The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3) - G. A. Henty (best pdf ebook reader .txt) 📗

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Was The Number Of Their Pursuers,  Rallied And Turned Upon

Them,  And The Saxons Were Driven From The Field Which They

Had So Bravely Won.

 

"Unless My Brave Saxons Learn Order And Discipline,"

The King Said To Edmund And Some Of His Nobles Who Gathered

Round Him On The Evening After The Defeat,  "Our Cause Is

Assuredly Lost. We Have Proved Now In Each Battle That We Are

Superior Man To Man To The Danes,  But We Throw Away The

Fruits Of Victory By Our Impetuosity. The Great Caesar,  Who

Wrote An Account Of His Battles Which I Have Read In Latin,

Described The Order And Discipline With Which The Roman

Troops Fought. They Were Always In Heavy Masses,  And Even

After A Battle The Heavy-Armed Soldiers Kept Their Ranks And

Did Not Scatter In Pursuit Of The Enemy,  Leaving This Task To

The More Lightly Armed Troops.

 

"Would That We Had Three Or Four Years Before Us To Teach

Our Men Discipline And Order,  But Alas! There Is No Time For

This. The Danes Have Fallen In Great Numbers In Every Fight,

But They Are Ever Receiving Reinforcements And Come On In

Fresh Waves Of Invasion; While The Saxons,  Finding That All

Their Efforts And Valour Seem To Avail Nothing,  Are Beginning

Fast To Lose Heart. See How Small A Number Assembled Round

My Standard Yesterday,  And Yet The War Is But Beginning. Truly

The Look-Out Is Bad For England."

 

The King Made Strenuous Efforts Again To Raise An Army,

But The People Did Not Respond To His Call. In Addition To The

Battles Which Have Been Spoken Of Several Others Had Been

Fought In Different Parts Of Wessex By The Ealdormen And

Their Followers Against Bodies Of Invading Danes. In The Space

Of One Year The Saxons Had Engaged In Eight Pitched Battles

And In Many Skirmishes. Great Numbers Had Been Slain On

Both Sides,  But The Danes Ever Received Fresh Accessions Of

Strength,  And Seemed To Grow Stronger And More Numerous

After Every Battle,  While The Saxons Were Dwindling Rapidly.

Wide Tracts Of Country Had Been Devastated,  The Men Slaughtered,

And The Women And Children Taken Captives,  And The

People,  Utterly Dispirited And Depressed,  No Longer Listened

To The Voices Of Their Leaders,  And Refused Again To Peril Their

Lives In A Strife Which Seemed Hopeless. Alfred Therefore Called

His Ealdormen Together And Proposed To Them,  That Since

The People Would No Longer Fight,  The Sole Means That Remained

To Escape Destruction Was To Offer To Buy Off The Danes.

 

The Proposal Was Agreed To,  For Although None Of Them

Had Any Hope That The Danes Would Long Keep Any Treaty They

Might Make,  Yet Even A Little Respite Might Give Heart And

Spirit To The Saxons Again. Accordingly Negotiations Were

Entered Into With The Danes,  And These,  In Consideration Of A

Large Money Payment,  Agreed To Retire From Wessex. The

Money Was Paid,  The Danes Retired From Reading,  Which They

Had Used As Their Headquarters,  And Marched To London.

King Burhred,  The Feeble King Of Mercia,  Could Do Nothing

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To Oppose Them,  And He Too Agreed To Pay Them A Large Annual

Tribute.

 

From The End Of 872 Till The Autumn Of 875 The Country

Was Comparatively Quiet. Alfred Ruled It Wisely,  And Tried To

Repair The Terrible Damages The War Had Made. Edmund

Looked After His Earldom,  And Grew Into A Powerful Young

Man Of Nineteen Years Old.

 

King Alfred Had Not Deceived Himself For A Moment As

To The Future. "The Danes," He Said,  "Are Still In England.

East Anglia And Northumbria Swarm With Them. Had This

Army,  After Being Bought Off By Us And My Brother Of Mercia,

Sailed Across The Seas And Landed In France There Would Have

Been Some Hope For Us,  But Their Restless Nature Will Not

Allow Them To Stay Long In The Parts Which They

Have Conquered.

 

"In Anglia King Guthrum Has Divided The Land Among

His Jarls,  And There They Seem Disposed To Settle Down; But

Elsewhere They Care Not For The Land,  Preferring To Leave It In

The Hands Of Its Former Owners To Till,  And After To Wring From

The Cultivators The Fruits Of The Harvest; Then,  As The Country

Becomes Thoroughly Impoverished,  They Must Move Elsewhere.

Mercia They Can Overrun Whensoever They Choose,  And After

That There Is Nothing For Them To Do But To Sweep Down Again

Upon Wessex,  And With All The Rest Of England At Their Feet It

Is Hopeless To Think That We Alone Can Withstand Their United

Power."

 

"Then What,  Think You,  Must Be The End Of This?" Edmund

Asked.

 

"'Tis Difficult To See The End," Alfred Replied. "It Would

Seem That Our Only Hope Of Release From Them Is That When

They Have Utterly Eaten Up And Ravaged England They May

Turn Their Thoughts Elsewhere. Already They Are Harrying

The Northern Coasts Of France,  But There Are Richer Prizes On

The Mediterranean Shores,  And It May Be That When England

Is No Longer Worth Plundering They May Sail Away To Spain

And Italy. We Have Acted Foolishly In The Way We Have Fought

Them. When They First Began To Arrive Upon Our Coasts We

Should Have Laboured Hard To Build Great Fleets,  So That We

Could Go Forth And Meet Them On The Seas.

 

"Some,  Indeed,  Might Have Escaped Our Watch And

Landed,  But The Fleets Could Have Cut Off Reinforcements

Coming To Them,  And Thus Those Who Reached Our Shores Could

Have Been Overwhelmed. Even Now,  I Think That Something

Might Be Done That Way,  And I Purpose To Build A Fleet Which

May,  When They Again Invade Us,  Take Its Station Near The

Mouth Of The Thames And Fall Upon The Vessels Bringing Stores

And Reinforcements. This Would Give Much Encouragement

To The People,  Whose Hopelessness And Desperation Are Caused

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Principally By The Fact That It Seems To Be Of No Use Killing

The Enemy,  Since So Many Are Ready Constantly To Take

Their Places."

 

"I Will Gladly Undertake To Build One Ship," Edmund Said.

"The Fort Is Now Finished,  And With The Revenues Of The Land

I Could At Once Commence A Ship; And If The Danes Give Us

Time,  When She Is Finished I Would Build Another. I Will The

More Gladly Do It,  Since It Seems To Me That If The Danes

Entirely Overrun Our Country We Must Take To The Sea And So In

Turn Become Plunderers. With This View I Will Have The Ship

Built Large And Strong,  So That She May Keep The Sea In All

Weathers And Be My Home If I Am Driven Out Of England.

There Must Be Plenty Of Ports In France,  And Many A Quiet

Nook And Inlet Round England,  Where One Can Put In To Refit

When Necessary,  And We Could Pick Up Many A Prize Of Danish

Ships Returning Laden With Booty. With Such A Ship I Could

Carry A Strong Crew,  And With My Trusty Egbert And The Best

Of My Fighting Men We Should Be Able To Hold Our Own,  Even

If Attacked By Two Or Three Of The Danish Galleys."

 

"The Idea Is A Good One,  Edmund," The King Said,  "And I

Would That I Myself Could Carry It Into Effect. It Were A Thousand

Times Better To Live A Free Life On The Sea,  Even If Certain

At Last To Be Overpowered By A Danish Fleet,  Than To Lurk A

Hunted Fugitive In The Woods; But I Cannot Do It. So Long As I

Live I Must Remain Among My People,  Ready To Snatch Any

Chance That May Offer Of Striking A Blow Against The Invader.

But For You It Is Different."

 

"I Should Not,  Of Course,  Do It," Edmund Said,  "Until All Is

Lost Here,  And Mean To Defend My Fort To An Extremity; Still

Should It Be That The Danes Conquer All Our Lands,  It Were Well

To Have Such A Refuge."

 

Edmund Talked The Matter Over With Egbert,  Who Warmly

Entered Into The Plan. "So Long As I Have Life I Will Fight Against

The Danes,  And In A Ship At Least We Can Fight Manfully Till The

End. We Must Not Build Her On The Sea-Coast,  Or Before The

Time When We Need Her She May Be Destroyed By The Danes.

We Will Build Her On The Parrot. The Water Is Deep Enough

Far Up From The Sea To Float Her When Empty,  And If We Choose

Some Spot Where The River Runs Among Woods We Might Hide

Her So That She May To The Last Escape The Attention Of The

Danes.

 

"We Must Get Some Men Crafty In Ship-Building From

One Of The Ports,  Sending Down A Body Of Our Own Serfs To Do

The Rough Work. We Will Go To Exeter First And There Choose

Us The Craftsman Most Skilled In Building Ships,  And Will Take

Council With Him As To The Best Form And Size. She Must Be

Good To Sail And Yet Able To Row Fast With A Strong Crew,  And

She Must Have Room To House A Goodly Number Of Rowing And

Fighting Men. You,  Edmund,  Might,  Before We Start,  Consult

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King Alfred. He Must Have Seen At Rome And Other Ports On

The Mediterranean The Ships In Use There,  Which Are Doubtless

Far In Advance Of Our Own. For We Know From The Holy Bible

That A Thousand Years Ago St. Paul Made Long Voyages In

Ships,  And Doubtless They Have Learned Much Since Those Days."

 

Edmund Thought The Idea A Good One,  And Asked The

King To Make Him A Drawing Of The Vessels In Use In The

Mediterranean. This King Alfred Readily Did,  And Egbert And

Edmund Then Journeyed To Exeter,  Where Finding Out The Man

Most Noted For His Skill In Building Ships,  They Told Him The

Object They Had In View,  And Showed Him The Drawings The

King Had Made. There Were Two Of Them,  The One A Long

Galley Rowed With Double Banks Of Oars,  The Other A Heavy

Trading Ship.

 

"This Would Be Useless To You," The Shipwright Said,  Laying

The Second Drawing Aside. "It Would Not Be Fast Enough

Either To Overtake Or To Fly. The Other Galley Would,  Methinks,

Suit You Well. I Have Seen A Drawing Of Such A Ship Before. It

Is A