Page:The Queens of England.djvu/46

 34 THE QUEENS OF ENGLAND. and expressed their displeasure in not having been consulted. It has been said that Henry used some compulsion towards his daughter 'to effect this union, and Matilda's behavior would confirm this opinion, for she looked with disdain upon her hus- band, and he was not slow to resent it. As might be expected, this marriage was one of great unhap- piness ; and after a long sickness, in which Matilda was sep- arated from her husband, she paid a visit to England, where her father, in a parliament at Northampton, again caused her to re- ceive the homage of the nobles. Two years later, when Matilda gave birth to a son, who was named Henry, the king, for the third time, called upon his nobility to swear allegiance to her, associating now with her name that of her son. In the two succeeding years she became also the mother of two other sons. Upon his deathbed, Henry bequeathed all his dominions to his daughter; but Matilda was at this time in Anjou with her huband, and before she could take any steps to secure her in- heritance, her cousin Stephen, Earl of Blois, hastily returning to England, seized the crown by means of certain false repre- sentations, in which he was supported by Hugh Bigod, steward of the king's household ; and having gained the suffrages of the clergy, procured himself, through their aid, to be crowned king on the 22d of December, 1135. Thus were the claims of Matilda set aside under the plea that her marriage was against the will of the barons, and that a female sovereign was contrary to the customs of the English. The extraordinary precautions of Henry to secure the crown to his daughter were rendered abortive, and within twenty-four days after the death of her father, Matilda beheld herself set aside from the succession by the very individuals who had thrice solemnly sworn to receive her as their queen. Stephen's perjury and ingratitude appear the more glaring, for he was indebted to her father for many favors, among others that of advancing his brother Henry to the see of Winchester ; and while profess- ing attachment to the king, and zealously supporting Matilda's claims, he had been ingratiating himself with the people merely for his own advancement. The tranquillity with which the reign of Stephen commenced was but of short duration. After the first burst of popular feel- ing had subsided, various efforts were made by the friends of the empress to assert her just claims. Twice did the King of Scotland advance from the Border in support of his niece, and