Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/599

 Anselm seems to have taken a more constitutional view of the way by which the King's consent and help was to be got than the Roman Legate was likely to take. Anselm says that they would meet to no purpose, except when the King, the bishops, and the nobles, were all near to be referred to. This reads very much as if Anselm was aware of some underhand practices between the King and the Legate, and had no mind to meet the emissary of Rome except when he himself would have the constitutional voice of the nation to back him. But as things stood at the moment, circumstances seem to have hindered the meeting for which Walter seems to have wished and Anselm not to have wished.

We are now in the thick of the revolt of Earl Robert of Mowbray, the tale of which will be told in full in the next chapter. The King was on his march northward to put down the revolt. King, Archbishop, and Legate, had parted as if the Legate at least was not to see either of the other two again in England. At such a time the desired conference could not be held; and Anselm himself was bound for the time within a very narrow local range. While the King marched on towards Northumberland, the Archbishop was entrusted with the care of Canterbury, perhaps of Kent generally, against

perduceretur quod disponeremus." The military history which this letter casually opens to us, and of which we have no mention elsewhere, will come in the next chapter.]
 * [Footnote: *remus, nisi regi suggestum esset, ut ejus assensu et auxilio ad effectum