Page:The Queens of England.djvu/201

 JOANNA OF NAVARRE. ,169 pared by English artists to the memory of her first husband, and conveyed to France and placed in the church of Nantes. Although so amiable and beloved, Joanna's life was far from being either peaceful or happy. She was not popular with the English, simply on account of the trains of foreigners which she had about her, always an offensive sight to the English. Two or three attacks upon her foreign domestics were made by parliament, and especially by the commons, who had now as- sumed a position of considerable influence in the state. Be- sides these sources of annoyance, by which she was denied the regulation even of her own household, she saw some of her admirers become objects of jealousy to her royal lord. The storm of his fury fell with its utmost violence upon an old and faithful adherent of King Henry, the Duke of York, who was consigned to a prison upon some petty pretense, and kept in confinement for a considerable time. The king, however, was soon convinced. of the groundlessness of his suspicion, and "made amendes" by releasing him from his captivity, and re- storing him to his former employments. S6nie amatory lines are still preserved from the pen of the Duke of York which were addressed to Queen Joanna, who, although no longer young, was still sufficiently charming to excite great admira- tion. But the discreet conduct of the queen enabled her to rise above every suspicion, and to maintain her influence with the king as powerfully as before. Besides these subjects of annoyance, the queen was com- pelled in 1406 to part with her two daughters, who had accom- panied her to England ; and, having no children by King Henry, she was the more strongly attached to these princesses. It was therefore with deep regret that she resigned them to their elder brother, the Duke of Brittany, who had formed marriages for them, in order to strengthen his own political position. Yet she had the satisfaction of the society of her second son, Arthur of Bretagne, who had arrived the year before, and who, as already stated, had been created Earl of Richmond. From this period Queen Joanna resided at Leeds Castle, in Kent, with the king, in order to avoid the plague which raged in London. In the year 1409 the king and queen passed their Christmas at Eltham, a favorite abode with them. In 1412 her third son, Jules of Bretagne, Lord of Chantore, arrived in Eng- land, but only to die. The conduct of Joanna as a stepmother was irreproachable ;