For the time, indeed, Stephen's cause seemed lost. He was in a dungeon
strongly guarded by his adversaries. His partisans went over in crowds
to the opposite side,--his own brother, Henry, Bishop of Winchester,
with them. The English peasants, embittered by oppression, rose against
the beaten army, and took partial revenge for their wrongs by plundering
and maltreating the defeated and dispersed soldiers in their flight.
Maud made her way to Winchester, her progress being one of royal
ostentation. Her entry to the town was like a Roman triumph. She was
received with all honor, was voted queen in a great convocation of
nobles, prelates, and knights, and seized the royal regalia and the
treasures of her vanquished foe. All would have gone well with her had
not good fortune turned her brain. Pride and a haughty spirit led to her
hasty downfall.
She grew arrogant and disdainful. Those who had made her queen found
their requests met with refusal, their advice rejected with scorn. Those
of the opposite party who had joined her were harshly treated. Her most
devoted friends and adherents soon grew weak in their loyalty, and many
withdrew from the court, with the feeling that they had been fools to
support this haughty woman against the generous-hearted soldier who lay
in Bristol dungeon.
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