THE SAXON KINGDOM. EDWARD THE CONFESSOR.

HAROLD.

P. But the Normans, although driven away by Godwin, soon tried to return.

One by one they came back to England, dropping in upon their dear friend Edward, at whose palace many of them remained.

Duke William knew, that, when Edward might die, Godwin's son HAROLD Would expect to be king -but, still he hoped for England -and determined to gain the crown, even by force.

It happened that Harold came to Normandy, on a visit to William. William treated him like a prince, with great kindness and splendour; and, one day he told Harold, as a secret, that he had been promised the kingdom of England by King Edward; and persuaded him to take an oath, that whenever Edward should die, he would help to gain the crown for him.

Not long after this, in the year 1066, Edward the Confessor died, declaring, just before his death, that the proper person to succeed him was-HAROLD! This was what the English people wanted, for they loved Harold and his father very much,-so, the day after Edward's funeral, Harold was elected and anointed king, with great joy from the whole nation, who said that he was not bound to keep his oath to William.

Very quickly the news reached Normandy, that Edward was dead, so William prepared to come over directly and be king-but, very quickly after that, came the bad news that Harold had broken his oath, and allowed himself to be crowned. William was, therefore,

full of anger, but he hid his feelings, endeavoured to persuade Harold to keep his promise, and sent him one or two kind messages, but in vain.

When, therefore, the Normans found that Harold would not yield, they prepared to come over to England by thousands, and to conquer with the sword. Immediately all Normandy was busy with preparations. In all the shops of the smiths and armourers, was heard the clanging sound of the anvil and hammer, and was seen the sight of busy men making lances, swords, helmets, and coats of mail;-outside these shops were the porters waiting till the armour was finished, and carrying it away to the ships. Everywhere the story of the broken oath roused the people to help William. The clergy, who were very angry, collected money and brought it to him. The knights and noblemen provided him with armed men,and those who could not find soldiers promised to help him themselves. In all the countries round-east and west, north and south was proclaimed the expedition which would sail from Normandy, to punish the perjured Harold. William promised that those who went should be made rich with plunder;-some should have money, some lands,-another, a rich English wife, others should have large houses, others, should be governors of castles and towns,-and some, should be made bishops! The clergy, too, made promises of good things from heaven, and of sure salvation to all who helped the "holy cause."-So, from far and near came crowds of anxious men, all wishing to share in so good a chance-all ready to

kill and steal. A message, too (or bull, as it was called), arrived from the Pope, at Rome, bringing William the Pope's blessing,―a splendid banner, which had been consecrated, and one of the Apostle Peter's hairs, set in a diamond ring.

W. What was the use of the Pope sending him those things?

Ion. I should say that he must have been a bad Pope to bless men who were going to kill and steal.

P. Hush, Ion, and "weigh your words." You should not decide so quickly that a man is bad. Always be very slow to say so of any one. He might not have known better. Let us proceed with the history. With all these fine things from the Pope, William and his followers were much encouraged. After waiting many weeks for good weather, their large fleet set sail on the 27th September, 1066. There were four hundred vessels, besides a thousand "transports." Duke William's ship led the way, with sails of different colours, having three Norman lions painted on them while the Pope's consecrated banner was seen flying at the mast head.

There were, altogether, about sixty thousand souls.

King Harold-who was waiting for them in England-found suddenly that he had other enemies to fight against. Just before William set sail, another fleet of ships started from Norway-headed by Harold's own brother, Tostig, and the famous chief, Harold of Norway. They landed in the north of England, but were soon met by Harold, who defeated them. Both Tostig and Harold of Norway were slain; the Norwegians fled, and Harold returned to the south to meet William.

William, by this time, had landed his soldiers near Hastings, in Sussex. He had encamped his army, and was waiting for Harold when he came.

The time had now come for a mortal struggle between two nations, and thousands of men were waiting to slay one another, for the sake of these two men, William and Harold. "Twas a solemn time when the night came on, and the pale moon shone on their camps. On the side of William were some of the bravest men in Europe. There were knights from the banks of the Rhine, from Brittany, Bologne, Flanders, and France-who spent the night in fasting and prayer. On the side of Harold were the best of his soldiers, who were full of glee for their victory over the Norwegians,-they spent the night in feasting, drinking, and mirth. So passed the hours till the daylight came, when these two armies rushed on each other and fought from nine in the morning until the end of the day, like so many wolves. Then, Harold was slain with an arrow in his eye, and many wounds in his body. Both armies continued fighting, even in the dark, until the Saxons had fled, and William was declared to have conquered.

W. Is that the end, papa?-but I have been waiting to hear you tell us about the battle.

P. Ah, I should not like to describe that to you, and I do not think you would like to hear it. Suppose I were to take great pains, and relate to you, carefully, how a butcher kills an ox. How he first ties him up-then, as the poor brute turns round his eye to look at him, takes a pole-axe and stuns

BOILING WATER (Continued).

What causes the RATTLING NOISE, so often made by the LID of a saucepan or boiler?

The steam (seeking to escape) forces up the lid of the boiler, and the weight of the lid carries it back again: this being done frequently, produces a rattling noise.

If the steam COULD NOT LIFT UP THE LID of the boiler, how would it escape?

If the lid fitted so tightly, that the steam could not raise it up, the boiler would burst into fragments, and the consequences might be fatal.

Why do STEAM-ENGINES sometimes BURST?

Steam is very elastic; and this elasticity increases in a greater proportion than the heat which produces it; unless, therefore, some vent be freely allowed, the steam will burst the vessel which confined it.

What BECOMES of the STEAM? for it soon vanishes.

After it has been condensed into mist it is dissolved by the air, and dispersed abroad as invisible vapour. And what BECOMES of the INVISIBLE VAPOUR?

Being lighter than air, it ascends to the upper regions of the atmosphere, where (being again condensed) it contributes to form clouds. Why does a METAL SPOON (left in a saucepan) RETARD the process of BOILING?

Because the metal spoon (being an excellent conductor) carries off the heat from the water; and (as heat is carried off by the spoon) the water takes a longer time to boil.

Why will a POT (filled with water)

NEVER BOIL, when immersed in ANOTHER vessel full of water also?

Because water can never be heated above the boiling point: all the heat absorbed by water after it boils, is employed in generating steam.

How does the conversion of water into steam prevent the INNER POT from BOILING?

Directly the water in the larger pot is boiling hot (or 212°), steam is formed, and carries off some of its heat; therefore, 212° of heat can never pass through it, to raise the inner vessel to boiling heat.

Why do SUGAR, SALT, &C. RE TARD the process of BOILING?

Because they increase the density of water; and whatever increases the density of a fluid, retards its boiling.

If you want water to boil, without COMING IN CONTACT with the SAUCEPAN, what plan must you adopt?

Immerse the pot (containing the water to be boiled) in a saucepan containing strong brine, or sugar.

Why would the INNER vessel boil, if the OUTER vessel contained strong BRINE?

Though water boils at 212° of heat, yet brine will not boil till raised to 218° or 220°. Therefore, 212° of heat may easily pass through brine, to raise the vessel immersed in it to boiling heat, before any of it is carried of by steam.

Why will brine impart to another vessel MORE than 212°, ana water NOT SO MUCH?

Because both liquids will impart heat till they boil; and then they can impart heat no longer.

Why can they impart no EXTRA heat after they boil?

Because all extra heat is spent in making steam. Hence water will not boil a vessel of water immersed