homewards, arriving at the court of Charles the Bald in the summer of that year.

Here Ethelwulf tarried some time, and on the Ist October, 856, he was married to Judith, the eldest daughter of Charles, by Hincmar, the Archbishop of Rheims. It was an ill-starred marriage, for the king was over sixty, while the French princess was only fourteen. Alfred's own mother must have died in the meantime, and his step-mother was too young to be a suitable guardian for a boy with so bright an intellect.

When Ethelwulf arrived in England, he found his people divided into two parts, the one ready to fight for him, and the other for his son Ethelbald, who had been ruling in his father's absence. Rather than bring the horrors of war into his realm, he divided the kingdom with his son, he himself taking Kent, and Ethelbald taking Wessex. The old king only survived this division for two years, and on his death he was succeeded by his bad son Ethelbald.

CHAPTER III.

CHILDHOOD SHOWS THE MAN.

FROM his earliest years Alfred showed a desire to get knowledge above all things; and he listened with the eager interest of a noble child to the English poems which he often heard easily retained them in his memory.

recited, and One of the

best known stories of Alfred has reference to his love of reading; and although some writers think the story is not true, yet it is so characteristic of such a nature, that we cannot do better than give it almost as it was written nearly one thousand years ago. On a certain day, his mother was showing him and his brothers an English book of poetry, which she held in her hand,

and said, "Whichever of you shall the soonest learn this volume shall ave it for his own." Stimulated by these words, or rather by the divine inspiration, and charmed by the beautifully illuminated letter at the beginning of the volume, he spoke before all his brothers, who, though his seniors in age, were not in grace, and answered, "Will you really give that book to one of us, that is to say, to him who can first understand and repeat it to you?"

At this the mother smiled with satisfaction, and repeated what she had previously said. So he directly took the book out of her hands, went with it to his teacher and read. Then he brought it again to his mother, and repeated it to her, so that he gained the beautiful prize.

Now the question arises, was it his own mother Osberga from whom Alfred first learnt to love reading, or was it from his step-mother Judith? Although Asser says that it was Judith, there seems a probability that he made a mistake, for it is hardly likely that a young foreign princess should have known much of English poetry, or that she should have taken much interest in her step-son. We are, therefore, forced to the natural conclusion that this story, if true, relates to Osberga, who thus promised. him the book and awakened in him the desire of

learning. Alfred would be about four years of age, and, soon after, his faithful mother died before his

journey to Rome. Her death was quiet, as her whole life had been; she had lived, not only as a queen, but also as a faithful mother of her children.

With reference to this story it may be noticed that his mother did not desire the book to be read; the songs were to be learnt by heart. And we know that a tutor was kept to instruct the young princes; so we may surmise that Alfred went to his teacher, and had the book read to him, and thus learnt to recite the songs.

It may also be remarked that no country in Europe at that time could boast of such beautiful books, filled with such skilful writing and illustrated

with such exquisite pictures, as England in the time of Alfred. Some of these manuscripts, yet rich in all their gorgeous colours, are to be seen in the British Museum. In many of these volumes we see such an initial letter as that mentioned in the story; and such a book as Cædmon's poems may have been the one which Alfred gained for his prize.

There is no doubt that Alfred had many sorrows in his early days. Perhaps the greatest was the loss of his mother. He must also have had many troubles owing to the constant warfare with the Danes. But he experienced very great difficulty in gratifying his intense desire of learning to read and write. According to his own account, there was not a qualified teacher in the whole kingdom when he was twelve years old. We can scarcely conceive the difficulties that beset all his attempts to gain even the first elements of knowledge.

Nothing daunted, and with much toil, the boy overcame all difficulties; and he began to read in his mother tongue what he had already learnt by heart, and the old poetry became more dear to him as he understood it better. He then turned his attention to the writings and songs of the Church.

Nor did Alfred forget to practise the exercises that would strengthen his body. He loved the out-door sports, and followed the wild animals boldly and untiringly, through field and wood. He even outstripped his companions in dexterity and fearlessness. Indeed, all through his life, good fortune accompanied him like a gift from God, and whatsoever he attempted, he did well and successfully.