not forget my children; and Eleanor thou must The last sentences seemed to tear up her very heart; and she would have fallen on the cold pavement of the chapel, had she not been suddenly caught by a nun, who stood sheltered in the shadow of the pillar. Henry sprang forward to support her; but it was too late; for a door suddenly opened, and Rosamond was forced in; then it closed upon her for ever. The monarch fell, just as the last glimpse of her drapery vanished; and when his eye rested on the ponderous door, he beheld the form of a crucifix, which was carved on the solid oak; and he remained, almost unconsciously, kneeling before it. Rude as was this device, it awoke such sentiments in the bosom of the unhappy King as he had never before felt; and, while he gazed upon it, he wept like a child; for a sound, or a feeling, went through his heart, which said: "Here only canst thou find peace." The monarch clasped his hands, and prayed unaware. It was no studied effort; but his feelings shaped themselves into words. He confessed himself weak and sinful; and felt thankful that God had brought him into such a state of humility. He arose, and felt his heart more at ease than it had been for many a long day. The tears which he had shed had fallen like the rain from a dark cloud, when the heaven again becomes clear his earthly nature was refreshed by the shower. If all within was not yet happy, there was, at least, such a resignation as he had hitherto been a stranger to; for he had never before thrown all his sorrows at the foot of the Cross of Christ. To account for the presence of Rosamond we need only add, that the potion which she swallowed on that fearful night, when Eleanor entered the labyrinth, had been prepared by Oliphant Ugglethred; and, had not fate ordained otherwise, it was his intention, after the Queen had departed, to have removed her to a place of security, where she would have been wholly in his own power. Although the draught was free from all strong poisonous qualities; yet, for several hours, Rosamond was in a state of unconsciousness; nor was it until she had lain some time in the chapel that she recovered. The joy and surprise of Maud, who knelt weeping beside her at the time, may be better imagined than described. None, saving herself and Pierre de Vidal (excepting the nuns of Godstow), knew that she was still living; the secret had been faithfully kept. The minstrel was promoted to a high and honourable station in the King's service; and, as he had long before won the heart of Maud, he had no difficulty in obtaining her hand. Their nuptials were honoured by the presence of Henry, and many of the Norman nobility; and, as the King seldom resided at Woodstock, they occupied the chief apartments of the palace. Queen Eleanor, as every reader of history is aware, was confined in a prison, from which she was never released until the death of the King. We shall not dwell upon Henry's penance at the shrine of Becket, where he knelt all night on the cold pavement, and bared his shoulders to the lash of the monks; neither does it belong to our task to comment upon the rebellion of his sons, and all those domestic calamities which embittered his latter days. Suffice it to say, that he died with a full conviction, that the road to ambition |