He was at first con cries of Maude, his natural fifter. veyed out of danger himself, but could not leave a perfon fo dear to perish without an effort to fave her. He, therefore, prevailed upon the failors to row back and take her in. The approach of the boat, giving several others, who had been left upon the wreck, the hopes of faving their lives, numbers leaped in, and the whole went to the bottom. Above a hundred and forty young noblemen of the principal families of England and Normandy were loft on this occafion. A butcher of Rouen was the only perfon on board who efcaped; he clung to the maft, and was taken up the next morning by fome fishermen. Fitz-Stephen, the captain, while the butcher was thus buffeting the waves for his life, fwam up to him, and enquired if the prince was yet living; when being told that he had perished, then I will not out-live him, faid the captain, and immediately funk to the bottom. The fhrieks of thefe unfortunate people were heard from the shore, and the noise even reached the king's fhip, but the caufe was then unknown. Henry entertained hopes, for three days, that his fon had put into fome diftant port in England: but when certain intelligence of the calamity was brought to him, he fainted away, and was never feen to mile from that moment to the day of his death, which followed fome time after at St. Dennis, a little town in Normandy, from eating too plentifully of lampreys, a difh he was particularly fond of. He died in the fixty-feventh year of his age, and the thirty-fifth of his reign, leaving by will his daughter Matilda heiress of all his dominions. CHAP. No fooner was the king known to be dead, than Ste phen, fon of Adela, the king's fifter, and the count of Blois, confcious of his own power and influence, refolved to fecure to himfelf the poffeffion of what he fo long defired. He fpeedily haftened from Normandy, and arriving at London, was immediately faluted king by all the lower ranks of people. Being thus fecure of the people, his next ftep was to gain over the clergy; and, for that purpofe, his brother, the bishop of Winchester, exerted all his influence among them, with good fuccefs. Thus was Stephen made king, by one of thofe fpeedy revolutions whch ever mark the barbarity of a state in which they are cuftomary. The first acts of an ufurper are always popular. Stephen, in order to fecure his tottering throne, paffed a charter, granting feveral privileges to the different orders of the ftate. To the nobility, a permiffion to hunt in their own forefts; to the clergy, a fpeedy fil ling of all vacant benefices; and to the people, a reftoration of the laws of Edward the Confeffor. To fix himself ftill more fecurely, he took poffeffion of the royal royal treasures at Winchefter, and had his title ratified by the pope with a part of the money. It was not long, however, that Matilda delayed afferting her claim to the crown, She landed upon the coaft of Suffex, affifted by Robert, earl of Gloucester, natural fon of the late king. The whole of Matilda's retinue, upon this occafion, amounted to no more than one hundred and forty knights, who immediately took poffeffion of Arundel caftle; but the nature of her claim foon increased the number of her partifans, and her forces every day feemed to gain ground upon thofe of her antagonit. Mean time, Stephen, being affured of her arrival, Hew to befiege Arundel, where he had taken refuge, and where he was protected by the queen dowager, who fecretly favoured her pretenfions. This fortress was too feeble to promife a long defence; and would have been foon taken, had it not been reprefented to the king, that as it was a caftle belonging to the queen dowager, it would be an infringement on the refpect due to her to attempt taking it by force. There was a fpirit of generofity mixed with the rudenefs of the times, that unaccountably prevailed in many tranfactions. Stephen permitted Ma filda to come forth in fafety, and had her conveyed with fecurity to Bristol, another fortrefs equally strong with that from whence he permitted her to retire. It would be tedious to relate the various fkirmishes on either fide, in purfuance of their refpective pretenfions; it will fuffice to fay, that Matilda's forces increafed every day, while her antagonist feemed every hour to become weaker; and a victory, gained by the queen, threw Stephen from the throne, and exalted Matilda in his room. Matilda was crowned at Winchester with all imaginable folemnity. Matilda, however, was unfit for government. She affected to treat the nobility with a degree of difdain, to which they had long been unaccustomed; fo that the fickle nation once more began to pity their depofed king, and repent the fteps they had taken in her favour. The bishop of Wincheiter was not remifs in fomenting thefe difcontents; and when he found the people ripe for a tumult, detached a party of his friends and vaffals to block up the city of London, where the queen then refided. At At the fame time, meafures were taken to inftigate the Londoners to a revolt, and to feize her perfon. Matilda, having timely notice of this confpiracy, fled to Win chefter, whither the bifhop, ftill her fecret enemy, followed her, watching an opportunity to ruin her caufe. His party was foon fufficiently ftrong to bid the queen open defiance, and to befiege her in the very place where the first received his benediction. There the continued for fome time, but the town being preffed by a famine, fhe was obliged to efcape; while her brother, the earl of Gloucester, endeavouring to follow, was taken prifoner, and exchanged for Stephen, who ftill continued a captive. Thus a fudden revolution once more took place: Matilda was depofed, and obliged to feek for fafety in Oxford Stephen was again recognized as king, and taken from his dungeon to be replaced on his throne. But he was now to enter the lifts with a new opposer, who was every day coming to maturity, and growing more formidable. This was Henry, the fon of Matilda, who had now reached his fixteenth year; and gave the greatest hopes of being one day a valiant leader, and a confummate politician. With the wishes of the people in his favour, young Henry was refolved to reclaim his hereditary kingdom; and to difpute once more Stephen's ufurped pretenfions, and accordingly made an invafion on England, where he was immediately joined by almoft all the barons of the kingdom. In the mean time, Stephen alarmed at the power and popularity of his young rival, tried every method to anticipate the purpose of his invafion; but finding it impoffible to turn the torrent, he was obliged to have recourfe to treaty. It was therefore agreed, by all parties, that Stephen should reign during his life; and that juftice fhould be administered in his name. That Henry fhould, on Stephen's death, fucceed to the kingdom; and William,. Stephen's fon, fhould inherit Boulogne and his patrimonial eftate. After all the barons had fworn to this treaty, which filled the whole kingdom with joy, Henry evacu ated England; and Stephen returned to the peaceable enjoyment joyment of his throne. His reign, however, was foon after terminated by his death, which happened about a year after the treaty, at Canterbury, where he was interred. THE HENRY II. HE first act of Henry's government gave the people a happy omen of his future wife adminiftration. Confcious of his power, he began to correct thofe abuses, and to refume thofe privileges, which had been extorted from the weaknefs or the credulity of his predeceffors. He immediately difmiffed all thofe mercenary foldiers who committed infinite diforders in the nation. He refumed many of thofe benefactions which had been made to churches and monafteries in the former reigns. He gave charters to feveral towns, by which the citizens claimed their freedom and privileges, independent of any fuperior but himself. Thefe charters were the ground work of English liberty. The struggles which had before this time been, whether the King, or the barons, or the clergy, fhould be defpotic over the people, now began to affume a new afpect; and a fourth order, namely, that of the more opulent of the people, began to claim a fhare |