England suffered great miseries during the reign of this prince: but his personal character, allowing for the temerity and injustice of his usurpation, appears not liable to any great exception; and he seems to have been well qualified, had he succeeded by a just title, to have promoted the happiness and prosperity of his subjects [n]. He was possessed of industry, activity, and courage, to a great degree; though not endowed with a sound judgment, he was not deficient in abilities; he had the talent of gaining men's affections; and notwithstanding his precarious situation, he never indulged himself in the exercise of any cruelty or revenge [o]. His advancement to the throne procured him neither tranquillity nor happiness; and though the situation of England prevented the neighbouring states from taking any durable advantage of her confusions, her intestine disorders were to the last degree ruinous and destructive. The court of Rome was also permitted, during those civil wars, to make farther advances in her usurpations; and appeals to the pope, which had always been strictly prohibited by the English laws, became now common in every ecclesiastical controversy [p]. [FN [n] W. Malm. p. 180. [o] M. Paris, p. 51. Hagul. p. 312. [p] H. Hunt. p. 395.] CHAPTER VIII. HENRY II. STATE OF EUROPE--OF FRANCE.--FIRST ACTS OF HENRY'S GOVERNMENT-- DISPUTES BETWEEN THE CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL POWERS.—THOMAS À BECKET, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.--QUARREL BETWEEN THE KING AND BECKET.-- CONSTITUTIONS OF CLARENDON.--BANISHMENT OF BECKET.--COMPROMISE WITH HIM.--HIS RETURN FROM BANISHMENT.--HIS MURDER--GRIEF AND SUBMISSION OF THE KING.