Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/682



Brave words were these of Pope Urban, but William the Red knew how to deal with mere bravery of words, even in the Pope whom he had acknowledged. Walter of Albano had once outwitted William and his counsellors; but Walter of Albano had in the end yielded to William's most powerful argument. William of Warelwast was not the least likely to outwit Urban; but he had it in commission from his master to overcome the Pope by the same logic by which his Legate had been overcome. We may copy the words of our own Chronicler four-and-twenty years later; "That overcame Rome that overcometh all the world, that is gold and silver." To Urban's well conceived speech the answer of William of Warelwast was pithy and practical; "Before I go away, I will have some dealings with you more in private." He went to work prudently, as the Red King's clerks knew how to do; he made friends here and there; the Pope's advisers were blinded; the Pope himself was blinded; a respite from Easter to Michaelmas was granted to King William of England.

This adjournment was a heavy blow for Anselm. He had in no way stirred up the Pope to any action against the prince whom he still acknowledged as his sovereign. At Bari, when no answer had as yet been received