spute, confined, in its influence, to the
king's immediate household. An occasion, however, now occurred, on which
the private family feud broke out into an open public quarrel. The
circumstances were these:

King William had a castle in Normandy, at a place called L'Aigle. He was
spending some time there, in the year 1076, with his court and family.
One day William Rufus and Henry were in one of the upper apartments of
the castle, playing with dice, and amusing themselves, in company with
other young men of the court, in various ways. There was a window in the
apartment leading out upon a balcony, from which one might look down
upon the court-yard of the castle below. Robert was in this court-yard
with some of _his_ companions, walking there in an irritated state of
mind, which had been produced by some previous disputes with his
brothers. William Rufus looked down from the balcony and saw him, and by
way, perhaps, of quenching his anger, poured some water down upon him.
The deed changed the suppressed and silent irritation in Robert's heart
to a perfect phrensy of rage and revenge. He drew his sword and sprang
to the stair-case. He uttered loud and terrible imprecations as he went,
declaring that he would kill the author of such an insult, even if he
_was_ his brother. The court-yard was, of course, immediately filled
with shouts and exclamations of alarm, and every body pressed forward
toward the room from which the water had been thrown, some to witness,
and some to prevent the affray.

The king himself, who happened to be in that part of the castle at the
time, was one of the number. He reached the apartment just in time to
interpose between his sons, and prevent the commission of the awful
crime of fratricide. As it was, he found it extremely difficult to part
the ferocious combatants. It required all his paternal authority, and
not a little actual force, to arrest the affray. He succeeded, however,
at length, with the help of the by-standers, in parting his sons, and
Robert, out of breath, and pale with impotent rage, was led away.

Robert considered his father as taking sides against him in this
quarrel, and he declared that he could not, and would not, endure such
treatment any longer. He found some sympathy in the conversation of his
mother, to whom he went immediately with bitter complainings. She tried
to soothe and quiet his wounded spirit, but he would not be pacified. He
spent the afternoon and evening