Page:The Queens of England.djvu/131

 ELEANOR OF CASTILLE. 1 1 1 an affection to the unfortunate Edward the Second ; partly from his having been born among them, and partly from his having been their nominal prince. During his worst misfor- tunes they ever remained true to him, and after his death be- wailed him in "lamentable songs." Shortly after the birth of her son, Eleanor removed to Con- way Castle, another of the magnificent structures erected by her husband in Wales. "Here," says Miss Strickland, "all the elegances of an age further advanced in luxury than is gener- ally supposed, were assembled round her. Many traces of her abode at Conway exist ; among others, her state bedchamber retains some richness of ornament ; it opens on a terrace com- manding a beautiful view. Leading from the chamber is an arched recess, called by tradition Queen Eleanor's oriel — "In her oriel there she was, Closed well with royal glass ; Filled it was with imag'ry, Every window by and bye." It is raised by steps from the floor, and beautifully adorned with painted glass windows. Here the Queen of England, dur- ing her levee on rising, sat to receive the ladies qualified to be presented to her, while her tirewomen combed and braided those long tresses which are the glory of a Spanish donna, and which her statues show Eleanor of Castile possessed." In 1290 the unsettled state of affairs in Scotland rendered it imperative on Edward to hasten to that country. He had not only affianced his son Edward of Caernarvon to Margaret, the infant Queen of Scotland, but he had sent the bishop of Dur- ham and his agents to take possession of that country in their joint names, when he heard of the death of the young queen on a voyage to Norway. He had left his beloved queen in good health, but scarcely had he reached the Borders when he was overtaken by a messenger, who informed him that Eleanor was lying dangerously ill at Herdly, near Grantham, in Lincoln- shire. Forgetting the necessities of state, and the dictates of ambition, in the dread of losing one so dear to him, Edward, turning his back on Scotland, hurried rapidly to Herdly; but before he arrived his faithful Eleanor had breathed her last. The grief of Edward at losing his queen is said to have been violent in the extreme ; and, indeed, the manner in which he solemnized her obsequies affords sufficient evidence of his ad- miration, his distress, and his love. During the thirteen days