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expectations; the king no fooner faw, than he loved her, and was inftantly refolved to obtain her. The better to effect his intentions, he concealed his paffion from the husband, and took leave with a feeming indifference; but his revenge was not the less certain and fatal. Ethelwald was fome time after fent into Northumberland, upon pretence of urgent affairs, and was found murdered in a wood by the way. Some fay he was ftabbed by the king's own, hand; fome, that he only commanded the affaffination; however this be, Elfrida was invited foon after to court, by the king's order, and their nuptials were performed with the ufual folemnity.

This monarch died, after a reign of fixteen years, in the thirty-third year of his age, being fucceeded by his fon, Edward,, whom he had by his firft marriage with the daughter of the earl of Ordmer.

Edward, firnamed the Martyr, was made king by the intereft of the monks, and lived but four years after his acceffion. In his reign there is nothing remarkable, if we except his tragical and memorable end. Hunting one day near Corfe Caftle, where Elfrida, his mother-in-law refided, he thought it his duty to pay her a vifit, although he was not attended by any of his retinue. There defiring fome liquor to be brought him, as he was thirsty, while he was yet holding the cup to his head, one of Elfrida's domeftics, inftructed for that purpofe, ftabbed him in the back. The king finding himfelf wounded, put fpurs to his horfe; but, with the lofs of blood, he fell from the faddle, and his foot flicking in the ftirrup he was dragged along by his horfe till he died.

Ethelred the Second, the fon of Edgar and Elfrida, fucceeded; a weak and irrefolute monarch, incapable of governing the kingdom, or of providing for its fafety. During his reign, the old and terrible enemies, the Danes, who feemed not to be loaded with

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the fame accumulation of vice and folly as the Englifh, were daily gaining ground. The weakness and the inexperience of Ethelred appeared to give a favourable opportunity for renewing their depredations; and, accordingly, they landed on feveral parts of the coaft, fpreading their ufual terror and devaftation.

As they lived indifcriminately among the English, a refolution was taken for a general maffacre; and Ethelred, by a policy incident to weak princes, em-braced the cruel resolution of putting them all to the fword. This plot was carried on with fuch fecrecy, that it was executed in one day, and all the Danes in England were deftroyed without mercy. But this maffacre, fo perfidious in the contriving, and fo cruel in the execution, inftead of ending the long miferies of the people, only prepared the way for greater calamities.

While the English were yet congratulating each other upon their late deliverance from an inveterate enemy, Sweyn, king of Denmark, who had beer informed of their treacherous cruelties, appeared off the western coafts with a large fleet, meditating flaughter, and furious with revenge. Ethelred was obliged to fly into Normandy, and the whole coun-try thus came under the power of Sweyn, his victorious rival.

Canute, afterwards furnamed the Great, fucceed-' ed Sweyn as king of Denmark, and alfo as general of the Danish forces in England. The conteft between him and Edmund Ironfide, fucceffor to Ethelred, was managed with great obftinacy and perfeverance; the first battle that was fought appeared undecifive; a fecond followed, in which the Danes were victorious; but Edmund ftill having intereft enough to bring a third army into the field, the Danish and English nobility, equally harraffed by thefe convulfions, obliged their kings to come to a compromife,

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compromife, and divide the kingdom between them by treaty. Canute referved to himfelf the northern parts of the kingdom, the fouthern parts were left to Edmund; but this prince being murdered about a month aft the treaty by his two chamberlains, at Oxford, Canute was left in peaceable poffeffion of the whole kingdom.

Canute is reprefented by fome hiftorians as one of the first characters in those barbarous ages. The piety of the latter part of his life, and the refolute valour of the former, were topics that filled the mouths of his courtiers with flattery and praife. They even affected to think his power uncontroulable, and that all things would be obedient to his command. Canute, fenfible of their adulation, is said to have taken the following method to reprove them. He ordered his chair to be fet on the feafhore, while the tide was coming in, and commanded the fea to retire. "Thou art under my dominion, cried he; the land upon which I fit is mine; I charge thee therefore to approach no farther, nor dare to wet the feet of thy fovereign." He feigned to fit fome time in expectation of fubmiffion, till the waves began to furround him: then, turning to his courtiers, he obferved, that the titles of Lord and Mafter belonged only to him who both earth and feas were ready to obey. Thus feared and refpected, he lived many years, honoured with the furname of Great for his power, but deferving it ftill more for his virtues. He died at Shaftesbury, in the nineteenth year of his reign, leaving behind him three fons, Sweyn, Harold, and Hardicanute. Sweyn was crowned king of Norway, Hardicanute was put in poffeffion of Denmark, and Harold fucceeded his father on the English throne.

To Harold fucceeded his brother, Hardicanutę, whofe title was readily acknowledged both by the Danes and the English; and upon his arrival from

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the continent, he was received with the most extravagant demonftrations of joy. The king's violent and unjust governinent was but of fhort duration; he died two years after his acceffion, in confequence of excefs at the marriage of a Danifh lord, which was celebrated at Lambeth.

The diforders of the Danish monarchs once more induced the English to place a monarch of the Saxon line upon the throne; and accordingly Edward, furnamed the Confeffor, was by the general confent crowned king.

The English, who had long groaned under a foreign yoke, now fet no bounds to their joy, at finding the line of their ancient monarchs restored.

As he had been bred in the Norman court, he thewed, in every inftance, a predilection for the cuftoms, laws, and even the natives of that country; and among the reft of his faults, though he had married Editha, the daughter of Godwin, yet, either from mistaken piety, or fixed averfion, during his whole reign he abftained from her bed.

Thus having no legitimate iffue, and being wholly engroffed, during the continuance of a long reign, with the vifions of fuperftition, he was at laft furprised by fickness, which brought him to his end, on the fifth of January, in the fixty-fifth year of his age, and twenty-fifth of his reign.

Harold, the fon of a popular nobleman, whofe name was Godwin, and whose intrigues and virtues feemed to give a right to his pretenfions, afcended the throne without any oppofition.

But neither his valour, his juftice, nor his popularity, was able to fecure him from the misfortunes attendant upon an ill-grounded title. His pretenfions were oppofed by William duke of Normandy, who infifted that the crown belonged of right to him, it being bequeathed to him by Edward the Confeffor. William,

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William, who was afterwards called the Conqueror, was the natural fon of Robert duke of Normandy. His mother's name was Arlette, a beautiful maid of Falaize, whom Robert fell in love with as fhe food gazing at the door whilft he passed through the town. William, who was the offspring of this amour, owed a part of his greatness to his birth, but still more to his own perfonal merit. His body was vigorous, his mind capacious and noble, and his courage not to be repreffed by apparent danger. Upon coming to his dukedom of Normandy, though yet very young, he on all fides oppofed his rebellious fubjects, and reprefied foreign invaders, while his valour and conduct prevailed in every action. The tranquillity which he had thus eftablished in his deminions, induced him to extend his views; and fome overtures made him by Edward the Confeffor, in the latter part of his reign, who was wavering in the choice of a fucceffor, inflamed his ambition with a defire of fucceeding to the Englifh throne. The pope himself was not behind the reft in favouring his pretenfions; but either influenced by the apparent juftice of his claims, or by the hopes of extending the authority of the church, he immediately pronounced Harold an ufurper. With fuch favourable incentives, William foon found himfelf at the head of a chofen army of fixty thousand men, all equipped in the most warlike and fplendid manner. It was in the beginning of fummer that he embarked this powerful body on board a fleet of three hundred fail; and, after fome small oppofition from the weather, landed at Pevensey on the coaft of Suflex, with refolute tranquillity.

Harold, who feemed refolved to defend his right to the crown, and retain that fovereignty which he had received from the people who only had a right to beftow it, was now returning, flufhed with conqueft, from defeating the Norwegians, who had in