barked for tbe continent, attended by tbe Bishops of London, Lincoln, and Winchester, a numerous retinue of nobles and knights, and about one thou sand horsemen, and, in the month of August, 1329, reached Amiens, the city appointed for the ceremony ; where Philip had summoned most of the princes and nobles to witness the homage, and where, after a gorgeous festivity, which lasted fifteen days, Edward, with his crown on his head and his sword by his side, did homage in general terms, omitting the liege promise of faith and loyalty ; which so offended the pride of the 1 rench monarch, that Edward, suspecting treachery, suddenly returned with his retinue to England, and henceforth the conquest of France became his darling project. Early in the following year, preparations were made for Philippa's coronation. There is a summons in the " Fcedera," ordering it to take place on the Sunday after the feast of Easter, in the abbey at Westminster, on which day it was solemnized, but with little splendour, as the royal coffers had been emptied by the rapacity of Isabella and her minion Mortimer. The only other document handed down to us relating to this coronation, is the claim made by Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, as hereditary chamberlain, to the bed in which the Queen had slept, the shoes she had worn, and the three silver basons in which she had washed her head and hands. The claim was allowed, but the King retained the bed, and paid the chamberlain one hundred marks as a compensation for it. On the fifteenth of June, 1330, and at the palace of Woodstock, Philippa gave birth to that renowned warrior, Edward the Black Prince, whose size and beauty excited the astonishment of all who saw him, and who, as a baby prince, had the singular good fortune to be nourished at the bosom of his own mother. The birth of an heir so pleased the King, that to Catherine de Montaente, who brought him the first tidings thereof, he gave five hundred marks, a sum equal to five thousand pounds present money ; and in September he celebrated the pleasing event by a grand tournament, held in Chcapside, London, which was attended by most of the nobles of the land and several foreigners. At this tournament the stone pavement was covered with sand, to prevent the horses from slipping. Philippa and many noble ladies, richly attired, and assembled from all parts of the land, were present, and that they might behold the play of lances with comfort and ease, a temporary wood scaffold like a tower was erected across the street for their accommodation, But the sham fight had scarcely commenced, when the tower broke down, and the Queen and all the ladies were precipitated with great shame and fear on to the knights beneath, many of whom were grievously hurt. Although neither the Queen nor the other ladies were injured, the accident so incensed the young King against the builders who had constructed the tower, that he vowed to put them to death ; and it was only at the earnest solicitation of the gentle Philippa, who, on recovering from the terror of her fall, fell on her knees before her royal lord, and implored for their lives, that they were pardoned. In the autumn of this year, Edward, disgusted with the conduct of his worthless mother and her paramour, deposed Isabella from the regency, hanged Mortimer, and took the reins of government into his own hands. His first measures, after throwing off the fetters of the regency, were dictated by a wise policy, The abuses that had crept into the government were checked .or abolished, commerce and manufactures, especially that of woollen cloth, were encouraged. Tournaments were frequently held, and the spirit of chivalry—a compound of love, generosity, and war—which now pervaded all classes, was greatly encouraged, as it served to soften the ferocity of the age, and excited sentiments of patriotism, and a romantic love of war and victory ; indeed, the achievements of English arms in this reign are greatly to be attributed to the spirit of romance infused into the nation by the romantic King, Edward the Third. On the sixteenth of June, 1332, Phi