and sent to his court. But this good act arose neither from friendship nor compassion. He demanded, as the price of his mediation for his release, that Harold should, on the death of Edward, assist him in obtaining the throne of England. Being in the power of William, Harold, it is said, took an oath to that effect before a grand council of the barons and head men of Normandy. The sanctity of an oath in those days was so frequently disregarded, that sundry plans had been invented, such as swearing upon the host, or consecrated wafer, and upon the relics of saints and martyrs, which it was thought would render oaths more binding. Harold would not have taken such an oath as this, but William resorted to a device, by which such an oath might pass Harold's lips. He caused the bones and relics of saints in all the churches and monasteries in the country to be deposited in a large tub, which was placed in the council-chamber, and concealed under a cloth-of-gold. The missal on which Harold took the oath was laid upon this cloth-of-gold, and on the conclusion of the ceremony the missal was removed, and the cloth taken off, when Harold saw that his promise had been made upon the relics and bones of saints. It is said that he was alarmed, but he durst not retract; and William, having, as he thought, made surety doubly sure, loaded Harold with presents, and permitted him to depart.

Harold, however, made no scruple in breaking this promise, and he, on the death of Edward, ascended the throne of England. He obtained the crown, but he soon found that it was lined with thorns.

When William heard of the death of Edward, and the accession of Harold, he was in his hunting-grounds at Rouen. On a sudden he was observed to be very pensive, and giving his bow to one of his followers, he hurried to his palace, where he strode the apartments with such energy, and looked so fierce and agitated, that for some time no one dared to approach him. At length an officer of rank, who had long enjoyed his confidence, advanced towards him, and thus addressed him: "My lord, where is the use of hiding your news from us? It is reported that the king of England is dead, and that Harold has seized his kingdom, regardless of his oath to you." "It is true," replied the duke; "my spite comes from the death of Edward, and the wrong that Harold has done me." "Well, sire," rejoined the courtier, "for the death of Edward there is no help; but there is one

for the wrongs of Harold. Justice is on your side, and you have good soldiers: undertake boldly; a thing well begun is half done." William recovered from his reverie, and agreed that ambassadors should be sent forthwith to England.

An embassy was sent to Harold demanding the crown, reminding him of his solemn oath, and threatening to invade the kingdom. Harold, however, refused to vacate the throne to which the people had called him, and made no scruple about his oath it was extorted, he replied, and therefore could not be binding. William now proceeded to collect troops; offering good pay to every tall, robust man who would serve him with the lance, the sword, or the crossbow. Multitudes flocked to him from all parts; from Maine, Anjou, Poitou, Bretagne, Flanders, Aquitaine, Burgundy, Piedmont, and from the banks of the Rhine. Of these, some were knights and chiefs, and others foot-soldiers -some demanded regular pay in money; others merely their passage across the Channel, and all the booty they might make. William was aided in his preparations for war by the church of Rome. The pope sent a bull, justifying the expedition, and a consecrated banner, which was to float over it; and the matrons of Normandy sent their sons to enrol themselves under it for the health of their souls. This licence from the pope to invade England was obtained on the condition, that the Norman duke, when he had conquered it, should hold it as a fief of the church.

The first storm of war that fell upon England in the days of Harold did not proceed from Normandy. While William was making preparations, Harold had to encounter Tostig, his own brother. Tostig had been expelled from the government of Northumbria for his rapacity and cruelty, and Harold, convinced of his crimes, had agreed with the Northumbrians that Morcar, the son of earl Algar, should govern them. This inflamed the resentment of Tostig, and being assisted by the duke of Normandy, he commenced hostilities with a few ships on the coasts of Sussex and Lincolnshire. He was defeated by the earls of Mercia and Northumbria, and took refuge in Scotland. He endeavoured to persuade the king of that country to aid him, and failing in this, he sailed to the Baltic, to invite Sweyn, the king of Denmark, to the conquest of our island. Sweyn declined; but Harold Hadrada, king of Norway, accepted the invitation, and set sail with a fleet consisting of about five hundred ships.

The king of Norway and Tostig landed their forces at Riccall, or Richale, not far from the city of York. They were joined by many in that part of the country, and were enabled to defeat the northern earls in a battle on the banks of the Ouse. The invaders entered York but a few days after their landing: Harold advanced to oppose them. Hadrada drew up his forces at Stamford Bridge, and a fierce battle was fought, in which the arms of Harold prevailed. Hadrada fell with nearly all his chiefs, and the greater part of his men, and Tostig also was slain. The Norwegian fleet fell into the hands of the conqueror.

Three days after this victory the Normans landed in the south. Harold received this news as he was sitting at table with the citizens of York, and he was soon on his way for London. His forces had greatly suffered in the recent battle, and in his route it was further weakened by desertion and the fatigues of the march. This was unfavourable for his cause, as the enemies he now had to encounter were most formidable.

William set sail for England with three thousand vessels, of which several hundreds were of a superior order. This fleet came to anchor on the Sussex coast without meeting with any resistance. Harold's ships, which had long cruized on that coast, had been called elsewhere, or had returned into port through want of pay and provisions. Thus favoured, William landed and marched to Hastings, near to which town he traced a fortified camp, and established his army. From his camp detachments were sent into the neighbouring country, which pillaged and burned the houses. Irritated by the ravages committed by the invaders, Harold, who had received some re-enforcements, marched for the Sussex coast by night, only six days after his arrival in London. His forces were inferior in numbers to those of William, but he hoped that he should be able to fall upon his enemy suddenly, and thus gain a victory. But William was too much on the alert to be taken by surprise, and when the English army arrived at Senlac, since called Battle, Harold found that his approach was known to the enemy.

Harold now changed his plan. He surrounded his camp with ditches and palisades, and there waited the attack of his rival. A whole day was passed in fruitless negociation : William required that Harold should do one of three things, resign the crown, submit to the arbitration of the pope, or

decide the quarrel by single-combat. Harold refused his assent to either of these proposals; and subsequently he refused an offer from William of all the country beyond the river Humber.

A battle was inevitable. The night preceding it was spent by the two armies in a very different manner. While the English feasted and rejoiced, singing their old national songs, and emptying their horn cups, the Normans looked to their arms and their horses, and passed the night in acts of devotion. Morning dawned, and the leaders prepared for battle. William arranged his troops, wearing round his neck some of the relics over which Harold had taken his oath. The whole army was divided into three columns of attack: the third, composed of Normans, and including many nobles, being headed by the duke in person. Preparations being made, William animated his soldiers by an impressive address, and then led them forward to battle. The Normans shouted, "God is our help;" while the watchword of the English was, "The holy cross." The English infantry were armed with battle-axes, and were arranged in a compact and wedge-like body. On these the Norman bowmen and crossbowmen made no impression, and when their cavalry charged, the battle-axe of the English broke the lances, and cut the coats of mail, on which the Normans relied, and they were obliged to retire. The duke then threw forward all his archers, and supported them by a charge of cavalry; but though the English line was at first broken, the assailants were thrown back to a trench covered over with bushes and grass, where numbers perished. For a moment there was a general panic; a cry was raised that the duke was killed, and a flight commenced. William, however, restored order, and as he could not hope to break the line of English infantry by a direct attack, he had recourse to stratagem. A body of cavalry charged and feigned to retreat, and the English, leaving their positions to follow them, were surprised in their disorder, and assailed on every side by swords and lances. This stratagem was repeated in another part of the field with the same success, and many hundreds of the English were slain. Still the main body retained its position behind the stakes and palisades on the ridge of the hill; and such was their courage, that the Normans were obliged to try the stratagem the third time. Again they succeeded; and when the English were disordered, the Norman horse and foot

power

burst into the enclosure, and broke the line in several points. But still the victory was undecided. Harold was surrounded by the remains of his broken phalanx, which defied all the of the Normans. As a last effort, William directed his archers to point their arrows upward that they might fall upon the heads of the English. This was fatal to Harold: he was struck by an arrow, which entered his left eye and penetrated his brain. The English then gave way; but they only retreated to their standard, which they sought to defend. Desperate efforts were made by the Normans to seize the banner, and at length a band of twenty threw themselves into the ranks, and succeeded, after ten of their number had perished. At this rallying point, Gurth and Leofwin, the brothers of Harold, perished, and after this the English troops, broken and dispirited, dispersed through the woods which lay in the rear of their position. The Normans followed them by the light of the moon, but the English slew many of their pursuers, and they soon gave up the chase.

Such was the battle of Hastings, which decided the fate of Saxon-England. By this battle, indeed, William did not gain a fourth part of England; his wars for the conquest of the west, the north, and the east, were protracted for seven long years. The battle, though lost, was nobly fought on the part of England. All the Norman writers express their admiration of the valour of the foe; and most of them confess that the great superiority of his forces alone enabled William to obtain the victory. But it is not always by numbers that victory is obtained; and it would rather appear that a special Providence opened the way for William to succeed to the throne. The arrow which entered the eye of Harold was as surely charged with a commission, as the Syrian shaft that struck Ahab. His days were numbered.