Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/165

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Bishop William, almost parodying the words of a much earlier appeal to Rome, says that he has appealed to the Apostolic See, and to the Apostolic See he will go. Lanfranc retorts; "If you go to Rome without the King's leave, we will tell him what he ought to do with your bishopric." Bishop William answers in a long speech, renewing his protests of innocence and his offers of purgation, and setting forth the services which he claimed to have done for the King at Dover, Hastings, and London. The Bishop many times makes his prayer, and the King as often refuses. Then Lanfranc counsels him to throw himself wholly on the King's mercy; if he will do so, he himself will plead for him at the King's feet. But the Bishop still goes on about the authority of the canons and the honour of the Church; he will earnestly pray for the King's mercy, but he will accept no uncanonical judgement. The King then makes a new proposal; "Let the Bishop give me sureties that he will do nought to my hurt on this side the sea, and that neither my brother nor any of my brother's men shall keep the ships which I shall provide to my damage or against the will of their crews." It certainly was demanding a good deal to expect Bishop William to go surety for either the will or the power of Duke Robert to do or to hinder anything. The Bishop pleads that the Counts pledged their faith that he should not be obliged to enter into any agreement except the one which had been made at Durham. And the Sheriff of Yorkshire, Ralph Paganel, the same who had been the