hed to visit the Abbey of St.
John the Baptist, on the River Dee, he appointed eight crowned kings
to pull the oars of his barge, while he himself acted as steersman.

The vainglorious young sovereign then went into the grand old abbey
and said his prayers, after which he returned in the same pomp,
rowed by the eight subject kings.

This event is celebrated in the songs and ballads of the olden time,
which tell of the glory of England, when the eight crowns glimmered
on the sun-covered waters of the Dee.

Edgar, who was King of England up to the year 975, married twice,
and left two sons. The elder of these was named Edward, the son of a
good queen, Ethelfreda; the other was named Ethelred, the son of the
bad queen, Elfrida.

Edward had the best claim to the throne, but the intriguing Elfrida
endeavored to secure the succession to her own son, Ethelred, a boy
about seven years old. Dunstan decided against her, and caused
Edward to be crowned. The boy king was at this time thirteen years
of age.

He was an amiable, susceptible boy, loving every one, and wishing
every one well, and believing, with childish simplicity, that all
the world was as pure at heart and as unselfish as himself.

But Elfrida hated him, and resolved that his reign should be a short
one, if it was within the reach of her arts to make it so.

She retired with little Ethelred to Crofe Castle, a beautiful
country seat in Dorsetshire. Green forests waved around it, and blue
hills seemed to semicircle the sky. The silver horn of the hunter
often echoed through the stream-cleft woodlands, and merrily blew
before the castle gate.

Edward and a youthful court party went hunting one day in the dreamy
old forests of Dorsetshire. Chancing to ride near Crofe Castle,
Edward thought that he would like to see Elfrida and his little
brother. So he separated himself from his attendants, rode to the
castle, and blew his horn.

Elfrida presently appeared, her face glowing with smiles.

"Thou art welcome, dear king," she said, in a winning way. "Pray
dismount and come in, and we will have pleasant talk and good
cheer."

"No, madam," said Edward. "My company would notice my absence, and
think that some evil had befallen me. Please bring me a cup of wine,
and I will drink to your health and to my little brother's, in my
saddle, and then I must away with speed."

Elfrida turne