diligent
examination respecting the corporeal taint imputed to me," she threw
aside the mantle, disclosing the healthy texture of her skin, while
a wave of emotion passed over her, and her eyes suffused with tears.
"These," she continued, "are my children and yours; do they too share
in the blemish of their mother? But it may come to pass that the
people of Gueldres may yet mourn our separation, when they behold
the failure of our line." Husband and nobles alike were profoundly
affected by so sublime an appeal, and the royal pair were reconciled;
but the male line of Reynald failed in his son, and the crown passed
to the female branch, as though the almost predictive words of the
noble English woman were destined to be fulfilled.

Yet another daughter of fair France became the queen of a Plantagenet.
Richard II., the last Plantagenet, from the date of his accession, was
involved in constant struggles, first with his Parliament, and then
with Henry of Lancaster. His first queen, Anne of Bohemia, died in
1394. Richard's thoughts were thereupon directed to the necessity of
choosing a second consort. He would consider only Isabelle of Valois,
daughter of Charles VI., who was less than nine years old. The
marriage was solemnized by proxy, and arrangements were made for the
king to repair to Calais and receive his child-bride at the hand of
Charles VI. The preliminaries having been completed, the ceremony is
thus recorded by Froissart:

"On the morrow, the King of England visited the King of France in his
tent, where the kings sat apart at one table. During the serving of
dinner, the Duke de Bourbon said many things to enliven the kings, and
addressed the King of England: 'Monseigneur, you ought to make good
cheer; you have all you desire and demand. You have, or will have,
your wife, she is about to be given to you.' The French king then
said: 'Bourbonnais, we could wish that our daughter were of the age of
our cousin of Saint-Pol, although it should have cost us dearly, for
our son of England would have taken her more willingly.'

"The King of England heard this and responded to the French king:
'Father-in-law, our wife's age pleases us well; we think less of that
than we do of the affection between us and our kingdoms, for with
mutual friendship and alliance, there is no king, Christian or other,
who could give umbrage to us.' The dinner was soon over, and then the
young Queen of England was brought into the king's tent