us.

the host without leave, no more than any of them to But if it happen that from necessity any of them will have traffic with us or we with them, with cattle and with goods, that is to be allowed in this wise that hostages be given in pledge of peace, and as evidence whereby it may be known that the party has a clean book."

This last phrase, "a clean book," is eminently characteristic of our great king, one who always desired to deal fairly between man and man. This solemn Treaty of Wedmore was signed in July, 878, and henceforth the Danes were no longer enemies and strangers in the land, but were recognised as the lawful owners of the larger part of England. the end of the twelve days Guthrum and his companions took their leave of Alfred, but not before they had received many magnificent presents at the hands of the king and his nobles.

At

Did Guthrum keep the Treaty of Wedmore? Perhaps not quite so well as he should have done; but still the treaty was much better kept than any treaty with the Danes had ever been before. The next year, in 879, the Danes left Chippenham for Cirencester; that is, they left Wessex for Mercia, but not their own part of Mercia. At Cirencester they "sat" for one year, probably by Alfred's permission, for there is no record of fighting. In fact, some accounts say that only those of the Danes stayed who became Christians, while the rest went away into Gaul under the leadership of Hasting, a great sea-king.

In the next year, 880, the English Chronicle records

the fact that the Danes "went from Cirencester to East Anglia, and settled in the land, and divided it among themselves." Thus at last Alfred had freed Wessex from the Danes, although he had been obliged to give them a large part of England. Still Wessex had become greater, for there was no longer a king of the Mercians, but a great part of Mercia was now governed by an alderman, who was not only appointed by Alfred, but was united to him by the bonds of relationship and affection.

We must remember, too, that in this year, when Alfred had done such great things, he was only thirty-one. A short time before there was every prospect that England would become a Danish possession, and that its people would be oppressed by the conquerors. Now all was changed, and all danger of this kind vanished with the Treaty of Wedmore. Henceforth the pirates must turn their attention to countries other than England.

Alfred to his Followers.

Now hear what one of elder days,
Rich theme of England's fondest praise,
Her darling Alfred, might have spoken,
To cheer the remnant of his host

When he was driven from coast to coast,
Distressed and harassed, but with mind unbroken :

"My faithful followers, lo! the tide is spent

That rose, and steadily advanced to fill

The shores and channels, working Nature's will

Among the many streams that backward went,
And in the sluggish pools where ships are pent;
And now, his task performed, the flood stands still,
At the green base of many an inland hill,
In placid beauty and sublime content!
Such the repose that sage and hero find;
Such measured rest the sedulous and good
Of humbler name; whose souls do like the flood
Of Ocean press right on; or gently wind,
Neither to be diverted nor withstood,

Until they reach the bounds by Heaven assigned."

WORDSWORTH.

CHAPTER XX.

THE DANISH SETTLEMENTS.

IN a former chapter we saw that Guthrum and his followers settled in East Anglia soon after the Peace of Wedmore. It was almost too much to expect that they would forsake at once their old plundering, wandering life, and we are not surprised to find that Guthrum soon left his own dominions in East Anglia, and joined an expedition to attack the land of the Franks. In fact, the whole force of the Danes was now directed on Frankland; and the Scheldt, the Meuse, and the Rhine were full of the ships of the pirates.

But the Franks fought bravely, and Guthrum had to return home a defeated man. On both sides of the Channel the Northmen found men ready to resist

their attacks, and it now seemed that their great power was coming to an end. Indeed, when some of the ships of the pirates left France in 882 they swooped down on Wessex, only to be severely beaten. "In that same year," says the Chronicle, "King Alfred went out to sea with his ships, and fought against the forces of four ships of Danish men, and took two of the ships, and the men were slain that were in them." It was evidently a smart encounter, for the same authority says that the men of two ships surrendered to Alfred, but not before they were sorely distressed and wounded.

The Northmen, however, could not rest; if they remained idle they would starve, for their own land was desolate and barren. So, in 885, a fleet of the pagans pushed up the Thames and besieged Rochester. The brave men of this place were not seized with panic, as in the old days, but they held out till Alfred could hurry to their relief with a large army. Then the pagans left the fortress they had built, and, in their haste, they abandoned all their horses in their anxiety to reach their ships. The repulse of the pirates was speedy and complete; but, nothing daunted, they were ready to meet the king's fleet in the same year at the mouth of the River Stour.

It would appear that Alfred had gone thither with his fleet, full of fighting men, to punish the Danes in East Anglia for their breach of faith. In this contest Alfred was again successful, for after a fierce fight all the pagans were slain, and their thirteen ships, full of treasure, were captured. The Danes, however, rallied; and while the king's fleet was