strife and bloodshed. So, from all we know, we are not surprised that the first attack on England was made by the Danes in this distracted northern kingdom.

The Danes seem first to have passed the winter in East Anglia, after making peace with the people of that kingdom. In 867 they crossed the Humber into Northumbria and took York. Owing to the division in that land, the people could not do much against the enemy; but after a time the two kings agreed together, and led all their men against the Danes. Osbert and Ella, with eight earls, surprised the Northmen near York, and compelled them to flee into the city. Thither the English pursued their enemy; but, owing to superior discipline, the Danes rallied and utterly destroyed their opponents. The triumph of the Northmen was overwhelming, for the English kings were both slain, and most of their army perished.

Peace was then made with the Danes, who set up Egbert as king of Northumbria, but he was only appointed ruler over the country north of the Tyne. Inguar, the victorious Danish chief, assumed control over Northumbria from the Humber to the Tyne, and he, no doubt, made York his capital. The other leaders made their plans for the conquest of other parts, and it was now evident that the Danes had come not only to avenge the death of Ragnar, not only to conquer for a time, but also to settle in the land.

Here, for a time, let us leave the Danes and turn our attention to Alfred, who had now reached his

nineteenth year. We may be quite sure that Alfred and his brother in Wessex were hearing of the great invasion in the north, and they were probably wondering how their kingdom would fare when the storm burst upon them. We do not know what was happening in Wessex at this time, but Asser records, in 868, that Alfred was in a subordinate position, perhaps acting as Earl of Kent. He was next in rank to the king, and now, having arrived at years of manhood, he was soon to distinguish himself by skill and courage. As a child, Alfred had delighted his parents by his beauty of face and charm of manner, and now, as a man, he was the pride and hope of the English.

When Alfred had reached his twentieth year he was married to Ethelswitha, daughter of Ethelred the Great, one of the Earls of Mercia. Ethelswitha was a lady of noble birth, for she was descended from the royal family of Mercia, through her mother Eadburga, a woman worthy of all honour. Ethelred was one of the active chiefs of that district, and we are told he was great in body and old in wisdom. Thus Alfred's choice of a wife was a wise one, for he allied himself with the Mercians, and thus a bond of union was formed between the states of Wessex and Mercia.

The marriage was celebrated with much ceremony, probably at the home of Ethelswitha. The guests, both men and women, were numerous, and the wedding festivities lasted day and night. But in the midst of the feast, Alfred was suddenly seized by sudden and great pain. We can imagine the loud mirth of the

guests giving place to silence at the sight of his sufferings; and, what is very remarkable, none of the physicians could assign any cause for it. Some thought that he was fascinated or bewitched by some magic arts used by the people around him. Others imagined that the devil, jealous of his virtue, had come to tempt him; while others conjectured that it was some kind of fever, or the return of the painful disease from which he had suffered in his youth.

Whatever the malady was, we know that it never left him to the end of his life. Asser says that, "If ever, by God's mercy, he was relieved from this infirmity for a single day or night, yet the fear and dread of that dreadful malady never left him, but rendered him almost useless, as he thought, for every duty, whether human or divine." What a remarkable picture we have here of Alfred bearing his affliction through all the years of his reign, and yet working with the utmost zeal for the good of his people. A disease which would have deterred many a man from doing his duty only urged Alfred to persevere in all his heavy work. He waged war against the fiercest enemies, even when he was suf fering from bodily weakness; and. in the midst of the greatest misfortune, he was able to sustain himself by his high moral courage and strength of will.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CALL TO ARMS IN MERCIA.

THE Danes evidently had a plan of campaign in their great attack on England. Their policy was to conquer the weaker states first, and then proceed to overthrow, if possible, the stronger kingdoms. Northumbria was the first to bear the brunt of the fierce onset. This state being easily conquered, the Danes turned their attention successively on Mercia, East Anglia, and Wessex. And we have to remember that not only did these states lose their freedom, but all the learning and civilisation also disappeared from them.

The fine abbeys of the north, with their valuable possessions, were greedily plundered by the pirates. The famous buildings at Jarrow and Wearmouth had gone; the abbey at Tynemouth was burned; and the yet more famous abbey at Whitby, which had been the home of Cadmon, our first poet, had vanished. Other houses of the monks also disappeared, and with them passed away their libraries and schools. So thoroughly did the Danes do their work of destruction in Northumbria, once the home of learning and culture, that not one of these houses of the monks was left standing. The terrible havoc wrought by the Danes in Northumbria was typical of their subsequent ravages; and we must remember this, as, in later chapters, it will help us to form a

better idea of the noble work of Alfred in restoring to England some of its lost and priceless treasures of learning.

In the previous chapter we left the Danes in the north, now we shall find them entering Mercia. They appear to have seized the passage of the Trent

owing allegiance to Wessex; and we also know that Alfred's sister had married the King of Mercia, while Alfred himself had also allied himself with the Mercians. Hence the urgent request of Burhred, the warlike king of Mercia, was one which could not be denied; and now, for the first time, we are to consider Alfred as a warrior. Previously we have followed him as a scholar, and as a student, now we shall look upon him as a leader, or, as one