one part of the kingdom, while the father returned with his usual success from another. He took by sudden assault the castle named "Of the Wood," where the foes of peace and tranquillity had taken refuge, infesting incessantly all the neighbourhood; and, placing in it a garrison of his own, he reduced the whole district under his power. At this time also triumphantly he took the castle of Lideley, which was delivered up to him, to his great glory. For this castle. in those parts, to restrain predatory excursions and defend the lands of the church which the bishop possessed in that neighbourhood.

And now, the Earl of Gloucester, the of the king's enemies, and always ready to undertake any great achievement, again and again his army, rousing his adherents by continual exhortations and admonitions, using threats to induce some, and the offer of rewards others to join him. By these means all were brought to be of one mind, and, the dissensions in the army being healed, the troops, collected from different quarters, were full of ardour to be led against the king. But as "there is neither wisdom, nor prudence, nor counsel against the Lord," while the earl was scattering the seeds of confusion and civil war more widely than before, suddenly drawing near his end, he died, as they say, without the grace of repentance, at his city of Bristol'. His son William succeeded to the earldom; he

Robert, the great Earl of Gloucester, who bore so distinguished a part in the events of these times, was evidently no favourite of our anonymous author, though he occasionally does justice to the earl's great merits. William of Malmesbury, who dedicated his "Modern History" to him, and devotes a considerable portion of its latter pages to his personal history, places his character in the true light. The earl was a natural son of Henry I. by Nesta, daughter of Rhys ap Tudor, prince of South Wales, which accounts for his influence in the principality. He married Mabel, daughter and heiress of Robert Fitzhammon, through whom he derived his vast possessions and honours in Gloucestershire. He died at Bristol 31st August, or the beginning of September, 1147, though our author speaks of him as living at the time of Henry's expedition, and was buried in the priory of St. James, which he founded there. The earl built or rebuilt the castles of Bristol and Cardiff. The former, as appears from the present history, was impreg nable; and it was of a magnificence which fitted it to become a royal abode, having been the residence of the empress for many years, as well as of King Stephen during his captivity. The Empress Maud lived for some

was somewhat advanced in years, but effeminate, a chamberknight rather than a brave soldier. However, soon after coming to the earldom, he happened for once to obtain a more brilliant success than any one would have given him credit for. For Henry de Tracey, a man of great experience in war, who was on the king's side, had fortified the castle of Cary, to straiten more conveniently the Earl of Gloucester, and extend his own power in the district; upon which the earl hearing of it, marched there suddenly with a large force, and demolished the works which Henry had commenced, compelling him to make a retreat.

At that time Walter de Pincheny, who has been mentioned before, being released from his dungeon, mainly by the asistance of the Earl of Hereford, again flew to arms, and, assembling a gallant band of troops, he made an entry by a surprise into the castle of Christchurch, and killing some of those he found within, and putting others in chains, he ravaged the neighbourhood, and secured the lordship of a large district. But though he ought to have forsaken his old habits of cruelty and violence, lest through his sins he should fall once more into his enemies' hands, he continued to be still fierce and tyrannical; to plunder without mercy the possessions of the church; to worry his neighbours with quarrels, and continually to extort money and other offerings from all around, tormenting some and putting others to death for the mere love of cruelty. But God, the just judge, at length recompensed these grievous wrongs by a righteous judgment. For the inhabitants of this place, with some of the country folk, no longer able to bear his barbarity, forming a conspiracy with the soldiers on the lordship to which they belonged, and . . about the castle.

Walter and his followers who had gone and implored

from the castle to the church of.. him humbly to ..

his exactions; but he replying with an indignant power nay, that he would be more imperious than ever, one of them sprung forward and [severed] his neck with a single blow of a sharp axe. His

years after her son Henry II.'s accession to the throne, dying at Rouen A.D. 1167. Her character is pourtrayed throughout this narrative in a just and vivid manner.

'See p. 411.

•

comrades were instantly despatched. . . . ...those who were lying in ambush making their appearance those who held the castle forthwith ; at last terms of peace were agreed on, and the castle was recovered. About the same [time]. seized, by surprise the castle of Downton, which belonged of right to Earl Patrick, and gained by stratagem the possessions of the the castle was plentifully victualled furnished with munitions of war, and a band of freebooters and other . . . was quartered in it1.

church of

The imperfect state of the latter pages of our author's MS. and the loss of the conclusion of his memoirs, are much to be regretted. They probably extended to the death of Stephen, on the 25th of October, 1154, shortly after the pacification with Prince Henry. A short notice of the principal occurrences to that time will be found in the last pages of Huntingdon's History; but had our MS. been perfect, it would probably have thrown additional light on the important transactions which secured the reversion of the crown of England to Henry I.

THE END.

INDEX.