Page:The child's pictorial history of England; (IA childspictorialh00corn).pdf/46

 they could hardly be called kings; so that a brave prince, named Egbert, who conquered the last kingdom of the Heptarchy, is usually called the first king of England.

3. The civil wars were thus, for a time, ended; but it seemed as if the English were never to be long at peace, for they now had some terrible enemies to contend with, who kept the country in constant alarm.

4. These were the Danes who came from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and were almost the same people as the Saxons; for they spoke the same language, followed the same customs, and lived by piracy, as the Saxons did in former times.

5. I have not room to tell you of half the mischief they did in England. Sometimes they would land suddenly from their boats in the night, when the affrighted people were awakened by a cry of, "the Danes! the Danes!" and, starting up, perhaps, beheld their villages in flames; and, as they ran in terror from their cottages, were either killed or dragged away to the pirate vessels, with the cattle and any thing else that could be found, and made slaves.

6. Egbert had fought a battle with them in Cornwall, and forced them to depart; but, during the reign of Ethelwulf, the next king, and three