saw that it was his father. Robert fell on his knees, and begged that his father would forgive him, and promised, for the future, to behave like a good son. -William was, however, very angry with him, though, after a time, he became reconciled. William was a great lover of hunting, and he actually destroyed all the villages in Hampshire for thirty miles round, and turned out the inhabitants, for the sake of making himself a forest to hunt in; and, that he might not be interrupted in his hunting, he made very cruel laws to prevent any body from hunting in this forest besides himself. In those days, if any one killed a deer, or a boar, or a hare, he was punished by having his eyes put out; and they thought less about the life of a man, than of one of these animals. might well talk of tyranny and oppression in those days; and, when we think of such times, we have great reason to be thankful for the liberty and protection which we experience now.

People

William died in France, by an accident, in the year 1087. He had got into a quarrel with the King of France, and was attacking one of his towns, when his horse happened to put his fore feet upon some hot ashes, which caused him to

plunge so violently, that the injury which the King received, was the cause of his death.

His eldest son Robert became Duke of Normandy, and William became King of England. But I must leave the account of this second William, till my next letter. Remember that William the First, (called the Conqueror,) reigned twenty-one years; having come to the throne in 1066, and having died 1087.

Short character of William the Conqueror,
(from Goldsmith's History.)

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"William was a prince of great courage pacity; ambitious, politic, cruel, revengeful, and rapacious. He was fond of glory, and was saving at one time, that he might be ostentatious at another. Though sudden and impetuous in his enterprises, he was cool, deliberate, and unwearied in times of danger. He is said by the Norman writers, to have been above eight feet high, his body strong-built, and well-proportioned; and his strength such, that none of his courtiers could draw his bow. He talked little; he was seldom affable to any, except to Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury; with him he was ever meek and gentle; with all others, stern and austere. Though

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he rendered himself formidable to all, and odious to many, yet he had policy enough to transmit his power to posterity; and the throne is still occupied by his descendants."

Now think well of what you have read, and try whether you can answer these

QUESTIONS.

In what year did William the Conqueror come to England? What part of the world did he come from?

In what part of England did he land?

Who was king of England at that time?
Was a battle fought?

Where?

How did William behave to the English?

What cruel act did he do in the county of Northumberland? How many sons had William ?

What were their names?

Do you remember any anecdote respecting these brothers? How did the eldest son behave to his father?

What dreadful consequences had almost followed from the eldest son's rebellious conduct?

What amusement was the king particularly fond of?

What tyrannical act did he commit to enable him to pursue

this amusement?

Where did William die, and what was the cause of his death? In what year was this?

Who became king of England after William ?

LETTER III.

MY DEAR BOY,

IN my last letter I told you, that William the Second came to the throne in the year 1087.

This William was called Rufus, because he had red hair, rufus being the Latin word for red.

You know that Robert was the eldest son of William the Conqueror, and therefore he ought to have been king of England, but his father refused to leave him the kingdom on account of his bad behaviour: William Rufus, however, was not, in the least, better than his brother, but he had the art to conceal his bad disposition.

The two brothers had frequent quarrels, and many battles, about the possession of the kingdom; but William generally was victorious.

It is in this reign that we first hear about the Crusades; and these seem to have occupied the thoughts of all the great Christian warriors of

those days. But perhaps you have never heard of these Crusades.

You must know then, that there was, in France, a man called Peter the Hermit, and he had gone on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and there his spirit was grieved within him to think that the land which our Lord had trod, should be in possession of the Pagan enemies of the cross; and that these enemies should harass and persecute the Christian believers. He therefore thought that it would be a good Christian work to deliver the Holy Land from the hands of these unbelieving persecutors, the Saracens, and to get it into the possession of the Christians. This Peter, therefore, went about all Europe exhorting kings and warriors to engage in this pious cause; and he was so successful, that people of all ranks seemed ready to join in the undertaking. Robert, Duke of Normandy, was so eager for this holy war, that he became perfectly careless about getting the kingdom of England from his brother William; and he was so indifferent too even about his dukedom of Normandy, that he mortgaged it to William for a sum of money, and then set off for the holy war.

When I think of the Crusades, I never can help