wam
across the Alne, which at the time was swollen. In memory of Malcolm, a
cross stands on the spot where he was slain, and near by is Malcolm's
Well and the ruins of St. Leonard's Chapel, built for the unfortunate
king's expiation. Upon the cross the inscription states that Malcolm
fell November 13, 1093, and that the original cross, decayed by time,
was restored by his descendant, Elizabeth, Duchess of Northumberland, in
1774. Eustace de Vesci, who built St. Leonard's Chapel, lived in the
days of Henry I. and Stephen, and founded the abbey of Alnwick. King
David of Scotland captured the old timber castle there in 1135 on his
great invasion of England, and Eustace afterwards built the first
masonry work of Alnwick Castle, traces of his walls having since been
found.

[Illustration: THE EASTERN ANGLE OF THE BARBICAN.]

[Illustration: THE PERCY BEDSTEAD.]

[Illustration: THE PERCY CROSS.]

Alnwick descended to William, son of Eustace, and in 1174, William the
Lion, returning from an invasion of Cumberland, passed before the
castle, and was captured and sent a prisoner into England. Alnwick
descended to William's son Eustace, who was visited by King John in
1209, and the king there received the homage of Alexander of Scotland.
Eustace was one of the chief barons who wrested Magna Charta from John,
and in the closing year of that reign met his death from an arrow before
Barnard Castle. Henry III. visited Alnwick, and the great Edward I. was
there several times as the guest of John de Vesci near the close of the
thirteenth century. The Barons de Vesci soon afterwards became extinct,
and then the warlike bishop of Durham, Antony Bek, came in and grabbed
the castle. He sold it in 1309 to Henry de Percy, and from this dates
the rise of the great family of the northern Border, who have held
Alnwick for nearly six centuries, its present owner being his
descendant, Algernon George Percy, Duke of Northumberland, in whose
veins flows the blood of so many great families that he can use nine
hundred heraldic devices on his armorial bearings, including those of
many kings and princes. Henry de Percy became the leader of the Border
barons, and, although living at Alnwick only five years, seems to have
rebuilt most of the castle, his son completing it. The Percies became
the Earls of Northumberland, and such warlike lives did they lead (as,
for instance, young Henry Percy, "Hotspur") that it is noted that Henry
Algernon, the fifth