CHAPTER XIV. ANNE OF BOHEMIA, SURNAMED THE GOOD, FIRST QUEEN OF RICHARD II. (A.D. 1367-1394.) |The marriage of King Richard II. with Anne of Bohemia gave general satisfaction in England, and proved a happy one in every respect. At the coronation, which followed a few days after, the young bride received the title of "the good Queen Anne." It pained her to see the distress of the unhappy peasantry caused by the bloodshed and barbarous executions that had been the result of Wat Tyler's insurrection. She compared their miserable lot with her own bright and joyous one, and was thus prompted to ask a great favor of the king. Having first convinced herself that she would not be refused, she demanded a general pardon for all malefactors. Her mediation came in time to save the life of many an unfortunate creature, and sent a thrill of happiness through scores of afflicted households. No wonder then that she was called "good Queen Anne," but what was better still, she never forfeited the title. Queen Anne was not a beauty, but at the age of sixteen, when she became King Richard's wife, she was a blooming, healthy girl, with a clear, fresh complexion and bright eyes. She had a high, narrow forehead, long upper lip and fat cheeks, but the remarkable head-dress she wore neutralized these defects somewhat. It was a cap two feet high and equally wide, scooped out at the top so as to leave two high points resembling horns. This structure was made of wire and pasteboard, covered with a silky gauze. Though {235} [Illustration: 0239] {237}hideously ugly and excessively uncomfortable, it was universally adopted by the English ladies in compliment to the queen, whose taste must have been somewhat defective if she was responsible for the device or crest she used, and required all her knights to wear at tournaments. It consisted of an ostrich, that most ungraceful of birds, with a bit of iron in his mouth. But Queen Anne introduced two articles into England that were no doubt gratefully received; one was the ordinary pin which we of the present day consider indispensable; the other was the side-saddle, not such as we are accustomed to, but a bench with a step suspended on which the rider's two feet were placed. This mode of riding may have been comfortable, but the horse had to be led by a groom because it was impossible for a lady to handle the reins herself.