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

Of The Kingdoms. But Even In The Handsome And Well-Built

Monasteries,  With Their Stately Services And Handsome Vestments,

Learning Was At The Lowest Ebb--So Low,  Indeed,  That

When Prince Alfred Desired To Learn Latin He Could Find No

One In His Father's Dominions Capable Of Teaching Him,  And

His Studies Were For A Long Time Hindered For Want Of An

Instructor,  And At The Time He Ascended The Throne He Was

Probably The Only Englishman Outside A Monastery Who Was Able

To Read And Write Fluently.

"Tell Me,  Father," Edmund Said After The Meal Was Concluded,

"About The West Saxons,  Since It Is To Them,  As It Seems,

That We Must Look For The Protection Of England Against The

Danes. This Prince Alfred,  Of Whom I Before Heard You Speak

In Terms Of High Praise,  Is The Brother,  Is He Not,  Of The King?

In That Case How Is It That He Does Not Reign In Kent,  Which I

Thought,  Though Joined To The West Saxon Kingdom,  Was Always

Ruled Over By The Eldest Son Of The King."

"Such Has Been The Rule,  Edmund; But Seeing The

Troubled Times When Ethelbert Came To The Throne,  It Was

Thought Better To Unite The Two Kingdoms Under One Crown

With The Understanding That At Ethelbert's Death Alfred Should

Succeed Him. Their Father,  Ethelwulf,  Was A Weak King,  And

Should Have Been Born A Churchman Rather Than A Prince.

He Nominally Reigned Over Wessex,  Kent,  And Mercia,  But

The Last Paid Him But A Slight Allegiance. Alfred Was His

Favourite Son,  And He Sent Him,  When Quite A Child,  To Rome

For A Visit. In 855 He Himself,  With A Magnificent Retinue,  And

Accompanied By Alfred,  Visited Rome,  Travelling Through The

Land Of The Franks,  And It Was There,  Doubtless,  That Alfred

Acquired That Love Of Learning,  And Many Of Those Ideas,  Far

In Advance Of His People,  Which Distinguish Him. His Mother,

Osburgha,  Died Before He And His Father Started On The

Pilgrimage. The King Was Received With Much Honour By The

Pope,  To Whom He Presented A Gold Crown Of Four Pounds

Weight,  Ten Dishes Of The Purest Gold,  A Sword Richly Set In

Gold,  Two Gold Images,  Some Silver-Gilt Urns,  Stoles Bordered

With Gold And Purple,  White Silken Robes Embroidered With

Figures,  And Other Costly Articles Of Clothing For The

Celebration Of The Service Of The Church,  Together With Rich

Presents In Gold And Silver To The Churches,  Bishops,  Clergy,

And Other Dwellers In Rome. They Say That The People Of Rome

Marvelled Much At These Magnificent Gifts From A King Of A

Country Which They Had Considered As Barbarous. On His Way

Back He Married Judith,  Daughter Of The King Of The Franks;

A Foolish Marriage,  For The King Was Far Advanced In Years

And Judith Was But A Girl.

"Ethelbald,  Ethelwulf's Eldest Son,  Had Acted As Regent

In His Father's Absence,  And So Angered Was He At This Marriage

That He Raised His Standard Of Revolt Against His Father.

At Her Marriage Judith Had Been Crowned Queen,  And This

Was Contrary To The Customs Of The West Saxons,  Therefore

Ethelbald Was Supported By The People Of That Country; On

His Father's Return To England,  However,  Father And Son Met,

And A Division Of The Kingdom Was Agreed Upon.

"Ethelbald Received Wessex,  The Principal Part Of The

Kingdom,  And Ethelwulf Took Kent,  Which He Had Already

Ruled Over In The Time Of His Father Egbert. Ethelwulf Died A

Few Months Afterwards,  Leaving Kent To Ethelbert,  His Second

Surviving Son. The Following Year,  To The Horror And

Indignation Of The People Of The Country,  Ethelbald Married His

Stepmother Judith,  But Two Years Afterwards Died,  And

Ethelbert,  King Of Kent,  Again United Wessex To His Own

Dominions,  Which Consisted Of Kent,  Surrey,  And Sussex.

Ethelbert Reigned But A Short Time,  And At His Death Ethelred,

His Next Brother,  Ascended The Throne. Last Year Alfred,  The

Youngest Brother,  Married Elswitha,  The Daughter Of Ethelred

Mucil,  Earl Of The Gaini,  In Lincolnshire,  Whose Mother Was

One Of The Royal Family Of Mercia.

"It Was But A Short Time After The Marriage That The Danes

Poured Into Mercia From The North. Messengers Were Sent To

Ask The Assistance Of The West Saxons. These At Once Obeyed

The Summons,  And,  Joining The Mercians,  Marched Against

The Danes,  Who Shut Themselves Up In The Strong City Of

Nottingham,  And Were There For Some Time Besieged. The

Place Was Strong,  The Winter At Hand,  And The Time Of The

Soldiers' Service Nearly Expired. A Treaty Was Accordingly

Made By Which The Danes Were Allowed To Depart Unharmed

To The North Side Of The Humber,  And The West Saxons Returned

To Their Kingdom.

"Such Is The Situation At Present,  But We May Be Sure

That The Danes Will Not Long Remain Quiet,  But Will Soon Gather

For Another Invasion; Ere Long,  Too,  We May Expect Another Of

Their Great Fleets To Arrive Somewhere Off These Coasts,  And

Every Saxon Who Can Bear Arms Had Need Take The Field To

Fight For Our Country And Faith Against These Heathen Invaders.

Hitherto,  Edmund,  As You Know,  I Have Deeply Mourned

The Death Of Your Mother,  And Of Your Sisters Who Died In

Infancy; But Now I Feel That It Is For The Best,  For A Terrible

Time Is Before Us. We Men Can Take Refuge In Swamp And

Forest,  But It Would Have Been Hard For Delicate Women; And

Those Men Are Best Off Who Stand Alone And Are Able To Give

Every Thought And Energy To The Defence Of Their Country.

'Tis Well That You Are Now Approaching An Age When The Saxon

Youth Are Wont To Take Their Place In The Ranks Of Battle.

I Have Spared No Pains With Your Training In Arms,  And Though

Assuredly You Lack Strength Yet To Cope In Hand-To-Hand Conflict

With These Fierce Danes,  You May Yet Take Your Part In

Battle,  With Me On One Side Of You And Egbert On The Other.

I Have Thought Over Many Things Of Late,  And It Seems To Me

That We Saxons Have Done Harm In Holding The People Of This

Country As Serfs."

"Why,  Father," Edmund Exclaimed In Astonishment,

"Surely You Would Not Have All Men Free And Equal."

"The Idea Seems Strange To You,  No Doubt,  Edmund,  And

It Appears Only Natural That Some Men Should Be Born To Rule

And Others To Labour,  But This Might Be So Even Without Serfdom,

Since,  As You Know,  The Poorer Freemen Labour Just As

Do The Serfs,  Only They Receive A Somewhat Larger Guerdon

For Their Toil; But Had The Two Races Mixed More Closely

Together,  Had Serfdom Been Abolished And All Men Been Free

And Capable Of Bearing Arms,  We Should Have Been Able To

Show A Far Better Front To The Danes,  Seeing That The Serfs Are

As Three To One To The Freemen."

"But The Serfs Are Cowardly And Spiritless," Edmund Said;

"They Are Not Of A Fighting Race,  And Fell Almost Without

Resistance Before Our Ancestors When They Landed Here."

"Their Race Is No Doubt Inferior To Our Own,  Edmund,"

His Father Said,  "Seeing That They Are Neither So Tall Nor So

Strong As We Saxons,  But Of Old They Were Not Deficient In

Bravery,  For They Fought As Stoutly Against The Romans As Did

Our Own Hardy Ancestors. After Having Been For Hundreds Of

Years Subject To The Roman Yoke,  And Having No Occasion To

Use Arms,  They Lost Their Manly Virtues,  And When The Romans

Left Them Were An Easy Prey For The First Comer. Our

Fathers Could Not Foresee That The Time Would Come When

They Too In Turn Would Be Invaded. Had They Done So,

Methinks They Would Not Have Set Up So Broad A Line Of

Separation Between Themselves And The Britons,  But Would Have

Admitted The Latter To The Rights Of Citizenship,  In Which Case

Intermarriage Would Have Taken Place Freely,  And The Whole

People Would Have Become Amalgamated. The Britons,  Accustomed

To Our Free Institutions,  And Taking Part In The Wars

Between The Various Saxon Kingdoms,  Would Have Recovered

Their Warlike Virtues,  And It Would Be As One People That We

Should Resist The Danes. As It Is,  The Serfs,  Who Form By Far

The Largest Part Of The Population,  Are Apathetic And Cowardly;

They View The Struggle With Indifference,  For What Signifies

To Them Whether Dane Or Saxon Conquer; They Have No

Interest In The Struggle,  Nothing To Lose Or To Gain,

It Is But A Change Of Masters."

Edmund Was Silent.  The Very Possibility Of A State Of

Things In Which There Should Be No Serfs,  And When All Men

Should Be Free And Equal,  Had Never Occurred To Him; But He

Had A Deep Respect For His Father,  Who Bore Indeed The

Reputation Of Being One Of The Wisest And Most Clear-Headed Of

The Nobles Of East Anglia,  And It Seemed To Him That This

Strange And Novel Doctrine Contained Much Truth In It. Still

The Idea Was As Strange To Him As It Would Have Been To The

Son Of A Southern Planter In America Half A Century Ago. The

Existence Of Slaves Seemed As Much A Matter Of Course As That

Of Horses Or Dogs,  And Although He Had Been Accustomed To

See From Time To Time Freedom Bestowed Upon Some Favourite

Serf As A Special Reward For Services,  The Thought Of A General

Liberation Of The Slaves Was Strange And Almost Bewildering,

And He Lay Awake Puzzling Over The Problem Long After His

Father And Kinsman Had Fallen Asleep.

The Following Morning Early The Little Party Started.

The Great Chest Was Dug Up From Its