spects the right of the clergy to their tithe, neither landlord nor farmer can allege that the tithes are paid by him: the one bought his estate, and the

other took his farm, subject to this payment; and each gave less for the land according to the computation of the bargain.

EMINENT PERSONS.

St. Swithin, bishop of Winchester, | people; one Nud owned to Afshin, who induced Ethelwolf to grant to the that, in obedience to his master's comclergy, in imitation of the Mosaic mands, he had destroyed 20,000 Mospractice, a tithe or tenth part of the lemins in cold blood, with his own produce of the lands, for their mainte- hands! Babec's insurrection had no nance. For this pious act he was sooner been put down, than Theophicanonized after death; and his body lus, the eastern emperor, destroyed having been placed, at his own desire, Sozopetra, the town of Al Motassem's in the common cemetery of the church- nativity, though earnestly entreated by yard, it was proposed, some time after, that monarch to abstain from the act; to remove it into the choir of the it being a singular feature in the chacathedral. A heavy rain, however, is racter of the Moslemins, to revere, in said to have commenced, and to have an extraordinary manner, the place continued forty days; which being re- which gave them birth. A deed so garded as a proof of the saint's disap- highly injurious, inflamed the ire of probation of the proceeding, his re- the kaliph to the highest degree; and mains were suffered to lie in their we cannot wonder that he should original place of deposit. Hence the think he was equally punishing the popular story of St. Swithin's rain. emperor by marching a force upon Paschasius, a Benedictine of Sois-Amorium, in Phrygia, the town wheresons, who wrote a treatise, maintaining, that, after the consecration of the elements in the Eucharist, nothing remains of these symbols but the outward figure, under which the real body and blood of Christ are present. This doctrine, called Transubstantiation, occasioned a violent polemical controversy; and the Romish church makes Transubstantiation an important article of faith at the present day.

Al Molassem, kaliph of Bagdad. For eighteen years the Saracens, under Al Maimon, had been disturbed by the rebellion of one Babec, a Persian, who declared himself greater than Mahomet, and heir to his throne. Al Maimon died soon after seeing his troops put to the rout by those of the impostor; but Al Motassem, his successor, sent his general, Afshin, against him, who slew the rebel, causing his hands and feet, and afterwards his head, to be cut off. It is affirmed that during the twenty years this ambitious rebel harassed the Saracens, he had caused the death of 250,000

in Theophilus first drew breath. To inspire his soldiers, he ordered every one to engrave upon his shield the word Amorium; and after a siege of 55 days, got possession of the place. The exasperated Al Motassem put its garrison of 30,000 to the sword, levelled the city with the ground, and carried into captivity 45,000 women and children. The death of this kaliph occurred 842. Al Motassem was afterwards called Al Motamen, or the eighth, by his subjects, who, delighting in marvellous tales, affirmed that, besides being the 8th of his dynasty, and born in the 8th month of the year, he had reigned exactly 8 months and 8 days, fought 8 battles, had left at his death 8 sons, 8 daughters, 8000 slaves, and 8 millions of gold. He employed many Turks in his armies, selecting his body-guard from that treacherous people; a measure which eventually caused the ruin of the kaliphate. Motassem was possessed of so much muscular strength, as to be able to lift the weight of 1000 pounds.

SECTION III.

ETHELBALD, KING OF ENGLAND.

857 TO 860-3 YEARS.

Ethelbald. The late king had directed that the two eldest of his sons should divide the kingdom between them in such manner, that the first-born should still have priority, and the survivor be sole monarch. Ethelbald, therefore, took the western, and Ethelbert the eastern portion of the island; and the title of king was assigned to the former. Ethelbald proved a profligate prince, as may be shown by the fact of his marrying Judith, his own mother-in-law, daughter of Charles the Bald; a contract which the prelate Swithin induced him to annul. He reigned but three years, and was interred at Sherborne, though his remains were afterwards removed to Salisbury.

Ethelbert conducted himself in a manner more worthy of his birth and station than his brother had done. The kingdom was still infested by the Danes, who sacked Winchester, but were there defeated; while another body of these pirates sallied from their settlement in the isle of Thanet, and committed ravages throughout Kent. Ethelbert was buried at Sherborne.

CHIEF EVENT.

Expulsion of the Picts from Scot- yearly declined in power, until Kenland. Notwithstanding the amicable neth II., 838, reduced them to the arrangement between the Picts and greatest extremity, taking their capital Scots before mentioned, hostile colli- Camelon, the present Abernethy, and sions again commenced. Dougal, their strongest fort, the Maiden Castle, king of Scots, claimed a right to the now that of Edinburgh. Donald V., Pictish throne; and although his ap- the next king of Scots, was himself peal was not acknowledged, the Picts | subdued by an army of Picts, aided by

a Saxon force; 20,000 of his men were | slain, himself taken prisoner, and all the country from the Tweed to the Forth seized by the conquerors. From some unexplained cause, the Picts suddenly abandoned their advantages, probably because deserted by their German allies; and when a descent was made upon the coast of Fife by the Danes in the reign of Constantine II., 865, it was found that numerous

Picts, who had retired abroad, were in their ranks, and had incited the pirates to this attack. Though Constantine was in the end taken captive, and put to death by Hungar, the Danish general, the invaders do not seem to have purchased their victory very easily, as the very numerous Danish monuments in Fife still attest; and we hear of the Picts no more.

SECTION V.

ETHELRED I., KING OF ENGLAND.

866 TO 872-6 YEARS.

Ethelred, third son of Ethelwolf, though he displayed the requisite vigour of a ruler, was scarcely able to keep at bay his relentless enemies, the Danes. The people of East Anglia having been overawed by the pirates, furnished them with horses, and thus enabled them to break into Mercia, and take up their quarters at Nottingham; but Ethelred, with the assistance of his younger brother Alfred, forced them to retreat to Northumberland. In 871, another party seized on Reading, and two battles ensued, at Aston and Basing, wherein the English, though victors, gained little advantage. By this time the party which had fled to Northumberland returned again to East Anglia, and accusing Edmund, prince of that district, of treachery, cruelly murdered him; and the place of his burial was in consequence called St. Edmund's Bury. The last conflict of moment took place at Merton in Surrey, 871; and Ethelred receiving a wound therein, was obliged to retreat into Dorsetshire, where he soon after died, and was buried at Wimborne.

CHIEF EVENTS.

The First Earl. Alfred is said to have been created an Eorl by his brother, after the battle of Basing; and it is the first time the title is mentioned in history. An eorldom amongst the Saxons was a sort of regal rule over a certain portion of land, and the dignity of eorl, or as we now spell the word earl, was long the highest in the kingdom under that of the monarch.

Assassination of Michael III., emperor of the east, who had taken one

Basil, of an obscure family, as partner in the throne. Having reason to be jealous of his coadjutor's political designs, he was on the point of deposing him when the latter murdered him, 867, and became sole emperor.

Clocks first used. The Venetians appear to have been the inventors of what might fairly be termed clocks by the moderns. They sold them in Constantinople first, 872.

SECTION VI.

ALFRED THE GREAT, KING OF ENGLAND.

872 To 901-29 YEARS.

Alfred, one of the most illustrious rulers on record, was born at Wantage, Berks, and confirmed at Rome, when a child, by Leo IV. He was enabled to keep the Danes in subjection, until their vast increase in Wiltshire caused his soldiers to revolt; whereon, having laid aside the marks of royalty, he took shelter in the hut of a neatherd, and there remained in concealment until, by means of a few adherents, he got possession of the small isle of Athelney, formed by the confluence of the Thone and Parret. From this secluded spot in Somersetshire, he occasionally assaulted the unguarded quarters of his enemy; and at length hearing that the earl of Devonshire had beaten the Danish leader, Ubba, and taken his magic standard of the raven, he entered the camp of Guthrum, the Danish prince, disguised as a harper, and ascertained the weak points of his opponents. Summoning his nobles to Selwood Forest, he marched to the prince's camp, and compelled him, in his surprise, to surrender. Such were the numbers of the Danes, that Alfred offered them settlements if they would become his subjects; to which they acceded, and Guthrum was baptized, having the king himself for a sponsor. For some years from this juncture, England was at rest; and Alfred wisely employed himself in erecting castles in proper situations, in forming a militia, and in getting together a fleet of an hundred sail. London, which had been long held by the Danes, he repaired and fortified; and when the enemy again landed in Kent, he drove them back with rapidity to their ships; and with equal promptitude quelled an insurrection which Guthrum's followers had raised in the north. The remainder of his useful life was passed in peace; the Danes no longer troubled him; the Welsh acknowledged his authority; and after seeing himself undisputed king as far as the frontiers of Scotland, he died, to the great regret of his people, at Farringdon, Berks, and was interred at Winchester. As a legislator, a reformer of manners, and a promoter of learning, and the arts, his character is most respectable: he laid the foundation of our common law, by imbodying into a system the best and wisest usages of the Saxons and Germans; he adopted, if he did not institute, the trial by jury; he formed in outline the houses of parliament, when he established his great council of bishops, earls, aldermen, and thanes; he invited men of learning to his court from all parts; he founded University college at Oxford, or at least greatly improved the system of education there; and, as an author, he gave to the world versions of Bede, Boethius, St. Gregory, and Orosius. To crown his great public character, Alfred is described as serene and cheerful in temper; affable, kind, and merciful; and as presenting one of those fine examples of mingled greatness and goodness, which both bless society, and dignify human nature.

CHIEF DOMESTIC EVENTS.

Shire sig

Survey of England. Alfred di- were called an hundred. vided England, 878, into large por- nified, in Saxon, division. The shires tions called shires, and those into or counties of England, at present, are smaller, called hundreds and tithings. forty. 6 North. Cumberland, YorkEach tithing consisted of ten house-shire, Lancashire, Durham, Northumholds or families, and ten tithings|berland, and Westmoreland. 4 Near

grants that pass the seal of the university, and receives its rents; and two clerks of the market, masters of arts usually, who take cognizance of the quality of all provisions used in the university. Each college has its head, called warden, master, provost, &c., as may be; and such of the members as are appointed to assist him in governing the society, are called fellows, &c., and vary in number and privileges, according to the respective foundations. From this venerable institution, or from those of Cambridge and Dublin, must come all the clergy of the established church of England and Ireland, if we except the few to whom the Welsh college of Lampeter (for the sake of diminishing the costs of edu

Wales. Herefordshire, Cheshire, Mon- all members of the university, to see mouthshire, and Shropshire. 12 that all men appear in public in their Middle. Staffordshire, Leicestershire, proper dresses, that just weights and Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Glouces-measures are used, and to preserve tershire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, the public peace; a public orator, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire, Bucking- who writes letters and addresses on hamshire, Northamptonshire, and Bed-public occasions, and pronounces hafordshire. 8 East. Norfolk, Hertford-rangues to princes and other illusshire, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, trious visiters to the university; a Lincolnshire, Middlesex, and Hun-keeper of the archives, who takes care tingdonshire. 4 South. Wiltshire, of and arranges all charters, &c.; a Hampshire, Berkshire, and Dorset-registrar, or notary public, who reshire. 3 South West. Somersetshire, gisters all decrees, graces, leases, and Devonshire, and Cornwall. 3 South East. Surrey, Kent, and Sussex. Foundation of Oxford University. This was by Alfred, 886, either by the founding or reformation of the school of University College. This one of the two most celebrated establishments in the world for the promotion of learning, was incorporated in Elizabeth's reign, and is ruled by its own laws. It comprises ninteen colleges, all corporate bodies distinct from each other, and five halls not incorporated. Every member of the university must be matriculated; and on appearing before the chancellor, or vice-chancellor, must declare his rank in life, whether the son of a nobleman, baronet, gentleman, or plebeian, and pay a matriculation-fee accordingly, subscribe to the thirty-cation in a country where they could nine articles of the Church of England, take the oaths of allegiance and supremacy, and swear to observe all the statutes, privileges, and customs of the university; and neither to sue before the mayor or bailiffs of the city, nor answer before them as justices, so long as he continues to enjoy its privileges. The principal officers are a chancellor, who holds his high dignity for life, and who only attends the university at his installation and during royal visits; a vice-chancellor, who continues four years in office, superintends the university, is always head of a college, and has under him four provice-chancellors, also heads of houses; a high steward, who is a peer, and must defend the rights and privileges of the university; two proctors, masters of arts, and their four pro-proctors, whose duty it is to inspect the conduct of

not be afforded) is permitted to grant holy orders. The number of members recently on the books at Oxford was 5300; of which only 2500 are what are called members of convocation, that is, have the privilege of voting in matters relative to the university. Like the ancient monasteries, both Oxford and Cambridge have much property in church benefices and estates, the former of which are bestowed as rewards. The professorships are of course numerous, many of them nobly endowed, and all held by men of acknowledged worth and ability. The Land Tux first levied. This system of raising a regular supply of revenue, begun by Alfied in 891, was not established in perpetuity till 1689, but was resorted to by various monarchs as occasion required.