Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/188

174 the arrival of the duchess, and tempted, probably, by her vast possessions, determined also to make her his wife, and placed himself in ambush at the Port de Piles, on the Loire, to intercept her as she passed, and carry her off. Eleanor, however, "warned by her good angel," turned aside, and took the road to Poictiers". Here Henry, with more courtesy than his brother or the Earl of Blois, presented himself to her, and the offer of his hand being accepted, married her within a few weeks after her divorce (May 18). The conduct of the young prince in this transaction does not appear in a very delicate or chivalrous light; and it is evident that motives of policy alone could have induced him to marry a woman who, however beautiful, was considerably older than himself, and whose reputation was certainly not without stain.



By this alliance Henry received the titles of Duke of