difconcerted all their schemes. And from that time forward he began to lofe all confidence in his Englifh fubjects, and to regard them as inveterate and irreconcileable enemies. He had already raifed fuch a number of fortreffes in the kingdom, that he no longer dreaded the tumultuous or tranfient efforts of a discontented multitude; he therefore determined to treat them as a conquered nation, to indulge his own avarice, and that of his followers, by numerous confifcations, and to secure his power by humbling all who were able to make any refiftance. He proceeded to confifcate all the eftates 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. To keep the clergy as much as poffible in his interefts, he appointed none but his own countrymen to the most confiderable church-dignities, and even difplaced Stigand archbishop of Canterbury, upon some frivolous pretences. William, having crushed several confpiracies, and by punishing the malecontents, thus fecured the peace of his dominions, now expected reft 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 profperity and peace. But fuch is the blindness of human hope, that he found enemies where he leaft expected them, and fuch too as ferved to embitter all the latter part of his life. His laft troubles were excited by his own chil dren, from the oppofing of whom he could expect to reap neither glory nor gain. He had three fons, Robert, William and Henry, befides feveral daughters. Robert, his eldest son, furnamed Curthofe, from the fhortness of his legs, was a prince who inhted all the bravery of his family and nation, but was rather bol bold than prudent; and was often heard to exprefs his jealoufy of his two brothers, William and Henry. Thefe, by greater affiduity, had wrought upon the credulity and affections of the king, and confequent ly were the more obnoxious to Robert. A mind, therefore, fo well prepared for refentment, foon found or made a caufe for an open rupture. The princes were one day in fport together, and in the idle petu: lance of play, took it into their head to throw water upon their elder brother as he paffed through the court, on leaving their apartment. Robert, all alive to fulpicion, quickly turned this frolic into a ftudied indignity; indignity; and having these jealoufies ftill farther enflamed by one of his favourites, he drew his sword, and ran up ftairs with an intent to take revenge.. The whole caftle was quickly filled with tumult, and it was not without fome difficulty, that the king himself was able to appease it. But he could not allay the animofity, which from that moment, ever after prevailed in his family. Robert, attended by feveral of his confederates, withdrew to Rouen that very night, hoping to furprize the caftle, but. his defign was defeated by the governor... The flame being thus kindled, the popular charac+ ter of the prince, and a fympathy of manners, engaged all the young nobility of Normandy and Maine, as. well as of Anjou and Brittany, to efpoufe his quarrel; even his mother, it is faid, fupported him by fecret remittances, and aided him in this obftinate.refiftance by private encouragement. This unnatural conteft continued for several years to enflame the Norman state; and William was at last obliged to have recourfe to England for fupporting his authority against his fon. Accordingly drawing an army of. Engidhmen toge-ther, he led them over into Normandy, where he foon compelled Robert and his adherents to quit the field, and he was quickly reinftated in all his domi nions. € 55 William William had fcarcely put an end to this tranfaction, when he felt a very fevere blow in the death of Matilda, his queen; and, as misfortunes generally come together, he received information of a general infurrection in Maine, the nobility of which had been always averfe to the Norman government. Upon his arrival on the continent, he found, that the infurgents had been fecretly affifted and excited by the king of France, whofe policy confifted in thus leffening the Norman power, by creating diffentions among the nobles of its different provinces. William's displeasure was not a little increased by the account he received of fome railleries which that monarch had thrown out against him. It feems that William, who was become corpulent, had been detained in bed fome time by fickness; and Philip was heard to fay, that he only lay in of a big belly. This fo provoked the English monarch, that he fent him word, he would foon be up, and would at his churching prefent fuch a number of tapers, as would set the kingdom of France in a flame. In order to perform this promife, he levied a ftrong army, and entering the ifle of France, de, ftroyed and burned all the villages and houses without oppofition, and took the town of Mante, which he reduced to afhes. But the progress of these hostilities was ftopped by an accident which fhortly after put an end to William's life. His horfe chancing to place his fore-feet on fome hot afhes, plunged fo vio lently, that the rider was thrown forward, and bruised upon the pummel of the faddle to fuch a degree that he fuffered a relapse, of which he died fhortly after · at a little village near Rouen. CHAP. CHA P. V. WILLIAM RUFUS. W 7ILLIAM, furnamed RUFUS, from the colour of his hair, was appointed by the king's will, his fucceffor, while the elder fon, Robert, was left in poffeffion of Normandy. Nevertheless, the Norman barons were, from the beginning, dif pleafed at the divifion of the empire by the late king; they eagerly defired an union as before, and looked upon Robert as the proper owner of the whole. A powerful confpiracy was therefore carried on against William; and Odo, the late king's brother, undertook to conduct it to maturity. William, fenfible of the danger that threatened him, endeavoured to gain the affections of the native Eng-, lifh, whom he prevailed upon by promises of future good treatment, and preference in the diftribution of his favours, to efpoufe his interefts. He was foon therefore in the field; and at the head of a numerous army, fhewed himself in readinefs to oppofe all who fhould difpute his pretenfions. In the mean time, Robert inftead of employing his money in levies, to fupport his friends in England, fquandered it away in idle expences, and unmerited benefits, fo that he procraftinated his departure till the opportunity was loft; while William exerted himself with incredible activity to diffipate the confederacy before his hrother could arrive. Nor was this difficult to effect: the confpirators had in confequence of Robert's affurances, taken poffeffion of fome fortreffes; but the appearance of the king, foon reduced them to implore for mercy. He granted them their lives but confifcated all their eftates, and banished them the kingdom. C 6 A new A new breach was made fome time after between the brothers, in which Rufus found means to encroach still farther upon Robert's poffeffions. Every confpiracy thus detected, ferved to enrich the king, who took care to apply to his own use those treasures which had been amaffed for the purpose of dethroning him. But the memory of thefe tranfient broils and unfuccessful treafons, were now totally eclipfed by one of the most noted enterprizes that ever adorned the annals of nations, or excited the attention of mankind. I mean the Crufades, which were now firft project. ed. Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens in Picardy, was a man of great zeal, courage, and piety. He had made a pilgrimage to the holy fepulchre at Jerufalem, and beheld, with indignation, the cruel manner in which the Chriftians were treated by the Infidels, who were in poffeffion of that place. He preached the crufade over Europe by the Pope's permiffion, and men of all ranks flew to arms with the utmost alacrity, to refcue the Holy Land from the Infidels, and each bore the fign of the crofs upon their right fhoulder, as a mark of their devotion to the caufe. In the midft of this univerfal ardour that was diffufed over Europe, men were not entirely forgetful of their temporal interefts; for fome, hoping a more magnificent fettlement in the foft regions of Afia, fold their European property for whatever they could obtain, contented with receiving any thing for what they were predetermined to relinquish. Among the princes who felt and acknowledged this general fpirit of enterprize, was Robert duke of Normandy. The Crufade was entirely adapted to his inclinations, and his circumftances; he was brave, zealous, covetous of glory, poor, harraffed by infurrections, and, what was more than all, naturally fond of change. In order, therefore, to fupply money to defray the neceffary charges of fo expensive an undertaking, hẹ offered |