The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3), G. A. Henty [top business books of all time .txt] 📗
- Author: G. A. Henty
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My Dear Lads,
Living In The Present Days Of Peace And Tranquillity It Is
Difficult To Picture The Life Of Our Ancestors In The Days Of
King Alfred, When The Whole Country Was For Years Overrun
By Hordes Of Pagan Barbarians, Who Slaughtered, Plundered,
And Destroyed At Will. You May Gain, Perhaps, A Fair
Conception Of The State Of Things If You Imagine That At The
Time Of The Great Mutiny The English Population Of India
Approached That Of The Natives, And That The Mutiny Was
Everywhere Triumphant. The Wholesale Massacres And Outrages
Which Would In Such A Case Have Been Inflicted Upon The
Conquered Whites Could Be No Worse Than Those Suffered By
The Saxons At The Hands Of The Danes. From This Terrible State
Of Subjection And Suffering The Saxons Were Rescued By The
Part 3 Preface Pg 2Prudence, The Patience, The Valour And Wisdom Of King Alfred.
In All Subsequent Ages England Has Produced No Single Man Who
United In Himself So Many Great Qualities As Did This First
Of Great Englishmen. He Was Learned, Wise, Brave, Prudent,
And Pious; Devoted To His People, Clement To His Conquered
Enemies. He Was As Great In Peace As In War; And Yet Few
English Boys Know More Than A Faint Outline Of The Events
Of Alfred's Reign--Events Which Have Exercised An Influence
Upon The Whole Future Of The English People. School Histories
Pass Briefly Over Them; And The Incident Of The Burned Cake
Is That Which Is, Of All The Actions Of A Great And Glorious
Reign, The Most Prominent In Boys' Minds. In This Story I Have
Tried To Supply The Deficiency. Fortunately In The Saxon
Chronicles And In The Life Of King Alfred Written By His Friend
And Counsellor Asser, We Have A Trustworthy Account Of The Events
And Battles Which First Laid Wessex Prostrate Beneath The Foot Of
The Danes, And Finally Freed England For Many Years From The
Invaders. These Histories I Have Faithfully Followed. The Account
Of The Siege Of Paris Is Taken From A Very Full And Detailed
History Of That Event By The Abbe D'abbon, Who Was A Witness
Of The Scenes He Described.
Yours Sincerely,
G. A. Henty
Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Fugitives) Pg 3
A Low Hut Built Of Turf Roughly Thatched With Rushes
And Standing On The Highest Spot Of Some Slightly
Raised Ground. It Was Surrounded By A Tangled Growth
Of Bushes And Low Trees, Through Which A Narrow And Winding
Path Gave Admission To The Narrow Space On Which The
Hut Stood. The Ground Sloped Rapidly. Twenty Yards From
The House The Trees Ceased, And A Rank Vegetation Of Reeds
And Rushes Took The Place Of The Bushes, And The Ground
Became Soft And Swampy. A Little Further Pools Of Stagnant
Water Appeared Among The Rushes, And The Path Abruptly
Stopped At The Edge Of A Stagnant Swamp, Though The Passage
Could Be Followed By The Eye For Some Distance Among The
Tall Rushes. The Hut, In Fact, Stood On A Hummock In The
Midst Of A Wide Swamp Where The Water Sometimes Deepened
Into Lakes Connected By Sluggish Streams.
Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Fugitives) Pg 3
On The Open Spaces Of Water Herons Stalked Near The
Margin, And Great Flocks Of Wild-Fowl Dotted The Surface.
Other Signs Of Life There Were None, Although A Sharp Eye
Might Have Detected Light Threads Of Smoke Curling Up Here
And There From Spots Where The Ground Rose Somewhat Above
The General Level. These Slight Elevations, However, Were Not
Visible To The Eye, For The Herbage Here Grew Shorter Than On
The Lower And Wetter Ground, And The Land Apparently
Stretched Away For A Vast Distance In A Dead Flat--
A Rush-Covered Swamp, Broken Only Here And There
By Patches Of Bushes And Low Trees.
The Little Hut Was Situated In The Very Heart Of The Fen
Country, Now Drained And Cultivated, But In The Year 870
Untouched By The Hand Of Man, The Haunt Of Wild-Fowl And
Human Fugitives. At The Door Of The Hut Stood A Lad Some
Fourteen Years Old. His Only Garment Was A Short Sleeveless
Tunic Girded In At The Waist, His Arms And Legs Were Bare;
His Head Was Uncovered, And His Hair Fell In Masses On His
Shoulders. In His Hand He Held A Short Spear, And Leaning
Against The Wall Of The Hut Close At Hand Was A Bow And Quiver
Of Arrows. The Lad Looked At The Sun, Which Was Sinking
Towards The Horizon.
"Father Is Late," He Said. "I Trust That No Harm Has Come
To Him And Egbert. He Said He Would Return To-Day Without
Fail; He Said Three Or Four Days, And This Is The Fourth. It Is
Dull Work Here Alone. You Think So, Wolf, Don't You, Old Fellow?
And It Is Worse For You Than It Is For Me, Pent Up On This
Hummock Of Ground With Scarce Room To Stretch Your Limbs."
A Great Wolf-Hound, Who Was Lying With His Head Between
His Paws By The Embers Of A Fire In The Centre Of The
Hut, Raised His Head On Being Addressed, And Uttered A Low
Howl Indicative Of His Agreement With His Master's Opinion
And His Disgust At His Present Place Of Abode.
"Never Mind, Old Fellow," The Boy Continued, "We Sha'n't
Be Here Long, I Hope, And Then You Shall Go With Me In The
Woods Again And Hunt The Wolves To Your Heart's Content."
The Great Hound Gave A Lazy Wag Of His Tail. "And Now, Wolf,
I Must Go. You Lie Here And Guard The Hut While I Am Away.
Not That You Are Likely To Have Any Strangers To Call In My
Absence."
The Dog Rose And Stretched Himself, And Followed His
Master Down The Path Until It Terminated At The Edge Of The
Water. Here He Gave A Low Whimper As The Lad Stepped In And
Waded Through The Water; Then Turning He Walked Back To
The Hut And Threw Himself Down At The Door. The Boy Proceeded
For Some Thirty Or Forty Yards Through The Water, Then
Paused And Pushed Aside The Wall Of Rushes Which Bordered
The Passage, And Pulled Out A Boat Which Was Floating Among
Them.
Part 3 Chapter 1 (The Fugitives) Pg 4
It Was Constructed Of Osier Rods Neatly Woven Together
Into A Sort Of Basket-Work, And Covered With An Untanned Hide
With The Hairy Side In. It Was Nearly Oval In Shape, And
Resembled A Great Bowl Some Three Feet And A Half Wide And A
Foot Longer. A Broad Paddle With A Long Handle Lay In It, And
The Boy, Getting Into It And Standing Erect In The Middle
Paddled Down The Strip Of Water Which A Hundred Yards Further
Opened Out Into A Broad Half A Mile Long And Four Or Five
Hundred Yards Wide. Beyond Moving Slowly Away As The
Coracle Approached Them, The Water-Fowl Paid But Little Heed
To Its Appearance.
The Boy Paddled To The End Of The Broad, Whence A Passage,
Through Which Flowed A Stream So Sluggish That Its Current
Could Scarce Be Detected, Led Into The Next Sheet Of Water.
Across The Entrance To This Passage Floated Some Bundles
Of Light Rushes. These The Boy Drew Out One By One. Attached
To Each Was A Piece Of Cord Which, Being Pulled Upon,
Brought To The Surface A Large Cage, Constructed Somewhat
On The Plan Of A Modern Eel Or Lobster Pot. They Were Baited
By Pieces Of Dead Fish, And From Them The Boy Extracted Half
A Score Of Eels And As Many Fish Of Different Kinds.
"Not A Bad Haul," He Said As He Lowered The Cages To The
Bottom Again. "Now Let Us See What We Have Got In Our Pen."
He Paddled A Short Way Along The Broad To A Point Where
A Little Lane Of Water Ran Up Through The Rushes. This
Narrowed Rapidly And The Lad Got Out From His Boat Into The
Water, As The Coracle Could Proceed No Further Between The Lines
Of Rushes. The Water Was Knee-Deep And The Bottom Soft And
Oozy. At The End Of The Creek It Narrowed Until The Rushes
Were But A Foot Apart. They Were Bent Over Here, As It Would
Seem To A Superficial Observer Naturally; But A Close
Examination Would Show That Those Facing Each Other Were Tied
Together Where They Crossed At A Distance Of A Couple Of Feet
Above The Water, Forming A Sort Of Tunnel. Two Feet Farther
On This Ceased, And The Rushes Were Succeeded By Lines Of
Strong Osier Withies, An Inch Or Two Apart, Arched Over And
Fastened Together. At This Point Was A Sort Of Hanging Door
Formed Of Rushes Backed With Osiers, And So Arranged That At
The Slightest Push From Without The Door Lifted And Enabled A
Wild-Fowl To Pass Under, But Dropping Behind It Prevented Its
Exit. The Osier Tunnel Widened Out To A Sort Of Inverted Basket
Three Feet In Diameter.
On The Surface Of The Creek Floated Some Grain Which
Had Been Scattered There The Evening Before As A Bait. The
Lad Left The Creek Before He Got To The Narrower Part, And,
Making A Small Circuit In The Swamp, Came Down Upon The
Pen.
"Good!" He Said, "I Am In Luck To-Day; Here Are Three Fine
Ducks."
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