History of England;" whosefirst volume, years ago, first taught him to appreciate, in some degree,the character of St. Dunstan.
All Saints' School, Bloxham,
Easter 1874.
CHAPTER I. "THIS IS THE FOREST PRIMEVAL."
IT was a lovely eventide of the sunny month of May, and the decliningrays of the sun penetrated the thick foliage of an old English forest,lighting up in chequered pattern the velvet sward thick with moss, andcasting uncertain rays as the wind shook the boughs. Every bush seemedinstinct with life, for April showers and May sun had united to forceeach leaf and spray into its fairest development, and the drowsy hum ofcountless insects told, as it saluted the ears, the tale of approachingsummer.
Two boys reclined upon the mossy bank beneath an aged oak; their dress,no less than their general demeanour, denoted them to be the sons ofsome substantial thane. They were clad in hunting costume: leggings ofskin over boots of untanned leather protected their limbs from thorn orbrier, and over their under garments they wore tunics of a dull greenhue, edged at the collar and cuffs with brown fur, and fastened byrichly ornamented belts: their bows lay by their sides, while quivers ofarrows were suspended to their girdles, and two spears, such as wereused in the chase of the wild boar, lay by them on the grass. They hadthe same fair hair, which, untouched by the shears, hung negligentlyaround neck and shoulder; the same blue eyes added an indescribablesoftness to the features; they had the same well-knit frames and agilemovements, but yet there was a difference. The elder seemed possessed ofgreater vivacity of expression; but although each well-strung muscleindicated physical prowess, there was an uncertain expression in hisglance and in the play of his features, which suggested a yielding andsomewhat vacillating character; while the younger, lacking the fullphysical development, and somewhat of the engaging expression of hisbrother, had that calm and steady bearing which indicated present andfuture government of the passions.
"By Thor and Woden, Alfred, we shall be here all night. At what hour didthat stupid churl Oscar say that the deer trooped down to drink?"
"Not till sunset, Elfric; and it wants half an hour yet; see, the sun isstill high."
"I do think it is never going to set; here we have been hunting, huntingall the day, and got nothing for our pains."
"You forget the hare and the rabbit here."
"Toss them to the dogs. Here, Bran, you brute, take this hare yourmasters have been hunting all day, for your dinner;" and as he spoke hetossed the solitary victim of his own prowess in the chase to the hugewolfhound, which made a speedy meal upon the hare, while Alfred threwthe rabbit to the other of their two canine companions.
"I would almost as soon have lost this holiday, and spent the time withFather Cuthbert, to be bored by his everlasting talk about our duties,and forced to repeat '_hic, haec, hoc_,' till my head ached. What a longhomily [ii] he preached us this morning--and then thatlong story about the saint."
"You are out of spirits. Father Cuthbert's tales are not so bad, afterall you seemed to like the legend he told us the other night."
"Yes, about our ancestor Sebbald and his glorious death; there wassomething in that tale worth hearing; it stirred the blood--none ofyour moping saints, that Sebbald."
"I once heard another legend from Father Cuthbert, about the burning ofCroyland Abbey, and how the abbot stood, saying mass at the altar,without flinching or even turning his head, when the Danes, having firedthe place, broke into the chapel. Do you not think it wanted morebravery to do that in cold blood than to stand firm in all theexcitement of a battle?"
"You are made to be a monk, Alfred, and I daresay, if you get thechance, will be a martyr, and get put in the calendar by-and-by. Isuppose they will keep your relics here in the priory church, and youwill be St. Alfred of Aescendune; for me, I would sooner die as the oldsea kings loved to die, surrounded by heaps of slain, with my swordbroken in my hand."
It was at this moment that their conversation was suddenly interruptedby a loud crashing of boughs in the adjacent underwood, a rush as ofsome wild beast, a loud cry in boyish tones--"Help! help! the wolf!the wolf!"
Elfric jumped up in an instant, and rushed forward heedless of danger,followed closely by his younger brother, who was scarcely less eager torender immediate assistance.
The cries for help became more and more piercing, as if some pressingdanger menaced the utterer. Elfric, who, in spite of his flippantspeech, was by no means destitute of keen sympathies and self devotion,hurried forward, fearless of danger, bounding through thicket andunderwood, until, arriving upon a small clearing, the whole sceneflashed upon him.
A huge grey wolf, wounded and bleeding, was about to rush for the secondtime upon a youth in hunting costume, whose broken spear, broken in thefirst encounter with the beast he had disturbed, seemed to deprive himof all chance of success in the desperate encounter evidently impending.His trembling limbs showed his extreme apprehension, and the sweat stoodin huge drops on his forehead; his eyes were fixed upon the beast as ifhe were fascinated, while the shaft of his spear, presented feeblyagainst the coming onslaught, showed that he had lost his selfpossession, for he neglected the bow and arrows which were slung at hisside--if indeed there was time to use them.
The beast sprang, but as he did so another spear was stoutly presentedto meet him, and he literally impaled himself in his eager spring on theweapon of Elfric.
Still, such was his weight that the boy fell backward beneath the mightyrush, and such the tenacity of life that, though desperately wounded,even to death, the beast sought the prostrate lad with teeth and claws,in frantic fury, until a blow from the hunting knife, which Elfric wellknew how to use, laid the wolf lifeless at his side.
Breathless, but not severely injured, he rose from the ground coveredwith blood; his garments torn, his face reddened by exertion, and pauseda moment, while he seemed to strive to repress the wild beatings of hisheart, which bounded as if it would burst its prison.
But far more exhausted was the other combatant, yet scarcely so much byexertion as by fear, of which he still bore the evident traces. After afew moments he broke the silence, and his words seemed incoherent.
"Where is my horse? the beast threw me--I wish the wolves may get him--I fear you are hurt; not much, I hope; where can those serfs be? Finevassals, to desert their master in peril. I'll have them hung. But, bySt. Cuthbert, you are all covered with blood."
"'Tis that of the wolf, then, for I have scarcely a scratch: one of thebeast's claws ripped up my sleeve, and the skin with it; that was all hecould do before he felt the cold steel between his ribs."
"Not a moment too soon, or he would have killed you before we couldinterfere; why, as you rolled together, I could hardly see which was boyand which was wolf. But where's my horse? Did you see a white horse rushpast you?"
"We heard a rush as of some wild animal."
"Wild enough. I was riding through the glade, and my attendants were onin front, when we stumbled on this wolf, crouched under that thicket.The horse started so violently that it threw me almost upon the monsteryou have killed."
Here the speaker paused, and blew impatient blasts upon a horn which hadbeen slung round his neck. They were soon answered, and some attendants,dressed in semi-hunting costume, made their appearance with haste andconfusion, which showed their apprehensions.
"Guthred! Eadmer! Why did you get so far away from me? I might have beenkilled. Look at this monstrous wolf; why, its teeth are dreadful. Itbroke my spear, and would have had me down, but for this--this youth.
"I forgot, I haven't asked to whom I am indebted. Aren't you two brothers?"
"Our father is the Thane of Aescendune. His hall is not far from here.Will you not go home with us? We have plenty of room for you and yours."
"To be sure I will. Aescendune? I have heard the name: I can't rememberwhere. Have you horses?"
"No; we were hunting on foot, and expecting to let fly our shafts atsome deer. May I ask, in return, the name of our guest?"
Bef
ore the youth could answer, one of the attendants strode forward, andwith an air of importance replied, "You are about to receive the honourof a visit from the future lord of Britain, Prince Edwy."
"Keep your lips closed till I give you leave to open them, Guthred. Youmay leave me to announce myself.
"I shall be only too glad to go with you both; and these two huntsmendeserve to be left in the forest to the mercy of your wolves."
Somewhat startled to find that they had saved the future Basileus orKing of Britain--the hope of the royal line of Cerdic--the brothersled their guest through the darkening forest until the distant light ofa clearing appeared in the west, and they emerged from the shadow of thetrees upon the brow of a gentle hill.
Below them lay the castle (if such it should be called) of their fatherthe Thane of Aescendune. Utterly