Page:The Queens of England.djvu/180

152 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. as Richard, the English ambassadors were most favorably re- ceived, entertained with the utmost splendor, and encouraged to hope that their mission would yet be successful. The Dukes of York and Lancaster, the king's uncles, being also well dis- posed towards the match, their consent was given and the ar- rangements terminated at Paris, in March, 1396. Preparations were accordingly made for the marriage, which was vet, however, destined to be further delayed by the appear- ance of two obstacles : the one, the necessity of obtaining a dis- pensation from Pope Boniface — there being a distant degree of relationship between the parties — and an absolution from any censures Isabella might incur for her adherence to Pope Clement ; — the other proceeded from Richard's desire to win over the approbation of the Duke of Gloucester to the intended peace with France, all the terms of which had been arranged, and which was to last for thirty years. To accomplish this point no efforts were left untried ; persuasions, promises, gifts — all failed, until at last, the king declaring that he would, on the ratification of the treaty, create his son Humfrey Earl of Rochester, with an income of two thousand pounds a year, and give him fifty thousand nobles for himself besides, he could no longer resist the temptation, and his consent was accorded. All difficulties being now removed, Richard attended by the Dukes of Lancaster and Gloucester, and a great train of some of the principal nobles, male and female, of the kingdom, sailed for Calais on the 27th of September ; and on the 28th of October, at an interview which took place between Guisnes and Ardres, the French king delivered to Richard his daughter, who, sur- rounded only by English ladies, with the exception of Madame de Coucy, accompanied her future husband to Calais, where they were married by the Archbishop of Canterbury, at the church of St. Nicolas, on the 1st of November, and on the 4th returned to Dover, Nothing could exceed the magnificence that attended the coronation of the young queen, which took place on Sunday, January 7th, in Westminster Abbey. Splendor and extrav- agance seem to have arrived at their utmost limit at this period, and the absurdity of the dresses, customs, and amusements of all classes, prove that good taste was certainly not the guide of expense. Quarrels and jealousies of domestic and political character we?e agitating the English court when Richard's girl-bride