sition that Alfred's conduct was not in strict conformity with the ecclesiastical notions of his time, none could, I think, be produced of greater force than that which has just been quoted. We must not forget that Asser was an ecclesiastic long before he became the friend and minister of Alfred, and though during the whole time of their connexion, which was little more than seven years, the king's conduct was such as neither to merit nor to receive reproof from his spiritual advisers, yet, if in the beginning of his reign he had shewn a disposition not to be subservient, as kings then generally were, to the dictation of his bishops, or had even committed acts which, supposing they had the right to censure him, would have been worthy of their censure, we cannot doubt that not only Asser, but almost every person of influence, in a system like that of Rome, bound together into one body, would have soon heard, with sorrow or with anger, of so unusual and dangerous a deviation from their rule.

To reconcile these suggestions with the remarks with which Asser follows up the subject, is perhaps not a difficult task. Alfred "would not listen," continues he", "to the petitions which his subjects made to him for help in their necessities, or for relief from those who oppressed them; but he repulsed them from him, and paid no heed to their requests." If these petitions proceeded from the monks as well as from the laity, the neglect with which he treated them would no doubt be more likely to receive exaggeration than palliation from the greater means which these possessed, to complain of the slight which had been shewn them. This particular is said also to have " given much annoyance to the See page 197.

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holy man St. Neot, who was his relation, and often foretold to him, in the spirit of prophecy, that he would suffer great adversity on this account; but Alfred neither attended to the reproof of the man of God, nor listened to his true prediction." To those, who make allowances for the difference of times and manners, and can coolly view the whole system of canonization, practised in those times, as being the only mode of setting an outward stamp or impress upon virtues of the highest kind, it may furnish a somewhat satirical lesson on the perverseness of human things, that the puny name of a Neot should have been inflated by honours which hand him down to us as a sacred person, whilst the greatest intellect that ever filled the royal diadem, should appear in the light of a wayward child neglecting the warnings of his instructor. If Alfred erred at first in setting himself in opposition to a system which was too powerful even for him, he was sharp-sighted enough to perceive his mistake; he bowed before that which could not be resisted, and, gathering from every side such aids as presented themselves, proceeded on that lofty flight which carried him beyond all that went before him, to the wonder and admiration of all who were to follow.

Let us now return from these reflections which have flowed, not from the authority of eye-witnesses, but from a wish to trace the principles of action which influenced so noble a mind, and proceed to collect what still remains to be said of Alfred from the narrative of him who saw him with his own eyes, conversed with him in the midst of his glory, and has, though with a weak pen and in an imperfect style, recorded the most striking anecdotes of his life.

CHAP. XXII.

ALFRED'S AVOCATIONS AS DESCRIBED BY ASSER REVIEWED-HUNTING AND FALCONRY-WORKING IN GOLD AND SILVER-ARCHITECTURESERVICES OF RELIGION AND PRIVATE DEVOTION DEVOTES HALF HIS TIME TO GOD-HE MAKES WAX LIGHTS TO MEASURE TIMEINVENTS LANTERNS-HIS LOVE OF BOOKS-ALL LEARNING CONFINED TO THE LATIN TONGUE-ALFRED LEARNS LATIN-HIS LITERARY WORKS-HIS ENCHIRIDION OR MANUAL-PREFACE TO GREGORY'S PASTORAL CARE-TRANSLATION OF BOETHIUS-TRANSLATION OF OROSIUS, &c.-VOYAGES OF OTHTHER AND WULFSTAN-ALFRED'S FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE.

THE avocations which now occupied the king's thoughts, were sufficiently numerous and weighty to furnish him full employment, and to fill up all his time. They are gravely and seriously enumerated by Asser, though the grouping may excite a smile in modern readers.

"In the mean time," says the biographer, "the king, during the frequent wars and other trammels of this present life, the invasions of the Pagans, and his own daily infirmities of body, continued to carry on the government, and to exercise hunting in all its branches; to teach his workers in gold and artificers of all kinds, his falconers, hawkers, and dog-keepers, to build houses, majestic and good, beyond all the precedents of his ancestors, by his new mechanical

inventions; to recite the Saxon books, and more especially to learn by heart the Saxon poems, and to make others learn them also: for he alone never desisted from studying, most diligently, to the best of his ability; he attended the mass and other daily services of religion: he was frequent in psalm-singing and prayer, at the proper hours, both of the night and of the day. He also went to the churches, as we have already said, in the night-time to pray, secretly and unknown to his courtiers; he bestowed alms and largesses both on his own people, and on foreigners of all countries; he was affable and pleasant to all, and curious to investigate things unknown."

We may derive much instruction from a more minute investigation of the pursuits which are enumerated in this list, as engaging the attention of so great and good a king. They may be reduced under the following heads. 1. Hunting and Falconry. 2. The art of working in gold and silver. 3. Architecture. A. Public Services of Religion. 5. Private Devotion. 6. Literaturé. 7. Liberality to the poor and to foreigners. Besides, lastly, the occupation which belongs principally to a king, the administration of the government, and the equal distribution of justice among his subjects. On some of these points all that has come down to us has already been placed before the reader, but it will be proper to review them all once more in order.

1. The biographer places, next to the government of the country, the arts of hunting and falconry, among the laborious pursuits of Alfred. The Saxons brought with them, out of Germany, a strong liking for the pleasures and dangers of the chase: hunting was held to be a necessary part of a liberal education : it enured the Saxon youth to hardihood, made them

active, patient of toil, and prompt to extricate themselves from the dangers into which a headlong pursuit after the wild beasts of the forest might lead them. The king had been bred up from his boyhood to this exercise, and continued to practise it, and to encourage it among his subjects, as a means of raising their manly courage, whilst it added to the state and magnificence of his own court.

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It be added, that the breed of English dogs has been remarkable from the days of Nemesian and Oppiana: and was not likely to have escaped the attention of the observant king. The extensive marshes also, and the inundations which so frequently deluged the plains on the banks of the English rivers, furnished great temptations and facilities for the successful prosecution of falconry.

2. The art of working in gold and silver was a favourite subject for the king's taste and patronage. A beautiful specimen of workmanship occurs in his Jewel, which has already been mentioned; and if we are to understand literally his biographer's assertion, that the king himself taught the artist to execute such works as this, it considerably augments our respect for the mastermind, which not only entered upon so many different callings, but succeeded so completely in them all. The working in gold and silver must however be interpreted to comprehend a vast extent of art and science. The mere manufacture of a bracelet, or any other ornament of the person, will hardly describe the full operation of this art the inlaying and setting of precious stones, enamelling in all its branches, and the decorative branches of carving and gilding, may all be included in the name, and the introduction or improvement of these Nemes. v. 124. Oppian. 470.