the winter marches which put William into full possession of
England. The lands beyond Tees still held out; in January 1070 he
set forth to subdue them. The Earls Waltheof and Gospatric made
their submission, Waltheof in person, Gospatric by proxy. William
restored both of them to their earldoms, and received Waltheof to
his highest favour, giving him his niece Judith in marriage. But
he systematically wasted the land, as he had wasted Yorkshire. He
then returned to York, and thence set forth to subdue the last city
and shire that held out. A fearful march led him to the one
remaining fragment of free England, the unconquered land of
Chester. We know not how Chester fell; but the land was not won
without fighting, and a frightful harrying was the punishment. In
all this we see a distinct stage of moral downfall in the character
of the Conqueror. Yet it is thoroughly characteristic. All is
calm, deliberate, politic. William will have no more revolts, and
he will at any cost make the land incapable of revolt. Yet, as
ever, there is no blood shed save in battle. If men died of
hunger, that was not William's doing; nay, charitable people like
Abbot AEthelwig of Evesham might do what they could to help the
sufferers. But the lawful king, kept so long out of his kingdom,
would, at whatever price, be king over the whole land. And the
great harrying of the northern shires was the price paid for
William's kingship over them.

At Chester the work was ended which had begun at Pevensey. Less
than three years and a half, with intervals of peace, had made the
Norman invader king over all England. He had won the kingdom; he
had now to keep it. He had for seventeen years to deal with
revolts on both sides of the sea, with revolts both of Englishmen
and of his own followers. But in England his power was never