manage the king as he liked. He had married a daughter of Canute the Great, and had a son named Harold, as ambitious as himself, who had set his heart on succeeding to the crown. Edward, seeing this, sent for Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironsides, who had been educated in Hungary. He died very soon after his arrival in England, leaving an only son, named Edgar Atheling, who was the rightful heir when Edward died in 1066. But Harold found means to set aside Edgar Atheling, and ascended the throne himself. He governed well and prudently, and defeated an army of the Norwegians who invaded the north of England. Scarcely, however, had he done this, when he was attacked by a new enemy in William, duke of Normandy, who, under pretence that Edward the Confessor had bequeathed the kingdom to him, brought over an army of 60,000 men to support his claim.

Harold met him immediately with a large force, and a great battle was fought between them at Hastings, in Sussex, on the 14th of October, 1066. At first, the Saxons appeared to have the advantage; but Harold was slain by an arrow, which pierced his brain, and his two brothers fell by his side. There were great numbers killed on both sides, and at length

the English were defeated, and fled in every direction. Some few of the nobles met to place Edgar Atheling, if possible, upon the throne, but William was too quick for them, and caused himself to be crowned at Westminster, on Christmas-day, 1066.

Thus ended the rule of the Saxons in England, after it had lasted six hundred years. On the whole, their government had been of great benefit to the country. They had established useful laws, and religion and learning had made considerable progress. But much superstition had mingled with religion during the last two or three centuries; and it is said that William found the country so easy of conquest, because at least a third part of the land was in possession of the monasteries, nunneries, and clergy.

I may here mention one or two circumstances omitted in their proper place. The ambitious earl Godwin was the owner of some estates on the coast of Kent, which have since been covered by the sea, and now form the Goodwin Sands, so dangerous to our shipping. He died suddenly one day at dinner with the king, Edward the Confessor. This king was the first who called his nobles, barons; before this they were called thanes. He was also the founder of Westminster Abbey, where the kings and queens

of England have ever since been crowned. I might have told you too, that Canute the Great was something of a poet; and there is still preserved a part of a poem of his, composed when rowing past Ely Cathedral one day, and hearing the monks chant the service. His name is often spelt Knute.

Cheerful sang the monks of Ely,

As Knute the king was passing by;

"Row to the shore, knights," said the king.
And let us hear these churchmen sing.

Strangely enough, these rough rhymes were afterwards sung in the churches as a hymn.*

"Sing ye

praises with understanding," could not have been a rule with the clergy of those days.

*Mrs. Markham.

CHAPTER V.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR-FROM 1066 To 1087.

ALTHOUGH William had conquered the English, they by no means desired to have him as their king, preferring one of their own race, and speaking the same language as themselves. They frequently rebelled against their conqueror, and tried to place Edgar Atheling, the Saxon heir, on the throne. This provoked William, who was a cruel and bad-tempered man, and he punished these poor people with the utmost harshness. In one instance, he laid waste the whole of the county of Northumberland, and caused the inhabitants to be turned out of their homes; so that not less than a hundred thousand of these unhappy persons perished, either by the sword or by famine. At that time, it was commonly believed that by doing some good or charitable action, people might make amends for any wickedness they had committed : and I suppose William's conscience reproached him with his shocking cruelty; for he strove to give it peace by building an abbey near Hastings, the place

where he had defeated Harold. It was called Battle Abbey, and is, I believe, partly remaining to this day. This was a very mistaken idea of his, as even little children now know that there is nothing which can cleanse the soul from sin, but the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; which all may obtain by "coming boldly to the throne of grace" through faith in His name. But at that time very few people had learned to read, and the Bible was in the hands of the priests alone, and many errors were taught and believed.

Edward the Confessor had brought to England a number of Norman churchmen; and at that time this country abounded with what were called alien priories, that is, monasteries subject to foreign countries. Thus, some were governed by Norman priests, and only subject to the dukedom of Normandy; while others belonged to the Pope. It is easy to see that this strange arrangement gave William very great advantages, for many of these priories being not only ruled by Norman priors, but filled with monks from the same country, were very ready to give him welcome, and acknowledge his authority. But it was extremely injurious to the Anglo-Saxon clergy, who were deprived of their livings in order to make way