ed vigorously, and thus their
appetites were sharp enough to cut a hair. They at first came in the
capacity of pirates,--sliding stealthily into isolated coast settlements
on Saturday evening and eating up the Sunday victuals, capturing the
girls of the Bible-class and sailing away. But later they came as
conquerors, and boarded with the peasantry permanently.

Egbert formed an alliance with his old enemies, the Welsh, and gained a
great victory over the Northmen; but when he died and left Ethelwolf,
his son, in charge of the throne, he made a great mistake. Ethelwolf was
a poor king, "being given more to religious exercises than reigning,"
says the historian. He would often exhibit his piety in order to draw
attention away from His Royal Incompetency. He was not the first or last
to smother the call to duty under the cry of Hallelujah. Like the little
steamer engine with the big whistle, when he whistled the boat stopped.
He did not have a boiler big enough to push the great ship of state and
shout Amen at the same time.

Ethelwolf defeated the enemy in one great battle, but too late to
prevent a hold-up upon the island of Thanet, and afterwards at Shippey,
near London, where the enemy settled himself.

Yet Ethelwolf made a pilgrimage to Rome with Alfred, then six years old
(A.D. 855). He was gone a year, during which time very little reigning
was done at home, and the Northmen kept making treaties and coming over
in larger droves.

Ethelwolf visited Charles the Bald of France at this time, and married
his daughter Judith incidentally. Ethelwolf's eldest son died during the
king's absence, and was succeeded as eldest son by Ethelbald
(heir-apparent, though he had no hair apparent), who did not recognize
the old gentleman or allow him to be seated on his own throne when he
came back; but Ethelwolf gave the naughty Ethelbald the western half of
the kingdom rather than have trouble. But Baldy died, and was succeeded
by Ethelbert, who died six years later, and Ethelred, in 866, took
charge till 871, when he died of a wound received in battle and closed
out the Ethel business to Alfred.

The Danes had meantime rifled the country with their cross-guns and
killed Edmund, the good king of East Anglia, who was afterwards
canonized, though gunpowder had not then been invented.

Alfred was not only a godly king, but had a good education, and was a
great admirer of Dickens and Thackeray. (This is put in as a titbit for
the