church, to observe the laws of the realm, and to govern the people with impartiality, Having thus secured the government, and, by a mixture of rigour and lenity, brought the English to an entire submission, he resolved to return to the Continent, there to enjoy the triumph and congratulations of his ancient subjects, 3. In the mean time the absence of the Conqueror in England produced the most fatal effects. His officers, being no longer controlled by his justice, thought this a fit opportunity for extortion; while the English, no longer. awed by his presence, thought it the happiest occasion for vindicating their freedom. 4. The English had entered into a conspiracy to cut off their invaders, and fixed the day for their intended massacre, which was to be on Ash-Wednesday, during the time of divine service, when all the Normans would be unarmed as penitents, according to the discipline of the times. But William's return quickly disconcerted all their schemes, and from that time forward he began to lose all confidence in his English subjects, and to regard them as inveterate and irreconcileable enemies. 5. He had already raised such a number of fortresses in the kingdom, that he no longer dreaded the tumultuous or transient efforts of a disconcerted multitude; he therefore determined to treat them as a conquered nation1; to indulge his own avarice, and that of his followers, by numerous confiscations; and to secure his power by humbling all who were able to make any resistance. 6. He proceeded to confiscate all the estates of the English gentry, and to grant them liberally to his Norman followers. Thus all the ancient and honourable families were reduced to beggary, and the English found themselves entirely excluded from every road that led either to honour or preferment. 1 So mercilessly did he treat the people whom he had conquered, and so determined was he to incapacitate them from future resistance to his power, that on the Northumbrians having revolted, in 1070, he gave orders to lay waste the fine fertile lands between the rivers Humber and Tees, for the extent of sixty miles. Many flourishing towns, fine villages, and noble country-seats, were accordingly burnt down; the im- ! plements of husbandry destroyed, and the cattle driven away. The great lord Lyttelton, speaking of these cruel devastations, and those occasioned by the Forest laws,' observes, that Attila did no more deserve the name of the Scourge of God, than this merciless tyrant, nor did he, nor any other destroyer of nations, make more havoc in an enemy's coun-try than William did in his own. 7. To keep the clergy as much as possible in his interests, he appointed none but his own countrymen to the most considerable church dignities, and even displaced Stigand, archbishop of Canterbury, upon some frivolous pretences. William having crushed several conspiracies, and, by punishing the mal-contents, thus secured the peace of his dominions, now expected rest from his labours; and, finding none either willing or powerful enough to oppose him, he hoped that the end of his reign would be marked with prosperity and peace. 8. But such is the blindness of human hope, that he found enemies where he least expected them; and such, too, as served to embitter all the latter part of his life. His last troubles were excited by his own children, from the opposing of whom he could expect to reap neither glory nor gain. He had three sons, Robert, William, and Henry, besides several daughters. 9. Robert, his eldest son, surnamed Curthose, from the shortness of his legs, was a prince who inherited all the bravery of his family and nation, but was rather bold than prudent; and was often heard to express his jealousy of his two brothers, William and Henry. These, by greater assiduity, had wrought upon the credulity and affections of the king, and consequently were the more obnoxious to Robert. 10. A mind, therefore, so well prepared for resentment soon found or made cause for an open rupture. The princes were one day in sport together, and, in the idle petulance of play, took it in their heads to throw water over their elder brother as he passed through the court, on leaving their apartment. Robert all alive to suspicion, quickly turned this frolic into studied indignity; and hav ing these jealousies further inflamed by one of his favourites, he drew his sword, and ran up stairs, with intent to take revenge. 11. The whole castle was quickly filled with tumult, and it was not without some difficulty that the king himself was able to appease it. But he could not allay the animosity which, from that moment, ever after prevailed in his family. Robert, attended by several of his confederates, withdrew to Rouen that very night, hoping to surprise the castle, but his design was defeated by the governor. 12. The flame being thus kindled, the popular character of the prince, and a sympathy of manners, engaged all the young nobility of Normandy and Maine, as well as Anjou and Britanny, to espouse his quarrel; even his mother, it is said, supported him by secret remittances, and aided him in this obstinate resistance by private encouragement. This unnatural contest continued for several years to inflame the Norman state, and William was at last obliged to have recourse to England, for supporting his authority against his son. 13. Accordingly, drawing an army of Englishmen together, he led them over to Normandy, where he soon compelled Robert and his adherents to quit the field, and he was quickly reinstated in all his dominions 2. William had scarcely put an end to this transaction, when he felt a very severe blow in the death of Matilda, his queen; and, in addition to this domestic calamity, he received information of a general insurrection in the Norman government. 14. Upon his arrival on the Continent he found that the insurgents had been secretly assisted and excited by the king of France, whose policy consisted in thus lessening the Norman power, by creating dissensions among the nobles of its different provinces. William's displeasure was not a little increased by the account he received of some railleries which that monarch had thrown out against him. 15. It seems that William, who had become corpulent, had been detained in bed some time by sickness; and Philip was heard to say that he only lay-in of a big belly. This so provoked the English monarch, that he sent him word, that he should soon be up, and would, at his churching, present such a number of tapers as would set the kingdom of France in a flame. 16. In order to perform this promise, he levied a strong army, and, entering the isle of France, destroyed and burned all the villages and houses without opposition, and took the town of Mante, which he reduced to ashes. But the progress of these hostilities was stopped by an accident, which shortly after put an end to William's life. 2 In one of the battles between the forces of William and his son Robert, the latter happened to engage the king, whose face was concealed by his helmet, and, both of them being valiant, a fierce combat ensued, till the young prince wounded his father in the arm, and unhorsed him. On his calling out for assistance, his voice discovered him to his son, who struck with remorse, threw himself at his father's feet, and craved pardon for his offence; but William, who was highly exasperated, gave him his malediction. He was, however, afterwards reconciled to him, and on his return to England, Robert was successfully employed in retaliating an invasion of Malcolm, king of Scotland. His horse chancing to place his fore-foot on some hot ashes, plunged so violently, that the rider was thrown forward, and bruised upon the pommel of the saddle to such a degree, that he suffered a relapse, of which he died, shortly after, at a little village near Rouen.-Sept. 9, 1087 3. Prince Edgar Atheling. Stigand and Lanfranc, archbishops of Canterbury. Edwin and Morcar, earls of Northumberland and Mercia. Questions for Examination. 1. In what manner was William received by the nobility and clergy? 2. Where and by whom was he crowned? 4. What conspiracy did the English enter into? 5. In what way did William determine to treat his English subjects? 6, 7. What measures did he adopt to degrade the English? 8. What were the troubles which afflicted William? 10, 11. What frolic was it that led to the serious consequences that followed? 12. Who espoused Robert's cause? 13. What happened in one of the engagements between the forces of the king and his son ? 14. What inducement had the king of France to assist the insurgents? 15. What expression of king Philip of France displeased the Conqueror ? and what was his answer? 16. What caused William's death? What valuable ancient record is preserved in the Exchequer, and what was its use? (See the note.) 3 In this reign Justices of the Peace were first appointed in England. The Tower of London was built. A general survey of all the lands of the kingdom made, their value, proprietors, quality of the soil, &c. and entered in a register, called Doomsday-book, which is still preserved in the Exchequer, and is considered the most valuable monument of antiquity possessed by any nation. The curfew (or cover fire) bell established, at which signal all fires and candles were arbitrarily extinguished at eight o'clock in the evening. 1. (A.D. 1087.) WILLIAM, surnamed Rufus, from the colour of his hair, was appointed, by the king's will, his successor, while the elder son, Robert, was left in possession of Normandy. Nevertheless, the Norman barons were from the beginning displeased at the division of the empire by the late king: they eagerly desired a union as before, and looked upon Robert as the proper owner of the whole. A powerful conspiracy was therefore carried on against William; and Odo, the late king's brother, undertook to conduct it to maturity. 2. William, sensible of the danger that threatened him, endeavoured to gain the affections of the native English, |