inual quarrels between the father, the mother,
and the children. The greatest source of sorrow to his mother,
however, was the connection which subsisted between the king and the
Lady Rosamond. The nature and the results of this connection will be
explained in the next chapter.

CHAPTER III.

FAIR ROSAMOND.

1184

The mystery surrounding Fair Rosamond's history.--The valley
of the Wye.--The clandestine marriage.--The palace of
Woodstock.--Rosamond's concealed cottage.--The construction
of a labyrinth.--Deceptive paths.--How Rosamond's concealment
was discovered by the queen.--The subterranean
passage.--Uncertainties of the story.--Rosamond retires to the
convent of Godestow.--The world's sympathy with Rosamond rather
than with Eleanora.--The question of the validity of the
marriage.--Burial of Rosamond.--The bishop orders the remains to
be removed.--The nuns bring back the remains to the chapel
again.--Rosamond's chamber.--Restoration of the house.

During his lifetime King Henry did every thing in his power, of
course, to keep the circumstances of his connection with Rosamond a
profound secret, and to mislead people as much as possible in regard
to her. After his death, too, it was for the interest of his family
that as little as possible should be known respecting her. Thus it
happened that, in the absence of all authentic information, a great
many strange rumors and legends were put in circulation, and at
length, when the history of those times came to be written, it was
impossible to separate the false from the true.

The truth, however, so far as it can now be ascertained, seems to be
something like this: Rosamond was the daughter of an English nobleman
named Clifford. Lord Clifford lived in a fine old castle situated in
the valley of the Wye, in a most romantic and beautiful situation. The
River Wye is in the western part of England. It flows out from among
the mountains of Wales through a wild and romantic gorge, which,
after passing the English frontier, expands into a broad, and fertile,
and most beautiful valley. The castle of Lord Clifford was built at
the opening of the gorge, and it commanded an enchanting view of the
valley below.

It was here that Rosamond spent her childhood, and here probably that
Henry first met her while he was yet a young man. She was extremely
beautiful, and Henry fell very deeply in love with her. This was while
they were both very young, and some time before Hen