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whom he had with him in great numbers, who were men skilled in every earthly work. And the third portion of the same he gave to the wayfaring men who came to him from every nation, lying near and far, and who sought from him wealth, and even to those who sought it not. To each he gave according to his rank in a manner worthy of praise and with marvellous system. This he did gladly, as it is written, God loveth a cheerful giver.

How ALFRED DEVOTED THE HALF OF HIS WEALTH TO
GOD.

But the second part of all his wealth, which came to him from every form of tax, and which were assigned to his treasury, with good-will he devoted to God, as we have already just stated, and he commanded his officers to divide it into four parts, in the following manner.

The first part under that division was to be very carefully distributed to the poor of every nation who came to him. And in this he was mindful how much human understanding needs to take care that the opinion of the holy Pope Gregory be observed when, in his wise discussion of the division of alms, he says, "Give not little to him to whom much is due, or much to him to whom little is due; and give not nothing to him to whom something is due, or anything to him to whom nothing is due.”

Then the second part he gave to the two monasteries,

which he had ordered to be formed, and to those serving God in them, of which matters we talked at length a little while ago. The third part he gave to the school which he had very carefully formed for many nobles of his own people and also for boys of lower birth, and the fourth part he distributed among the monasteries which were near in all the land of the Saxons and in Mercia. In some years he either gave in turn to the churches and to the servants of God dwelling in Britain and Cornwall, Gaul and Armorica and Northumbria, and sometimes even in Ireland, or intended to do so at a later day, if his life and prosperity continued.

How ALFRED NEEDED TO TELL THE TIME.

When these things had been so settled in order by the same king, being mindful of that passage in Holy Scripture, where it is said, Whosoever would give alms, must first offer himself; he considered wisely what he might offer to God of the service of his body and of his mind. For he purposed to offer to God of this no less than of his material wealth, vowing that with all his might, as far as human weakness and his ability and means would permit, he would render to God, with a good heart, the fourth part of the service of his body and of his mind, both by day and by night. But as owing to the darkness he could in no wise discover the passing of the hours of the night,

and often on account of the thick rain and clouds could not even tell the passing of the hours of the day, he began to devise how by some fixed rule and with certainty he might be able to keep this promise that he had vowed to his life's end without faltering, while he trusted in the mercy of God.

How ALFRED DEVISED MEANS FOR TELLING THE

TIME.

And considering this with care for some while, at last he found useful and wise counsel, and commanded his chaplains to bring him wax in sufficiency. When it was brought he ordered it to be weighed by pence in the balance. And when as much wax had been measured as was equal to seventy-two pence in weight, he ordered the chaplains to make six candles, each as large as the other, twelve inches being marked as the length of each. when this plan had been devised, those six candles burned brightly for twenty-four hours day and night without failing, before the holy relics of the many chosen of God, which he had ever with him in all places.

Then,

Sometimes, however, they could not burn and give light for a whole day and night to the same hour as that at which the candles had been lighted on the previous evening. For the violence of the winds blew too much upon them, since at times the wind blew day and night without

ceasing through the doors of the churches and the windows, and the chinks and holes in the woodwork, and the many rifts in the walls, and the thin tents. So the candles were made to burn too quickly and finished their course before the right hour. Wherefore he planned how he might prevent so great a draught of wind.

And having taken cunning and wise counsel, he ordered a lantern to be well made of wood and ox-horn, for the horns of oxen, when white and planed down to a thin sheet, are as clear as glass. So the lanterns were wonderfully made of wood and horn, as we have said above, and at night the candles placed in them, being hindered by no gusts of wind, gave as much light without as within, since he had ordered a door to be made of horn for the opening. And when this device had been so executed, six candles, one after another, burned for twenty-four hours without intermission, neither too quickly nor too slowly. when they went out others were lighted.

How HE LOVED THE POOR.

And

When all these matters had been so set in order it was his desire to preserve the half of his service, as he had vowed to God, and to increase it as much as he was able or had the means, or rather as far as human infirmity allowed. He was a careful searcher out of truth in judgments, and the more so owing to his care for the poor.

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On their behalf, amid all the other duties of this present life, he was wonderfully solicitous day and night. And, indeed, in all that realm, the poor had no helpers, or but very few, save him alone, since almost all the great men and nobles of that land indeed had turned their minds to

secular rather than to heavenly works. And each regarded rather his own temporal advantage than the good of all.

How ALFRED ADMINISTERED JUSTICE, AND HOW HE
CORRECTED HIS JUDGES.

And in judgment he sought earnestly the good of his people, gentle and simple. For they very often, at the meetings of the ealdormen and the reeves, disputed among them, so that hardly any of them would allow that the judgment of the ealdormen or reeves was right. And constantly driven by this obstinate disputing they were desirous to submit to the judgment of the king alone, and straightway hastened from every side to secure it. Yet he, who knew that there was some wrong on his side in a dispute, would not willingly go to the judgment of such a judge, though compelled to do so against his will in accordance with law and his promise. there not one of his ill deeds could be concealed for a moment. Nor is that strange, since the king was a very

For he knew that