, and did all that he
could to ingratiate himself with the most powerful and wealthy nobles.
He sought the favor of the king, too, and endeavored to persuade him to
discard William. The king was now old and infirm, and was growing more
and more inert and gloomy as he advanced in age. His mind was occupied
altogether in ecclesiastical rites and observances, or plunged in a
torpid and lifeless melancholy, which made him averse to giving any
thought to the course which the affairs of his kingdom were to take
after he was gone. He did not care whether Harold or William took the
crown when he laid it aside, provided they would allow him to die in
peace.

He had had, a few years previous to this time, a plan of making a
pilgrimage to Jerusalem, but had finally made an arrangement with the
pope, allowing him to build a Cathedral church, to be dedicated to St.
Peter, a few miles west of London, in lieu of his pilgrimage. There was
already a Cathedral church or _minster_ in the heart of London which was
dedicated to St. Paul. The new one was afterward often called, to
distinguish it from the other, the _west_ minster, which designation,
Westminster, became afterward its regular name. It was on this spot,
where Westminster Abbey now stands, that Edward's church was to be
built. It was just completed at the time of which we are speaking, and
the king was preparing for the dedication of it. He summoned an assembly
of all the prelates and great ecclesiastical dignitaries of the land to
convene at London, in order to dedicate the new Cathedral. Before they
were ready for the service, the king was taken suddenly sick. They
placed him upon his couch in his palace chamber, where he lay, restless,
and moaning in pain, and repeating incessantly, half in sleep and half
in delirium, the gloomy and threatening texts of Scripture which seemed
to haunt his mind. He was eager to have the dedication go on, and they
hastened the service in order to gratify him by having it performed
before he died. The next day he was obviously failing. Harold and his
friends were very earnest to have the departing monarch declare in _his_
favor before he died, and their coming and going, and their loud
discussions, rude soldiers as they were, disturbed his dying hours. He
sent them word to choose whom they would for king, duke or earl, it was
indifferent to him, and thus expired.

Harold had made his arrangements so well, and had managed so effectually
to secu