ned,
detailed all the intricate meshes of that policy with which he himself
had interwoven his pertinacious affection for the Flemish princess, that
it seemed to him as if he listened to the echo of his own heart, or heard
from a soothsayer the voice of his most secret thoughts.

The priest continued

"Wherefore, thus considering, I said to myself, Now has the time come,
Lanfranc the Lombard, to prove to thee whether thy self-boastings have
been a vain deceit, or whether, in this age of iron and amidst this lust
of gold, thou, the penniless and the feeble, canst make knowledge and wit
of more avail to the destinies of kings than armed men and filled
treasuries. I believe in that power. I am ready for the test. Pause,
judge from what the Lord of Breteuil hath said to thee, what will be the
defection of thy lords if the Pope confirm the threatened excommunication
of thine uncle? Thine armies will rot from thee; thy treasures will be
like dry leaves in thy coffers; the Duke of Bretagne will claim thy duchy
as the legitimate heir of thy forefathers; the Duke of Burgundy will
league with the King of France, and march on thy faithless legions under
the banner of the Church. The handwriting is on the walls, and thy
sceptre and thy crown will pass away." William set his teeth firmly, and
breathed hard.

"But send me to Rome, thy delegate, and the thunder of Mauger shall fall
powerless. Marry Matilda, bring her to thy halls, place her on thy
throne, laugh to scorn the interdict of thy traitor uncle, and rest
assured that the Pope shall send thee his dispensation to thy spousals,
and his benison on thy marriage-bed. And when this be done, Duke
William, give me not abbacies and prelacies; multiply books, and stablish
schools, and bid thy servant found the royalty of knowledge, as thou
shalt found the sovereignty of war."

The Duke, transported from himself, leaped up and embraced the priest
with his vast arms; he kissed his cheeks, he kissed his forehead, as, in
those days, king kissed king with "the kiss of peace."

"Lanfranc of Pavia," he cried, "whether thou succeed or fail, thou hast
my love and gratitude evermore. As thou speakest, would I have spoken,
had I been born, framed, and reared as thou. And, verily, when I hear
thee, I blush for the boasts of my barbarous pride, that no man can wield
my mace, or bend my bow. Poor is the strength of body--a web of law can
entangle it, and a word from a priest's mouth c