The Shasta courier., 1866-10-13
SHASTA COURIER,
WILLIAM CLITO. DUKE OF NOR.
MANDY.

boy princes, is William, son of Robert
Duke of Normandy, the eldest of the con.
queror's sons. His easy father was impris.
oned and blinded by his unnatural brothe,
Henry, surnamed the Scholar, a man in
whom letters had failed to civlize the bar
barian
When his father was thus cruelty treated
William Clito was at Falaise and at that
town the boy fell into the hands of his
victorious uncle. Clito was then only five
years old, harmless as dove, and the
very picture of innocence. Nevertheless
Beauclerc foresaw that, as years passed on
the son of the conqueror's heir would be
used as an instrument to curb his ambi
tion and the desire to remove such being
| from his path must have been strong with
| In man who was, in all respects, the re
verse of scrupulous. But the blue eyed
child, when brought into his presence, wept
piteously, and sobbed as if his heart would
break and Henry shrank from rudely
parting the soul and body of being SO de-
| fenseless. After a struggle, Beauclerc's
good angel saved him from adding infant
! eide to that long list of enormities which
made the Anglo Saxons regard him as the
most wicked of men, and gave rise ssc the
memorable expression, Royalty is Crime. y
Feeling, doubtless, as if the eyes of his
Maker, his neighbor. and posterity, were
upon him at the moment, the King of Eng
land ordered his little nephew to he removed,
and gave him into the charge of Helie de
St. Saen, a Norman baron whose fidelity
he believed could be relied on, and whose
character for probity was such as to preclude
suspicion of foul play in the event of the
young Prince coming to an untimely end.
Hehe de st. Saen, rough and ready of
hand as he was, had tender heart under
his chain armor; and he was naturally at
tached to the boy, having married an ille-
gitimate daughter of the i'll fated prisoner of
Cardiff. He treated the royal heir" with
great kindness, educated him with the utmost
care, and manifested toward him much af
fection. Beauclerc aware of all this, grew
alarmed and, repenting of his lenity, re-
solved to get the boy into his own hands
without delay, and subject him to perpetual
imprisonment. With this object, he com.
missioned Robert de Beauchamp to make
the seizure, and furnished that Norman
baron with a body of horse for the purpose
Thus it happened that, one Sunday, when
Clito was eight years old, and ST. Saen was
absent from his castle, the people, coming
out of church, perceived band of armed
men lurking in the neighborhood. Not
relishing such a circumstance during their
lords absence, they hurried to the castle,
and gave the alarm. The servants, guessing
the truth, hastened to Clito's chamber,
found him asleep, awoke him, escaped with
him secretly from the castle, and carried
him in safety to their master
uele ST. Saen, in the hour of peril, proved
true to the unfortunate son of Robert, and
bore, without complaint, the loss of house
and lands, which was the result of his gen.
erosity. Clinging with more than paternal
devotion to the little prince, he carried him,
for protection, to the Count of Aniou; and
ere three years passed, Clito, under his
auspices, had visited The courts, and become
acquainted with the sovereigns of France.
Aquitaine, Burgundy, and Britanny. The
beauty and innocence of the little prince
won him many friends among the powerful,
while his hapless position and vast claims
rendered him an object of general interest.
The noble heart is ever with the unfortu-
nate; and Louis lie Gros, the King, who
fostered the infant civilization of France,
and figured as the first knight of his age,
was as generous as he was polite and brave.
He wished Clito WE'LL and had deep inter.
est in his success.
When Clito was yet in his twelfth year,
but giving promise of strength and wisdom,
events hurried his patrons into war; and
the Earl of Flanders, having become the
right hand and guiding spirit Of their league,
Beauclerc sustained a series of harassing
attacks all along the frontier of Normandy.
He lost fortress after fortress, and town after
town. Failing in force, he had recourse to
art and bribery. The confederacy, which
had been so formidable was soon broken up
and King Louis was under the necessity of
sacrificing the interests of his youthful pro
tege.
Clito found refuge at the court of his
steady friend, the Earl of Flanders and be-
came an object of no slight interest to the
people of Normandy. Indeed, his influence
increased so rapidly, that Beauclerc, feeling
the danger of allowing so popular pretend
er to be at large, used every artifce to en-.
trap him. Immediate possession of three
English earldoms was the enticing bait
finally thrown out to lure him to destruction
But Clito declined to barter his birthright
for grants that would, in all probability, be
withdrawn on fraudulent pretenses and,
ere long, events seemed to vindicate the wis
dom of his refusal.
These events arose from the unfortunate
fact that Beauclerc had not a particle of
honor in his bosom, and made promises only
to break them. No sooner was the confed
eracy dissolved than be violated every en-.
gagement he had made on the Continent
Clitos name again served as rallying. point
to his uncle's enemies and he now mount
ed war-steed. took the field, and was
henceforth by turns the pride aid sport of
his allies-sometimes their hero, sometimes
their victim.
The King of England faced the confed
eracy with his wonted energy. And the
French monarch, finding how hopeless it was
to cope with such an adversary, appealed for
redress at Rome.
At Rheims the Pope forthwith convoked
a council, and thither he came to preside in
person. Louis acted toward bis proteqe with
royal chivalry. He presented Clito to the
council as the son of a deeply injured prince !;
be complained of the gross injustice done to
Robert; and he demanded the aid of the
church in regaining for that brave champion
of the Cross the Duchy of Normandy,
which was his by hereditary right. The