At length, in the year 1394, when Richard was preparing for an expedition into Ireland to quell a rebellion which had broken out there, the queen was seized with a fatal epidemic which was then prevailing in England, and after a short illness she died. She was at her palace of Shene at this time. The king hastened to attend her the moment that he heard the tidings of her illness, and was with her when she died. He was inconsolable at the loss of his wife, for he had loved her sincerely, and she had been a singularly faithful and devoted wife to him. He was made almost crazy by her death. He imprecated bitter curses on the palace where she died, and he ordered it to be destroyed. It was, in fact, partially dismantled, in obedience to these orders, and Richard himself never occupied it again. It was, however, repaired under a subsequent reign. Richard gave up, for the time being, his expedition into Ireland, being wholly absorbed in his sorrow for the irreparable loss he had suffered. He wrote letters to all the great nobles and barons of England to come to the funeral, and the obsequies were celebrated with the greatest possible pomp and parade. Two months were expended in making preparations for the funeral. When the day arrived, a very long procession was formed to escort the body from Shene to Westminster. This procession was accompanied by an immense number of torch-bearers, all carrying lighted torches in their hands. So great was the number of these torches, that a large quantity of wax was imported from Flanders expressly for the purpose. The tomb of Anne was not made until a year after her death. Richard himself attended to all the details connected with the construction of it. The inscription was in Latin. The following is an exact translation of it: "Under this stone lies Anne, here entombed, Wedded in this world's life to the second Richard. To Christ were her meek virtues devoted: His poor she freely fed from her treasures; Strife she assuaged, and swelling feuds appeased; Beauteous her form, her face surpassing fair. On July's seventh day, thirteen hundred ninety-four, All comfort was bereft, for through irremediable sickness She passed away into interminable joys." By the death of his wife, Richard was left, as it were, almost alone in the world. His mother, the Princess of Wales, had died some time before, and Anne had had no children. There were his uncles and his cousins, it is true, but they were his rivals and competitors rather than his friends. Indeed, they were destined soon to become his open enemies. Richard was afterward married again, to his "little wife," as we shall see in a future chapter. CHAPTER XII. INCIDENTS OF THE REIGN. A.D. 1382-1396