Froissart, who originally came to England in the suite of Philippa of Hainault, queen of Edward III., returned, after an absence of twenty-seven years, in 1395, and was well received by Richard II., in recollection of his services and attachment to the Black Prince, his father, and to King Edward and Queen Philippa, his grandfather and grandmother.[8] Froissart relates, with an affecting and very pleasing _naïveté_, his renewal of old friendships after so long an absence, but is more particularly minute in his description of the interview with the King, when he presented his book of love poems, the romance of Meliador. He says, that “he (the king) opened it, and looked into it with much pleasure;” and continues, “he ought to have been pleased, for it was handsomely written and illuminated, and bound in crimson velvet, with ten silver gilt studs, and roses of the same in the middle, with two large clasps of silver gilt, richly worked with roses in the centre. The King asked me what the book treated of? I replied, ‘Of love!’ He was pleased with the answer, and dipped into several places, reading parts aloud, for he read and spoke French perfectly well, and then gave it to one of his knights, called Sir Richard Credon, to carry to his oratory,” &c. &c. This illumination forms the frontispiece to Chapter 54. [Illustration: Interview of king Richard the second with his uncle the Duke of Gloucester at his Castle of Pleshy] PLATE XVIII. INTERVIEW OF RICHARD II. WITH THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER, AT THE CASTLE OF PLESHY. The King had at this time great suspicion that his uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, was plotting his deposition, which, whether true or false, enabled persons about the King to exasperate him greatly against his uncle, who determined to arrest him at once. This he feared to do openly, on account of the Duke’s popularity, and effected his purpose in the following manner:--Under pretence of deer-hunting, he went to a palace he had at Havering-at-the-Bower, in Essex: it is about twenty miles from London, and as many from Pleshy, where the Duke of Gloucester generally resided. The King set out from Havering one afternoon without many attendants, and arrived at Pleshy about five o’clock. He came so suddenly to the castle[9] that no one knew of it, until the porter cried out, “Here is the King!” The Duke, who was very temperate, and never sat long at his meals, had already supped, and immediately went out to greet the King; who, under pretence of a meeting with the citizens on the next morning, at which his presence would be advantageous, induced his uncle to accompany him unattended. The mode of the arrest is exhibited in another illumination, which will appear in our next number.