8. Two years after Alfred's first visit to Rome, he accompanied his father, and went thither a second time. A sensible person, who has written the history of Alfred, supposes that the public buildings, and other splendid and curious objects which he saw at Rome in this second visit, were ever after remembered by him, and that the remembrance of them inspired the designs which he afterwards in some measure effected, of improving his native country.

9. The Romans were once masters of Britain, and when that island was subject to them, they introduced to the people who had before been deplorably ignorant, many of their own useful arts. They taught the Britons how to make roads and bridges; and to build houses and cultivate their lands better than they had done before, and doubtless they instructed a few among them to read and write the Latin language.

10. When the Saxons conquered Britain, after the Romans had left it, they were too ignorant, ferocious, and cruel, to regard the useful and comfortable arts of the Romans. They treated the Britons so ill, and kept them so constantly at war with one another, that, except roads and fortifications, they destroyed all which their predecessors had done; so that when Alfred was young the country was in a ruined state.

11. Alfred's mother died when he was a very little child. On the return of Ethelwolf from Italy, he married Judith, daughter of Charles the Bald, then king of France. The Franks were

originally a tribe of Germans, more improved and civilized than the other tribes; they established themselves in the ancient Gaul, and it received from them the modern name of France. Franks signifies freemen.

12. Some of Ethelwolf's subjects were offended by his injustice in preferring the infant Alfred to the proper heir of the throne. While Ethelwolf was absent in Italy, these disaffected subjects proposed to make the prince Ethelbald, king in his father's place; but others formed a plan to divide the kingdom between the father and son. Ethelbald did not discourage these projects, and when the king became acquainted with the undutiful conduct of his son, it is said to have afflicted him so much that he died soon after. Ethelbald surIvived his father but three

years.

1. Alfred was twelve years of age at the death of his brother Ethelbald: his education had been

so neglected, that he did not know how to read, but though unable to read, he loved Saxon poetry, to which he always listened with eager attention when others read or recited it. One day, when queen Judith was sitting in the midst of her family reading a Saxon poem, she observed that the young princes seemed greatly to enjoy it, and she offered to give the book to him who should soonest learn to read it. The older princes did not think the reward equal to the trouble, but Alfred, after examining the book, resolved to make an attempt to possess it. He found a competent instructor, and applied himself to his work with such diligence, that he was soon able to read and recite the poem to the queen. She kept her promise, and Alfred no doubt valued her gift as it deserved.

2. Books at that time were very rare, and very valuable. Our convenient printed volumes of paper were then unknown. The ancient books were manuscripts upon parchment, and were often very much ornamented by curious drawings, paintings, and transparencies, wrought upon the margins. The art of embellishing books in this man ner was called Illuminating them. The pictured margins represented flowers, saints, crowns, and a multitude of figures which were sometimes gilt as well as coloured. Alfred's book was probably rendered more valuable by the richness of its ornaments. So very expensive were these books, that a king of Northumberland gave a large estate for a single one. We cannot read such a fact without rejoicing at our own great privilege of having books so cheap, so abundant, and so universally diffused.

3. Alfred had no sooner acquired the inestimable ability to read, than he found it,-what every rational and cultivated person finds it, a source of unfailing occupation and delight, and he never again felt the fatigue of indolence. Alfred always continued to delight in the Saxon poetry, and made a collection of psalms and hymns for his own use. He kept this book in his bosom. Soon after Queen Judith had disposed Alfred to improve himself, she returned to France, and left him to advance in learning as well as he was able.

4. His industry and perseverance are an example and admonition to every young person, for he never ceased to cultivate his understanding, though he had neither parents nor teachers labouring for his instruction, as too many boys have, who neglect to make the efforts for themselves, which alone can effect their progress.

In

5. Alfred's brothers did not act with more justice towards him than their father had done to themselves; for they allowed the young prince but a small maintenance out of the ample property left by Ethelwolf; however, Alfred was too deeply engaged in study to think with much pain of any thing, even the unkindness of his brothers. the course of his studies, Alfred learned that there was other and far more desirable knowledge than any to be found in the scanty Saxon literature he discovered that the finest books then in the world, were those written in the Greek and Latin languages.

6. Before Alfred could read those beautiful and precious books, it was necessary for him to learn Greek and Latin. He earnestly desired to become acquainted with poets, philosophers, and

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historians, whose thoughts were to him locked up in unknown tongues-but his wishes were in vain. To the royal Alfred, aids to learning that are now in every school boy's hands, were utterly denied. He not only wanted grammars and dictionaries, but a master capable of teaching him, for not one could be found in the kingdom. He afterwards lamented, as his greatest misfortune, that when he had youth, and leisure, and permission to learn, he could not find a teacher.

7. Learning had not long been in this low state in Britain. The Roman learning did not disappear as soon as the Saxons came. Some of the Saxons learned the Latin, and some of them composed verses, but such talents had fallen into neglect before Alfred's time. From the time of his learning the art of reading to his nineteenth year, Alfred spent almost all his time at his studies. During this period two of Alfred's elder brothers died, and Ethelred the third brother, came to the throne. Ethelred was not happy in his government, for large numbers of Danes crossed the North Sea, landed in England, and destroyed as much of the property, and as many of the lives of the English as they could.

8. All the soldiers that Ethelred could command, were not powerful enough to defeat these cruel enemies. In his distress Ethelred called upon his brother Alfred to assist him. Alfred was mild and peaceable like his father, but he was grieved for the sufferings of the poor English; he resolved if he could, to punish the Danes, and he fought many battles with his brother. About this period he married Elswitha, the daughter of a British nobleman. Ethelred was wounded in battle, and died soon after in the year 871.