the castle from the town was
defended by a ditch and draw-bridge, with strong towers on each side of
the gateway to defend the approach. There was a beautiful stream of
water which meandered along through the valley, near the town, and,
after passing it, it disappeared, winding around the foot of the
precipice which the castle crowned. The castle inclosures were shut in
with walls of stone of enormous thickness; so thick, in fact, they were,
that some of the apartments were built in the body of the wall. There
were various buildings within the inclosure. There was, in particular,
one large, square tower, several stories in height, built of white
stone. This tower, it is said, still stands in good preservation. There
was a chapel, also, and various other buildings and apartments within
the walls, for the use of the ducal family and their numerous retinue
of servants and attendants, for the storage of munitions of war, and for
the garrison. There were watch-towers on the corners of the walls, and
on various lofty projecting pinnacles, where solitary sentinels watched,
the livelong day and night, for any approaching danger. These sentinels
looked down on a broad expanse of richly-cultivated country, fields
beautified with groves of trees, and with the various colors presented
by the changing vegetation, while meandering streams gleamed with their
silvery radiance among them, and hamlets of laborers and peasantry were
scattered here and there, giving life and animation to the scene.

We have said that William's father was Robert, the sixth Duke of
Normandy, so that William himself, being his immediate successor, was
the seventh in the line. And as it is the design of these narratives not
merely to amuse the reader with what is entertaining as a tale, but to
impart substantial historical knowledge, we must prepare the way for the
account of William's birth, by presenting a brief chronological view of
the whole ducal line, extending from Rollo to William. We recommend to
the reader to examine with special attention this brief account of
William's ancestry, for the true causes which led to William's invasion
of England can not be fully appreciated without thoroughly understanding
certain important transactions in which some members of the family of
his ancestors were concerned before he was born. This is particularly
the case with the Lady Emma, who, as will be seen by the following
summary, was the sister of the third duke in