upon
a throne, with a bishop on either side of him. In front of the throne
stood a chest covered with cloth of gold, and upon the cover lay an
open Bible.

William was wearing his most grave and stony-hearted expression.

'Yesterday I told you that King Edward of England had left his crown to
me,' he said. 'I ask you now, in presence of the barons and knights of
my dukedom, to swear to support my just claim.'

Harold looked at the Duke with a dark and angry face. William was
taking a dishonourable advantage of him.

'Swear,' said the Norman knight, his friend, in his ear. 'If you do
not, you will never see England again.'

'Swear, Harold,' whispered Wulfnoth; 'the oubliettes!'

Harold was completely in the power of the Normans.

With downcast eyes he laid his hand upon the Bible and repeated the
words of the oath after the duke.

[Illustration: Harold taking the Oath]

Then the bishops came forward and raised the cloth of gold, showing
that the chest was full of the bones of Norman saints.

Harold started back in horror; for an oath sworn upon the bones of
saints was held to be the most sacred and binding oath that a man could
take.

Instead of friendship, his heart now became filled with a fierce hatred
towards the duke, whose ambition had led him to take an unfair
advantage of his guest.

If he kept his oath, he would be a traitor to his country; while, if he
broke it, he feared that a curse would rest upon himself.

When Harold had to make the choice, he remained true to his native land
and braved the consequences; but he was never again the happy, fearless
man that he had been before he had been compelled by the duke to swear
a false oath.

Two years later, King Edward felt his end approaching, and he sent for
Harold.

The earl found the old, white-haired king lying upon a couch, his kind
blue eyes dim with age and sickness. His wife, Harold's sister, was
sitting on a low seat by her husband's side, and the two archbishops of
the realm were with the king.

Edward told Harold that he must soon die, and that he wished him,
Harold, Earl of Wessex, to become king after him. He said that long
ago he had repented of the promise made to William of Normandy, as he
knew that his subjects would never consent to have any but an
Englishman for their king.

In presence of the archbishops Harold promised to govern faithfully if
the people of England should choose him for their king, and to fight
aga