hter of a dealer in skins at Falaise, and this
son became that celebrated William of Normandy, our renowned conqueror!
The Normans instigated the people to reject him, on the plea of his
illegitimacy; but Henry I., then King of France, gratefully remembered the
good offices of Robert the Devil, William's Father: therefore espoused his
cause, and raised an army of three thousand men to invade Normandy; long
and obstinate wars continued, which did not terminate till William had
accomplished the successful invasion of England; he was the grandson of
Rollo, known after his marriage as Robert the 1st., Duke of Normandy, who
died 935. Thus from one of his numerous amours sprung our new dynasty of
kings, which totally changed the aspect of the times. By some historians
he is called Robert the IInd., Duke of Normandy, but the name by which he
is generally known, is that dignified one of William the Conqueror.

CAVERN OF ROBERT LE DIABLE.

The remains of this cavern (situated in Normandy) command the attention of
the lovers of history, not only from its antiquity, but also from its
gloomy recesses, having afforded a safe shelter to our weak and cruel King
John. Here he bade farewell to this province which he abandoned to the
French Knights, and from whom he carefully concealed every trace of his
retreat. The entrance is almost obscured, and tradition says it is so
artfully managed as to have the appearance of a passage to another. The
spot is barren, and it appears as if a thunder-bolt had burnt up the
verdure. The spirit of _Robert le Diable_ is supposed to haunt the cavern
in the form of a wolf, and advances uttering piteous cries, and
steadfastly gazing on its place of defence (the caverns extending to the
River Seine) reviews his former glory and conquests, and seems bitterly to
lament the present decay. In vain the peasants commence the chase; they
assert that the wolf though closely pursued always eludes the vigilance of
the huntsman. On the death of Richard I. of England, 1199, his Brother
John was proclaimed King of Normandy and Aquitaine; the Duchies of
Brittany, the Counties of Anjou, Maine, Tours and others, acknowledged
Arthur, John's nephew, as their sovereign, and claimed the protection of
the King of France, Philip II., surnamed Augustus; but he despairing of
being able to retain these provinces against the will of their inhabitants,
sacrificed Arthur and his followers to John, who in a skirmish with some
of the N