Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/357

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was again to be the scene of warfare before his brother's reign was ended. There, with a train cut down to one knight, one clerk, and three esquires, Henry wandered to and fro, seeking shelter where he could. Whatever truth there may be in these details, the time of Henry's probation could not have been spread over anything like a period of two years. He may have been a wanderer during the few months which immediately followed the surrender of the Mount; but, if so, he was reconciled to both his brothers long before the end of the year. Or he may, from some unexplained reason, have again become a wanderer during some months of the following year. There is nothing in any way impossible or unlikely in either story. What is certain is that, before the end of the next year, Henry had again an establishment on Gaulish ground, and one gained in the most honourable way. And it is equally certain that when King William went back to England in the month of August in the present year he took both of his brothers with him.

§ 4. The Scottish Expedition of William Rufus.

August-October, 1091.

The business which called William back to his kingdom was a serious one; it was no other than to drive back or to avenge a Scottish invasion. King Malcolm, who seems to have stayed quiet during the rebellion three years before, now took up arms. We cannot help connecting this step with the visit of his brother-in-law, and the words of the Chronicler seem directly to imply that Malcolm's invasion was the consequence of