The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3) by G. A. Henty (e book reading free TXT) 📕

Countrymen,  While He With His Forces Laid Siege To Exeter.

Edmund Would Have Taken His Own Vessel,  But Some Time

Would Have Been Lost,  And The King's Ships Were Short Of Hands.

He Was Not Sorry,  Indeed,  That His Men Should Have Some

Practise At Sea,  And Taking His Own Band,  In Which The Vacancies

Which Had Been Caused In The Defence Of The Fort Had

Been Filled Up,  He Proceeded To Poole. Here He Embarked

His Men In One Of The Ships,  And The Fleet,  Comprising Twenty

Vessels,  Put To Sea.

The Management Of The Vessels And Their Sails Was In

The Hands Of Experienced Sailors,  And Edmund's Men Had No

Duties To Perform Except To Fight The Enemy When They Met

Them.

The News Of The Siege Of Exeter Reached The Danes At

Wareham,  Which Was Their Head-Quarters,  And 120 Vessels

Filled With Their Troops Sailed For The Relief Of Exeter.

The Weather Was Unpropitious,  Heavy Fogs Lay On The

Water,  Dissipated Occasionally By Fierce Outbursts Of Wind. The

Saxon Fleet Kept The Sea. It Was Well That For A Time The Danish

Fleet Did Not Appear In Sight,  For The Saxons,  Save The

Sailors,  Were Unaccustomed To The Water,  And Many Suffered

Greatly From The Rough Motion; And Had The Danes Appeared

For The First Week After The Fleet Put To Sea A Combat Must

Have Been Avoided,  As The Troops Were In No Condition To

Fight.

Presently,  However,  They Recovered From Their Malady

And Became Eager To Meet The Enemy; Edmund Bade His Men

Take Part In The Working Of The Ship In Order To Accustom

Themselves To The Duties Of Seamen. The Fleet Did Not Keep

The Sea All The Time,  Returning Often To The Straits Between

The Isle Of Wight And The Mainland,  Where They Lay In Shelter,

A Look-Out Being Kept From The Top Of The Hills,  Whence A Wide

Sweep Of Sea Could Be Seen,  And Where Piles Of Wood Were

Collected By Which A Signal Fire Could Warn The Fleet To Put To

Sea Should The Enemy's Vessels Come In Sight.

A Full Month Passed And The Saxons Began To Fear That

The Danes Might Have Eluded Them,  Having Perhaps Been

Blown Out To Sea And Having Made The Land Again Far To The

West. One Morning,  However,  Smoke Was Seen To Rise From

The Beacon Fire. The Crews Who Were On Shore Instantly Hurried

On Board. From The Hills The Danish Fleet Was Made Out

Far To The West And Was Seen To Be Approaching The Land From

Seaward,  Having Been Driven Far Out Of Its Course By The Winds.

The Weather Was Wild And Threatening And The Sailors

Predicted A Great Storm. Nevertheless The Fleet Put To Sea

And With Reefed Sails Ran To The West. Their Vessels Were Larger

Than The Danish Galleys And Could Better Keep The Sea In A

Storm. Many Miles Were Passed Before,  From The Decks,  The

Danish Flotilla Could Be Seen. Presently,  However,  A Great

Number Of Their Galleys Were Discerned Rowing In Towards

Swanage Bay.

In Spite Of The Increasing Fury Of The Wind The Saxons

Spread More Sail And Succeeded In Intercepting The Danes. A

Desperate Fight Began,  But The Danes In Their Low,  Long

Vessels Had All They Could Do To Keep Afloat On The Waves.

Many Were Run Down By The Saxons. The Showers Of Arrows From

Their Lofty Poops Confused The Rowers And Slew Many. Sweeping

Along Close To Them They Often Broke Off The Oars And

Disabled Them. Sometimes Two Or Three Of The Danish Galleys

Would Try To Close With A Saxon Ship,  But The Sea Was Too

Rough For The Boats To Remain Alongside While The Men Tried

To Climb Up The High Sides,  And The Saxons With Their Spears

Thrust Down Those Who Strove To Do So. Confusion And Terror

Soon Reigned Among The Danes,  And Fearing To Try To Escape

By Sea In Such A Storm Made For The Shore,  Hotly Pursued

By The Saxons.

But The Shore Was Even More Inhospitable Than Their

Foes. Great Rocks Bordered The Coast,  And Upon These The

Galleys Were Dashed Into Fragments. The People On Shore,

Who Had Gathered At The Sight Of The Approaching Fleets,  Fell

Upon Such Of The Danes As Succeeded In Gaining The Coast,

And Everyone Who Landed Was Instantly Slain. Thus,  Partly

From The Effects Of The Saxon Fleet But Still More From That Of

The Storm,  The Whole Of The Danish Fleet Of One Hundred And

Twenty Vessels Was Destroyed,  Not A Single Ship Escaping The

General Destruction.

The Danes At Exeter,  Being Now Cut Off From All Hope

Of Relief,  Asked For Terms,  And The King Granted Them

Their Lives On Condition Of Their Promising To Leave

Wessex And Not To Return. This Promise They Swore By Their

Most Solemn Oaths To Observe,  And Marching Northward

Passed Out Of Wessex And Settled Near Gloucester. Some Of

The Saxons Thought That The King Had Been Wrong In Granting

Such Easy Terms,  But He Pointed Out To The Ealdormen

Who Remonstrated With Him That There Were Many Other And

Larger Bands Of Danes In Mercia And Anglia,  And That Had He

Massacred The Band At Exeter--And This He Could Not Have

Done Without The Loss Of Many Men,  As Assuredly The Danes

Would Have Fought Desperately For Their Lives--The News Of

Their Slaughter Would Have Brought Upon Him Fresh Invasions

From All Sides.

By This Time All Resistance To The Danes In Mercia Had

Ceased. Again And Again King Burhred Had Bought Them

Off,  But This Only Brought Fresh Hordes Down Upon Him,  And

At Last,  Finding The Struggle Hopeless,  He Had Gone As A

Pilgrim To Rome,  Where He Had Died. The Danes Acted In Mercia

As They Had Done In Northumbria. They Did Not Care,  Themselves,

To Settle Down For Any Length Of Time,  And Therefore

Appointed A Weak Saxon Thane,  Ceolwulf,  As The King Of Mercia.

He Ruled Cruelly And Extorted Large Revenues From The

Land-Owners,  And Robbed The Monasteries,  Which Had Escaped

Destruction,  Of Their Treasures.

The Danes Suffered Him To Pursue This Course Until He

Had Amassed Great Wealth,  When They Swooped Down Upon

Him,  Robbed Him Of All He Possessed,  And Took Away The Nominal

Kingship He Had Held. As There Was Now But Little Fresh

Scope For Plundering In England Many Of The Danes Both In

Anglia And Mercia Settled Down In The Cities And On The Lands

Which They Had Taken From The Saxons.

The Danes Who Had Gone From Exeter Were Now Joined

By Another Band Which Had Landed In South Wales. The Latter,

Finding But Small Plunder Was To Be Obtained Among The

Mountains Of That Country,  Moved To Gloucester,  And Joining

The Band There Proposed A Fresh Invasion Of Wessex. The

Danes,  In Spite Of The Oaths They Had Sworn To Alfred,  And

The Hostages They Had Left In His Hands,  Agreed To The Proposal;

And Early In The Spring Of 878 The Bands,  Swollen By

Reinforcements From Mercia,  Marched Into Wiltshire And Captured

The Royal Castle Of Chippenham On The Avon. From This Point

They Spread Over The Country And Destroyed Everything

With Fire And Sword. A General Panic Seized The Inhabitants.

The Better Class,  With The Bishops,  Priests,  And Monks,

Made For The Sea-Coasts And Thence Crossed To France,  Taking

With Them All Their Portable Goods,  With The Relics,  Precious

Stones,  And Ornaments Of The Churches And Monasteries.

Another Party Of Danes In Twenty-Three Ships Had Landed

In Devonshire. Here The Ealdorman Adda Had Constructed A

Castle Similar To That Which Edmund Had Built. It Was Fortified

By Nature On Three Sides And Had A Strong Rampart Of

Earth On Another. The Danes Tried To Starve Out The Defenders

Of The Fort; But The Saxons Held Out For A Long Time,  Although

Sorely Pressed By Want Of Water. At Last They Sallied

Out One Morning At Daybreak And Fell Upon The Danes And

Utterly Defeated Them,  Only A Few Stragglers Regaining Their

Ships.

A Thousand Danes Are Said To Have Been Slain At Kynwith;

But This Was An Isolated Success; In All Other Parts Of The

Kingdom Panic Appeared To Have Taken Possession Of The West

Saxons. Those Who Could Not Leave The Country Retired To

The Woods,  And Thence,  When The Danes Had Passed By,  Leaving

Ruin And Desolation Behind Them,  They Sallied Out And

Again Began To Till The Ground As Best They Could. Thus For A

Time The West Saxons,  Formerly So Valiant And Determined,

Sank To The Condition Of Serfs; For When All Resistance Ceased

The Danes Were Well Pleased To See The Ground Tilled,  As

Otherwise They Would Speedily Have Run Short Of Stores.

At The Commencement Of The Invasion Edmund Had

Marched Out With His Band And Had Inflicted Heavy Blows

Upon Parties Of Plunderers; But He Soon Perceived That The

Struggle Was