"and bad that virtuous men might follow "after the good, and wholly avoid the evil, "and might go in the way that leadeth to "the kingdom of Heaven."1

1 Anglo-Saxon Chron., 461.

CHAPTER III.

WILL

ILLIAM the Conqueror was succeeded by his son, William Rufus,

to whom on his deathbed he had bequeathed the kingdom.1 Knowing that beyond doubt his death must occur in a very few days, he ordered Rufus to set out for England at once, so that he would arrive there in ample time to meet any emergencies that might arise, and Rufus did, in fact, according to Malmsbury, arrive in England before he had received the news of his father's death.

When he arrived in England, knowing that all the claim he had to the throne was the devise of it to him by his father, he endeavored to win to him the allegiance of the English themselves through fair promises and plenteous gifts, and thus was started a new era for England. He promised them, 1 Malmsbury, 327.

if they would support him in his claim to the throne, that he would give them better laws, that he would forbid unjust taxation, and would allow them to hunt in the forests. And he also promised them that such land as his father had taken from them he would return.1 These were fair and pretty promises, and had their proper and due effect upon the English, who, upon learning of them, immediately flocked to his support, with the result that he was, in due time, crowned and recognized as the King of England.

Rufus was possessed of a very strong character and will, and was, withal, a very brainy man, and was also in many respects much like unto his father. He was always shrewd enough to placate those whom he could not control by force, and rule with power and domineering strength those who exercised little authority and could cause him but little trouble.

He was tactful and expedient, especially

1 Saxon Chron., 466.

so during the early portion of his reign. William of Malmsbury says of him (page 327) that "he would no doubt have been a prince incomparable in our time had not his father's greatness eclipsed him."

During the early portion of his reign he did, in a measure, carry out some of the promises he had made. Some of the lands his father had taken he returned to its original owners, and for a time he allowed the people to hunt in the forests.

But when he came to feel that he was securely settled on his throne, he wavered in his kindly acts, and gradually withdrew these privileges. He regretted that he had allowed hunting in the forests, and so prohibited it. When his orders in this respect were disobeyed by those who had considered his former promises to be in good faith, he had them put to death.1 He made it, practically, a capital offence to kill a stag.

His character seems to have undergone a 'Malmsbury, 339.

decided change during the time he held his kingly office. He started out right, and he tried to rule in a manner not only to gain the confidence of his subjects, but their love. He did, in many instances, grant many privileges unsolicited on their part, and was doing apparently all in his power to make his reign a success, but whether or not the trouble he experienced later caused him to regret and repent of his former kindness, or whether it was the association of evil-minded advisers, is hard to say. His uncle Odo, formerly Bishop of Bayeux, whom William I. had imprisoned, he liberated and restored in a measure to influence and power. This he did against the advice of his father, given when on his deathbed.1 But Odo, upon obtaining his release, expected he would wield more power and command more influence than was allowed to him. His counsels were listened to by Rufus, but they did not carry that weight and that power that Odo had wished for. Accordingly he headed a con

1 Ordericus Vitalis, 2-417.