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PHILIPPA OF HAINAULT. 139 "King Edward, with sighs and tears, replied — 'Lady, name them; whatever be your requests, they shall be granted.' " 'My lord,' she said, 'I beg you will fulfill whatever engage- ments I have entered into with merchants for their wares, as well on this as on the other side of the sea ; I beseech you to fulfill whatever gifts or legacies I have made or left to churches wherein I have paid my devotions, and to all my servants, whether male or female ; and, when it shall please God to call you, choose no other sepulcher than mine, and that you will lie by my side in the cloisters of Westminster Abbey.' "The king in tears, replied— 'Lady, all this shall he done.' "Soon after, the good lady made the sign of the cross on her breast, and having recommended to the king her youngest son, Thomas, who was present, praying to God, she gave up her spirit, which I firmly believe was caught by holy angels, and carried to the glory of heaven, for she had never done anything, by thought or deed, to endanger her soul. "Thus died this admirable Queen of England, in the year of grace 1369, the vigil of the Assumption of the Virgin, the 14th of August." Our readers, we trust, will thank us for this extract ; for a picture of a more honorable, virtuous, affecting, and exemplary death bed, it would be difficult to find. The king lived but eight years after this deplorable event. He died on the 21st of June, 1377; and before him died, in fact, with Philippa, his happiness, his prosperity, and his respecta- bility as a man. Strife, intrigue, trouble, and disgrace reigned in that court where the noble Philippa had so long maintained harmony and a virtuous magnificence.