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on this occasion presented rich silken robes to the choristers, and exultingly and unquestioningly listened to the pious tale which declared that a clerk of Winchester, and a man from Ireland, had each devils cast out the moment that the chest containing the bones of the canonized Confessor was elevated. The following year, his eldest son, Edward, departed for the Holy Land, and the aged king took leave of him not without sorrowful forebodings that he should never see him again. Meanwhile, Elinor seems to have been occupied in obtaining additions to her already queen-like dower. The death of her uncle, Peter of Savoy, put her in possession of the honour of Richmond; this she soon after resigned to her son-in-law, the earl of Britany, retaining merely an annuity of fifty marks; but the honour of the Eagle, which had just before been also assigned, she kept. In 1270 there is a precept in the Fœdera, confirming to her use the proceeds of "the tenths of all ecclesiastical benefices in Ireland, which the lord pope, in consideration of our adversities and sorrows, granted;" and in addition to this, in the subsequent year, we find another, assigning to her lands in France.

In 1272, we find in the same collection an acknowledgment of the receipt of those jewels which in 1264 Elinor had conveyed to Paris. The inventory is minute and curious; and the jewels, in number and value, actually make the catalogue of king John's appear mean in comparison. There is a great crown, which is specified as "most precious and priceless;" two others, to which a price equal to

about 5000l. present money is affixed; forty-five gold clasps, set with gems, valued at nearly 3000l.; various wands, on which rings in great numbers seem to have been strung; above eighty girdles, which must have been set with jewels, since they are valued at a sum equal to 16,000l.; and a variety of other jewels and plate, among which are mentioned "two gold peacocks, adorned with gems.'

*

But ere the close of the year, Henry fell seriously ill at St. Edmund's; a letter was dispatched to his son Edward, urging his immediate return; but long ere the notice reached him, the father had breathed his last. Ere his death, he was conveyed to Westminster, where, on the 16th of November, he died ;† and on the following Sunday, arrayed in royal apparel, with a crown on his head, he was borne, by the chief nobility and the templars, to the abbey church of Westminster, and there, in the very coffin which had formerly contained the remains of the Confessor, was laid in his chapel, immediately before the high altar.

* Matthew Paris, some years earlier, mentions the elegant present which Elinor received from her sister, Margaret of France; this was a peacock of gold and silver, the train of which was adorned with pearls and sapphires, and which was intended for a ewer. From an entry in Madox, Elinor appears in her earlier days to have been characterized by an extravagant love of splendour: her chancellor presents his accounts at the exchequer for various expenses of her court, principally dress and jewellery for herself and her ladies; and the sum amounts to £21,904— above £250,000. Among the entries is one for eleven “ garlands," a kind of lighter crown, adorned with the most expensive gems.

↑ His will, which is inserted in the Fœdera, contains no pecuniary bequests; it merely leaves "a gold cross, a white vestment, and a silver image of the virgin," to the convent of Westminster; and another gold cross, another vestment adorned with jewels, and a golden image of the virgin, to his son Edward; and leaves to the queen, her uncle, the archbishop of Canterbury, and some others, the charge of arranging the "other things not expressed in this testament."

The altar tomb, which presents a rather heavy appearance, although adorned with rich mosaic, was probably erected soon after his decease; but the admirable brass effigy, which still surmounts it, was not placed there until more than twenty years after. Ere the body was consigned to its tomb, the earl of Gloster, who had taken so prominent a part in the late contests, advanced, and laying his hand on the breast of the corpse, solemnly pledged his allegiance to Edward; the assembled nobles, each placing his hand in the same manner, pronounced the same oath; and the lords, who had charge of the government until his return, instantly caused proclamation to be made, and especially in the city, of " Edward, king of England, lord of Ireland, and duke of Aquitaine."

The reign of Henry was unquestionably an era of steady improvement; and, as in the preceding century, the progress of literature and the extension of legal security, are most prominent; so in this, the advancement of the arts, the extension of trade and commerce, and the progress of those social arrangements, which always indicate the growing prosperity of a nation, are equally prominent. Many enactments were passed during this reign, which prove the vigilant care which now watched over the interests of the community. It was ordained that watch should be kept from sunset to sunrise, between the feasts of St. Michael and the Ascension, in villages, by "four or six stout and good men, armed with bows and arrows; in boroughs, by a company of twelve; and in cities, by six at every

gate; and if any stranger attempted to enter after watch was set, he was to be arrested, and confined until the following morning. " The travelling merchant might require the mayor or bailiff of the town to furnish him with a guard, and if he counted his money in their sight, and was afterwards robbed, he could receive it from the town. Many important improvements took place in various towns during this period; and many of our chief cities received charters, confirming or extending their privileges. The lists of murage dues and pontage dues, in many cities during this reign, give a very favourable view of the general comfort of their inhabitants; while the curious lists of provisions sold in the London markets, which the reader will find in Stow, proves that food was both abundant and of moderate price in the metropolis of the land.

Notwithstanding her heavy mulcts, London seems to have advanced rapidly. About the middle of this century, the citizens purchased Queenhithe, from Richard, the king's brother, for. a public wharf; and the enterprizing "merchant wine-tunners of Gascoigne," as the vintners were originally called, having taken the wine trade in a great measure from Southampton, brought it to London, and establishing themselves on the Vintry quay, erected their noble stone houses, where they resided in almost princely state.* The same period, too, witnessed the first attempt to supply the metropolis with water; which in 1236 was brought from Ty

* Stow.

burn, in leaden pipes six inches in diameter, to the conduit in Westcheap; and about the same time, the city watch—a well-appointed body of men, whose splendid appearance was for many centuries the boast of the citizens-was established.

For these, and many other instances of improvement, the character of Henry has received higher praise than strict justice will allow; and that advancing civilization, which really was the result of national spirit and enterprize, has been too hastily attributed to the enlightened encouragement of the monarch. But looking more clearly into the records of these times, we shall find that every one of these improvements originated with the people; and that the beneficial influence of the monarch was rather the result of his contrary conduct;-of the capricious exactions which stimulated the industry, and the weak efforts of tyranny, which aroused the spirit of the nation to bold and independent exertion.

It is uncertain whither Elinor retired after king Henry's death. From the testimony of some writers, which state that she was for nineteen years an inmate of the monastery of Ambresbury, she must have taken up her abode there immediately. This seems, however, unlikely; since we find her engaged in a contest, soon after the king's death, with the lords of the council, respecting her " queen'sgold," which she demanded "from those who, in the late king's lifetime, had granted him a twentieth part of their goods towards relief of the holy land."*

* Vide Prynne's “ Aurum Reginæ.”

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