"
Robert de Whalley, the incumbent before named, was not a whit behind his
progenitors in that laudable exercise of worldly wisdom and forethought,
as it regarded matters of a temporal and transitory nature. His bearing
was proud, and his aspect keen; his form was muscular, and more fitted
for some hardy and rigorous exercise than for the generally self-denying
and peaceful offices of the Catholic Church. In his youth he had the
reputation of being much disposed to gallantry; and the same proneness
to intrigue was yet manifest, though employed in pursuits of a less
transitory nature. His disappointment was, in consequence, greatly
augmented when these long-coveted possessions were given to another, and
his ambitious dreams dissipated. Yet was he not without hope that the
succession of the Fitz-Eustace family might be frustrated. The leper
would of necessity be passed over, and, Roger being either dead or in
captivity, the revenues and usurpation of this distant and almost
inaccessible territory might still be enjoyed without molestation or
inquiry. Such were the meditations of this plotting ecclesiastic, as he
knelt before the altar in that solemn hour, in the chapel of "_St
Michael in Castro_.
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