melancholy than that of her mother. In 1371, as has been stated, she was given in marriage to the Earl of Oxford, who subsequently, as her husband and Duke of Ireland, was so great a favourite with King Richard. Unfortunately De Vere, among those multitudinous eccentricities which rendered him so unpopular, deserted his wife to ally himself with an alluring Bohemian, whom Sandford describes as 'one Lancerona, a joiner's daughter, who came with Richard II.'s wife out of Bohemia;' but whom the great chronicler of the period represents as of higher rank.

'He was,' says Froissart, 'so greatly enamoured with one of the queen's damsels, called the Langravine, that he could never quit her. She was a tolerably handsome pleasant lady, whom the queen had brought with her from Bohemia. The Duke of Ireland loved her with such ardour that he was desirous, if possible, of making her his duchess by marriage. He took great pains to obtain a divorce from his present duchess, the daughter of the Earl of Bedford, from Urban, whom the English and Germans acknowledged as Pope.

'All the good people of England were much astonished and shocked at this; for the duchess was granddaughter of the gallant King Edward and the excellent Queen Philippa, being the daughter of the Princess Isabella. Her uncles, the Dukes of York and Gloucester, were very wroth at this insult; but, notwithstanding their hatred, which he held cheap, the Duke of Ireland was so smitten and blinded by his love, he was using every means to obtain a divorce, and had promised the lady he would make her his wife, if he had the king and queen's consent and a dispensation from Rome, which the Pope would not dare to refuse him, for his present lady was a Clementist, and the Lord de Coucy, her father, had made war in Italy for Clement against Urban, which inclined the latter not to be overfond of him, and induced him to listen too readily to the proposals for a divorce.

'Thus was he urging on matters, according to his promise to the Langravine of Bohemia, and would not bave any communication with his wife by legal marriage. But this Duke of Ireland had a mother living, the Countess Dowager of Oxford, who, so far from approving her son's conduct, greatly blamed him for his follies, saying he would by them anger Heaven, who would one day punish him severely, when it would be too late to repent. She had the duchess home with her, and gave her as handsome an establishment as she could; so that all who loved the young lady were pleased with this conduct.'

Nevertheless the duke persevered in his insane project, and having obtained a dispensation from Rome, married the alluring Bohemian. But by this step he so much increased his unpopularity, that he was under the necessity of escaping to the continent. For a time he resided at the Court of France, and appeared in high favour with the king. But the Lord of Coucy complained of honour being paid to a man who had behaved so infamously to his daughter, and he was fain to remove to Louvaine, where he resided till his death, going ‘at times to a castle near Louvaine, which he had borrowed from a knight of Brabant.'

Isabel, however, did not survive to participate in the mortification of her daughter. For years she had been where the weary are at rest. In 1379 she departed this life, and she was buried in the Grey Friars' Church in London, near her grandmother, Isabel the Fair, and Margaret of France, the second wife of her great grandfather, the first Edward.

193

Leonora D'Acunha, Queen of Portugal.

A

T the time when Peter the Cruel reigned in Castille, and when another Peter, surnamed the Rigorous, held sway in Portugal, there lived in the latter country a noble of some consideration, named Martin Alphonso Tellez. This personage had two daughters, Maria and Leonora. Maria was married to John, Duke of Valencia, one of the sons of King Peter; Leonora, about 1366, became the wife of Lorenzo D'Acunha, celebrated as 'valiant in arms and prudent in council.'

In 1368 Peter the Rigorous went to his account, and Ferdinand, his only legitimate son, ascended the throne of Castille. His reign was not without its troubles. In fact, Ferdinand laid claim to the crown of Castille, which had been torn by Henry of Trastamare from Peter the Cruel, and a war of succession broke out. Henry, however, proved much too strong for Ferdinand; and Ferdinand was fain to conclude peace, and promise to espouse one of Henry's daughters. This promise he failed to keep. Led captive by an eccentric imagination, he not only broke his engagement with the Castillian princess, but insisted, reason or none, on marrying a woman who was already married to another man, and who, to do her justice, does not appear to have wished for a position which, as time passed on, she was fated to find the reverse of pleasant. This was Leonora, daughter of Martin Alphonso Tellez, and wife of Lorenzo D'Acunha.

It is stated that Lorenzo was one of Ferdinand's knights;

N

and circumstances naturally enough cast Leonora in the king's way. The result was extraordinary. Ferdinand not only became enamoured of the lady, but madly enamoured, and ready to set all laws at defiance to call her his own. In vain Leonora struggled against the fate that awaited her. The vehemence of his passion overcame all resistance. In vain she threw herself on her knees and appealed to him with tears. He was not to be moved from his length, yielding to despair, she listened to his suit.

purpose.

At

'I will make you Queen of Portugal,' said Ferdinand; 'for, if I am smitten with your charms, it is not to lower you, but, on the contrary, to exalt and marry you.'

'Ah, my lord!' replied Leonora, with tears and on her knees, 'I beg your grace's pardon: I can never have the honour of being Queen of Portugal; for you know, as well as all the world, that I have a husband to whom I have been married these five years.'

'Leonora,' said the king, 'that shall not prevent it, for I will never have any other woman to wife; but I will have you divorced from your husband before I make you my bride.'

In great distress and in some perplexity, Leonora left Ferdinand's presence. Perhaps her ambition did struggle a little with her sense of duty, as she thought of the prospect of wearing a crown. However, she relieved her mind by relating all that had passed to her husband; and the knight on hearing it was very melancholy, and bethought himself what was to be done.' At first he resolved not to quit his wife's side; but considering everything, and not forgetting the violence of the king's haughty temper,' he perceived the peril of his position, determined to be gone, left Portugal, made his way to the Court of Castille, met with a kind reception from Henry of Trastamare, and found himself appointed to an office in that king's household.

Meanwhile Ferdinand's 'foolish passion' continued to