fect. Crucifixes, altars, and even horfes, were heard to harrangue in their defence against the fecular clergy. These miracles, backed by their ftronger affertions, prevailed with the people. Dunftan was confidered as the peculiar favourite of the Almighty, and appeared at court with an authority greater than that of kings; fince their's was conferred by man, but his allowed by heaven itself. Being poffeffed of fo much power, it may be eafily fuppofed, that Edwy could make but a feeble refiftance; and, that his first fault was likely to be attended with the most dangerous confequences. The monk found or made one on the very day of his coronation. There was a lady of the royal blood, named Elgiva, whose beauty had made a strong impreffion on this young monarch's heart. He had even ventured to marry her, contrary to the advice of his counsellors, as fhe was within the degrees of affinity prohibited by the canon law. On the day of his coronation, while his nobility were giving a loófe to the more noisy pleafures of wine and feftivity in the great hall, Edwy retired to his wife's apartment; where, in company with her mother, he enjoyed the more pleafing fatisfaction of her converfation, Dunftan no fooner perceived his abfence, than conjecturing the reafon, he rushed furiously

into the apartment, and upbraiding him with all the bitterness of ecclefiaftical rancour, dragged him forth in the most outrageous manner. Dunftan, it seems, was not without his enemies, for the king was advised to punish this infult, by bringing in him to account for the money with which he had been entrusted during the laft reign. This account, the haughty monk refused to give in; wherefore, he was deprived of all the ecclefiaftical and civil emoluments of which he had been in poffeffion, and banished the kingdom. His exile only ferved to encrease the reputation of his fanctity among the people; and Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, was fo far tranfported with the fpirit of the party, that he pronounced a divorce between Edwy and Elgiva. Ecclefiaftical cenfures were then attended with the moft formidable effects. The king could no longer refift the indignation of the church, but confented to furrender his beautiful wife to its fury. Accordingly, Odo fent into the palace a party of foldiers, who feized the queen; and, by his orders, branded her on the face with an hot iron. Not contented with this cruel vengeance, they carried her by force into Ireland, and there commanded her to remain in perpetual exile. This injunction, however, was too diftreffing for that

faithful

faithful woman to comply with; for, being cured of her wound, and having obliterated the marks which had been made to deface her beauty, the once more ventured to return to the king, whom she still regarded as her hufband. But misfortune ftill continued to purfue her. She was taken prisoner by a party whom the archbishop had appointed to obferve her conduct, and was put to death in the most cruel manner; the finews of her legs cut, and her body mangled, fhe was thus left to expire in the most cruel agony. In the mean time, a fecret revolt against Edwy became almost general; and that it might not be doubted at whofe inftigation this revolt was undertaken, Dunstan returned to England, and put himself at the head of the party. The malecontents at last proceeded to open rebellion; and, having placed Edgar, the king's younger brother, a boy of about thirteen years of age, at their head, they foon put him in poffeffion of all the northern parts of the kingdom. Edwy's power, and the number of his adherents every day declining, he was at last obliged to confent to a partition of the kingdom; but his death, which happened foon after, freed his enemies from all further inquietude, and gave Edgar peaceable poffeffion of the government.

Edgar

Edgar being placed on the throne by the A. D. 959. influence of the monks, affected to be entirely guided by their directions in all his fucceeding transactions. There has ever been some popular cry, fome darling prejudice amongst the English; and he, who has taken the advantage of it, has always found it of excellent affiftance to his government. The fanctity of the monks was the cry at that time; and Edgar, chiming in with the people, at once promoted their happiness, and his own glory. Few English monarchs have reigned with more fortune, or more splendor than he. He not only quieted all domeftic infurrections, but repreffed all foreign invafions; and his power was fo well established, and fo widely extended, that he is faid to have been rowed in his barge by eight tributary kings upon the river Dee. The monks, whom he promoted, are loud in his praise; and yet, the example of his continence was no way correfponding with that chastity and forbearance on which they chiefly founded their fuperior pretenfions to fanctity. It is indeed fomewhat extraordinary, that one should have been extolled for his virtues by the monks, whofe irregularities were so peculiarly oppofite to the tenets they enforced. His first tranfgreffion of this kind was, the breaking in

to

to a convent, carrying off Editha, a nun, by force, and even committing violence on her perfon. For this act of facrilege and barbarity, no other penance was enjoined, than that he should abstain from wearing his crown for seven years. As for the lady herself, he was permitted to continue his intercourfe with her without fcandal. There was another mistress of Edgar's, named Elfleda the Fair, with whom he formed a connection, by a kind of accident. For being at the house of one of his nobles, and fixing his affections on the nobleman's daughter, he privately requested that the young lady fhould pafs that very night with him. The lady's mother knowing his power, and the impetuofity of his temper, prevailed upon her daughter feemingly to comply with his requeft; but, in the mean time, fubftituted a beautiful domeftic in the young lady's place. In the morning, when the king perceived the deceit, instead of being displeased at the ftratagem, he expreffed pleasure in the adventure; and transferring his love to Elfleda, as the damfel was called, fhe became his favourite mistress, and maintained an afcendency over him till his marriage with Elfrida. The ftory of this lady is too remarkable to be past over in filence.

Edgar had long heard of the beauty of a young lady, whofe name was Elfrida, daughter