The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1889-02-20

| vi MS country anu his COunIryneu, anu
reached many hearts by his preaching
and through his pupils, of whom he
had six hundred at one time. He
wrote an Ecclesiastical History of En-
gland from the time of the early Brit
ons down to 73l, and numerous COM
mentaries on various portions of the
Bible. He is justly called the Father
of English History, and Burke styles
him the Father of English Learning.
And those historians who date the be-
ginning of English history from the
treaty of Wedmore may well count
Bede the morning star of our literature
The treaty of Wedmore suggests
another name, illustrious alike in his
tory and literature. "Alfred, the
Truth-teller," ," England's herdsman,"
" England's comfort " and % darling"
are few of the titles that he won and
merited. OF England's fifty-ive SOW
ereigns, he alone has been called 4" the
Great" He was born $40, just four
hundred years after Hengist and
Horsa had come to England-the
hero of fifty-six battles. "The aim Of
his whole life was to promote the well
fare of his people" Nowhere in the
annals of history do we find ruler so
evidently called of God and doing
his work with such unwavering trust.
Always in his bosom, under his armor,
he carried copy of the Psalms of Da-
vid. When he had conquered the in
vaders he turned his attention TO his
people, and for their defence rebuilt
fortresses, organized a navy, made
roads, revised the laws after the Scrip
ture model, instituted or modified trial
by jury, and strove for justice and
righteousness in all things. He trans
lated many Latin works into his mother
tongue, kept notebooks, made quota
tons, established schools and was
anxious that the youth should each
abide at his books till he could well I'M
derstand English writing" Freeman,
in his Norman Conquest" speaks of
him as 1.-THE most perfect character in
history "a man who said at the last,
" | have striven to live worthily, | de-
sire to leave to the men who come after
me remembrance of me in good
works" His parting advice to his son,
who succeeded him, closed with these
words: "Govern thyself by law, then
shall the Lord love thee, and God,
above all things, shall be thy reward.
Call upon him to advise thee in all thy
need, and so he shall help thee the bet
ter to compass what thou wouldst."
Dickens, in his "Chil6's History" saws
" His care to instruct his people prob
ably did more to preserve the beautiful
old Saxon language than can imagine.
Without him the English tongue might
have wanted half its meaning" So
Alfred, il not the morning star, was at
least valued light preceding the earli-
est dawn of our literature. Other lights
there were, later in the night of the
Middle Ages, lowering just above the
horizon at dawn-among them Mande-
will, Wiclif, Langland and Chaucer, and
to the last the world accords the title of
The Morning Star of English Litera-
ture." 1t has been said of him that
whatever came bearing the name of
Godfrey Chaucer he accepted and was
thankful for. The sublimity of such
simple trust in the wisdom and love of
the All-wise Ruler must touch the
hearts of those who, like him, have met
with trials and adversities. From Ced-
mon to Chaucer, those who gave the
best help in the foundation-work of our
literature were upheld by like faith and
animated by the same spirit-the
Christ-spirit that strives for the uplift-
ing and advancement of humanity.
And so, as | limited in the beginning, [
would give the title of honor not to the
instrument, man, but to the impelling
power, the Spirit; not to Chaucer, but
to Christianity.
NJ. r. ID. DINGwALL.
Since the morning star in the natural
world, being planet, shines by re-
fecting the light of the sun, the Scribe
would suggest whether we should not
rather compare Christianity to the sun
itself, which is the source of light to
the planetary system. Certainly none
of us-and still less these early authors
themselves-would claim for them any
of the honor which belongs to the en-
tightening and life-giving influence that
made them what they were.
Proceeding now with the story of the
development of our English tongue
from the Saxon of King Alfred's time,
we will have the following questions for
our next lesson:
% Who were the Normans?
(2) What was the Norman Conquest
and when did it occur?
(3) What effect did it have on the
language of England?
Address all communications for this
department to Z" Scribe" IS South Lor-
ing street, Lowell, Mass.
Kind-Hearted Monkeys.