for political reasons, agreed to marry pulated districts of Hampshire, during the lifetime of his parents. According her to Alphonso. King of Gallicia, she, to some authors, the fever was occasioned by a gore from a stag. He was buried in Winchester Cathedral, where,. to this day, a stone slab marks the site of his grave. William Rufus mounted the English throne on the death of his father, and was slain whilst hunting in the New Forest, in Hampshire, by the erring arrow of Sir Walter Tyrell, his royal bow-bearer. He died on the second of August, 1100, and was succeeded on the throne of England by his younger brother, Henry, surnamed Beauclerc, or the Scholar, on account of his great literary acquirements. Cecilia, the eldest princess of William and Matilda, was veiled a nun in the abbey of Fescamp, and afterwards became abbess of the convent of the Holy Trinity, founded by her mother, at Caen, where she exercised her high office for many years, and, in all probability, died at an advanced age, as a contemporary chronicler states that she was living in the reign of Henry I. Constance, the second daughter, married Alan, Duke of Bretagne, and died during the lifetime of her mother. Agatha, the third daughter, was, when young, affianced to Harold, and maintained so great an affection for his memory, that afterwards, when her father, with tears in her eyes, told him—" Her heart was so devoted to her Saxon betrothed, that she would rather die than become the wife of another ;" and, singular enough, she obtained her desire. On her journey to Spain, she passed to eternal life, without having seen the face of her intended husband. Her body was conveyed to Normandy, and interred at Bayeux, in the church of St. Mary. The fourth daughter, Adela, was married to Stephen, Earl of Blois. She had four sons. The third, named Stephen, succeeded to the English throne shortly after the death of his uncle, Henry I.; and the second was Henry, Bishop of Winchester. On the death of her husband, she was veiled a nun, at Mareigney, where she died in 1137, and in the seventy-fifth year of her age. Her remains were conveyed to Caen, and deposited with those of her sister Cecilia, in the abbey of the Holy Trinity. Gundard, the fifth and youngest daughter, was wedded to William de Warren, a powerful Norman noble, who was created Earl of Surrey, in England, by William Rufus. She had two sons, William, from whom many noble families sprung, and Rainold, who died childless. She died in childbed, at Castle-Acre, in Norfolk, in 1095, and was interred in St. Pancras church, at Lewes, in Sussex. MATILDA ATHELIN G, Sarnamed the Good, First Queen of Benry the First. CHAPTER I. Imbecility of Edgar Atheling-Together with his mother and sisters, he resolves to seek refuge in Germany-Driven into Scotland—Malcolm obtains the hand of Margaret Atheling in marriage—Birth of Matilda Atheling-Robert of Normandy stands godfather to her-Her excellent virtues--Ier aunt Christina anxious that she should take the veil-Places the conventual adornments upon her-Malcolm in a rage tears them off, and refuses to permit her to become a nun-Matilda yiein's to her father's wishes-Her youth when her parents die-The manner of Malcolm's death-Legend respecting-Death of Margaret-Donald Bane usurps the Scottish throne-Matilda and her sister Mary placed in the convent at Romsey-Her disquietude while there-The Duke of Brittany offers her his hand in marriage, which she refuses-The Earl of Surrey also refused-The poverty of Prince HenryKing William's dying address to him—Literally fulfilled-At the period of his adversity, Matilda accepts Henry as her lover. HEN the royal house the vessel in which they embarked been of Normandy seized | providentially driven, by stress of weather, upon the throne of into the Frith of Forth, in Scotland, England, the last de- it is probable that the throne of Britain scendants of the great would never again have been filled by King Alfred, the fa- the lineage of the Anglo-Saxon dynasty. mily of the Athelings, were too weak to clutch the golden circlet from the iron grasp of the victorious Conqueror. In fact, Edgar Atheling, the heir of the Saxon kings, possessed neither the prestige, talents, wealth, nor energy to assert bis rights by force of arms against the powerful Norman Duke William. The royal fugitives had scarcely reached the Scottish court, when Malcolm the Third of Scotland, who, a short time previously, had wrested his kingdom from the usurping grasp of the murderer of his father, the black-hearted Macbeth, whose deeds of hell the Bard of Avon has pourtrayed with a more than mortal power, gave them a right royal In 1068, but two years after the over- welcome; and soon afterwards, became so throw of Harold at Hastings, Edgar enamoured with the gentle-hearted graceAtheling, together with his mother Aga-ful Margaret Atheling, that he requested tha, and his sisters Margaret and Chris- and obtained her hand in marriage. tina, resolved to seek refuge from the perils that threatened them in England, at the court of Agatha's father, Henry the Second, of Germany; and had not The first-born of the royal Malcolm and the Saxon princess was the subject of the present memoir, Matilda Atheling, fondly termed by her contempora to the ennobling example of our court, for then, sister, I think my efforts have not been vain; although, on the point you are urging, I fear Malcolm will never be ruled."" ries "Maud the Good," and by some Whilst Matilda was yet but a child, her aunt, Christina Atheling, abbess of Rumsey, in Hampshire, became extremely anxious that she should be consecrated to the church. But the pious Queen of Scotland told Christina that Malcolm would never sanction Matilda's taking the veil. “I am not so sure of that," said the Abbess, drily; "for rude and unlearned though he be, his will is ruled by his heart-deep love for you. Margaret, he is your slave, and durst not refuse what you firmly demand. Behold, already you have converted him and his attendants from Paganism to Christianity, and by discountenancing the excesses and low carousings in which he and his lords were wont to indulge, you have driven barbarism from the court, introduced civilization into the land, and established order and decorum in the royal castle. "True," answered Margaret, "what you say may be correct, and it delights me to hear the country's advancement in eligion, morals, and learning attributed "Dear Queen," interrupted the Abbess, who was annoyed at Margaret's misgivings, "in you Malcolm reposes unbounded confidence. You are the domestic ruler of his realms. You have introduced the arts and learning into his very household. Nay, at your bidding, virtue has been exalted and vice crushed, and yet, now you bow to the whims of your uncouth ford, and scruple to dedicate your fair daughter to the service of the Most High. Oh Margaret! Margaret! whither has your courage fled? Come hither, dear nicce," she murmured, in tones of affection, addressed to the Princess, "by my hands the holy deed shall be done." When, having placed the scapulary on Matilda, she triumphantly shouted, "There, darling, wear it to the day of your death, and may the curses of the holy cross rest on him who dares to remove it from thy virgin At this instant Malcolm entered the hall, accompanied by the Duke of Brittany, who was there on a visit to the Scottish monarch. On beholding Matilda attired as a nun, he, in a fit of fury, snatched the conventual adornments from her person, tore them into shreds, and turning to the Duke of Brittany, said, "Ah, my lord, that child is far too beautiful for a nun; she shall one day become the queen of a mighty realm." Margaret and her pious sister used their every exertions to gain their end, but, at least in this case, Malcolm was not to be overcome. Entreaties and threats were alike vain, and in the height of his rage, he swore that whoever dared to broach the subject again in his presence, should feel the weight of his resentment. He then took the sobbing Princess in his arms, tenderly kissed her, and told her she must not think of leaving her father, to be a nun. The little Matilda, fearing punishment if her mother or aunt heard her reply, pressed her lips to Malcolm's ear, and whispered that nothing on earth should make her take the veil, a pledge which she ever afterwards religiously kept. Matilda was only about sixteen years of age, when both her parents were conveved to their last home. The kingdoms of England and Scotland had enjoyed the blessings of peace for several years; when, in 1093, Malcolm, taking advantage of the unpopularity, and the dangerous illness of William Rufus, proceeded, for the fifth time, to ravage Northumberland with fire and sword. After several encounters, he laid siege to Alnwick Castle, where the besieged, being reduced to extremities, offered to surrender, on condition that the Scottish King should receive the keys in person. This request being acceded to, a knight, in complete armour, stood within the walls, and on bended knees presented the keys on the top of a lance. But when Malcolm put out his arm to reach them, the knight thrust the point of the lance through the bars of his helmet into his eye, and inflicted a wound in his brain, of which he instantly died. On beholding this treachery, the Scotch rushed forward to avenge their king, but they were beaten back with great slaughter, and in the melée, Malcolm's eldest son, Henry, was slain. There is a legend extant, that the knight, who so treacherously murdered Malcolm, was afterwards named Pierceeye, and that he is the progenitor of the Northumberland family of Pierceeye, since corrupted into that of Percy. Margaret lay on the couch of death, when her youthful son Edgar arrived in breathless haste with the sad news of the defeat and death of his royal sire and brother. The widowed queen bore the shock with Christian fortitude and resignation. As she nobly braved the agonies of body, she pressed to her lips the celebrated black cross, the most precious relic of her royal Saxon ancestors, and committed her daughters to the spiritual care of her religious confessor, Turgot, with a request that he would place them in the convent of which her sister Christina was abbess. When, after thanking God for afflicting her with mental as well as bodily suffering in the hour of death, as thereby she trusted to enter the next world more fully purified from the corruption of this, she addressed a short eloquent prayer to the Saviour of the world, and expired. Behind her, she left a character so illustrious for piety and benevolence, that the church of Rome canonized her; and although her greatly revered shrine was destroyed at the Rcformation, so dear was her memory to the nation, that, to this day, the name of Margaret is hallowed with fondness by the people of Scotland. Shortly after the death of Malcolm, his illegitimate brother, Donald Bane, usurped the throne, and ordered all the English exiles, including Malcolm's children, to quit Scotland on pain of death. Edgar Atheling conveyed the royal orphans to England, and in compliance with the dying wish of his sister Margaret, he placed his nieces Matilda and Mary in the convent at Rumsey, under the charge of their aunt Christina, who shortly afterwards removed to the abbey at Wilton, whither the sister princesses were at the same time conveyed. Wil The abbeys both of Wilton and Rumsey were royal foundations, belonging to the order of Black Benedictines. ton Abbey was founded by Alfred the Great, and in it most of the Saxon princesses were afterwards educated. The abbey of Rumsey was built by Edward the Martyr in 972, and dedicated to the Virgin and St. Elfrida. Like that of Wilton, it was generally governed by an abbess of the royal Saxon line. The plan of instruction pursued in the conventual establishments in the eleventh century, appears to have been most excellent. Nor was the teaching confined to the inmates of the cloister, as nearly every high-born damsel received the lessons of her youth in the school of a convent. Besides reading in the vernacular, the Latin, and other tongues, the fair pupils were taught to excel in writing, drawing, vocal and instrumental music, both sacred and secular, fine needle work, and, above all, that important branch of conventual education, the theory and practice of medicine and surgery. During Matilda's residence in the English convents, she received an education befitting the consort of an Eu ropean monarch. the Red King. Like his kindred, he was passionately fond of hunting, and, for lack of a horse, pursued the game on foot. From this circumstance. Warren, and other wealthy nobles, sarcastically nicknamed him Deer's-toot, an insult which he never forgave. Henry's poverty, however, was not the effect of his own extravagance, as his father, William the Conqueror, when he died, left him but five thousand pounds of silver, which, says the chronicler Speed, so annoyed the young Beauclerc, that he remonstrated with his sire for bequeathing him such a paltry pittance. "What," said he, can I do with the silver, without castle or domain to support my dignity?" unceasing efforts to induce her to take Whilst Matilda was an inmate of Wilton Abbey, the Duke of Brittany, then a widower, arrived in England, and after first obtaining the consent of his brother-in-law, William Rufus, proffered her his hand in marriage. But she rejected the offer of the "grandfather wooer," as she humorously styled the mature suitor, with scorn, and declared she would rather take the veil, abhorrent as it was to her, than consent to so un suitable a match. Shortly afterwards, the Earl of Surrey, William Warren, a powerful baron, and a nephew to the Red King, became enamoured of her, and, singular to relate, young, handsome, and wealthy as he was, she no more favoured his suit than that of his grave predecessor, the Duke of Irittany; her excuse being, that she intended shortly to take the veil. It, however, appears probable that her real motive for rejecting the Earl's addresses, was the secret passion she entertained for the young Prince Henry of Normandy, a passion which doubtless was encouraged to the full by her priest and guardian, Turgot, who, being a deepthinking, clear-sighted Saxon, at once perceived the advantages that would accrue to his suffering countrymen, by the union upon the throne of the royal Saxon and Norman lines. At this period Henry was exceedingly poor; income he had none, and his sole dependence was on his capricious brother, "Trust in God, and patiently wait the events of time," answered the dying monarch; "for behold, thou most favoured of my sons, thou inheritor of all my greatness, although to Robert and William I give the crowns of Normandy and England, thy brothers go before thee but for a brief period; soon will their reigns be over, and all my possessions and wealth become thine." Unsatisfactory as this short but solemn prediction appeared. at the time, to the landless Prince, it was actually fulfilled to the very letter. The rays of but twenty summer suns had kissed the Conqueror's tomb, when the triumphant Henry wore the crowns of the united dominions of England and Normandy. It is recorded that at the period of his adversity, Henry was Matilda's accepted lover. But when, or under what circumstances, the fair princess won his heart, history saith not. Probably he accompanied Edgar Atheling or the Duke of Brittany on their visits to her at Wilton Abbey, and thus was enabled to converse with her, and behold her without the veil, which she cast aside on every possible occasion. Be this as it may, we are told by a contemporary chronicler, that long before circumstances admitted of their union— "The royal pair loved speciallie, Then, Saxous-Normans, moan with me, |