be set on fire. The inhabitants had retired to the adjacent island of Bevereye, and defended themselves so energetically, that the king was at length constrained to pardon them, and allow them to resume possession of their ruined dwellings.

This event showed that the spirit of independence was not entirely extinguished in the Anglo-Saxons. The oppression under which they groaned was hard to bear, and often awoke in them a recollection of their ancient liberty. Treated as a vanquished nation, they longed earnestly for an opportunity of shaking off the yoke of their oppressors; and on the death of the king, which took place before he had completed the second year of his reign, they hoped that the time had at last arrived for their emancipation. Hardicanute, the last of the Danish monarchs, having attended the marriage-feast of one of his nobles at Lambeth, fell down suddenly, as he was raisA.D. ing the wine-cup to his lips, and expired soon after he 1042. was carried to an inner chamber.

6. EDWARD THE Confessor. The son of Ethelred succeeded his half-brother, Hardicanute, almost without opposition, and received the crown from the hands of Archbishop Edsy, in the cathedral of Winchester. He rewarded the services of Earl Godwin on this occasion, by raising his sons to the highest dignities, and by marrying his daughter Edith, according to a promise he had made when the earl declared in his favour. The new king was then forty years old; and twenty-seven years of exile had impressed his character with so much mildness and moderation, that his subjects looked confidently forward to a period of happiness and repose. The principal objects of his government were the preservation of peace, the diminution of taxes, the just administration of the laws, and the promotion of religion.

The first act of Edward's administration was one which, though commonly attended with dangerous consequences, did not affect his popularity. It was the resumption of all the grants made by his immediate predecessors, which the poverty of the crown rendered absolutely necessary; and as the loss fell principally upon the Danes, who had received these grants for their services in subduing the country, the English rather rejoiced in seeing them stripped of their possessions.

When Edward, the descendant of a long race of native kings, ascended the throne, the English flattered themselves that they would be delivered from the dominion of foreigners; but they soon found that the evil had only been diverted into another

channel. During his sojourn on the continent he had become habituated to foreign manners and customs, and on his return to England he bestowed all his confidence on the Normans who accompanied him. It was no doubt natural that he should retain an affection for those among whom he had passed the best part of his life, and with whom he had found an asylum when abandoned by his own friends and kindred; but there were other reasons for the partiality he so strongly manifested. During the reign of his predecessors, the English nobles had made serious inroads on the prerogatives of the crown, and within their respective territories were more powerful than the king himself. They even raised troops, levied taxes, and administered the laws as independent sovereigns. At the same time they were much behind the Normans in the refinements of civilized life; while they were the objects of Edward's jealousy on account of their formidable power and large possessions. The consequence was, that the English court soon became filled with Normans, who, under favour of the king, effected great changes in the country. The French language quickly rose in public estimation, and the Saxon nobles not only learned to speak the new dialect, but imitated the customs and amusements of the foreigners. The lawyers adopted the new idiom and handwriting in their deeds and papers; while the long and ample cloaks of the Anglo-Saxons were abandoned for the short mantles of Normandy. Edward, however, did not carry his partiality so far as to exclude the Saxons from all civil and military employments; yet a large share fell to his favourites, and many of the highest dignities and important offices in church and state, including the sees of London, Dorchester, and Canterbury, were confided to men of foreign birth, who soon obtained great influence in public affairs.

7. The English could not view without jealousy this large influx of strangers, who seemed to require no other passport to royal favour than that of being Norman adventurers; and Earl Godwin in particular became alarmed for the stability of his power. He placed himself in open hostility to the Norman courtiers, and endeavoured by every means within his reach to influence the minds of his countrynien against them. Nor was it long before an event occurred which promised to favour his cause. In 1051, Eustace, count of Boulogne, who had married Edward's sister, having been on a visit at the English court, passed through Dover on his return homewards; and his followers being insolently quartered upon the inhabitants, a

Frenchman, who endeavoured to take forcible possession of his lodging, was killed in the fray. Upon this a fierce conflict ensued, in which about twenty were slain on each side, and Eustace with difficulty escaped and made his way to Gloucester, to lay his complaint before the king. Edward espoused the cause of his relative, and ordered Godwin, in whose states the city lay, to chastise Dover with military execution. The earl proposed that the magistrates should be cited in a legal manner to give an account of their conduct; but the king would not listen to this reasonable proposition, and threatened Godwin with banishment and confiscation. Under these circumstances the earl gathered his forces together, and being joined by a large body of the people who voluntarily took up arms, he marched against the king, demanding that Eustace and his companions should be given up, and the Norman favourites immediately dismissed. Edward was taken by surprise, but wisely endeavoured to gain time by negotiation, during which he collected his troops, and was speedily in a condition to take the field. The effusion of blood was however prevented by the adoption of moderate measures, and an armistice was concluded, by which it was agreed to refer all differences to a witenagemot or meeting of the witan, to be held at London in the following autumn. This delay was fatal to the cause of Godwin, for his forces dwindled away, and at length he and his family were compelled to flee from England. All their property was confiscated; their honours were conferred upon foreigners; and Edith, the queen, after being deprived of her dower, her jewels, and her money, was confined in the nunnery of Wherwell in Hampshire.

8. The ruin of Godwin's power left Edward free to follow the bent of his inclination, and he welcomed all the Normans who chose to take up their abode in England. At the beginning of the insurrection he had solicited the assistance of William, duke of Normandy, who appeared on the English coast just as peace was restored. The king, though no longer requiring the aid of his powerful neighbour, invited him to land, and William, accompanied by a brilliant train of knights, visited the principal cities and royal castles, leaving everywhere tokens of his munificence. He observed that the fleet stationed at Dover was commanded by Normans; that Norman soldiers garrisoned the castle of Canterbury; that the clergy spoke Norman French; and that almost all the officers of the army used the same language.

Meanwhile Godwin, who had taken refuge in Flanders, was preparing for his return. In 1052, he sailed up the Thames to London, where he was speedily joined by such numbers, that the king, after a little delay, was compelled to negotiate with his detested father-in-law. The men of foreign birth, perceiving their danger, immediately hastened out of the country, and the witenagemot restored the earl to all his honours and possessions, his daughter Edith being at the same time removed from her monastic prison to her husband's court. He did not long survive his victory and the re-establishment of Saxon supremacy. While sitting at the king's table at Windsor, he was attacked with apoplexy, and died three days afterwards, leaving to Harold, the eldest and most accomplished of his sons, all his territories and appointments, and influence more extensive than his own.

The feeble Edward, after heaping riches and dignities on Harold, began to fear that he had given too much power to a subject; and as he did not himself possess energy enough to oppose openly whatever the son of Godwin might attempt, he fancied he could counterbalance one power by another, without reflecting that the most skilful or ambitious of the two antagonists would not fail to crush his adversary, and become still more formidable. This was precisely what happened. When Harold had succeeded to the government of Wessex, the king required that East Anglia, which Harold had governed during his father's life, should be given to Algar, the son of Earl Leofric. This cession displeased the powerful Earl of Wessex, who accused Algar of treason before the witenagemot, and procured his banishment. Algar fled into Wales, where he raised a considerable force among the subjects of his fatherin-law, King Griffith, with which he attacked Hereford and ravaged the country; and although defeated by Harold, he still showed himself so powerful that negotiations were entered into, by which he was restored to his former possessions and honours. Again, however, he was driven into exile, and a second time, with the aid of the Irish and Welsh, he recovered his earldoms, which he held until his death in 1059. He left two sons, Morcar and Edwin, who divided his possessions and dignities between them.

Harold's influence was further increased by the nomination of his brother Tostig to the earldom of Northumberland, vacant by the death of his rival Siward, and by a successful campaign against the Welsh, whom he reduced to submission.

The conquered mountaineers agreed to pay tribute, and a law was enacted that every Welshman found in arms to the east of Offa's Dyke, should lose his right hand.

9. Harold had at length so far gained Edward's friendship and confidence, that the monarch consulted him in every thing, not excepting even his domestic affairs. Yet the king felt convinced that the earl was nourishing the hope of ascending the throne, and therefore resolved to visit Rome, after the example of his predecessors, Canute and Ethelwulf, for the purpose of consulting with the pope. But the witenagemot resolutely opposed his undertaking a journey that might expose the nation to the dangers of a disputed succession, and recalled to his recollection his nephew and namesake Edward, the eldest of Edmund Ironside's sons, then living in exile in Hungary. This prince was the nearest heir to the crown, and an embassy was accordingly sent to invite him to return. Edward immediately came to England with his wife Agatha, daughter of the Emperor Henry III., and his children, Edgar, surnamed the Atheling, Margaret, and Christina. But he had scarcely taken possession of the palace prepared for him in London before he fell ill and died.

Edgar was now the only obstacle between Harold and the throne, when the latter determined to visit Duke William of Normandy, to obtain the release of his brother Walnoth and his nephew Haco, the two hostages for the Godwin family, whom Edward had committed to the duke's custody. William immediately took advantage of the powerful earl's presence in his dominions to make known his own designs on the throne of England, and to exact from him a promise, confirmed by a solemn oath, that he would assist him in obtaining the crown. Harold, being completely in the duke's power, was obliged to comply, and was then allowed to depart, loaded with magnificent presents.

Edward, feeling that his end was drawing near, is said by some authorities to have bequeathed his kingdom to William of Normandy; while, according to others, he named Harold as his successor. He died on the 5th of January 1066, and was interred with great pomp and solemnity in Westminster Abbey, which he had lived just long enough to complete. He was about sixty-five years old, and had filled the throne of England nearly twenty-four years. He was the last prince of the Saxon race who governed England, and merits great praise for the care he bestowed on the just administration of