"The letters of this inscription are all capitals, and in their somewhat stiff form agree entirely with the initial letters in the principal parts of the authentic manuscripts of Alfred's time. Still more than the letters, the form of the two middle words, by their spelling, bears witness to

the age claimed by the motto. At the extreme end, where the crystal and its border join the gold, it is finished by a beautifully worked dolphin's head in gold, whose empty eye-sockets must have once contained precious stones, and from whose open jaws a small golden pin protrudes. This probably served as a fastening to a cane, or some ornamental staff, on the point of which the jewel was placed. It may, indeed, have been a part of the king's sceptre."

As a specimen of women's work in gold of nearly the same time may be taken the stole,

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woven with gold wire beaten flat, like narrow tape, preserved in the Chapter Library of Durham. It was worked by Saxon ladies, and given to St. Cuthbert's tomb by Athelstan in 934.

There is the

In architecture Asser speaks of royal halls and vills of stone; but nothing remains which can be assigned to Alfred himself. He repaired the walls of London, but where are they now? He built St. Paul's, but that building was destroyed by fire. It was probably Alfred who changed the position of the London gates, and ran new streets across the old and ruined sites; but where are. the gates, and who would recognize the Cheapside of to-day with the Chepe of a thousand years ago? Of Saxon churches there are a few scattered about the country; but, again, not one which we can ascribe to Alfred. ancient Church of St. Lawrence, Bradford-onAvon, which may be as early as the ninth century. At Wing There is Deerhurst, near Tewkesbury, built in 1053, two hundred years after Alfred. near Aylesbury, at Colchester, at Cambridge, at Limpsfield, at Earl's Barton, at Oxford, there are parts still standing of the old Saxon church. should say that the little church at Bradford-onAvon may be taken as a good specimen of the Saxon parish church. It is cruciform, it is lighted by small and narrow windows, which were not glazed, there was no pavement, the arch connecting nave and chancel is a narrow doorway, the ornamentation is rude. It is a stone church, which proves that it was built by some wealthy person, perhaps by Aldhelm himself, when he founded the It is a very nunnery at Bradford-this would bring us to the of the seventh century. village or parish for

I

which it was built was also very small. Probably the church was quite large enough for the congregation.

Another typical Saxon church may be that of Grinstead, also a very small church, originally. The nave is built of trunks of trees cut straight through the middle, the round part left outside. In the restoration of the parish churches we may be quite sure that the first object was the possession of a church, its decoration and material being quite a secondary consideration. Alfred, therefore, was a great architect and builder. It is the temptation of kings to build. Which would one prefer to be, the king of whom nothing. but the name remains attached to his huge pyramid, or the king whose pyramid has vanished, while his name, and his history, and his achievements are deathless? Alfred's pyramid has vanished.

Alfred was a musician. Every educated youth was a musician, and could play, while some could sing. According to tradition Alfred could sing as well as play.

We may picture for ourselves the royal hall in which the Saxon poems were sung or recited. It is a long hall-say 200 feet by 40 feet-with a high roof and curved gables. There is a door at each end, with a porch enlarged at one end so as to form pantry, buttery, kitchen, and larder. Below these offices is the cellar. Wright reproduces a picture representing the cellar, with servants who draw the ale or mead, and carry it up the ladder which serves for a stair. The hall consists of a spacious nave, in which a double row of pillars supports the high roof, having a narrow aisle. on either side. Down the middle of the floor runs

his people profound sermons on the moral and spiritual life. Read his homily on Riches-'that it is better to give than to receive;' on the true Ruler- that power is never good, unless he be good that has it;' on the uses of Adversity-' no wise man should desire a soft life.' Few men ever had so hard a life with his mysterious and cruel malady, ‘his thorn in the flesh,' until his early death; with his distracted and ruined kingdom, his ferocious enemies, his never-ending cares. And amidst it all we have the king in his silent study pouring out poetic thought upon married love or friendship; on true happiness or the inner life; composing pastoral poetry or casting into English old idylls from Greek epic or myth; ending with some magnificent Te Deum of his own composition..

"Alfred did more than contribute translations to the literature of his country; he laid the very foundations of our literature, the most noble literature that the world has ever seen. He collected and preserved the poetry based on the traditions and legends brought from the German forests. He himself delighted to hear and to repeat these legends and traditions: the deeds of the mighty warriors who fought with monsters, dragons, wild boars, and huge serpents. He made his children learn their songs; he had them sung in his court. The tradition goes that he could himself sing them to the music of his own harp. This wild and spontaneous poetry which Alfred preserved is the beginning of our own noble choir of poets. In other words, the foundation of that stately Palace of Literature, built up by our poets and writers for the admiration and instruction and consolation of mankind, was laid by Alfred. Well, but he did more than collect the poetry, he began the prose. Before Alfred there was no Anglo

Saxon prose.

CHAPTER VIII.

SUMMARY OF THE REIGN.

We have considered Alfred as a warrior, and captain, Alfred as the restorer of religion, Alfred as the law-giver, Alfred as the encourager of education, Alfred as writer. A few points remain to be considered.

Returning once more to Asser. He says

In the mean time 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, his hawkers, and dogkeepers; to build houses, majestic and good, beyond all the precedents of his ancestors, by his new mechanical inventions; to recite the Saxon books, and especially to learn by heart the Saxon poems, and to make others learn them; and he alone never desisted from studying, most diligently, to the best of his ability.'

It would seem as if hunting was introduced here in a place of needless prominence. Let it be remembered, however, that hunting was more than a sport. Men did not go out with horse and hound in order to ride after a fox; they went out to fight big game-wild boar, wolves, wild cattle; they went out to provide food. Hunting was necessary. The fisher folk went after the fish in the sea and in the rivers. The fowler trapped the myriad wild birds of the fen and marsh. The nobler game, the wild deer, was hunted by king and nobles; while the ladies of the court went out with falcon on wrist to bring