mble into ruin the proudest structures which he has ever
attempted to rear, we are amazed that these slender filaments have been
able to resist their action so long. The Bayeux tapestry has lasted
nearly a thousand years. It will probably last for a thousand years to
come. So that the vast and resistless power, which destroyed Babylon and
Troy, and is making visible progress in the work of destroying the
Pyramids, is foiled by the durability of a piece of needle-work,
executed by the frail and delicate fingers of a woman.

We may have occasion to advert to the Bayeux tapestry again, when we
come to narrate the exploits which it was the particular object of this
historical embroidery to illustrate and adorn. In the mean time, we
return to our story.

The matrimonial negotiations of princes and princesses are always
conducted in a formal and ceremonious manner, and through the
intervention of legates, embassadors, and commissioners without number,
who are, of course, interested in protracting the proceedings, so as to
prolong, as much as possible, their own diplomatic importance and power.
Besides these accidental and temporary difficulties, it soon appeared
that there were, in this case, some real and very formidable obstacles,
which threatened for a time entirely to frustrate the scheme.

Among these difficulties there was one which was not usually, in such
cases, considered of much importance, but which, in this instance,
seemed for a long time to put an effectual bar to William's wishes, and
that was the aversion which the young princess herself felt for the
match. She could have, one would suppose, no personal feeling of
repugnance against William, for he was a tall and handsome cavalier,
highly graceful and accomplished, and renowned for his bravery and
success in war. He was, in every respect, such a personage as would be
most likely to captivate the imagination of a maiden princess in those
warlike times. Matilda, however, made objections to his birth. She could
not consider him as the legitimate descendant and heir of the dukes of
Normandy. It is true, he was then in possession of the throne, but he
was regarded by a large portion of the most powerful chieftains in his
realm as a usurper. He was liable, at any time, on some sudden change of
fortune, to be expelled from his dominions. His position, in a word,
though for the time being very exalted, was too precarious and unstable,
and his personal claims to high