ur drew near, the nobles fled from his bedside. His
servants pillaged the apartment where he died, and rolled the dead
body from the bed, and left it lying on the floor. A good knight took
it up, and carried it to St. Stephen's Church, at Caen.

[Illustration: ST. STEPHEN'S CHURCH AT CAEN.]

[Illustration: ROBERT THROWING HIMSELF ON HIS KNEES BEFORE HIS
PROSTRATE FATHER.]

"He left three sons, William Rufus, Robert, and Henry. To the first
he bequeathed England, to the second Normandy, and to the last L5,000.

"William Rufus now became king of England. He was called the Red King,
because he had a red face and red hair; and a red king he proved to
be, in another sense.

"The Red King, like his father, quarrelled with everybody, and, like
him, sought and found enjoyment by hunting in the New Forest.

"One pleasant day in May, when the leaves were tender, and the ferny
hills were sunny and sprinkled with flowers, another Richard, the son
of Robert of Normandy, went to hunt in the New Forest. After a merry
time, he was accidentally shot by an arrow. Again a mournful retinue
came out of the forest, bearing the body of a prince, stained with
blood.

"August came, with its young deer and newly fledged birds. The Red
King, with his brother Henry and a great court-party, went to the New
Forest, to spend some days in hunting and feasting. The first day sped
merrily, and was followed by a banquet. It was held at a place called
Malwood-Keep, a famous lodge for royal hunting-parties.

"The next night, a man with a coal-cart was riding in the New Forest,
when he discovered a body lying by the way, pierced by an arrow in the
breast. He laid it in his dirty cart, and jogged on. It was the Red
King.

"Many stories are told of the manner in which the king was killed.
Some say that he was accidentally shot by Sir Walter Tyrrel, a famous
hunter in those days.

"It is said that the king and Sir Walter came upon a stag. The king
drew his bow, and the string broke.

"'Shoot, Walter!' said the king.

"The arrow flew, struck a tree, glanced, and buried itself in the
king's breast. He died where the poor peasants had foretold he would
die, in the New Forest.

"We hope to visit Caen, and its cathedral, an edifice that was
founded by the Conqueror, and that has grown for nearly a thousand
years. The Conqueror's tomb is before the altar, but his bones were
scattered by the Huguenots in 1562."

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