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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King And His Brother Was Spacious And Lofty. The Walls Were
Covered With Hangings Of Red Cloth, And A Thick Brown Baize
Covered The Floor. The Ceiling Was Painted A Dark Brown
With Much Gilding. Round The Sides Of The Room Stood Several
Dressers Of Carved Oak, Upon Which Stood Gold And Silver Cups.
On A Table Were Several Illuminated Vellums. At Croyland
Edmund Had Seen A Civilization Far In Advance Of That To Which
He Had Been Accustomed In His Father's Abode; But He Saw
Here A Degree Of Luxury And Splendour Which Surprised Him.
Alfred Had, During His Two Visits To Rome, Learned To
Appreciate The High Degree Of Civilization Which Reigned There,
And Many Of The Articles Of Furniture And Other Objects Which
Met Edmund's Eye He Had Brought With Him On His Return
With His Father From That City.
Across The Upper End Of The Room Was A Long Table Laid
With A White Cloth. Elswitha Was Sitting In A Large Gilded Chair
By The Great Fire Which Was Blazing On The Hearth.
Prince Alfred Presented Edmund And Egbert To Her.
Elswitha Was Well Acquainted With The Ealdorman Eldred, As
His Lands Lay On The Very Border Of Her Native Mercia, And She
Received The Lad And His Kinsman With Great Kindness. In A
Short Time They Took Their Places At Table. First The
Attendance Brought In Bowls Containing Broth, Which They
Presented, Kneeling, To Each Of Those At Table. The Broth Was
Drunk From The Bowl Itself; Then A Silver Goblet Was Placed By
Each Diner, And Was Filled With Wine. Fish Was Next Served.
Plates Were Placed Before Each; But Instead Of Their Cutting
Food With Their Own Daggers, As Edmund Had Been Accustomed
To See In His Father's House, Knives Were Handed Round.
After The Fish Came Venison, Followed By Wild Boar, Chickens,
And Other Meats. After These Confections, Composed Chiefly
Of Honey, Were Placed On The Table. The King And Prince
Alfred Pledged Their Guests When They Drank. No Forks Were
Used, The Meat As Cut Being Taken Up By Pieces Of Bread To
The Mouth. During The Meal A Harper Played And Sung.
Edmund Observed The Decorum With Which His Royal
Hosts Fed, And The Care Which They Took To Avoid Dipping Their
Fingers Into Their Saucers Or Their Plates. He Was Also Struck
With The Small Amount Of Wine Which They Took; For The Saxons
In General Were Large Feeders, And Drank Heavily At
Their Meals.
When The Dinner Was Over A Page Brought Round A Basin Of
Warm Water, In Which Lavender Had Been Crushed, And
Each Dipped His Fingers In This And Then Dried Them On The
Cloth. Then At Prince Alfred's Request Egbert Again Related
In Full The Details Of The Two Days' Desperate Struggle At
Kesteven, Giving The Most Minute Particulars Of The Danes'
Method Of Fighting. Egbert And Edmund Then Retired To The
Royal Guest-House Adjoining The Palace, Where Apartments
Part 3 Chapter 3 (The Massacre At Croyland) Pg 32Were Assigned To Them.
After Remaining For A Week At Reading They Took Leave
Of The King And Started For The Lands Which He Had Assigned
To Edmund. They Were Accompanied By An Officer Of The
Royal Household, Who Was To Inform The Freemen And Serfs Of
The Estate That By The King's Pleasure Edmund Had Been
Appointed Ealdorman Of The Lands. They Found On Arrival That
The House Had Been Newly Built, And Was Large And Comfortable.
The Thanes Of The District Speedily Came In To Pay Their
Respects To Their New Ealdorman, And Although Surprised To
Find Him So Young, They Were Pleased With His Bearing And
Manner, And Knowing That He Came Of Good Fighting Blood
Doubted Not That In Time He Would Make A Valiant Leader. All
Who Came Were Hospitably Entertained, And For Many Days
There Was High Feasting. So Far Removed Was This Part Of
England From The District Which The Danes Had Invaded,
That At Present But Slight Alarm Had Been Caused By Them;
But Edmund And His Kinsman Lost No Time In Impressing Upon
Them The Greatness Of The Coming Danger.
"You May Be Sure," He Said, "That Ere Long We Shall See
Their Galleys On The Coast. When They Have Eaten Up Mercia
And Anglia They Will Assuredly Come Hither, And We Shall Have
To Fight For Our Lives, And Unless We Are Prepared It Will Go
Hard With Us."
After He Had Been At His New Residence For A Month
Edmund Sent Out Messengers To All The Thanes In His District
Requesting Them To Assemble At A Council, And Then Formally
Laid The Matter Before Them.
"It Is, Above All Things," He Said, "Necessary That We Should
Have Some Place Where We Can Place The Women And Children
In Case Of Invasion And Where We Can Ourselves Retire In
Extreme Necessity. Therefore I Propose That We Shall Build A
Fort Of Sufficient Size To Contain All The Inhabitants Of The
District, With Many Flocks And Herds. My Cousin Egbert Has
Ridden Far Over The Country, And Recommends That The Roman
Fortification At Moorcaster Shall Be Utilized. It Is Large
In Extent, And Has A Double Circle Of Earthen Banks. These
Differ From Those Which We Are Wont To Build, Since We Saxons
Always Fill Up The Ground So As To Be Flat With The Top Of
The Earthen Banks, While The Romans Left Theirs Hollow.
However, The Space Is So Large That It Would Take A Vast Labour
To Fill It Up, Therefore I Propose That We Should Merely Thicken
The Banks, And Should, In Saxon Custom, Build A Wall With
Turrets Upon Them. The Sloping Banks Alone Would Be But A
Small Protection Against The Onslaught Of The Danes, But Stone
Walls Are Another Matter, And Could Only Be Carried After A
Long Siege. If You Fall In With My Views You Will Each Of You
Send Half Your Serfs To Carry Out The Work, And I Will Do The
Same, And Will, Moreover, Pay Fifty Freemen Who May Do The
Squaring Of The Stones And The Proper Laying Of Them."
Part 3 Chapter 3 (The Massacre At Croyland) Pg 33
The Proposal Led To A Long Discussion, As Some Thought
That There Was No Occasion As Yet To Take Such A Measure; But
The Thanes Finally Agreed To Carry Out Edmund's Proposal.
Part 3 Chapter 4 (The Invasion Of Wessex) Pg 34
Edmund And Egbert Devoted Most Of Their Time To
The Building Of The New Fort, Living Very Simply, And
Expended The Whole Of The Revenues Of The Lands On
The Payment Of The Freemen And Masons Engaged Upon The
Work. The Roman Fort Was A Parallelogram, The Sides Being
About 200 Yards Long, And The Ends Half That Length. It Was
Surrounded By Two Earthen Banks With Wide Ditches. These
Were Deepened Considerably, And The Slopes Were Cut Down
More Sharply. The Inner Bank Was Widened Until It Was 15
Feet Across The Top.
On This The Wall Was Built. It Was Faced On Both Sides
With Square Stones, The Space Between Filled Up With Rubble
And Cement, The Total Thickness Being 4 Feet. The Height Of
The Wall Was 8 Feet, And At Intervals Of 30 Yards Apart Towers
Were Raised 10 Feet Above It, One Of These Being Placed At
Either Side Of The Entrance. Here The Bank Was Cut Away, And
Solid Buttresses Of Masonry Supported The High Gates. The
Opening In The Outer Bank Was Not Opposite To The Gate In The
Inner, Being Fifty Yards Away, So That Any Who Entered By It
Would Have For That Distance To Follow The Ditch Between The
Two Banks, Exposed To The Missiles Of Those On The Wall
Before Arriving At The Inner Gate.
Five Hundred Men Laboured Incessantly At The Work. The Stone
For The Walls Was Fortunately Found Close At Hand, But,
Notwithstanding This, The Work Took Nearly Six Months To
Execute; Deep Wells Were Sunk In The Centre Of The Fort,
And By This Means An Ample Supply Of Water Was Secured,
However Large Might Be The Number Within It.
A Very Short Time After The Commencement Of The Work
Part 3 Chapter 4 (The Invasion Of Wessex) Pg 35The News Arrived That King Edmund Of East Anglia Had
Gathered His Forces Together And Had Met The Danes In A Great
Battle Near Thetford On Sunday The 20th Of November, And
Had Been Totally Defeated By Them, Edmund Himself Having
Been Taken Prisoner. The Captive King, After Having Been For
A Long Time Cruelly Tortured By The Danes, Was Shot To Death
With Arrows. It Was Not Long After This That News Came That
The Whole Of East Anglia Had Fallen Into The Hands Of The
Danes.
Early In The Month Of February, 871, Just As The Walls Of
His Fort Had Begun To Rise, A Messenger Arrived From The King
Bidding Edmund Assemble All The Men In His Earlship And
March At Once To Join Him Near Devizes, As The News Had
Come That A Great Danish Fleet Had Sailed Up The Thames And
Had Already Captured The Royal Town Of Reading.
Messengers Were Sent Out In All Directions, And Early The
Next Morning, 400 Men Having Assembled, Edmund And His
Kinsman Marched Away With Them Towards Devizes. Upon
Their Arrival At That Town They Found The King And His Brother
With 8000 Men, And The Following Day The Army Moved East
Towards Reading.
They Had Not Marched Many Miles Before A Messenger
Arrived Saying That Two Of The Danish Jarls With A Great
Following Had Gone Out To Plunder The Country, That They Had
Been Encountered By Aethelwulf, Earl Of Berkshire, With His
Men At Englefield, And A Fierce Battle Had Taken Place. The
Saxons Had Gained The Victory, And Great
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