y the Spanish etiquette and parade, he
suffered some inconvenience and disappointment from it, on the other
hand, by its excluding him from all intercourse or acquaintance with
the Infanta. It was not proper for the young man to see or to speak to
the young lady, in such a case as this, until the arrangements had
been more fully matured. The formalities of the engagement must have
proceeded beyond the point which they had yet reached, before the
bridegroom could be admitted to a personal interview with the bride.
It is true, he could see her in public, where she was in a crowd, with
other ladies of the court, and where he could have no communication
with her; but this was all. They arranged it, however, to give Charles
as many opportunities of this kind as possible. There were shows, in
which the prince could see the Infanta among the spectators; and they
arranged tiltings and ridings at the ring, and other athletic sports,
such as Charles excelled in, and let him perform his exploits in her
presence. His rivals in these contests did not have the incivility to
conquer him, and his performances excited expressions, at least, of
universal admiration.

But the prince and Buckingham did not very willingly submit to the
stiffness and formality of the Spanish court. As soon as they came to
feel a little at home, they began to act with great freedom. At one
time the prince learned that the Infanta was going, early in the
morning, to take a walk in some private pleasure grounds, at a country
house in the neighborhood of Madrid, and he conceived the design of
gaining an interview with her there by stealth. He accordingly
repaired to the place, got admitted in some way within the precincts
of the palace, and contrived to clamber over a high wall which
separated him from the grounds in which the Infanta was walking, and
so let himself down into her presence. The accounts do not state
whether she herself was pleased or alarmed, but the officer who had
her in charge, an old nobleman, was very much alarmed, and begged the
prince to retire, as he himself would be subject to a very severe
punishment if it were known that he had allowed such an interview.
Finally they opened the door, and the prince went out. Many people
were pleased with this and similar adventures of the prince and of
Buckingham, but the leading persons about the court were displeased
with them. Their precise and formal notions of propriety were very
much shocked by