the Danish conquest been actually complete. Of course, such speculations are quite futile. The first result would have been the entire destruction of the Saxon religion, learning, arts, and civilization. The Danes had much in common with their kin as regards institutions, but they were many centuries behind them in all other respects. As with the Saxons, the conversion to Christianity, absolutely necessary before any further advance could be made, would have to be done all over again, with the re-introduction of learning, the teaching of the arts, and the renewal of communication with other nations. the other hand, the Danes were a quick-witted race; they had not exterminated the Saxonsthey would have learned from them. Would they have formed a single homogeneous, powerful nation? Would they have developed and advanced on lines similar to those which have made England great and the mother of nations?

On

Alfred had not fled across the seas; he was in a fastness of his own, waiting, watching, and designing. Alone among his people, he had not lost hope. If we consider the overwhelming odds against him—the whole country in the hand of the enemy, his own people harried, scattered, murdered, terror-stricken, isolated-that he still retained hope is most wonderful. I am not one of those who regard Alfred as a saint; he was purely human, of this world, but he was a man of profound faith, who lived habitually, as far as he could, up to the standard of his faith, and I cannot but acknowledge that he was supported, comforted, sustained by his religious faith. We need not, unless we choose, believe all the stories that are told about his faith, but the fact remains

that God and his Saviour, the saints, the angels, the Church, were always living with him and in him, directing him and ruling his thoughts.

Some of the stories are childish, as that about the cakes; some are clearly mythical, as of the visit to the Danish camp in the disguise of a minstrel. One, however, stands out clear and distinct. It appears to me to have been a waking dream, the vision of one whose mind, sorely tried, was open to visions and to dreams. It is a story from the lips of St. Cuthbert, and has been put into the following shape by Freeman:

“Now, it came to pass on a day that all Alfred's folk were gone out to fish, save only Alfred himself, and his wife, and one servant whom he loved. And there came a pilgrim to the king, and begged for food, and the king said to his servant

"What food have we in the house?'

"And his servant answered, My lord, we have in the house but one loaf, and a little wine.'

'Then the king gave thanks to God, and said, 'Give half of the loaf and half of the wine to this poor pilgrim.' "So the servant did as his lord commanded him, and gave to the pilgrim half of the loaf and half of the wine, and the pilgrim gave great thanks to the king. And when the servant returned, he found the loaf whole, and the wine as much as there had been aforetime. And he greatly wondered; and he wondered, also, how the pilgrim had come into the isle, for that no man could come there save by water, and the pilgrim had no boat.

"And the king greatly wondered also. And at the ninth hour came back the folk who had gone to fish. And they had their boats full of fish, and they said—

66 6

Lo, we have caught this day more fish than in all the three years we have tarried in this island.'

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'And the king was glad, and he and his folk were merry, yet he pondered much on that which had come to

pass. And when night came, the king went to bed with Ealhswytha, his wife. And the lady slept, but the king lay awake and thought of all that had come to pass by day. And presently he saw a great light, like the brightness of the sun, and he saw an old man with black hair, clothed in priest's garments, and with a mitre on his head, and holding in his right hand a book of the gospels, adorned with gold and gems. And the old man blessed the king, and the king said unto him, Who art thou?' And he answered, Alfred, my son, rejoice; for I am he to whom thou didst this day give thine alms, and I am called Cuthbert, the soldier of Christ. Now, be strong and very courageous, and be of joyful heart, and hearken diligently to the things which I say unto thee; for henceforth I will be thy shield and thy friend, and I will watch over thee and over thy sons after thee. And now I will tell thee what thou must do. Rise up early in the morning, and blow thine horn thrice, that thy enemies may hear it and fear, and by the ninth hour thou shalt have around thee five hundred men harnessed for the battle. And this shall be a sign unto thee that thou mayest believe. And after seven days thou shalt have of God's gift and my help all the folk of this land gathered unto thee upon the mount that is called Assandun (Ethandune). And thus shalt thou fight against thine enemies, and doubt not that thou shalt overcome them. Be thou, therefore, glad of heart, and be strong and very courageous, and fear not, for God hath given thine enemies into thine hand. And He hath given thee also this land, and the kingdom of thy fathers, to thee and to thy sons' sons after thee. Be thou faithful to me and to my folk, because unto thee is given all the land of Albion. Be thou righteous, because thou art chosen to be the King of all Britain. So may God be merciful unto thee, and I will be thy friend, and none of thine enemies shall be able to overcome thee.'

'Then was King Alfred glad at heart, and he was strong and very courageous, for that he knew that he would overcome his enemies by the help of God and St. Cuthbert his patron. So in the morning he arose, and sailed to the land, and blew his horn three times, and

when his friends heard it they were glad, and when his enemies heard it they feared. And by the ninth hour, according to the word of the Lord, there were gathered unto him five hundred men of the bravest and dearest of his friends. And he spake unto them, and told them all that God had said unto him by the mouth of His servant Cuthbert; and he told them that, by the gift of God and the help of St. Cuthbert, they would overcome their enemies and win back their own land. And he bade them, as St. Cuthbert had taught him, to fear God always, and to be always righteous towards all men. And he bade his son Edward, who was by him, to be faithful to God and St. Cuthbert, and so he should always have the victory over his enemies. So they went forth to battle, and smote their enemies and overcame them, and King Alfred took the kingdom of all Britain, and he ruled well and wisely over the just and the unjust for the rest of his days.'

This

In the midst of the great marsh of Sedgemore, now intersected by drains and ditches, there rises, as one drives from Bridgwater to Langport, a low but well-defined hill out of the flat. hill is Athelney; and here, amidst the swamps, impenetrable save to the country folk who knew the way, and protected from the enemy by its agues and fevers, Alfred found a place of refuge for himself, his queen, his children, and a small following. The Chronicle says that he constructed a fortress there. It may very well be that he had learned the importance of a stockade from the Danes. He could depend upon no other help than that of the men of Somerset, a folk of the forest and the moor, a fisher folk, a rough wild people, who were not daunted by the superior numbers of the enemy, nor by the terror of their name, nor by their victorious invasion of the whole county.