Dickens, Charles – A Child’s History of England

he should change his religion; but he, being a good Christian,

steadily refused. Upon that, they beat him, made cowardly jests

upon him, all defenceless as he was, shot arrows at him, and,

finally, struck off his head. It is impossible to say whose head

they might have struck off next, but for the death of KING ETHELRED

from a wound he had received in fighting against them, and the

succession to his throne of the best and wisest king that ever

lived in England.

CHAPTER III – ENGLAND UNDER THE GOOD SAXON, ALFRED

ALFRED THE GREAT was a young man, three-and-twenty years of age,

when he became king. Twice in his childhood, he had been taken to

Rome, where the Saxon nobles were in the habit of going on journeys

which they supposed to be religious; and, once, he had stayed for

some time in Paris. Learning, however, was so little cared for,

then, that at twelve years old he had not been taught to read;

although, of the sons of KING ETHELWULF, he, the youngest, was the

favourite. But he had – as most men who grow up to be great and

good are generally found to have had – an excellent mother; and,

one day, this lady, whose name was OSBURGA, happened, as she was

sitting among her sons, to read a book of Saxon poetry. The art of

printing was not known until long and long after that period, and

the book, which was written, was what is called ‘illuminated,’ with

beautiful bright letters, richly painted. The brothers admiring it

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very much, their mother said, ‘I will give it to that one of you

four princes who first learns to read.’ ALFRED sought out a tutor

that very day, applied himself to learn with great diligence, and

soon won the book. He was proud of it, all his life.

This great king, in the first year of his reign, fought nine

battles with the Danes. He made some treaties with them too, by

which the false Danes swore they would quit the country. They

pretended to consider that they had taken a very solemn oath, in

swearing this upon the holy bracelets that they wore, and which

were always buried with them when they died; but they cared little

for it, for they thought nothing of breaking oaths and treaties

too, as soon as it suited their purpose, and coming back again to

fight, plunder, and burn, as usual. One fatal winter, in the

fourth year of KING ALFRED’S reign, they spread themselves in great

numbers over the whole of England; and so dispersed and routed the

King’s soldiers that the King was left alone, and was obliged to

disguise himself as a common peasant, and to take refuge in the

cottage of one of his cowherds who did not know his face.

Here, KING ALFRED, while the Danes sought him far and near, was

left alone one day, by the cowherd’s wife, to watch some cakes

which she put to bake upon the hearth. But, being at work upon his

bow and arrows, with which he hoped to punish the false Danes when

a brighter time should come, and thinking deeply of his poor

unhappy subjects whom the Danes chased through the land, his noble

mind forgot the cakes, and they were burnt. ‘What!’ said the

cowherd’s wife, who scolded him well when she came back, and little

thought she was scolding the King, ‘you will be ready enough to eat

them by-and-by, and yet you cannot watch them, idle dog?’

At length, the Devonshire men made head against a new host of Danes

who landed on their coast; killed their chief, and captured their

flag; on which was represented the likeness of a Raven – a very fit

bird for a thievish army like that, I think. The loss of their

standard troubled the Danes greatly, for they believed it to be

enchanted – woven by the three daughters of one father in a single

afternoon – and they had a story among themselves that when they

were victorious in battle, the Raven stretched his wings and seemed