eward, and banqueted while there was aught left to
eat, at the board of the large-hearted Abbot Thurstan.

The Danes, who had been summoned to the aid of the English
patriots, were bought off soon after their arrival by the gold of
William, but still Hereward fought on.

At length William stationed his fleet in the Wash, with orders to
guard every outlet from the fens to the ocean; still he could not
reach Hereward, who had retired, with his valiant men, to their
stronghold, situate in an expanse of water, which, in the narrowest
part, was at least two miles in breadth. Then the king undertook a
tremendous task-that of constructing a solid road through the
inundated marshes, throwing bridges over the deeper channels, and
building a causeway elsewhere. But in the face of an active enemy
this was no easy task; and so frequently were the Normans surprised
by Hereward that they believed he must be aided by sorcery, and
employed the "witch," who perished by fire (as mentioned in another
Note), to counteract his magic, with the result already described.

But William was determined that the last refuge of English liberty
should fall, and, backed by all the resources of a kingdom, the end
came at last. The monks of Ely, starved out, deposed their abbot,
the gallant Thurstan, and betrayed the secret approaches of the
camp to the Normans.

In the gray dawn of an autumnal morning, in the year 1071, the
Normans, guided through the labyrinth by the traitors-the guards
having been decoyed from their posts-entered the camp.

Hereward and his men fought like heroes, with all the courage of
despair; they did all that men could do; but, assailed from all
sides, many of the English lords, dismayed by the hopeless
character of the conflict, threw down their swords, and cried for
quarter. But their brave chieftain-with a mere handful of
men-disdaining to save their lives by submission, cut their way
through the foe, and escaped across the marshes, after most doughty
deeds of valour, for the assault was led by William in person.

For a long time Hereward maintained the hopeless struggle-for it
was now hopeless-till the king sent to offer him his favour, and
restoration to his paternal estates, on condition his accepting
accomplished facts, and taking the oath of allegiance to the
Conqueror. Feeling that all hope of shaking off the Norman yoke was
lost, Hereward laid down his arms and accepted "the king's peace."

There are two accou