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The furniture of a Saxon dwelling was simple. Stools, benches, and settles were used, instead of chairs. These were made, as were also the tables, of wood curiously carved. The English silversmiths were especially famous for their delicate. workmanship, and on the tables of the rich were found cups, vases, and dishes of gold and silver, beautifully wrought.. The common people used dishes of wood, horn, and bone. Glass vessels were not commonly found, and their place was supplied by drinking-horns, rimmed and ornamented with silver. Four meals a day was

The Saxons were extravagant eaters. the allowance of all who could afford it. They became, after their connection with the Danes, immoderate drinkers too. So prevalent had this vice become in the days of King Edgar, that he caused drinking-horns to be made with knobs of brass at certain distances from each other, and commanded that no guest should be compelled, at one draught, to drink more than from one knob to the next. The tables were covered with cloths so large, that they could be spread over the knees of the guests, and used as napkins. The meats were served on small spits, by kneeling attendants. At festal meals the harp was handed from guest to guest, each being expected to contribute a song or a strain for the general entertainment.

The dress of the Anglo-Saxon women consisted of a linen tunic, fitting close at the throat, having tight sleeves, and richly embroidered hems and borders. A loose garment, with flowing sleeves, was frequently thrown over the tunic. On the head, and enveloping the neck, was worn a veil of linen or silk. Men wore tunics of linen or woollen, descending to the knees, and fastened by a belt at the waist. These garments, too, had fine borders. Over this was worn a cloak, fastened by a ring or brooch on the shoulder. The tunics of the lower classes were often made of hide. On the legs were worn linen or woollen stockings, crossed with strips of cloth, linen, or leather. Over the dress was often worn chains and crosses, and the belts, frequently of gold and silver, were studded with jewels.

The amusements of the Saxons were of an exciting nature. The thanes, or nobles, delighted in hunting and hawking, whilst the ceorl enjoyed bear-baiting, the feats of the tumbler and the juggler, and the song of the gleeman and minstrel. More quiet spirits delighted in games, such as chess, dice, and backgammon. The latter is said to take its name from two Welsh words, signifying little battle.

At the time of the Norman conquest, the city of London was a very humble town: the streets were narrow and winding, and here and there, at frequent intervals, the eye rested on the verdure and foliage of the beautiful gardens of the convents, which arose in every direction; the houses were of wood, and wooden towers crowned the low thatched or reeded roofs of the churches. Tall crosses and images of saints marked the intersection of the ways, which custom may yet be traced in the names of the present thoroughfares Rood-Lane and Lady-Lane. Portions of the metropolis now so populous, were then the humble villages of Southwark, Charing, Lambeth, St. Giles, St Pancras, &c., around and beyond which stretched orchards and fields, surrounding the scattered dwellings of the wealthy Saxon merchant and citizen.

London was not then the capital of England. Winchester was the favorite city of the Saxon monarchs, but they held court as they listed, in various places of the realm. In the Easter of 1053, King Edward the Confessor wore his crown in the little village of Windshore, now Windsor. Through the same fair landscape still

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but the placid waters reflect not now the humble palace of 800 years ago.

"From the stately brow

Of Windsor's heights"

frown down the proud towers of the Castle, and in that truly

regal residence, Queen Victoria may hold her court, surrounded by a pomp and splendor, of which her royal Saxon predecessors never dreamed.

QUESTIONS.-Mention some of the characteristics of the religion of this century.-Repeat the illustrations given in the conduct of Elfrida, Canute, and Dunstan.-Who were the Culdees?-Mention some of the benefits conferred by the monasteries.-How were literature and the arts profited by them?

Of whom was the great council of the realm composed ?-Repeat the account of a Saxon criminal trial.-What was the frequent method of settling disputes ?-Mention the instance cited in proof of this.

Describe the houses and furniture of the Saxons.-What is said of their meals and habits at table?-What were the costumes of the men and women of this period?-What amusements were practised? -Describe London as it existed in Saxon times.

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PART III.

THE NORMAN CONQUEST.

A. D. 1066-1100.

"Then,' cried the Saxon soldiers, 'in vain are mace and mail, We fall before the Normans as corn before the hail.'

'And vainly,' cried the pious monks, 'by Mary's shrine we kneel, For prayers, like arrows, glance aside, against the Norman steel.'" Altered from "THE BALLAD or Rou."

CHAPTER VIII.

WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.

LAST STRUGGLES OF THE SAXONS-NORMAN ASCENDANCY-CLOSE OF THE CONQUEROR'S LIFE.

Two

THE battle of Hastings was fought in October. months passed by ere William ventured to London, to receive the crown which that field had won. At length, on Christmas day of the year 1066, the Conqueror stood in Westminster Abbey. A train of Norman nobles and priests were with him. Some English, too, were there. First, a Norman bishop asked William's followers whether they would have their duke crowned king of England: then Aldred, the Saxon archbishop of York, demanded in English, if the people would take William the Norman for their king. Shouts of applause arose in answer to both these questions. The Conqueror's horsemen, outside of the Abbey, mistook them for cries of alarm from their Norman friends within. In hasty revenge they set fire to the English houses. Amid the confusion which followed, William and the archbishop were left trembling and almost alone before the altar.

Christmas, 1066.

Aldred placed the crown on the brow of the Conqueror, who, in addition to the usual coronation oath, promised to rule his new subjects as well as their best native kings had done.

William had promised more than he could perform. A large army of nobles, soldiers, priests, and monks had come with the Norman duke to England. He had told them that, if they would help him to conquer the country, lands, abbeys, churches, and treasures should be theirs. These greedy Norman followers were not likely to let William forget his promises, and how could he keep them, without making beggars and outcasts of his English subjects? One man alone, of all that Norman host, was found honest enough to tell his master that, "he desired not property seized and stolen from other men; that he should go back to Normandy, there to enjoy his humble but rightful heritage, and rest content with his own lot, without coveting the wealth of others." The name of this man was Guilbert Fitz-Richard.

Saxon England was not to become the prey of the Norman conqueror, until after a long and hard struggle. When William was crowned king, his dominions did not extend as far north as the city of Oxford, nor as far west as that of Exeter.

In 1067, William visited his duchy of Normandy. During his absence, his harsh brother, Bishop Odo, so oppressed the English, that they rose against the Normans. William came back, and then began what may be called the real conquest of England. It was a contest of seven years' duration.

Exeter, Oxford, Warwick, Leicester, Derby, Not1068. tingham, Lincoln, and thus on, city after city was taken. Norman castles, manned with knights and soldiers, arose all over the country: the fortresses, the garrisons, the houses of Saxon lords, were given to Normans: the churches, the monasteries, and the abbeys were filled with Norman priests. Numbers of English wandered away to foreign lands; many in later days became crusaders, and very many fled as outlaws to the woods and forests. Thus "Merry England,"

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