Stephen now had less difficulty in agreeing to terms which would be acceptable to Henry. The king had, indeed, one son remaining, but he was too young to be aware of how much his interests were concerned in the arrangements about to be made. The council of the kingdom was held at Winchester, November 7th, 1153, and it was finally determined that Stephen should retain the throne during his life, and that after his death the succession should devolve upon Henry and his heirs. This treaty was sworn to by the clergy, nobles, and knights of both parties, and is described by different writers in different points of view. It is worthy of remark that we find the various boroughs regarded in connection with this treaty as of some importance, and that they were called upon to take the oaths of allegiance in the same manner as the barons. The officers of the most important of the royal castles gave hostages to Henry for the surrender of those strongholds to him when the king's death should take place. The treaty having been concluded, Henry and Stephen made a progress together through the country, visiting the cities of London, Winchester, and Oxford. Everywhere they were received with unfeigned joy by the people, who, whatever might have been their sentiments with respect to either prince, welcomed the chance which placed them side by side with sheathed swords. Henry proceeded to the Continent at the time of Lent, 1154, and in the month of October in the same year Stephen died at Dover, in the fiftieth year of his age, and the nineteenth of his reign. He was buried at the monastery of Faversham, in Kent, and his tomb was afterwards destroyed when the monasteries were suppressed by the command of Henry VIII. CHAPTER XVII. THE REIGN OF HENRY II. Accession of Henry Plantagenet--Royal Entry into Winchester--Expulsion of the Flemings--Henry's Dealings with the Baron--Siege of Bridgenorth Castle--The King's Quarrel with Geoffrey--Henry's Magnificence--War with, and Submission of, the Welsh--The King in Brittany--Alarm of the King of France at Henry's Schemes of Aggrandisement--Henry's Designs on Toulouse--Origin of _Scutage_--Peace with Louis--The People of Languedoc--Louis' Third Marriage--Fresh Rupture between the Two Kings--Marriage of Henry's Son and Louis' Daughter--The Two Popes--Renewed Reconciliation.