heap of ashes, placed for the purpose in his room,
that he might die there. A heap of ashes, he said, was the only fit
place for such a reprobate as he had been.

So will it be with all undutiful children; when on their death-beds,
they reflect on their disobedient and rebellious conduct toward the
father and the mother to whom they owe their being.

It is remarkable how great an effect a death in a family produces in
reconciling those who before had been at enmity with each other. There
are many husbands and wives who greatly disagree with each other in
times of health and prosperity, but who are reconciled and made to
love each other by adversity and sorrow. Such was the effect produced
upon the minds of Henry and Eleanora by the death of their son and
heir. They were both overwhelmed with grief, for the affection which a
parent bears to a child is never wholly extinguished, however
undutiful and rebellious a child may be; and the grief which the two
parents now felt in common brought them to a reconciliation. The king
seemed disposed to forgive the queen for the offenses, whether real or
imaginary, which she had committed against him. "Now that our dear son
is dead and gone," said he, "let us no longer quarrel with each
other." So he liberated the queen from the restraint which he had
imposed upon her, and restored her once more to her rank as an English
queen.

This state of things continued for about a year, and then the old
spirit of animosity and contention burned up once more as fiercely as
ever. The king shut up Eleanora again, and a violent quarrel broke out
between the king and his son Richard.

The cause of this quarrel was connected with the Princess Alice, to
whom it will be recollected Richard had been betrothed in his infancy.
Richard claimed that now, since he was of age, his wife ought to be
given to him, but his father kept her away, and would not allow the
marriage to be consummated. The king made various excuses and pretexts
for the delay. Some thought that the real reason was that he wished to
continue his guardianship and his possession of the dower as long as
possible, but Richard thought that his father was in love with Alice
himself, and that he did not intend that he, Richard, should have her
at all. This difficulty led to new quarrels, in which the king and
Richard became more exasperated with each other than ever. This state
of things continued until Richard was thirty-four years old and