fome fmall depredations, fled to their fhips for fafety. About feven years after this first attempt, they made a defcent upon the kingdom of Northumberland, where they pillaged a monaftery; but their fleet being fhattered by a ftorm, they were defeated by the inhabitants, and put to the fword. It was not till about five years after the acceffion of Egbert, that their invafions became truly formidable. From that time they continued with unceafing ferocity, until the whole kingdom was reduced to a ftate of the moft dift refsful bondage.

Though often repulfed, they always obtained their end, of fpoiling the country, and carrying the plunder away. It was their method to avoid coming, if poffible, to a general engagement; but fcattering themselves over the face of the country, they carried away, indifcriminately, as well the inhabitants themfelves, as all their inoveable poffeffions.

At length, however, they refolved upon making a fettlement in the country; and landing on the isle of Thanet, tationed themfelves there. In this place they kept their ground, notwithstanding a bloody victory gained over them by Ethelwolf. The reign of Ethelbald, his fucceffor, was of no long continuance; however, in fo fhort a. fpace, he crowded a number of vices fufficient to render his name odious to pofterity.

This prince was fucceeded by his brother Ethelred, a brave commander, but whofe valour was infufficient to reprefs the Danish incurfions. In thefe exploits he was always affifted by his younger brother, Alfred, afterwards. furnamed the Great, who facrificed all private refentment to the public good, having been deprived by the king of a large patrimony. It was during Ethelred's. reign, that the Danes, penetrating into Mercia, took up. their winter quarters at Nottingham; from whence, the king, attempting to diflodge them, received a wound in the battle, of which he died, leaving his brother, Alfred, the inheritance of a kingdom, that was now reduced to the brink of ruin..

The Danes had already fubdued Northumberland and East Anglia, and had penetrated into the very heart of Weffex. The Mercians were united against Alfred; the dependence.

dependence upon the other provinces of the empire was but precarious; the lands lay uncultivated, through fear of continual incurfions; and all the churches and monafteries were burned to the ground. In this terrible fituation of affairs, nothing appeared but objects of terror, and every hope was lost in defpair. The wifdom and virtues of one man alone were found fufficient to bring back happiness, fecurity, and order; and all the calamities of the times found redrefs from Alfred.

This prince feemed born not only to defend his bleeding country, but even to adorn humanity. He had given very early inftances of those great virtues which afterwards gave fplendour to his reign; and was anointed by pope Leo, as future king, when he was fent by his father for his education to Rome. On his return from thence, he became every day more the object of his father's fond affec tions; and that perhaps was the reason why his education was at first neglected. He had attained the age of twelve before he was made acquainted with the lowest elements of literature; but hearing fome Saxon poems read, which recounted the praife of heroes, his whole mind was roused, not only to obtain a fimilitude of glory, but also to be able to tranfmit that glory to pofterity. Encouraged by the queen, his mother, and affifted by a penetrating ge nius, he foon learned to read thefe compofitions, and proceeded from thence to a knowledge of Latin authors, who directed his tafte, and rectified his ambition..

He was scarce come to the throne when he was obliged to oppofe the Danes, who had feized Wilton, and were exercifing their usual ravages on the country around. He marched against them with the few troops he could affemble on a fudden, and a desperate battle was fought, to the difadvantage of the English. But it was not in the power of misfortune to abate the king's diligence, though it repreffed his power to do good. He was in a little time enabled to hazard another engagement: fo that the enemy,. dreading his courage and activity, propofed terms of peace, which he did not think proper to refufe. They, by this treaty, agreed to relinquish the kingdom; but, in ftead of complying with their engagements, they only

removed

removed from one place to another, burning and deftroying wherever they came.

Alfred, thus opposed to an enemy whom no ftationary force could refift, nor no treaty could bind, found himself unable to repel the efforts of thofe ravagers, who from all quarters invaded him. New fwarms of the enemy arrived every year upon the coaft, and fresh invafions were ftill projected. Some of his fubjects therefore left their coun. try, and retired into Wales, or fled to the continent. Others fubmitted to the conquerors, and purchafed their lives by their freedom. In this univerfaldefection, Alfred vainly attempted to remind them of the duty they owed their country and their king; but finding his remon ftrances ineffectual, he was obliged to give way to the wretched neceffity of the times. Accordingly, relinquishing the enfigns of his dignity, and difmiffing his fervants, he dreffed himself in the habit of a peasant, and lived for fome time in the house of an herdfman, who had been entrufted with the care of his cattle. In this manner, though abandoned by the world, and fearing an enemy in every quarter, ftill he refolved to continue in his country, to catch the flighteft occafions for bringing it relief. In his folitary retreat, which was in the county of Somerfet, at the confluence of the rivers Parret and Thone, he amufed himself with mufic, and fupported his humble lot with the hopes of better fortune. It is faid, that one day, being commanded by the herdfman's wife, who was ig norant of his quality, to take care of fome cakes which were baking by the fire, he happened to let them burn, for which the feverely upbraided him for neglect.

Previous to his retirement, Alfred had concerted meafures for affembling a few trufty friends, whenever an opportunity fhould offer of annoying the enemy, whowere now in poffeffion of all the country. This chofen band, ftill faithful to their monarch, took fhelter in the forefts and marshes of Somerset, and from thence made occafional irruptions upon ftraggling parties of the enemy. Their fuccefs, in this rapacious and dreary method of living, encouraged many more to join their fociety, till at length, fufficiently augmented, they repaired to

their monarch, who had by that time been reduced by famine to the laft extremity.

Meanwhile Ubba, the chief of the Danish commanders, carried terror over the whole land, and now ravaged the country of Wales without oppofition. The only place where he found refiftance was in his return from the caftle of Kenwith, into which the earl of Devonshire had retired with a fmall body of troops. This gallant foldier finding himself unable to fuftain a fiege, and knowing the danger of furrendering to a perfidious enemy, was refolved, by one defperate effort, to fally out and force his way through the befiegers, fword in hand. The propofal was embraced by all his followers, while the Danes, fecure in their numbers, and in their contempt of the enemy, were not only routed with great flaughter, but Ubba, their general, was flain.

This victory once more reftored courage to the difpirited Saxons; and Alfred, taking advantage of their favourable difpofition, prepared to animate them to a vigorous exertion of their fuperiority. He foon therefore apprif ed them of the place of his retreat, and instructed them to be ready with all their ftrength at a minute's warning. But ftill none was found who would undertake to give intelligence of the forces and pofture of the enemy; not knowing, therefore, a perfon in whom he could confide he undertook this dangerous task himfelf. In the fim ple drefs of a fhepherd, with a harp in his hand, he entered the Danish camp, tried all his musical arts to please, and was fo much admired, that he was brought even into the prefence of Guthrum, the Danish prince, with whom he remained fome days. There he remarked the fupine fecurity of the Danes, their contempt of the English,. their negligence in foraging and plundering, and their diffolute wafting of fuch ill-gotten booty. Having made his obfervations, he returned to his retreat, and detaching proper emiffaries among his fubjects, appointed them to meet him in arms in the foreft of Selwood, a fummons which they gladly obeyed.

It was against the most unguarded quarter of the enemy that Alfred made his moft violent attack; while the Danes, surprised to behold an army of English, whom they con

fidered

fidered as totally fubdued, made but a faint resistance. Notwithstanding the fuperiority of their numbers, they were routed with great flaughter; and though fuch as efcaped fled for refuge into a fortified camp in the neighbourhood, being unprovided for a fiege, in lefs than a fortnight they were compelled to furrender at difcretion. By the conqueror's permiffion, thofe who did not chufe to embrace Chriftianity, embarked for Flanders under the command of one of their generals, called Haftings. Guthrum, their prince, became a convert, with thirty of his nobles, and the king himself anfwered for him at the font.

Alfred had now attained the meridian of glory; he pof feffed a greater extent of territory than had ever been enjoyed by any of his predeceffors; the kings of Wales did him homage for their poffeffions, the Northumbrians received a king of his appointing, and no enemy appeared to give him the leaft apprehenfions, or excite an alarm. In this ftate of profperity and profound tranquillity, which lafted for twelve years, Alfred was diligently employed in cultivating the arts of peace, and in repairing the da mages which the kingdom had sustained by war.

His care was to polish the country by arts, as he had protected it by arms. He is faid to have drawn up a body of laws. His care for the encouragement of learning did not a little tend to improve the morals and reftrain the barbarous habits of the people. When he came to the throne, he found the English funk into the groffeft igno. rance and barbarifm, proceeding from the continued dif orders of the government, and from the ravages of the Danes. He himself complains, that, on his acceffion, he knew not one perfon fouth of the Thames who could fo much as interpret the Latin fervice. To remedy this de ficiency, he invited over the most celebrated scholars from all parts of Europe; he founded, or at leaft re-established, the university of Oxford, and endowed it with many pri vileges, and he gave, in his own example, the ftrongest in. centives to ftudy. He ufually divided his time into three equal portions; one was given to fleep, and the refection of his body, diet, and exercife; another to the dispatch of bufinefs; and the third to study and devotion. made a confiderable progrefs in the different ftudies of

He

grammar,