Richard's betrothal to Berengaria--The obstacles which prevented the marriage of Richard and Alice.--The first acquaintance of Richard and the Princess Berengaria.--The fame of Berengaria.--Her accomplishments.--Eleanora sent to King Sancho to ask his daughter in marriage.--Berengaria's acceptance.--The expedition to meet Richard.--Berengaria at Brindisi with Joanna.--The friendship between Joanna and Berengaria.--Tancred receives a letter from Philip.--Treachery.--Philip's letter to Tancred.--Richard's opinion of it.--The etiquette of dueling.--Richard charges the letter upon Philip.--Philip's reply.--Richard's declaration.--Richard and Philip compromise their quarrel.--Re-embarkation.--Preparations for the marriage.--Richard escorting Philip.--Why the wedding was postponed.--Richard puts Joanna and Berengaria in charge of Stephen.--The vow to conquer Acre.--Richard's present to Tancred. While Richard was in the kingdom of Sicily during this memorable winter, he made a new contract of marriage. The lady was a Spanish princess named Berengaria. The circumstances of this betrothment were somewhat extraordinary. The reader will recollect that he had been betrothed in his earliest youth to Alice, an infant princess of France. His father had thrown him in, as it were, as a sort of makeweight, in arranging some compromise with the King of France for the settlement of a quarrel, and also to obtain the dower of the young princess for his own use. This dower consisted of various castles and estates, which were immediately put into the hands of Henry, Richard's father, and which he continued to hold as long as he lived, using and enjoying the rents and revenues from them as his own property. When Richard grew old enough to claim his bride, Henry, under whose custody and charge she had been placed, would not give her up to him; and long and serious quarrels arose between the father and the son on this account, as has already been related in this volume. The most obvious reason for which Henry might be supposed unwilling to give up Alice to her affianced husband, when he became old enough to be married to her, was, that he wished to retain longer the use of the castles and estates that constituted her dowry. But, in addition to this, it was surmised by many that he had actually fallen in love with her himself, and that he was determined that Richard should not have her at all. Richard himself believed, or pretended to believe, that this was the case. He was consequently very angry, and he justified himself in the wars and rebellions that he raised against his father during the lifetime of the king by this great wrong which he alleged that his father had done him. On the other hand, many persons supposed that Richard did not really wish to marry Alice, and that he only made the fact of his father's withholding her from him a pretext for his unnatural hostility, the real ends and aims of which were objects altogether different.