The Express.
London, England, 1849-11-05 00:00:00

LLENARY OF KING ALFRED'S BIRTH.

PUBLIC DINNER AT LIVERPOOL.
On Friday evening a grand dinner, in cogac-
mention of the above intetestiog epoch in English blatorys
wee bald at As Adolph! Hotel is Liverpool, J. Brantley-
Moans Bahs. Ohm =Wm, to tba chair. Tim actinides's we.
asthawens and resoceasble ; and the similar bet beaming
assesion width bed lad to the assenthly inpansd • ants
and thisnating &erects, to the anteung. Tbe Rev. Dr.
a keenOilesjeoLiatißatheree, and Marta F. Topper. Big., molded
as the eamsaittoo in Loudon. Tito Ear.
Jame Rishthand, frith lb, United Buttes, ainteepsnied
then, sail it may be ietarsatieg to state that there were also
present two er taros ether residents of Gel Western World,
*bone the depatadea had acrid. Wally net le the railway
carriage. and who were seildeetly !wrested by the object as
to set wide all other briniethe ea attend. Tas large sad
splandid dining ball was Med by the other any.
Of the spasebu winch ilsileeted the ether, that of Dr.
Giles attracted most weans,, fees his batten read certain
swains floes Lug A.freses works. He said that wises
Hiog Alfred first released his senatey hos the Lawton of
the Danes, he describes the state of things is his own
words :

"There wen very few on the south side of the Humber who I
could understand the daily prayers in English, or translate a
letter from the Latin. I thick there were not many even
beyond the Heather; they were 'hardier so few that I
cannot recollect one single instance on the south side of the
Thaw* when I took the kingdom."
Bach a state of ignorance was beyond our comprehension in
the 191 k century. But then what step did he take to re. '
rued) this stets of We shall an. Amer, his tutor,
has left us the life of King Alfred. Auer says:
" I was seat for. I saw him at Dine. Mahal, re-
wind me, and earnestly =treated me to devote myeelf to
his =vim, six months in Wales sad six mouths with him.
I Os my way home I was seised with a fever et Winton and
1 received urgent litters Irom the Kiev. The first visit wee
at Leonford. I stayed eight months. I translated and read
to him whatever books he wished; for it was his peculiar
mitotic day and night, amidst all his other ail ohms both of
mind end body either to read books himself, or to have them
read to hies by others."
A little further on in Amer's work we find that the King
exclaimed, " That k God! we have now teachers in the
land." lint now I come to another feature in King Alfred"'
character, and will tell It in nis own words
" I remembered how the Jewish law was revealed in the
Hebrew tongue, and how the Greeks turned it into their
tongue ; and the Latin men also, when they learned it, em-
ployed wise men totem It into their tongue also. Therefore.
I thick it best, if you think so, that we also translate some
books, the mon aecemary for It men to know, into our own
language, that we all may know them, and that we may do this
wits. God's help if we have p-ace, so that all the youth that
now are to Ragland who are freemen, he., may apply to no
other duty until they first know how to read well the Eng-
Han language. Then let those who wish to learn more, and
to improve their condition in tie world, learn the Latin lan-
guage oleo." He was addren.og the coined when he used
tea= ezpressioas ; but not only did he teach this, bu: he
himself led the way.
" Then I began, amid 041 other manifold business of my
kingdom, to turn Gregory's Patloral or Herdsman's book
into Baglish, dto , and will send one copy to every bishop's
see in my kingdom."
Dr. Glee then read the following extract:
"Beason, thou koowest that I liked not this dignity of
king, save that I desired materials for the work which I was
commanded to do, and that 1 might rightly administer and
govern the people committed to my charge. There are
nat. riabt for every work, without which we cannot work.
The materials fora king's work and the tools he must
govern with, are that he have his land fully peopled—men
to pray, min to figLt, sod men to work; without those men
no man can work. 'Dais I is .n now most truly say, that I
have de,ired to live worthily while I lived, and after my life
to leave to the men that should be after meths remembrance
of say good works "
Dr. Gilts concluded an eloquent address by calling &Nan.
lien to the:rest let ons paced at Waal's', which we have
already published.
After a variety of toasts had been doss honour to, the
meeting broke up.