and seated himself on the sea-shore, while the tide was rising; and as the waves approached, he said, in an imperious tone, "Thou sea! art under my dominion, and "the land which I sit upon is mine: I charge thee, ap

proach no farther! nor dare to wet the feet of thy so"vereign." He even sat some time in seeming expectation of submission: but as the sea still advanced towards him, and at last began to wash him with its billows, he turned to his courtiers, and observed, that every creature in the universe is feeble and impotent; and that power resides only with ONE Being, in whose hands are the elements of nature, and who can say to the ocean, "Thus far shalt thou go, and no farther4!” But although Canute, sick of worldly greatness, began to turn his eyes towards a future state of existence, the spirit which prevailed in that age unfortunately gave a wrong direction to his piety. Instead of making reparation to the persons whom he had injured by former acts of violence, he built churches, endowed monasteries, and appointed prayers to be said for the souls of those who had fallen in battle against him; nay, more meritorious than all the rest! he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome.

After his return from Rome, Canute performed nothing memorable, except an expedition against Malcolm king of Scotland, whom he humbled. He died A. D. 1035.. in 1035, and left the crown of England to his son Harold Harefoot, by his first wife, Alfwen, daughter to the earl of Hampshire, in prejudice of Hardicanute, his son by queen Emma, to whom he had promised the succession".

A. D. 1039.

Harold reigned only four years. He was succeeded by his brother Hardicanute, whose reign. was yet shorter. Neither of these princes. had any qualities that merit your attention, nor did any thing memorable happen during their reigns. It

4. Anglia Sacra, vol. i.

5. Chron. Sax. H. Hunting. R. Hoveden.

will therefore be sufficient to observe, that on the death of Hardicanute, who fell a sacrifice to his brutal intemperance, the English shook off the A. D. 1041. Danish yoke, and recalled from Normandy Edward, son of Ethelred and Emma, surnamed the Confessor, to the throne of his ancestors.

This revolution was effected without bloodshed: and the mild and equitable government of Edward soon reconciled the Danes, no less than the English, to his sway. The distinction between the two nations vanished. But the English in vain flattered themselves, that they were forever delivered from foreign masters. A little time convinced them, that the evil was rather suspended than removed.

Edward had been educated in Normandy; and having contracted many intimacies with the natives of that country, as well as an affection for their manners, the court of England was soon filled with Normans, who were distinguished by the royal favour, and had great influence on the national councils. He had also, it appears, though married to a beautiful woman, made an indiscreet vow of virginity, which rendered his bed sterile, but obtained to him from the monks the title of saint and Confessor: and he had given his kinsman, William duke of Normandy, hopes of succeeding to the English crown. What use that enterprizing prince made of this promise, real or pretended, we shall afterward have occasion to see.

In the mean time the English, and particularly earl Godwin, the most powerful nobleman in the kingdom, and who had hopes of exalting his own son to the throne, became jealous of the preference shewn to foreigners, and openly revolted. The rebels were reduced the estates of Godwin and his son were confiscated; and they were obliged to flee the realm. But they soon after returned, and reduced the king to conditions; the most considerable

A. D. 1053.

of which was, that all foreigners should be banished the kingdom.

Godwin's death, which happened shortly after this treaty, prevented him from establishing that authority which he had acquired at the expense of the crown. But his son Harold, who succeeded him in his estates and offices, and who, with an ambition equal to his fa-. ther's, was superior to him in address and insinuation, proved no less dangerous to the unsuspecting and unwarlike Edward, whose confidence he had A. D. 1055. obtained. And the death of Siward, duke of Northumberland, while it enfeebled the royal authority, gave still more consequence to the ambitious Harold. Siward, beside his loyalty, and exploits in behalf of the crown, had acquired honour to England, by his successful conduct in the only foreign enterprise undertaken during this reign: and as it is connected with a memorable circumstance in the history of a neighbouring kingdom, as well as with the intrigues of Harold, it doubly deserves our attention.

Duncan, king of Scotland, a prince of a gentle disposition, and some talents, but not possessed of sufficient vigour to govern a turbulent nation, distracted by the animosities of the great, had laid himself open to the designs of Macbeth, a powerful nobleman, nearly allied to the crown; and who, not contented with curbing the king's authority, carried yet farther his traiterous ambition. He murdered his sovereign; usurped the crown; and chased Malcolm Kenmure, the prince and heir, into England. Siward whose daughter was married to Duncan, undertook, by Edward's orders, the protection of this unhappy family. He marched an army into Scotland, defeated and killed Macbeth in battle, and restored Malcolm to the throne of his ancestors. This service added to his former connections with the royal family of Scotland, brought great acces

6. R. Hoveden. Sim. Dunelm.

sion to the authority of Siward in the north, and enabled him to be highly useful to Edward, in restraining the ambition of Godwin and his powerful family; but as he had lost his eldest son Osbern, in the action with Macbeth, it proved eventually fatal to his house and hurtful to the crown. The duke's second son, Wol, theof, appeared too young, on his father's death, to be entrusted with the government of Northumberland : and Harold's influence obtained that dukedom for Tosti his own brother".

There are two anecdotes related of Siward, which strongly mark his character, and are eminently expressive of that enthusiasm of valour, so long predominant in the house of Northumberland. When informed of his son Osbern's death, he was at first inconsolable. But enquiring how he fell, and being told that he behaved with great gallantry, and that his wound was in the breast, the feelings of the father seemed lost in those of the soldier; his grief was transformed into joy. "Would to God," exclaimed he, " that I had as many "sons as I have hairs, that I might lose them thus!" And when he found his own death approaching, le ordered himself to be clothed in a suit of complete armour; and sitting erect on a couch, with a spear in his hand, "In this posture," said he, "the only one wor"thy of a warrior, I will meet the tyrant; if I cannot "conquer, I shall at least face the combat."

Tosti behaved so tyranically in his government of Northumberland, that the people rose against him, and expelled him by force of arms; a circumstance which contributed much to his brother's aggrandizement. Harold was appointed by the king to punish the Northumbrians, and advanced with an army for that purpose; but being met by a deputation from Morcar, who had been elected duke, and finding that Tosti had acted in a manner unworthy of his station, he returned to the king, and

7. Gul, Malmes. lib. ii.

Buchanan, lib. vii. 8. H. Hunting. lib. vii. generously

generously persuaded him not only to pardon the rebels, but even to confirm Morcar in the dukedom. He afterward married the sister of that nobleman, and got her younger brother, Edwin, elected into the government of Mercia. He also undertook an expedition against the Welsh, whom he obliged to receive English governors'.

By these political and fortunate steps, Harold soon found himself in a condition openly to aspire at the succession to the crown. He had gained the affections of his countrymen by his lenity to the Northumbrians: he had raised their admiration of his valour, by his conquest of Wales; and so great was his influence that he laid almost all England under the command of himself or his friends. His competitors for the succession were Edgar Atheling, the sole surviving heir to the crown, who had been recalled from Hungary, and William duke of Normandy, the king's cousin. But the first was a youth whose imbecility was thought sufficient to set aside his claim, and the second a foreigner. Edward's prepossessions hindered him from supporting the pretensions of Harold, and his irresolution from A, D. 1066. securing the crown to the duke of Normandy, whom he secretly favoured: he therefore died with out appointing a successor, being worn out with age and infirmities, and more anxious about obtaining a heavenly, than settling his earthly inheritance.

Edward the Confessor was the first who touched for the schrophula, hence denominated the King's evil. The opinion of his sanctity procured belief, among the superstitious vulgar, to this mode of cure: and his successors regarded it as a part of their royalty to support the same idea. The practice was first dropt by the princes of the house of Brunswic; who wisely considered, that such a pretension must be attended with ridicule in the eyes of all men of cultivated minds, and even become the scorn of an enlightened populace. Posterity are more indebt

9. Orderic. Vital.

ed