Page:Catherine of Bragança, infanta of Portugal, & queen-consort of England.djvu/91

Rh received de Mello with open arms, and the greatest gratitude.

As for Catherine, waiting in shy suspense till the man to whom she had been offered should signify his pleasure to receive her—Catherine, we may imagine, was torn by very diverse feelings. She had all the thrills of the girl about to be wedded to a never-seen suitor; but she must give up for him her country, her people, her family, to go to a new and untried life. If she had known or been able to guess at one tithe of the perils that awaited her there she might well have quailed. But perhaps one of Catherine's strongest passions was patriotism. The passionate love of country was born in her, and had been fostered and nursed by the history of her own house. It was represented to her by her mother, her brothers, by all those about her, that her marriage with the Protestant King of England was the one hope of her country's salvation. Had he been a Caliban, a Nero, she would probably have gone to the marriage where duty called her, her proud little head uplifted, her clear eyes shining.

But every romance, every sentiment, painted Charles as Prince Charming. He sent her, by Sir Richard Fanshawe, a miniature of himself, and her fresh heart must have leapt to meet him.

The miniatures of him at this period show him debonair, handsome still, with wit and intelligence in his eyes, and humour in the curve of his lips. Jesse says of him that "He was above the common height. In youth handsome, but as he grew older he grew thinner, and his features were harsher and more marked. His complexion was dark and muddy. This was probably inherited from some Provençal ancestor. His face was relieved by quick, sparkling eyes, and a profusion of black glossy hair, which at this time he wore curled. His expression was severe, but it lightened agreeably in speech." Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, called him an exception to all common