ic pointed out
the towers of Ely Abbey, white and distinct in the rays of the
rising sun, which, just then, rose grandly out of the waters.

They left their horses at the manor house, which was garrisoned by
Hereward's retainers, and broke their fast, gladdened by an
enthusiastic reception; hope was not yet dead here.

Afterwards, they all embarked in large flat-bottomed boats, which
were sluggishly impelled, by oar and sail, towards the distant
towers of Ely.

The sweet fresh breeze, the cheerful warmth of the sun, soothed our
travellers, wearied with their long night ride; the monotonous
splash of the oars assisted to lull them into sleep, oblivious of
past fatigue. Wilfred awoke to find himself approaching the wharf
of Ely.

And here our narrative must perforce leave him for the space of two
years, sharing the fortunes of the famous Hereward, until the fall
of the last refuge of English liberty: the events of those two
years are matters of history {xxii}.

CHAPTER XXI. TWO DOCUMENTS.

Two years had passed away since his last visit, and Geoffrey,
Bishop of Coutances, was again a visitor in England, this time the
guest of the new primate of the conquered country, Archbishop
Lanfranc, a native of Pavia, and formerly abbot of the famed
monastery of Bec in Normandy, to whom the king had been greatly
indebted for his services as negotiator with the Court of Rome,
while the conquest was in deliberation.

He was a man of deep learning and great personal piety, yet not
without some of the faults of the race, under whose auspices he had
come to England. Still, in spite of his deep prejudices, he was
often, as we shall see in these pages, the protector of the
oppressed English.

Lanfranc was seated with his episcopal brother in the embrasure of
a deep window, looking out upon the cathedral close of Canterbury.

"It was sad, indeed, my brother," said the archbishop. "I scarcely
have known a sadder day than that of my installation. The cathedral
which thou seest slowly rising from its ruins yonder, had been
destroyed by fire, with all its ornaments, charters, and title
deeds. One would think that the heathen Danes had once more
overspread the land, instead of our own Christian countrymen."

"And yet we two are answerable to some extent for this conquest.
Without thee it had never been; thou didst gain the sanction of the
Pope and then preach it as a crusade. I followed the army to
Hastings, absolved the troop