course,
that they were to take this dower in charge for the young prince, to
keep it for him until he should become old enough to be actually
married, but in reality they would take possession of the property
themselves, and convert it at once to their own use.

Richard himself had been affianced in this way in his infancy to
Alice, the daughter of the then reigning King of France, and the
sister of Philip, and his father, King Henry the Second, had received