The prelates and nobles gathered round them from every part of the kingdom, and their journey from Winchester to London was a continual triumph. Their coronation, which took place in Westminster Ab-bey, was without parallel for magnificence. The silks, brocades, and velvets shot with silver or embroidered with • gold, which the new queen had brought from Constantino-ple, and the jewels which she had hoarded as mementoes of her self-denying efforts in Palestine, served to illuminate this august ceremony. The dark beauty of the south wore her long, black hair closely braided, and bound about her head, like an eastern tiara, from which flashed the diamonds of her Paynim lover like jewels set in jet. Her 6nowy kirtle, of the finest Indian fabric, confined at the throat by a collar of gems, arid fastened by a jewelled belt at the bodice, fell in an amplitude of drapery to her feet, and the same transparent vesture covered, without concealing, the exquisite roundness of her arms. Over this was thrown an elegant pelisson, bordered with fur, having full loose sleeves, lined with ermine. In fine contrast with his sparkling queen, stood Henry, the first monarch of the warlike Plan-tagenets. The Saxon lineaments predominated in his face and person, the wealth of his brown locks, and his thick, curling mustachios gave an air of manliness to his some-what boyish visage, but his calm youthful countenance was not at that period marked with the strong and violent pas-sions that afterwards kindled in his eye, and darkened in his frown. He wore a doublet of crimson damask, and a short Angevin cloak, which gained for him the soubriquet of Courtmantle. The ecclesiastics who graced this cere-mony also appeared in gowns and cassocks of silk and vel-vet, another importation of Eleanor from Constantinople. After the celebration of the Christmas festivities, the royal pair took up their residence in Bermondsey, a pastoral vil-lage, nearly opposite London, where was an ancient Saxon palace and a priory. While Eleanor remained in this quiet retreat, Henry de-voted his energies to settling the affairs of his government, \ ELEANOR. 149