about the year 448, obtained the assistance of a warlike tribe of people from Germany, called Saxons, who drove

back the Scots and the Picts into their own part of the island; but instead of returning to Germany, they took possession of Britain by the right of the strongest, and divided their conquests into seven small kingdoms, which were called the Saxon Heptarchy.

QUESTIONS. 1. What of the Gaels or Celts?-2. When did Cæsar invade England? What was Great Britain then called? What of the people ?- -3. Religion of the ancient Britons? Who were the druids? What of their places of worship ?-4. How was the oak considered by the druids? The misletoe ?- -5. When was the country entirely subdued? What of Suetonius ?6. What of the Scots ? What did the Romans do ?7. How long did Rome govern Britain? What of the emperor Valentinian ? -8. Whose aid did the Britons ask against the Scots? What did their allies do? How was Britain then divided?

CHAPTER CXXXV. EUROPE continued.-Saxon and Danish Kings of England.

1. In the year 827 of the Christian era, all the seven kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy were united into one, under the government of Egbert; he was therefore, as he styled himself, the first king of all England.

2. Egbert was a native of England, but he had been educated in France, at the court of Charlemagne, and was therefore more polished and enlightened than most of the Saxon kings. During the reign of Egbert, and for many years afterwards, the Danes made incursions into England, and sometimes overran the whole country.

3. Alfred, who ascended the throne in 872, fought fiftysix battles with them, by sea and land. On one occasion,

he went into the camp of the Danes in the disguise of a harper, took notice of everything, planned an attack upon the camp, and then, returning to his own men, led them against the Danes, whom he completely routed.

4. This king was called Alfred the Great; and he had a better right to the epithet of Great than many other kings who have borne it, for he made wise laws, and instituted the custom of trial by jury; he likewise founded the University of Oxford. After his death, the Danes again invaded England, when there was no Alfred the Great to oppose them; they were accordingly victorious, and three Danish kings governed the country in succession.

5. Canute the Great was the first. One day, when he was walking on the sea shore, his courtiers, in order to

flatter him, called him king of the sea, and told him that he had but to command, and even the waves would obey him. Canute, wisely determined to reprove their flattery, desired a seat to be brought and placed on the sands; then, seating himself, stretched out his sceptre over the waves, in a commanding manner. "Roll back thy waves, thou sea!" cried Canute; "I am thy king and master! How darest thou foam and thunder in my presence?" But the waves still came roaring and foaming onward, tossing their salt spray over Canute and his company. The king then turned to the flatterers and said, "How foolish and how presumptuous it is, for any mortal being to pretend to exercise a power which God has not bestowed upon him!"

6. In the year 1041, after the death of Canute's two sons, the Danes were driven out of England, and Edward the Confessor, the heir of the former Saxon princes, was placed upon the throne. At his death, in 1066, Harold, who was also a Saxon, became king; but he was the last of the Saxon kings, for no sooner had he assumed the

crown, than William, duke of Normandy in France, pretending that King Edward had bequeathed the kingdom to him, invaded England, at the head of sixty thousand

men.

7. Harold led his army against the Norman invaders, and encountered them at Hastings; for a long time the victory was doubtful, till at last Harold, who, according to the Saxon custom, fought with his head bare, was struck by an arrow, which penetrated his brain. The Duke of Normandy then gained the victory, and became king of England, and was called William the Conqueror.

What did he What of the Canute and

QUESTIONS. 1. Who was the first king of England? What kingdoms did he govern? -2. What of Egbert? What of the Danes ?- -3. When did Alfred ascend the throne? do? -4. Why was he called Alfred the Great? Danes after his death? -5. Tell the story of King his courtiers ?- -6. What of Edward the Confessor ? Harold become king? Who now invaded England ?was the battle fought between Harold and William ? king of England?

When did -7. Where Who became

CHAPTER CXXXVI. EUROPE continued.-
William the Conqueror to King John.

From

1. WILLIAM the Conqueror reigned about twenty years; he cruelly oppressed the Saxons, and divided their lands among his Norman followers. He was succeeded by his second son, William Rufus, or the Red, so named from the colour of his hair. Rufus was very fond of hunting, and one day, while he was chasing a deer in the forest, one Walter Tyrrel discharged an arrow, which accidentally struck the king in the breast, so that he fell from his horse and died on the spot.

2. This took place in the year 1100, and William Rufus was succeeded by his brother Henry, who was called Beauclerk, or Excellent Scholar, because he was more learned than was usual in those days. On the death of