1828.] Le Roman de Rose. 375 



not whether a similar account of Edward's death-bed scene be pre- 

 served by the monk of St. Maur. 



" The day came which no man could avoid,, and King Edward must die* 

 Much he wished that Duke William should have his kingdom. He lay infirm, 

 feeble, and ready to depart. A herald was ordered to assemble around his bed 

 his friends, counsellors,, and others. An Englishman first spoke, as Harald 

 had commanded him. ' Sir king/ saith he, ' great grief have we all to lose 

 thee, and much is our dole that we cannot save thee. For as each one must 

 die for himself, so another cannot die for thee : dust unto dust. After thy 

 decease no heir of thy body remaineth to comfort us : thou hast not son or 

 daughter to continue thy royal race. Throughout this thy realm all weep and 

 say, that if thou help them not, they are but as dead that never shall they 

 have peace ; and; verily, I think their saying is true ; for, without king, no 

 peace, and, unless by thee, we can have no king. Then, while thou yet livest, 

 give thy kingdom to one who may secure us that blessing. God forbid that 

 we should ever have one to bring us into war : where peace and justice fail, 

 wretched is that realm. Who loveth not both, hath no right to reign. Well 

 hast thou reigned, and served God, arid well shalt thou be rewarded. Here 

 are thy friends, the noblest in the land, who are come to beg a king from thee : 

 all pray that Harald be thy choice : better we cannot advise thee, nor better 

 canst thou do.' When that Harald's name was heard, great was the applause 

 of all present, who said that well had the herald spoken. ' Sire/ said they, 

 f if thou make not Harald king, never shall we have peace/ Then the king, 

 being supported in his bed, turned towards the English : ( My lords,' quoth he, 

 1 well ye know, and often have ye heard me say, that, after my death, the 

 duke of Normandy should have my kingdom, to which thing also some among 

 ye have sworn/ Replieth Harald, who was standing near : * However this be, 

 Sire, grant that I be king, and that thy realm be mine : I wish only thy con- 

 sent/ ( Harald/ saith Edward, ' thou shalt have it; but foresee I well that 

 thou wilt soon die : if I know the duke, his barons, and the numbers he doth 

 command, nothing but God can save thee/ Wherefore Harald spoke of the 

 good he meant to do ; and to the king he said other things which seemed him 

 fit ; that, moreover, he feared not Norman, or any other. Therewith turned 

 the king and said (whether willingly or not, I cannot tell) ' Let the English 

 choose for king the duke, Harald, or any other : to them I leave the choice/ " 



This is a subject which continues to be wrapped in great obscurity. 

 That William had received some encouragement to hope for the crown 

 many years before the death of the Confessor, is unquestionable ; and it 

 seenis equally clear that he visited the court of England whether merely 

 as a kinsman to Edward, or to receive from the latter an assurance of the 

 succession, is doubtful. It is, however, certain that, during the king's 

 life, he was regarded by many as one who would inevitably succeed to 

 the thro'ne. Of this Harald was well aware ; and, whatever may be 

 our esteem for that brave Saxon nobleman, we cannot exculpate him from 

 the heavy charge of duplicity brought against him by the writers of that 

 period. If William was an usurper, so also was he ; and to him, indeed, 

 more than the other, must be attributed the mischiefs which so long 

 afterwards desolated the kingdom. Had he drawn his sword, not in the 

 defence of his own guilty ambition, but to support the just claims of 

 Edgar Atheling, he would have left behind him a name gloriously 

 immortal. 



While William was making his mighty preparations for the invasion 

 of England, the favourable termination of the enterprise was predicted 

 by a certain priest, who, with a view perhaps of obtaining a richer 

 guerdon, took care that his prediction should be flattering enough to the 

 ambition of the future conqueror : 



