Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/49

901.] the most considerable among them, headed by Hastings, earnestly solicited Guthrun to renew the war in Wessex, but not prevailing, they put to sea, and ravaged the coast of Flanders; and shortly after, another, and no less numerous troop, informed of the great booty the first expedition had met with in Kent, embarked to join them. These two bands, thus united, overran Brabant, Hainault, Flanders, Picardy, and Artois, perpetrating unheard-of cruelties; after which, having again divided into two bodies, one of them sailed back to England, in hopes of plundering the country, where they imagined they should come unexpected. Having landed in Kent, they marched towards Rochester, with design to surprise that city; but Alfred, who, contrary to their expectation, had his array in readiness, hastened to meet them upon the first notice of their arrival, and his approach was sufficient to make them fly to their ships with such precipitation that they left their plunder behind them. His vigilance having prevented their designs upon England, they returned to France, and rejoining their companions, continued their devastation in that kingdom.

Hitherto the English had only acted on the defensive. Exposed to the continual invasions of the Danes, and uncertain where the enemy would land, they were generally surprised before it was in their power to defend themselves; and the sea-coast being uninhabited, there was nothing to prevent the piratical marauders from landing unopposed. Alfred's first care, therefore, was to equip a considerable fleet, the advantage of which he had already experienced, with which he determined to cruise along the coasts, and attack all Danish ships laden with booty. Sixteen were surprised in the port of Harwich, in East Anglia, part of which were captured and the remainder sunk, and a considerable booty was also obtained. Guthrun, incensed at this act of hostility in one of his harbours, suffered the parties aggrieved to endeavour to retrieve their losses, and even furnished them with means; and it was not long before they found an opportunity of attacking and gaining some advantage over Alfred's ships. The Saxon fleet, however, in general maintained the superiority, and kept the Danes in awe. The king, having thus secured the sea-coasts, fortified the kingdom with castles and walled towns, repairing those that had gone to ruin, and building others in so strong a manner that they could not easily be assaulted; and as London, considerable both for its size and situation, remained in the hands of the Danes, and gave them a passage into Wessex, he resolved to invest it, and the besieged were in a little time obliged to capitulate. He is said to have added both to its strength and beauty, and committed the government of it to Ethelred, who had married his daughter Elfleda, or rather gave it him, with the title of Earl of Mercia. Some historians say that he conferred on him the dignity of king; but there appears to be no authority for such an assertion. The creating Ethelred Earl of Mercia did not invest him with power, except in London, all the rest of the province being in possession of the Danes, over whom he exercised a titular authority. Having some repose from the turmoils of war, Alfred continued to occupy himself in fortifying the towns in his dominions—a precaution which served not only to repel any future attempts of their enemies, but to keep those who had already settled on the island within the limits assigned them.

This state of peace lasted for twelve years, during which time the patriot monarch had time to attend to the amelioration of the laws, and other improvements necessary for the well-being of his subjects.

The Danes, who, under the conduct of their chief, the celebrated Hastings, had ravaged France and the Low Countries, where they acquired immense booty, having been twice defeated by Eudes and Arnulph, the Kings of France and Germany, decided on returning to England, not with the intention of settling there, but led by the thirst of plunder. Dividing their forces into equal parts, they set sail for the island. The first expedition reached the coast of Kent, where they landed and committed dreadful depredations. The second, under the command of Hastings, entered the Thames, and landed at Middleton.

Alfred, who appears to have been in East Anglia at the time of this new invasion, no sooner received the intelligence than he drew together what troops he could; and, after receiving the oaths of the Anglian Danes, marched against the new comers, and defeated the enemy, who were laying siege to Exeter.

We have no very distinct accounts of the wars which ensued. The Danes, under the command of Hastings, returned to France, perhaps on account of the plague which, about this time, was committing great ravages in the island.

The terror which the name of this chief inspired had armed all the sea-coasts of France against him; on discovering which he resolved to change his course, and steer for the Mediterranean, where he contrived, by an act of sacrilege and deceit, to become master of the town of Luna, on the coast of Tuscany.

He pretended that he had merely visited the place in order to gratify his desire of becoming a Christian, and actually received baptism from the bishop. Some little time after he caused the simple prelate to be informed that he was dead, and had left a large sum of money, on condition of his being buried in the church of Luna. By this stratagem Hastings and a considerable number of his followers obtained entrance into the town, under pretence of conducting the funeral, and immediately began to massacre and pillage the inhabitants.

The adventurer ultimately settled in the city of Chartres, which Charles the Simple, King of France, assigned to him as the price of peace.

The laws, during the war, had been very much neglected, and were become almost unknown to the people. Alfred made a collection of the best he could find. He inserted some of the judicial laws of the Old Testament, and several of those formerly enacted by Ina, King of Wessex, and Offa, King of Mercia, in their respective kingdoms; and to those he added many of his own, adapted to the circumstances of his people. Throughout these laws may easily be observed an ardent zeal for justice, and a sincere desire of rooting out oppression and violence. They were indeed mild, if compared with those of later ages, seeing they punished most offences by mulcts and fines; but the strictness wherewith Alfred caused them to be observed counterbalanced their lenity. If with respect to private persons the rigour of the law was somewhat abated, it was not so with regard to unjust magistrates, for to such Alfred was ever inexorable; and history informs us that he executed four-and-forty judges within the space of one year, for corruption.