arraigned him, fell like music upon the delighted ear of Becket. The daring feat he had just accomplished, and the perilous position in which he stood, perched upon a ledge of the rock which overhung the abyss, seemed, however, in nowise to disturb the calmness of his manner. He liberated the victorious Odin from beneath his now dying adversary, and holding him up, to give Rosamond a full view of her favourite, assured her of his being comparatively unharmed. Then, loosing his hold, the bird, upon a call from his delighted mistress, flew back to her hand.

It was curious to see the conduct of the discomfited hawk while all this was going on. He had been fairly beaten off by the heron, and on the approach of his powerful successor had contented himself with following quietly in his wake, and now sat upon a low rock hard by, arching his neck and smoothing his plumes, a patient spectator of the crowning event, and the honour done to the victor. As she welcomed back the petted bird, Rosamond could not suppress a shudder. The chasm over which he flew at her call, was of immense width

terror, burst into tears, and covered her eyes with her hand. No one dared to speak; -all felt that in the midst of their gaiety and sport, the life of a fellow-creature hung upon a thread, and many a cheek that unchanged had passed through the din of battle, now blanched as the figure of that solitary horseman, standing between life and death, gleamed upon his troubled sight. Moments thus counted seemed endless : but, at length, the peril was past; and Becket, having reached less dangerous ground, paused for a moment, and waving his cap, as an announcement of his safety, ventured to urge his horse down the declivity. A shout of joy encouraged him to proceed; and, with some difficulty, he reached more level ground. Another hazardous leap brought him once more among his friends; and the King, warmly grasping his hand, loaded him with praise.

The heart of Becket beat high; but, maintaining his usual calmness of demeanour, he concealed his feelings, and amidst the loud congratulations of his companions, rode back to the castle.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE elation of mind which the sudden change in the position of Becket had caused to him, might, to an inferior intellect, have been productive of very serious consequences. By the favour of the King, as by the wand of an enchanter, he had been almost instantaneously transformed from an obscure churchman to one of the most important personages in the realm. Side by side with a potent monarch, he now sat, courted and flattered by his royal master;

and, of course, courted and flattered by innumerable sycophants, who, however, covertly added to their offering of sweet incense, the usual poisonous additions of dire hatred and malice, which are the portion of every favourite.

The giddy elevation to which he found himself raised, did not however cause the slightest change in the self-possession of Becket: from the first moment, he fully understood the importance of the position, and prepared to play his part accordingly. A stranger in a crowd, he was quite aware that every eye was upon him, and that the first effects he produced might make, or mar, his fortune. It may seem at first that any attempt to dazzle or attract, save by intellectual means, was unworthy of a mind so powerful and discriminating; but it was this very capacity of sifting to the bottom the thoughts of men, that induced the wily churchman to lay aside for the moment all loftier claims, and base his popularity upon the lighter grounds that every-day circumstances might present.

For the display of great qualities, great opportunities are wanting; but smaller

distinctions are often serviceable, as being within the range of the many whose voices are to chorus the praise. For this reason, as well as from consonance to his natural tastes, had Becket, upon the day of the hawking-party, condescended to exhibit that personal courage and dexterity which had instantly won him the golden opinion. of the crowd. The extraordinary passion for the chase, which was then in England one of the of the ruling foibles of the age, rendered any remarkable attainment in the science no mean distinction. A nation that could tamely submit to the savage severity of the forest laws; an aristocracy so little civilized and enlightened as to devastate whole tracts of beautiful country, sweep away villages, and destroy all traces of the human species, in order that the wild beasts of the field might have wider range, were not likely to look with indifference upon the master-hand that, suddenly laying aside rosary and missal, could point the shaft, and rein the steed with such surpassing skill. The success of Becket was fully adequate to his expectations; and even Henry, whose intelligence was