From this fact Spelman argues that Alfred's "life and ways were not pleasing to the fathers at Rome." But this statement does not rest on any trustworthy authority, and it seems far more probable that Alfred lived on excellent terms with contemporary popes. They, for their part, seem to have wisely followed the liberal policy indicated in Gregory's answers to Saint Augustine, and to have allowed the Church. in the distant island to develop in its own way. On the other hand, the King evidently entertained, and expressed on all occasions, very real and deep reverence for the acknowledged head of the Church, and worked in such noble and perfect harmony with his own bishops, that no questions seem ever to have arisen in his reign which could bring the spiritual and temporal powers into collision. His own humble and earnest piety, and scrupulous observance of all the ordinances of the Church, united with extraordinary firmness and power of ruling men, no doubt contributed to this happy result.

And so State and Church worked in harmony side by side, exercising a concurrent jurisdiction of a very remarkable kind. Every crime was punishable both by the civil and spiritual tribunals. The King and witan, or the judge and jury, or homage (as the case might be), punished the offender for the damage he had done to his fellow-citizens, or to the commonwealth, by fines, or mutilation, or imprisonment. But the criminal was not thus fully discharged. The moral sin remained, with which the State did not profess to deal, but left it to the spiritual powers, aided by the

provisions of the code. Accordingly, for every crime. there was also a penance, to be fixed by bishop or priest. In short, Alfred and his witan believed that sin might be rooted out by external sanctions, penalties affecting body and goods. The Church, they thought, was the proper authority, the power which could do this work for the commonwealth, and accordingly to the Church the duty was entrusted.

Locked at with the experience of another 1,000 years, the wonder is, not that the attempt did not succeed, but that it worked even for a generation or so without bringing the two powers into the fiercest conflict. The singleness of mind and heart, and earnestness of Alfred, must have inspired in great measure his aldermen, judges, bishops, all men in responsible offices. So he could put forth his ideal, simply and squarely, and expect all Englishmen to endeavour to realize that-with results even there and then of a very surprising kind. For through the mists of 1,000 years we do here actually see a people trying, in a somewhat rude and uncouth way, but still honestly, to found their daily life on the highest ideal they could hear of on the divine law as they acknowledged it-of doing as they would be done by.

Rome was not the only or the most distant foreign Church to which Alfred sent embassies. He had made a vow, before the taking and rebuilding of London, that, if he should be successful in that undertaking, he would send gifts to the Christian churches in the far East, of which uncertain rumours and traditions still spoke throughout Christendom. The

apostles St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew had preached the Gospel in India and founded these churches, it was said, and it was to them that Alfred, in performance of his vow, despatched the same Sighelm and Athelstan who were the bearers of his gifts and letters to Pope Martinus. They would seem, indeed, to have gone on from Rome in the year 883, by what route we know not, or how long they were upon their mission, or how they sped, save only that they came back to their King, bringing greetings from those distant brethren, and gifts of precious stones and spices in return for his alms. These Alfred distributed amongst his cathedrals, in some of which they were preserved for centuries. Such was the first intercourse between England and the great empire which has since been committed to her in the East. St. Thomas' Christians are still to be found in Malabar and elsewhere.

Asser also mentions letters and presents sent by Abel, the patriarch of Jerusalem, to his king. It does not appear, however, that Alfred sent any embassy to the Holy Land. Dr. Pauli suggests that these gifts might have been brought to England by the survivor of three Scotch pilgrims, whose names a romantic legend connects with the English king. Dunstane, Macbeth, and Maclinman, were the three Christians in question, who, despairing, it would seem, of the Church in their own country, put to sea in a frail boat, patched together with ox-hides and carrying a week's provisions, and landed on the coast of Cornwall. From thence they made their way to Alfred's

court, and were hospitably entertained by him, as his wont was, and forwarded on their journey, from which one of them only returned.

Asser speaks also, in general language, of daily embassies sent to the King by foreign nations, "from the Tyrrhenian Sea to the farthest end of Ireland.” Of these, however, we have no certain account, but enough remains to show how the spirit of Alfred yearned for intercourse with Christians in all parts of the known world, and how the fame of his righteous government, and of his restored Church, was going forth, in these years of peace, to the ends of the earth.

But the greatest work of that Church, as of all true churches, was the education of the people at home. Besides the schools attached to his foundations of Athelney and Winchester, Alfred established many schools for the laity in different parts of his kingdom. One was attached to the court, and in it the children of his nobles, ministers, and friends were educated. with his own children, and "were loved by him with wonderful affection, being no less dear to him than his own." They were educated carefully in good morals, and in the study of their own language, the King himself constantly superintending, and taking part in the teaching. To use his own words, he was desirous "that all the free-born youth of his people who had the means should persevere in learning so long as they had no other duties to attend to, until they could read the English Scriptures with fluency, and such as desired to devote themselves to the service of the Church might be taught Latin."

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE KING'S FRIENDS.

"As the judge of the people is himself, so are his officers: and what man the ruler of the city is, such are all they that dwell therein."

WE have already incidentally come across several of the statesmen and ecclesiastics who were singled out and employed by Alfred, and must now endeavour to make some closer acquaintance with the men through whom the great reform of the English nation was wrought out under the great king. Unfortunately, the memorials of them are scanty, for they were a set of notable workers, worthy of all honour, and of the attentive and respectful regard even of the nineteenth century. They were of all races whom the King could get at, and of all ranks. Prince, noble, or peasant, rough skipper, or studious monk, or cunning craftsman, it was the same to him. The man who could do his work, this was all he cared for, and, when he had found him, set him forthwith to do it, with whatever promotion, precedence, or other material support might best help him.

John, the old Saxon, sometimes called John of Corvey, priest and monk, a stern disciplinarian and courageous person, we have already heard of as first