It seems as though, if he could only have regained his liberty, Stephen himself and his partisans would have been willing now to retire from the contest. The Earls of Leicester and Mellent, hitherto staunch supporters of the King, together with his old friend Hugh, the Bishop of Rouen, went so far as to offer the crown to Stephen’s brother Theobald. But that prince declined to receive it, and even advised them to transfer their offer to Geoffrey of Anjou, on the sole condition that Stephen should be liberated. Taking advantage of such an opportunity as this, while supported by the friendship of Henry of Winchester and the Londoners, Matilda might have made her throne secure, but she at once took steps which alienated both. To Henry of Winchester, who must naturally have felt the ties of relationship towards his brother, she refused the natural request that Stephen’s son Eustace might be placed in possession of his father’s foreign fiefs. From the Londoners she demanded a heavy tallage, in spite of their complaints that they had been already stripped by taxations. King Stephen’s Queen, to whom many of the fugitives from Lincoln had betaken themselves, made use of the discontent thus excited to advance against London. The inhabitants rose, and the Empress barely escaped with a few followers to Oxford. The insurgents demanded the liberation of Stephen. In this demand the Bishop of Winchester now joined, and the Empress besieged him in his castle outside the town of Winchester. But her besieging army was soon itself besieged, its communications and means of subsistence cut off, and she found herself obliged to retire. The Earl of Gloucester therefore despatched her before him to Devizes, while he himself covered her retreat. But he was hotly pursued and taken prisoner. This neutralized all his previous successes. After some negotiations the great prisoners were exchanged, and the state of parties fell back very much to its position before the battle of Lincoln. [Sidenote: Renewal of the old anarchy. 1146.] [Sidenote: Appearance of Prince Henry.] [Sidenote: Death of Robert of Gloucester. 1148.]