I will renounce my finfull life, And in fome cloyster bide; To range the world foe wide. And for the fault which I have done, 165 Preferve my life, and punish mee As you thinke meet to doe." And with these words, her lillie handes 170 And when that death through everye limbe Had fhowde its greatest spite, 185 Her chiefeft foes did plaine confeffe Shee was a glorious wight. Her body then they did entomb, At Godstowe, neare to Oxford towne, As may be seene this day. 190 VIII. QUEEN ELEANOR's CONFESSION. "Eleanor, the daughter and heiress of William duke of Guienne, and count of Poitou, had been married fixteen years to Louis VII. king of France, and had attended him in a croifade, which that monarch commanded against the infidels; but having loft the affections of her husband, and even fallen under fome fufpicions of gallantry with a handsome Saracen, Louis, more delicate than politic, procured a divorce from her, and restored her thofe rich provinces, which by ber marriage fhe had annexed to the crown of France. The young count of Anjou, afterwards Henry II. king of England, the' at that time but in his nineteenth neither difcou raged by the difparity of age, nor by the reports of Eleanor's gallantry, made fuch fuccessful courtship to that princess, that he married her fix weeks after her divorce, and got poffeffion of all her dominions as a dowery. A marriage thus founded upon intereft was not likely to be very happy: it year, happened happened accordingly. Eleanor, who had difgufted her firft bufband by her gallantries, was no lefs offenfive to her fe cond by her jealoufy: thus carrying to extremity, in the different parts of her life, every circumftance of female weakness. She had feveral fons by Henry, whom she spirited up to rebel against him; and endeavouring to escape to them difguifed in man's apparel in 1173, he was difcovered and thrown into a confinement, which feems to have conti nued till the death of her husband in 1189. She however furvived him many years: dying in 1204, in the fixth year of the reign of her youngest fon, John." See Hume's Hift. 4to. Vol. I. pp. 260, 307. Speed, Stow, &c. It is needlefs to obferve, that the following ballad (given, with fome corrections, from an old printed copy) is altogether fabulous; whatever gallantries Eleanor encouraged in the time of her first husband, none are imputed to her in that of her fecond. Q UEENE Elianor was a ficke woman. And afraid that she should dye: The king calld downe his nobles all, By one, by two, by three; Earl marfhall, Ile goe fhrive the queene, A boone, a boone; quoth earl marshall, And fell on his bended knee; 5 10 Ile pawne my landes, the king then cryd, Thus both attired then they goe: When they came to Whitehall, The bells did ring, and the quiristers sing, When that they came before the queene A boone, a boone, our gracious queene, Are you two fryars of France, fhe fayd, As I fuppofe you bee? 20 23 But if you are two Englishe fryars, 30 You fhall hang on the gallowes tree. We are two fryars of France, they fayd, As you suppose we bee, We have not been at any maffe Sith we came from the fea. 35 The The first vile thing that ever I did I will to you unfolde; Earl marshall had my maidenhed, Beneath this cloth of golde. Thats a vile finne, then fayd the king; Amen, amen, quoth earl marshall ; 40 The next vile thing that ever I did, 45 To you Ile not denye, I made a boxe of poyfon ftrong, Thats a vile finne, then fayd the king, Amen, amen, quoth earl marfhall; And I wish it fo may bee. The next vile thing that ever I did, To you I will discover; I poyfoned fair Rofamonde, All in fair Woodstocke bower. Thats a vile finne, then fayd the king; May God forgive it thee! Amen, amen, quoth earl marshall ; And I wish it fo may bee. 55 60 Do |