Page:Stories after Nature.pdf/109



T the court of Alfred the Great, king of England, was a young nobleman, the son and heir of one of his wealthiest barons; allied to that great man, and bearing his name, Alfred. His father had been slain in a late battle, and had left him master of immense revenues.

This being soon after the expulsion of the Danes by the personal valour and great moves of the king, the government was somewhat weak; and the king sought to strengthen himself in the hearts of his subjects.

This young man, honouring the king's greatness, gave the whole of his riches into his hands, to farm for the use of the state, until it should be his pleasure to return them when they should cease to be needed. And as he