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

Be Little Less Than Miraculous,  And They Awaited With

Confidence And Eagerness Their Meeting With The Danes On The

Field.

 

At The End Of April Messengers Were Sent Out Bidding

The Saxons Hold Themselves In Readiness,  And On The 6th Of

May Alfred Moved With His Force From Athelney To Egbertesstan

(Now Called Brixton),  Lying To The East Of The Forest Of

Selwood,  Which Lay Between Devonshire And Somerset. The

Golden Dragon Had Been Unfurled.   On The Fort In Athelney,

And After Crossing The Marshes To The Mainland It Was Carried

In The Centre Of The Phalanx.

 

On The 12th They Reached The Appointed Place,  Where

They Found A Great Multitude Of Saxons Already Gathered.

They Had Poured In From Devonshire,  Somerset,  And

Wiltshire,  From Dorset And Hants. In Spite Of The Vigorous

Edicts Of The Danes Against Arms A Great Proportion Of Them

Bore Weapons,  Which Had Been Buried In The Earth,  Or Concealed

In Hollow Trees Or Other Hiding-Places Until The Time

For Action Should Again Arrive.

 

As They Saw The King Approaching At The Head Of His

Band,  With The Golden Dragon Fluttering In The Breeze,  A

Great Shout Of Joy Arose From The Multitude,  And They Crowded

Round The Monarch With Shouts Of Welcome At His Reappearance

Among Them,  And With Vows To Die Rather Than Again To

Yield To The Tyranny Of The Northmen. The Rest Of The Day

Was Spent In Distributing The Newly Fashioned Arms To Those

Who Needed Them,  And In Arranging The Men In Bands Under

Their Own Thanes,  Or,  In Their Absence,  Such Leaders As The

King Appointed.

 

Upon The Following Morning The Army Started,  Marching

In A North-Easterly Direction Against The Great Camp Of

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The Danes At Chippenham. That Night They Rested At Okeley,

And Then Marched On Until In The Afternoon They Came Within

Sight Of The Danes Gathered At Ethandune,  A Place Supposed

To Be Identical With Edington Near Westbury.

 

As The Time For Alfred's Reappearance Approached The

Agitation And Movement On The Part Of The People Had

Attracted The Attention Of The Danes,  And The News Of His

Summons To The Saxons To Meet Him At Egbertesstan Having Come

To Their Ears,  They Gathered Hastily From All Parts Under

Guthorn Their King,  Who Was By Far The Most Powerful Viking

Who Had Yet Appeared In England,  And Who Ruled East Anglia

As Well As Wessex. Confident Of Victory The Great Danish

Army Beheld The Approach Of The Saxons. Long Accustomed

To Success,  And Superior In Numbers,  They Regarded With

Something Like Contempt The Approach Of Their Foes.

 

In The Centre Alfred Placed The Trained Phalanx Which

Had Accompanied Him From Athelney,  In The Centre Of Which

Waved The Golden Dragon,  By Whose Side He Placed Himself.

Its Command He Left In The Hands Of Edmund,  He Himself

Directing The General Movements Of The Force. On His Right

Were The Men Of Somerset And Hants; On The Left Those Of

Wilts,  Dorset,  And Devon.

 

His Orders Were That The Advance Was To Be Made With

Regularity; That The Whole Line Were To Fight For A While On

The Defensive,  Resisting The Onslaught Of The Danes Until He

Gave The Word For The Central Phalanx To Advance And Burst

Through The Lines Of The Enemy,  And That When These Had Been

Thrown Into Confusion By This Attack The Flanks Were To Charge

Forward And Complete The Rout. This Plan Was Carried Out. The

Danes Advanced With Their Usual Impetuosity,  And For Hours

Tried To Break Through The Lines Of The Saxon Spears. Both

Sides Fought Valiantly,  The Danes Inspired By Their Pride In

Their Personal Prowess And Their Contempt For The Saxons;

The Saxons By Their Hatred For Their Oppressors,  And Their

Determination To Die Rather Than Again Submit To Their Bondage.

At Length,  After The Battle Had Raged Some Hours,  And

Both Parties Were Becoming Wearied From Their Exertions,

The King Gave Edmund The Order.

 

Hitherto His Men Had Fought In Line With The Rest; But At

The Sound Of His Bugle They Quitted Their Places,  And,  Ere The

Danes Could Understand The Meaning Of This Sudden Movement,

Had Formed Themselves Into Their Wedge,  Raised A Mighty

Shout,  And Advanced Against The Enemy. The Onslaught Was

Irresistible. The Great Wedge,  With Its Thick Fringe Of Spears,

Burst Its Way Straight Through The Danish Centre Carrying All

Before It. Then At Another Note Of Edmund's Bugle It Broke

Up Into Two Bodies,  Which Moved Solidly To The Right And Left,

Crumpling Up The Danish Lines.

 

Alfred Now Gave The Order For A General Advance,  And

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The Saxon Ranks,  With A Shout Of Triumph,  Flung Themselves

Upon The Disordered Danes. Their Success Was Instant And

Complete. Confounded At The Sudden Break Up Of Their Line,

Bewildered By These New And Formidable Tactics,  Attacked In

Front And In Flank,  The Danes Broke And Fled. The Saxons

Pursued Them Hotly,  Edmund Keeping His Men Well Together

In Case The Danes Should Rally. Their Rout,  However,  Was Too

Complete; Vast Numbers Were Slain,  And The Remnant Of Their

Army Did Not Pause Until They Found Themselves Within The

Shelter Of Their Camp At Chippenham.

 

No Quarter Was Given By The Saxons To Those Who Fell

Into Their Hands,  And Pressing Upon The Heels Of The Flying

Danes The Victorious Army Of King Alfred Sat Down Before

Chippenham. Every Hour Brought Fresh Reinforcements To

The King's Standard. Many Were Already On Their Way When

The Battle Was Fought; And As The News Of The Victory Spread

Rapidly Every Man Of The West Saxons Capable Of Bearing Arms

Made For Chippenham,  Feeling That Now Or Never Must A Complete

Victory Over The Danes Be Obtained.

 

No Assault Was Made Upon The Danish Camp. Confident In His

Now Vastly Superior Numbers,  And In The Enthusiasm Which

Reigned In His Army,  Alfred Was Unwilling To Waste

A Single Life In An Attack Upon The Entrenchments,  Which Must

Ere Long Surrender From Famine. There Was No Risk Of

Reinforcements Arriving To Relieve The Danes. Guthorn Had Led

To The Battle The Whole Fighting Force Of The Danes In Wessex

And East Anglia. This Was Far Smaller Than It Would Have

Been A Year Earlier; But The Northmen,  Having Once Completed

Their Work Of Pillage,  Soon Turned To Fresh Fields Of

Adventure. Those Whose Disposition Led Them To Prefer A

Quiet Life Had Settled Upon The Land From Which They Had

Dispossessed The Saxons; But The Principal Bands Of Rovers,

Finding That England Was Exhausted And That No More Plunder

Could Be Had,  Had Either Gone Back To Enjoy At Home The

Booty They Had Gained,  Or Had Sailed To Harry The Shores Of

France,  Spain,  And Italy.

 

Thus The Position Of The Danes In Chippenham Was

Desperate,  And At The End Of Fourteen Days,  By Which Time

They Were Reduced To An Extremity By Hunger,  They Sent

Messengers Into The Royal Camp Offering Their Submission. They

Promised If Spared To Quit The Kingdom With All Speed,  And

To Observe This Contract More Faithfully Than Those Which They

Had Hitherto Made And Broken. They Offered The King As

Many Hostages As He Might Wish To Take For The Fulfilment Of

Their Promises. The Haggard And Emaciated Condition Of

Those Who Came Out To Treat Moved Alfred To Pity.

 

So Weakened Were They By Famine That They Could Scarce

Drag Themselves Along. It Would Have Been Easy For The Saxons

To Have Slain Them To The Last Man; And The Majority Of

The Saxons,  Smarting Under The Memory Of The Cruel Oppression

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Which They Had Suffered,  The Destruction Of Home And

Property,  And The Slaughter Of Friends And Relations,  Would

Fain Have Exterminated Their Foes. King Alfred,  However,

Thought Otherwise.

 

Guthorn And The Danes Had Effected A Firm Settlement

In East Anglia,  And Lived At Amity With The Saxons There. They

Had,  It Is True,  Wrested From Them The Greatest Portion Of

Their Lands. Still Peace And Order Were Now Established. The

Saxons Were Allowed Liberty And Equal Rights. Intermarriages

Were Taking Place,  And The Two Peoples Were Becoming Welded

Into One. Alfred Then Considered That It Would Be Well To

Have The King Of This Country As An Ally; He And His Settled

People Would Soon Be As Hostile To Further Incursions Of The

Northmen As Were The Saxons Themselves,  And Their Interests

And Those Of Wessex Would Be Identical.

 

Did He,  On The Other Hand,  Carry Out A General Massacre

Of The Danes Now In His Power He Might Have Brought Upon

England A Fresh Invasion Of Northmen,  Who,  Next To Plunder,

Loved Revenge,  And Who Might Come Over In Great Hosts

To Avenge The Slaughter Of Their Countrymen. Moved,  Then,

By Motives Of Policy As Well As By Compassion,  He Granted The

Terms They Asked,  And Hostages Having Been Sent In From The

Camp He Ordered Provisions To Be Supplied To The Danes.

 

The Same Night A Messenger Of Rank Came In From

Guthorn Saying That He Intended To Embrace Christianity.

The News Filled Alfred And The Saxons With Joy. The King,  A

Sincere And Devoted Christian,  Had Fought As Much For His

Religion As For His Kingdom,  And His Joy At The Prospect Of

Guthorn's Conversion,  Which Would As A Matter Of Course Be

Followed By That Of His Subjects,  Was Deep And Sincere.

 

To The Saxons Generally The Temporal Consequence Of

The Conversion Had No Doubt Greater Weight Than The Spiritual.

The Conversion Of Guthorn And The Danes Would Be A

Pledge Far More Binding Than Any Oaths Of Alliance Between

The Two Kingdoms. Guthorn And His Followers Would Be

Viewed With Hostility By Their Countrymen,  Whose Hatred Of

Christianity Was Intense,  And East Anglia Would,  Therefore,

Naturally Seek The Close Alliance And Assistance Of Its

Christian Neighbour.

 

Great Were The Rejoicings In The Saxon Camp That Night.

Seldom,  Indeed,  Has A Victory Had So Great And Decisive An

Effect Upon The Future Of A Nation As That Of Ethandune. Had

The Saxons Been Crushed,  The Domination Of The Danes In

England Would Have Been Finally Settled. Christianity Would

Have Been Stamped Out,  And With It Civilization,  And The

Island Would Have Made A Backward Step Into Paganism And

Barbarism Which Might Have Delayed Her Progress For Centuries.

 

The Victory Established The Freedom Of Wessex,  Converted