in pontifical robes, and bearing in his hand the archiepiscopal cross.
As he entered, the King with the barons retired into a neighboring
apartment, and was soon after followed by the bishops. The Primate,
left alone with his clerks in the spacious hall, seated himself on a
bench, and with calm and intrepid dignity awaited their decision. The
courtiers, to please the prince, strove to distinguish themselves by
the intemperance of their language. Henry, in the vehemence of his
passion, inveighed, one while against the insolence of Becket, at
another against the pusillanimity and ingratitude of his favorites;
till even the most active of the prelates who had raised the storm
began to view with horror the probable consequences. Roger of York
contrived to retire; and as he passed through the hall, bade his
clerks follow him, that they might not witness the effusion of blood.
Next came the Bishop of Exeter, who threw himself at the feet of the
Primate, and conjured him to have pity on himself and the episcopal
order; for the King had threatened with death the first man who should
speak in his favor. "Flee, then," he replied; "thou canst not
understand the things that are of God." Soon afterward appeared the
rest of the bishops. Hilary of Chichester spoke in their name. "You
were," he said, "our primate; but by opposing the royal customs, you
have broken your oath of fealty to the King. A perjured archbishop has
no right to our obedience. From you, then, we appeal to the Pope, and
summon you to answer us before him." "I hear," was his only reply.

The bishops seated themselves along the opposite side of the hall, and
a solemn silence ensued. At length the door opened and the Earl of
Leicester at the head of the barons bade him hear his sentence. "My
sentence," interrupted the Archbishop; "son and earl, hear me first.
You know with what fidelity I served the King, how reluctantly, to
please him, I accepted my present office, and in what manner I was