reat assembly of the estates of the
realm. At the close of the ceremonies, after William had given Matilda
his charge, he closed his address by adding, "And do not let us fail to
enjoy the benefit of your prayers, and those of all the ladies of your
court, that the blessing of God may attend us, and secure the success of
our expedition."

We are not necessarily to suppose, as we might at first be strongly
inclined to do, that there was any special hypocrisy and pretense in
William's thus professing to rely on the protection of Heaven in the
personal and political dangers which he was about to incur. It is
probable that he honestly believed that the inheritance of the English
crown was his right, and, that being the case, that a vigorous and manly
effort to enforce his right was a solemn duty. In the present age of the
world, now that there are so many countries in which intelligence,
industry, and love of order are so extensively diffused that the mass of
the community are capable of organizing and administering a government
themselves, republicans are apt to look upon hereditary sovereigns
as despots, ruling only for the purpose of promoting their own
aggrandizement, and the ends of an unholy and selfish ambition. That
there have been a great many such despots no one can deny; but then, on
the other hand, there have been many others who have acted, in a greater
or less degree, under the influence of principles of duty in their
political career. They have honestly believed that the vast power with
which, in coming forward into life, they have found themselves invested,
without, in most cases, any agency of their own, was a trust imposed
upon them by divine Providence, which could not innocently be laid
aside; that on them devolved the protection of the communities over
which they ruled from external hostility, and the preservation of peace
and order within, and the promotion of the general industry and welfare,
as an imperious and solemn duty; and they have devoted their lives
to the performance of this duty, with the usual mixture, it is true,
of ambition and selfishness, but still, after all, with as much
conscientiousness and honesty as the mass of men in the humbler walks of
life evince in performing theirs. William of Normandy appears to have
been one of this latter class; and in obeying the dictates of his
ambition in seeking to gain possession of the English crown, he no doubt
considered himself as fulfilling the