ing the wealth of his future dominions drained in war, for the benefit of another. Leaning towards the earl, he whispered a few words which were unheard by the council. The old man shook his head. 66 Baldwin," he replied, "I fear me thou dost think more of thine own interests than of the honor of our house, in this! Were I, for the interests of my people, to pass this insult unavenged, men's tongues would speak but lightly of thy sister's name, and still more lightly of her kindred's courage יין Matilda felt that the moment had arrived when it was necessary, if she would prevent the effusion of blood, to make known her determination. She rose from her seat, and, with a firm voice, addressed her father and the assembly. "Beausire, and noble lords," she said, "vavasours and knights, for the interest you have shown in a noble maiden's quarrel, accept my thanks. Our sovereign, my most dear father, has long since promised me, that, provided the choice I made were suitable in birth, he would never seek to control my inclinations. The announcement of the choice I have made, will, I trust, render all further thoughts of hostility unnecessary, since you may safely trust to Matilda's husband the vindicatlon of Matilda's honor!" A profound silence reigned in the assembly. None presumed to give an opinion till their sovereign had spoken. "And who," he demanded, in a tone of anxiety, "is the prince upon whom your choice has fallen? Remember the conditions," he added, ere you pronounce his name! He must be of a princely house, and equal birth." "I have not forgotten them, beausire," replied his daughter; "and trust you will consider them fulfilled, when I declare that my choice has fallen upon my cousin, Duke William, of Normandy, whom I reproach myself with having treated with too much rigor, and driven, by my coldness, to violence, foreign to his nature!" The astonishment with which the declaration was listened to, may be more easily imagined than described. The nobles looked upon each other with inquiring eyes, as if each one asked of the other whether his ears had not deceived him, so strange did the choice of the princess appear to them. "God's wot!" exclaimed the earl, who was a kind-hearted man; “but I believe the maiden has more wit than we have! Art thou really serious, my child, in the choice thou hast thus publicly made?" "So serious," answered Matilda, " that if you, beausire, disapprove of it, my next will be the cloister! It is for the father to pronounce the fate of his child-the sovereign of his subject!" The speaker well knew that her parent's affection for her would never consent to her assuming the veil, to which, in all probability, she felt little inclination. Amongst the nobles present, Guy of Burgundy was the most disappointed by her decision. His cousin's marriage with Ma tilda of Flanders, was a death-blow to his hopes. Her brother, the young Count Baldwin, rather approved than otherwise. He was a prudent, calculating youth, and averse to a war in which he could expect to reap no personal advantages; for, Normandy being a fief of the French crown, Henry I., its suzerain, would never consent to its partition, however strong his personal antipathy to the reigning sovereign. The affair was of too important a nature to be decided hastily. The earl contented himself, therefore, with dismissing his councillors; and retired, with his daughter and her brother, from the assembly. Guy of Burgundy was in despair as he left the town-hall of Bruges; he was loud in his reproaches of the caprice and folly of woman. "Prudence!" whispered Raoul; "the Flemings love Matilda, and may not like to hear her conduct questioned. There is one obstacle to the marriage you have not calculated upon-all is not lost yet!" "And what is that obstacle?" demanded Guy. "The king of France? William will pay as little respect to the prohibition of his suzerain, as his father, Robert the Devil, did to the nobility of Normandy, when he named the son of Arlotta, the skinner's daughter of Falaise, to succeed him in the ducal chair." "A stronger objection," replied Raoul, "than any Henry can raise the prohibition of the church. He and Matilda are related within the prohibited degrees." "True!" exclaimed Guy, with a smile of hope; I had not thought of that! And his uncle Mauger, the Archbishop of Rouen, is his bitterest enemy. You say truly," he added, grasping his confederate warmly by the hand; "all is not lost yet!" CHAPTER IV. The bond of hate outlives the bond of love; IMMEDIATELY after the public insult he had offered to his cousin in the street of Bruges, William of Normandy fled towards Ostend, attended only by a single follower-the best proof, perhaps, that the outrage of which he had been guilty was unpremeditated-the result of a sudden outbreak of passion, not design: a consideration which, we fear, will plead but little in his behalf with our fair readers in the present age. Deep as was his attachment to Matilda, his love did not render him regardless of the precautions necessary for his personal safety. No sooner did he reach Ostend- then a mere fishing townthan he embarked on board one of his vessels, lying in the port ready to convey him to Cherbourg, where he had already commenced those improvements which eventually made Normandy one of the most powerful maritime powers in Europe. matter of precaution, he slept the first night on board; and only awaited the arrival of such of his personal attendants as he had left in Bruges, to set sail. As a At an early hour in the morning, his uneasy slumbers were broken by the return of one of his staunchest friends and counsellors-Roger de Beaumont, a noble who had been the confidant of his father, Duke Robert, and his own instructor in the art of war. Despite the remonstrance of his attendants, the grim old soldier insisted upon waking him, satisfied that the intelligence he brought would prove a panacea for the spleen and indisposition of his youthful sovereign, whom he loved no less for his father's sake than his own. "A pretty way to treat your friends!" exclaimed the old man, as he touched the feverish hand which the duke extended towards him. "By our lady, beausire," he added, with a smile, "if Henry of France should enlist the Princess Matilda in his cause, farewell to the broad duchy of Normandy! It seems you have not the courage to face her!" "Speak not of her!" replied William-his handsome features suffused with blushes at the recollection of the unknightly conduct into which he had suffered himself to be betrayed-" a heartless, cold coquette; as passionless as chaste! If ever again I "Make no rash oaths!" exclaimed his visitor, interrupting him; "you may repent them; and, what would be worse for your grace's treasury, break them; for Holy Church compounds not with perjury in princes upon the same easy terms as with a simple baron or knight." "What mean you?" demanded the disconsolate duke. "That you might repent your oath—nothing more!" "Never! She is as heartless as beautiful; and, I repeat "And I repeat again," interrupted Roger de Beaumont, "that I can listen to no disparaging words against my Sovereign Lady Matilda of Flanders, affianced Duchess of Normandy!" William half sprang from his couch, so deeply was he affected by the words. He knew the character of the speaker too well to suppose for an instant that he was jesting with him, wild and improbable as the intelligence appeared. In reply to his passionate, eager questions, the old soldier informed him of everything which had taken place at the town-hall of Bruges, after his departure, and the announcement which Matilda had so publicly made of her choice of her future husband. Again and again Duke William entreated him to repeat the news. It bewildered him; and, despite his confidence in the veracity and good faith of the speaker, he trembled lest he should have been deceived. "If your grace doubts me," observed Roger de Beaumont— who began to tire of so many questions-" perhaps you will give more credence to the lady's messenger!" "Messenger!" mechanically repeated the duke. "Ay!" said the old man. "Directly after your departure, beausire, the Flemings flocked into the street, like bees whose hive had been disturbed. The weavers and spinners threatened vengeance upon your humble servant, and all your retainers who remained in the place. Of course," he added, "I only laughed at them; but when I heard that the earl had summoned his vassals and retainers in the town-hall, I confess I thought that matters began to look serious; so I retired to the house of the prior of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for safety." 66 Why did you not fly ?" demanded William. "To tell your grace the truth," replied the old soldier, "I never thought of it till it was too late, and every part of the city guarded by the incensed citizens: besides, I felt curious to hear the upshot of your you and your future duchess," he added, after an awkward pause, " must decide, beausire, what name to call it." "Continue," said the duke, with an effort to hide his confusion. "The rest is soon told. One of the priests brought me intelligence, towards evening, of the declaration of the Princess Matilda in your favor; at first I could scarcely credit him, so improbable did it appear even to me, who have had some experience in the caprice of the sex; but it was soon confirmed by a messenger from Matilda herself, requesting to see me." "And you saw her?" eagerly exclaimed the delighted prince. I did, beausire." |